Groundviews

Groundviews Award-winning civic media from Sri Lanka. Groundviews is a citizens journalism website based in Sri Lanka.

The site uses a range of genres and media to highlight alternative perspectives on governance, human rights, the arts and literature, peace-building and other issues.

The controversy is not merely about whether Muslim women may wear the hijab in a hospital. It is another manifestation o...
29/08/2026

The controversy is not merely about whether Muslim women may wear the hijab in a hospital. It is another manifestation of Sri Lanka’s failure to transform relationships damaged by decades of ethnic conflict.

This article does not attempt to decide which side is legally or administratively correct in the hospital uniform dispute. Its purpose is to use the contrasting responses at the Kalmunai North Base Hospital and Ashraff Memorial Hospital to examine a wider public question: why, 17 years after the war ended, can a workplace disagreement still divide neighbouring communities?

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This year, the UN also marks the 20th anniversary of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from...
28/08/2026

This year, the UN also marks the 20th anniversary of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, under the theme “Victims first. Actions now.”

In 2026, the excavation of mass graves has once again highlighted how the search for the disappeared has not stopped. The ongoing excavation at Chemmani, alongside discoveries at sites across the country, has raised questions about what these graves can reveal about the identities of those who disappeared and whether the evidence recovered can finally help families establish the fate of their loved ones and force the state to bring those responsible to justice.

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For many refugees, returning home is emotionally connected to returning to their ancestral village and land. Where owner...
25/08/2026

For many refugees, returning home is emotionally connected to returning to their ancestral village and land. Where ownership can be legally established, government agencies should help families recover access to their property. Where land is occupied by state institutions, including the military, cases should be reviewed promptly and transparently. Where houses have been destroyed or land disputes cannot immediately be resolved, temporary accommodation and appropriate housing assistance should be available. Housing without employment, however, is not enough.

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There is nothing wrong with asking, is this organisation complying with Sri Lankan law? Was the lease properly obtained?...
24/08/2026

There is nothing wrong with asking, is this organisation complying with Sri Lankan law? Was the lease properly obtained? Are foreign nationals complying with business and immigration regulations? What are Sri Lanka’s interests in its relationship with Israel? There is a profound difference between asking, is this organisation acting lawfully and asking, why are the Jews establishing themselves in Sri Lanka?

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The passing of Nanda Malini is not merely the farewell of a single singer. It is the close of a great era in that tradit...
23/08/2026

The passing of Nanda Malini is not merely the farewell of a single singer. It is the close of a great era in that tradition of Sri Lankan music. But true art does not submit to death. Today that magnificent voice has fallen physically silent yet wherever a voice is raised against injustice, in every moment that a mother’s love is remembered, in every heart that dreams of a better world, her song will echo again and again. The field of Sinhala song that she sowed and brought to harvest will never wither.

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Is Sri Lanka to become the next Cyprus, to go from reliable supplier of pliant labour and safe haven for IDF tourists to...
23/08/2026

Is Sri Lanka to become the next Cyprus, to go from reliable supplier of pliant labour and safe haven for IDF tourists to welcoming second home for Israelis seeking safer shores or is the aim of the Israeli lobby the election of a more pro-Israel government? What is the deal between the Chabad Movement and Sinhala Ravaya? While the government and the opposition are locked in a needless conflict about the retirement age of judges, are plans being made to ignite another minority threat, another terrorist problem or another ethnic and religious clash?

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Official parliamentary records place the total number of pending cases at 1,131,818. The reported distribution included ...
21/08/2026

Official parliamentary records place the total number of pending cases at 1,131,818. The reported distribution included 5,785 Supreme Court cases, 4,572 Court of Appeal cases, 27,324 High Court cases, 262,665 District Court cases and 813,726 District Magistrate Court and Magistrates’ Court criminal cases, alongside other categories.

This distribution is analytically important: only a small fraction of the national backlog sits in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal. A reform centred on the tenure of superior court judges therefore requires a quantified explanation of how it will materially reduce congestion concentrated elsewhere.

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Ultimately, this debate is not only about whether journalism requires standards. It is about who defines those standards...
20/08/2026

Ultimately, this debate is not only about whether journalism requires standards. It is about who defines those standards, who enforces them and what safeguards exist against their misuse. Media freedom is not a privilege granted to journalists; it is a democratic guarantee that protects citizens’ right to information and society’s ability to hold power accountable.

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In the south coast, residents have pooled together to try a different type of magic – attempting to take matters into th...
20/08/2026

In the south coast, residents have pooled together to try a different type of magic – attempting to take matters into their own hands as stewards of the land. On July 15, around 30 people decided to make the first step towards the south coast’s waste management and plastic pollution coalition – The Ripple 3ffect.

In just a few weeks, The Ripple 3ffect has grown into a hundred-member strong WhatsApp community with monthly conversations, clean ups and working groups around waste management and plastic pollution in the hopes of mitigating the worsening problem of an overworked system trying to handle the throes of tourism invading the south coast.

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Picture credits: Mongabay

At National Operations Council convened at the Presidential Secretariat on August 10, the imposition of the death penalt...
19/08/2026

At National Operations Council convened at the Presidential Secretariat on August 10, the imposition of the death penalty for drug-related offences was raised as a possible response to the country’s deepening narcotics crisis. The cabinet spokesman has since clarified that no final decision has been taken. Before any such decision is reached, policymakers would do well to pause and reflect on history, on evidence and on the values the nation claims to uphold.

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