The corrosive effects of authoritarianism, on people and countries and in particular on those who perpetrate it needs constant attention.’ It was this need for constant attention that propelled the author to bring out this book, which is an updated version of his earlier two books. The underlying theme of the book is to answer the key question: what exacerbated violence in Sri Lanka? At the outset, the author points to ‘the authoritarian policies of the Jayewardene government’ and his successors as the principal reason. According to the author, the book neither engages in virtual hagiogra-phy of Jayewardene, and regards Tamil claims as illegitimate and asso-ciated with terrorism, nor sees Sri Lankan state as a Sinhala majorita-rian monolith that necessarily oppressed Tamils. He says that Tamils have been the victims of majoritarian excesses, but these were piece meal and often due to political rivalry amongst Sinhala majority parties. The central figure of the book is J.R. Jayewardene, a veteran political figure and the first executive president of the island. At independence he became the first Sri Lankan Minister for Finance, the post had previously been reserved for a British civil servant.
October 2007, volume 31, No 10