Lemon yellow and light green colour flags fly high everywhere, and the office appears unusually busy. The party’s presidential candidate and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa walks in, with a smile on his face and folded hands. Sajith spoke exclusively with THE WEEK, explaining the importance of the upcoming election, his promise to abolish the executive presidency and his views on ties with India. Edited excerpts:
Q/ How crucial is this election for the people of Sri Lanka? Why do you think they should vote for you?
A/ It is a pivotal moment in Sri Lanka’s history. The people will have an opportunity to express their opinion and to provide their mandate for a new approach, for a pathbreaking vision and for changing the old guard. The country has gone through a terrible human and economic tragedy. Catastrophe has engulfed the whole country, affecting children, mothers, youth, everyone. Except for the super rich, every strata of society has been affected. This election will give an opportunity for the people to make a choice against the old approach of protecting the rich and the crony capitalists. Our approach would be to serve all 22 million people of our country. The people also have a choice [of not opting for] extreme socialism and Marxism, which has not proven to be a viable model in modern governance. I am very confident that they will make the right choice.
Q/ You contested the 2019 election as well. Is there a change in the mindset of the people?
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 22, 2024 من THE WEEK India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 22, 2024 من THE WEEK India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
