By Anushka Kahandagamage –

Dr. Anushka Kahandagamage

I am writing this as someone who has supported and believed in the National People’s Power and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna all my adult life. I am writing as someone who believed that the election victory of the National People’s Power and your presidential election victory in 2024 were victories for the people. I am writing to you today particularly as a woman and as a scholar of Buddhism.

As a woman, I have been deeply disappointed by the government’s stepmotherly treatment of women since it came to power. This government was brought to power through the blood, tears, and sweat of working-class women and certainly not through men who spout philosophy. From the beginning, questions have been asked about the basis on which this Government has identified and appointed women to positions of leadership in Parliament. Quite apart from the unwarranted attacks on the Prime Minister by the Opposition, it is also an open secret that she is also under attack from within the ranks of the Government though it is no doubt convenient for everyone to pretend otherwise. Additionally, various groups and individuals who claim to support your Government have been carrying out vicious and absurd attacks on women. These women have supported the work of your government but have also chosen to directly express their opinions, act independently, and raise valid criticisms and concerns. The most recent person to be attacked in this manner is Dr. Ramani Jayasundara who resigned from the National Commission for Women. I strongly condemn the attacks being carried out on these women by so-called ‘philosophical’ men who claim to be protecting this government. These deeply insecure and fragile yet self-styled alpha men are often triggered by a single social media post, criticism, or action by such women and respond with vicious and baseless attacks. As someone who still believes that this Government can make a significant difference to the future of all Sri Lankans, I raise these concerns with you because the actions of these childish and chauvinistic men is leading to the alienation of the working-class women who brought and will keep this Government in power in the future.

As a scholar in Buddhism, I am puzzled by the confusion the government portrays in religious spaces. Particularly when it comes to Buddhism, the government has yet to articulate, or perhaps deliberately avoids articulating, the precise role of Buddhism within a state administered by the National People’s Power. This ambiguity reflects an attempt to navigate competing expectations: on one hand, to project a progressive, secular, and inclusive political identity; on the other, to maintain its legitimacy among constituencies for whom Buddhism remains central to cultural and political life. In practice, this dual strategy produces a tension between principle and political expediency. This ambivalence not only confuses the public regarding the government’s stance on religion but also raises critical questions about the ethical and political implications of deploying Buddhism selectively to govern. For example, while some selfdeclared ‘intellectuals’ of the government make a show of critiquing or suppressing Buddhist nationalism, they expose their own weakness and inconsistency when compelled to justify the government’s grand gestures towards Buddhism, such as the exposition of the Sacred Tooth in August 2025 and the Indian relic exposition in January 2026. Their arguments are often perfunctory and unconvincing, betraying an inability to reconcile principle with spectacle. These events are frequently framed as cultural and religious diplomacy, yet they simultaneously amplify a religious visibility that is difficult to reconcile with the government’s professed commitment to secularism and pluralism. What is needed is a clear and principled articulation of the place of Buddhism within the state, one that is consistent, transparent, 

I come from a family that is not economically wealthy but is rich in so many other ways. I am very conscious that my journey to where I am today was only possible because of the average Sri Lankan citizen. I am a beneficiary of the taxes paid with the blood, sweat, and tears of people like my brother who moves goods in the Fort and my sister who plucks tea every day for a pittance. It is because of them that I will continue to hope that the NPP-led government will be accountable to them and lives up to their aspirations. This is what brought your government into power and will keep your government in power well into the future. This hope can only be realised by taking on board constructive criticism rather than allowing the Government’s image and standing to be tarnished by the actions of a limited coterie of self-appointed and self-aggrandising individuals, particularly men, who style themselves as great intellectuals. For myself, I will continue to believe in and support a truly people-centred government, particularly one that delays no further on its promise to abolish the Executive Presidency and repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Thank you.

*Dr. Anushka Kahandagamage, Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University