Introduction
I went to school in Colombo, Sri Lanka and then read for my undergraduate and master’s degrees in history and international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Prior to beginning my doctorate at Brasenose College, University of Oxford, I led the Politics Research practice at Verité Research, a think-tank based in Colombo. Following my doctorate, I founded Itihas, an organisation that advances history education reform in Sri Lanka. I was also a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Colombo. I took up my current academic post at Queen’s in October 2023.
Research
My research interests are broadly in global and Sri Lankan history. My doctoral research re-opened a neglected chapter in Sri Lanka’s history. It critically re-examined the deeper roots of ethno-religious violence between Sinhalese and Moors and presented a historical narrative of cycles of intolerance and victimisation. I am embarking on a new project that focuses more broadly on shifting Islamic identities in Sri Lanka during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Publications
Some of my recent publications (excluding those under review) include:
‘Centring Conflict: Contemporary Sri Lanka in Perspective’, in Kanchana Ruwanpura, Amjad Mohamed-Saleem and Asha Abeyasekera (eds.) Handbook on Contemporary Sri Lanka (Routledge, forthcoming 2023)
‘Orthodoxy and Order: The Denial of Religious Liberty to Ahmadis in Colonial Ceylon’, Sri Lanka Journal of the Humanities Vol. 43, Nos. 1 and 2 (July 2022), co-author with Gehan Gunatilleke
‘The Colonial History of Islamophobic Slurs in Sri Lanka’, (7 September 2020) History Workshop Online
‘A Brief History of Anti-Muslim Violence in Sri Lanka’, (22 July 2019), History Workshop Online
A wider selection of publications and interviews are accessible on my personal page www.itihas.lk