{"id":249972,"date":"2026-11-15T03:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-11-14T21:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=249972"},"modified":"2026-11-15T03:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-11-14T21:34:16","slug":"a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tribute To Our Friend – Nalliah Suriyakumaran (Suri)"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lionel and Chitra Bopage<\/a> –<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

For more than two decades, Suri was a constant presence in our lives: a comrade, a political ally and a dear friend to our family. Today we mourn him, and we honour the man he was.<\/p>\n

Family and Early Life<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Suri was born in 1948 into a prominent family in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. His father, Vallipuram Nalliah, rose from teacher to Member of Parliament, and never stopped fighting for the people he served. His mother, Mrs Thangaratnam, made a personal sacrifice of her own. When V. Nalliah refused to profit from politics, the family sold the entirety of Thangaratnam\u2019s inheritance to fund his election campaigns, and they lived in a rented home until his death.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Nalliah Suriyakumaran<\/p><\/div>\n

From his father, Suri inherited a belief in education and in the dignity of marginalised communities. His father represented the Trincomalee-Batticaloa electorate in the State Council of Ceylon from 1943 to 1947. He then served as Member of Parliament for Kalkudah, in the Batticaloa District, from 1947 to 1956, and briefly held the cabinet post of Minister of Posts and Information in 1952. Before entering politics, he had been a teacher and principal of the Men\u2019s Training School in Attalichenai. As a legislator he championed free education and instruction in one\u2019s mother-tongue. He helped establish the Teachers\u2019 Training College in Batticaloa and Central College in Vantharumoolai, now Eastern University.<\/p>\n

Suri studied at Royal College, Colombo, where one of his classmates was Ranil Wickremesinghe, who later became Prime Minister and President of Sri Lanka. Growing up in Batticaloa, he absorbed his father\u2019s legacy of advocacy for the marginalised communities of the east. From an early age, his mother Thangaratnam imbued him with his Tamilian culture, informed by her deep knowledge and sterling example. Thangaratnam was one of the first female graduates in the country and was a well-known and loved teacher of religion. These lessons informed the man he became and the causes he later took up.<\/p>\n

Coming to Australia<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Our story with Suri began in Canberra, where he visited with his late twin brother, Sivakumaran, for family and government functions. He also had another brother, Radhakrishnan, who lived in Sri Lanka. When our family moved to Victoria in 2004 and settled in Reservoir, within the Darebin City Council area, a close comradeship developed between us, Suri, Michael and the late Cr Gaetano. We were bound together by a shared commitment to social justice, equity and a progressive political vision of a multicultural Australia.<\/p>\n

After migrating from Sri Lanka, Suri worked as a tax officer for eighteen years. He became an active trade union leader, serving as a national executive member and Vice President of the Tax Division of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU). In the nineties and into the first decade of this century, he was also a trade unionist at the Australian Tax Office in Melbourne, working alongside Gaetano, Michael and others.<\/p>\n

Community and Civic Service<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Suri served on the executive of the Darebin Ethnic Communities Council (DECC) while Gaetano chaired it. I joined as Treasurer and held that role until we moved to the western suburbs. Though we no longer lived in Darebin, we kept working together on socio-economic and political issues affecting Australia and Sri Lanka, and on global questions, from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to the conflict in Ukraine. When Suri became Chairperson of the DECC, he carried forward the example Gaetano had set.<\/p>\n

As Chairperson, he gave multicultural residents a voice in local decisions and spoke out against racism. He sat on the steering committee of Darebin\u2019s 2012 racism inquiry and saw the role of Darebin Intercultural Centre and his leadership of it, as vital to building a community where people felt included. He also stood with faith leaders, community elders and refugee and trade union activists from several religions who affirmed a message of welcome to asylum seekers and refugees, stressing the importance of having a humane and welcoming approach to people fleeing danger and seeking refuge in the Darebin municipality.<\/p>\n

Beyond Darebin, he was an executive member of the Ethnic Communities\u2019 Council of Victoria (ECCV). He has served in many other community organisations in an executive capacity. In recognition of his tireless activism, in late 2025, the City of Darebin honoured him with its Lifetime Achievement Award for a lifetime service to migrants, refugees and Tamil Australians.<\/p>\n

He also led the council\u2019s effort to bring a memorial to the victims of genocide and genocidal acts to Ray Bramham Gardens in Preston. Initiated by the DECC, the monument stands on the southern side of the gardens. It is a large stone bowl shaped like a peace symbol, divided into three chambers for different rituals: smoking ceremonies, candles planted in sand, and flowers floating in water. Objections and delicate negotiations delayed its installation, but the memorial was later unveiled, and it remains a place of remembrance for all who were lost.<\/p>\n

Commitment to Peace<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Suri has been on the executive of People for Human Rights & Racial Equality (PHRRE), later renamed PHRE, since the group was registered in 1998. It was formed in large part as a response to the launch of Pauline Hanson\u2019s One Nation in 1997. The group strongly advocated a negotiated, power-sharing settlement to the conflict in Sri Lanka, and it worked to build understanding and solidarity between the Sri Lankan diaspora communities.<\/p>\n

In 2007, PHRE and the DECC co-sponsored a community gathering of the disparate diaspora community of Sri Lanka. Suri co-signed the invitation to Professor Joseph Camilleri to give the keynote address, and the wider invitation for constructive dialogue between all parties to the conflict. That invitation led to the Sri Lanka Community Dialogue, convened by the Centre for Dialogue at La Trobe University, which was undertaken at the behest of PHRE, whose executive included Suri and me. A consultation committee was formed, and Suri\u2019s name was among those put forward for it in February 2008. The dialogue ran for a year, bringing together key members of the Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Tamil, Muslim, Malay and Burgher communities in Melbourne. It did not produce a settlement before the military conclusion of the war in May 2009, but participants agreed that the concerns of non-majoritarian communities must be addressed through their empowerment. Suri carried that conviction into every dialogue he later took part in, including work with Australian Advocacy for Good Governance in Sri Lanka (AAGGSL) and Voice for Democracy in Sri Lanka (VDSL).<\/p>\n

Friendship and Legacy<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2011, my biography, Rebellion, Repression and the Struggle for Justice in Sri Lanka, written by Michael was published. Suri was part of the group whose discussions shaped the book. The author thanked him for playing the devil\u2019s advocate. We valued his deep and sometimes nuanced grasp of Sri Lankan political history.<\/p>\n

Suri always kept an open door. He was always willing to help anyone in the community who was in need. He was a grounded, principled and generous man. His devotion to his Hindu faith was moving, and it was reflected in the way he treated others with dignity and compassion. He believed that a community is strongest when it makes room for everyone, and he lived by that belief.<\/p>\n

Farewell<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

To his sister Nalini, his wife Sharmila, daughters Parvathi and Anjali, brother-in-law Kasy, and his wider family, we extend our deepest sympathy. We are grateful for every year of comradeship we had with him, every shared campaign and every conversation that left us better human beings. His work has left a lasting mark on the communities he served, and on us. He will be deeply missed, but his legacy will endure.<\/p>\n

Nandri, Suri. Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":249973,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,61,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-249972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-obituaries","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nA Tribute To Our Friend - Nalliah Suriyakumaran (Suri) - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Tribute To Our Friend - Nalliah Suriyakumaran (Suri) - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[…]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-11-14T21:34:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Nalliah-Suriyakumaran.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"642\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lionel Bopage\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lionel Bopage\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lionel Bopage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ca96d213038483296a5b58af6989b8ec\"},\"headline\":\"A Tribute To Our Friend – Nalliah Suriyakumaran (Suri)\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-11-14T21:34:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1289,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/Nalliah-Suriyakumaran.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Colombo Telegraph\",\"obituaries\",\"Opinion\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\\\/\",\"name\":\"A Tribute To Our Friend - Nalliah Suriyakumaran (Suri) - Colombo Telegraph\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/Nalliah-Suriyakumaran.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-11-14T21:34:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ca96d213038483296a5b58af6989b8ec\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/Nalliah-Suriyakumaran.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/Nalliah-Suriyakumaran.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":642,\"caption\":\"Nalliah Suriyakumaran\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Tribute To Our Friend – Nalliah Suriyakumaran (Suri)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Colombo Telegraph\",\"description\":\"In journalism truth is a process\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ca96d213038483296a5b58af6989b8ec\",\"name\":\"Lionel Bopage\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8b0d086686eb02716c09a822b4ea07e582713ce4bf5f5418d06a3208c946ec94?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8b0d086686eb02716c09a822b4ea07e582713ce4bf5f5418d06a3208c946ec94?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8b0d086686eb02716c09a822b4ea07e582713ce4bf5f5418d06a3208c946ec94?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Lionel Bopage\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/lionelb\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Tribute To Our Friend - Nalliah Suriyakumaran (Suri) - Colombo Telegraph","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Tribute To Our Friend - Nalliah Suriyakumaran (Suri) - Colombo Telegraph","og_description":"[…]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\/","og_site_name":"Colombo Telegraph","article_published_time":"2026-11-14T21:34:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":642,"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Nalliah-Suriyakumaran.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lionel Bopage","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lionel Bopage","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\/"},"author":{"name":"Lionel Bopage","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ca96d213038483296a5b58af6989b8ec"},"headline":"A Tribute To Our Friend – Nalliah Suriyakumaran (Suri)","datePublished":"2026-11-14T21:34:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\/"},"wordCount":1289,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Nalliah-Suriyakumaran.jpg","articleSection":["Colombo Telegraph","obituaries","Opinion"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\/","name":"A Tribute To Our Friend - Nalliah Suriyakumaran (Suri) - Colombo Telegraph","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Nalliah-Suriyakumaran.jpg","datePublished":"2026-11-14T21:34:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ca96d213038483296a5b58af6989b8ec"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Nalliah-Suriyakumaran.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Nalliah-Suriyakumaran.jpg","width":900,"height":642,"caption":"Nalliah Suriyakumaran"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/a-tribute-to-our-friend-nalliah-suriyakumaran-suri\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Tribute To Our Friend – Nalliah Suriyakumaran (Suri)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/","name":"Colombo Telegraph","description":"In journalism truth is a process","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ca96d213038483296a5b58af6989b8ec","name":"Lionel Bopage","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8b0d086686eb02716c09a822b4ea07e582713ce4bf5f5418d06a3208c946ec94?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8b0d086686eb02716c09a822b4ea07e582713ce4bf5f5418d06a3208c946ec94?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8b0d086686eb02716c09a822b4ea07e582713ce4bf5f5418d06a3208c946ec94?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Lionel Bopage"},"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/lionelb\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Nalliah-Suriyakumaran.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249972"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":249976,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249972\/revisions\/249976"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}