Preface Contents

Aftab Ahmed, Professor of Political Science, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh

K M de Silva, Executive Director, International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES), Kandy and Professor Emeritus, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. He was Professor of Sri Lanka History at the University of Peradeniya from 1969 to 1995.

Partha S Ghosh, Director, Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi, India.

Mahendra P Lama, Associate Professor, South Asia Division, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.

Ajay K Mehra, Senior Lecturer, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, New Delhi, India; and was associated with research programmes of the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi from 1980-1999.

G H Peiris, Professor of Geography, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka; Senior Research Fellow, International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES), Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Mohammad Waseem, Professor of International Relations, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad; and was until recently Quaid-i-Azam Fellow, St. Antony’s College, Oxford, United Kingdom. 

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The essays in this volume were chosen from a set of papers presented at two conferences on Conflicts in South Asia held on 15-17 July 1996 and 3-5 May 1997. These conferences were two of several held as part of a complex research project in which the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES), Kandy, was associated with the Clingendael Institute in the Hague, the Netherlands. The main project, a comprehensive study of conflict in three parts of the world, South Asia, West Africa and Central America, was planned and led by the Clingendael Institute. The ICES was responsible for the South Asian segment.

As editor of this volume I have incurred many debts to several individuals and groups of people. My two colleagues at the ICES, Kandy, Professors Gerald Peiris and S W R de A "Sam" Samarasinghe were involved in this project from its very inception, in its planning and to its implementation. Without their support unstintingly given, my task as Project Leader for the South Asian segment, and as editor of this volume would have been more onerous than it has been. I wish to place on record my appreciation of the support given to us by our colleagues in South Asia, both in their commitment of time to it, and their ready cooperation in revising their papers for publication. The revisions came at various stages and more frequently than with other projects in which they have been associated with us. They are Drs Partha Ghosh, Mahendra Lama and Ajay Mehra (India), Professor Mohammad Waseem (Pakistan) and Professor Aftab Ahmed (Bangladesh) to all of whom we are very grateful.

Our long association with the Clingendael Institute has been both cordial and very productive and I would like to thank them for all their assistance to me and to the ICES in the running of this project. We have met together here in Sri Lanka, and in the Hague, on a number of occasions, first of all in planning the project, and thereafter at conferences and workshops which formed part of this complex academic enterprise. The Clingendael team consisted of Dr J Siccama as the Team Leader, Dr Luc van de Goor and Mr Pyt Douma. Professor Georg Frerks took over from Dr Siccama in the final stages of the project. The ICES would like to thank all of them.

At the ICES Roshni Siriwardene, Research Associate prepared several versions of the chapters of this volume on the computer, and indeed of all the papers presented at the two conferences referred to earlier. Iranga Athukorale was associated with her in this task and took over from her on Roshni Siriwardene’s departure to Singapore. Sumedha Abayaratna prepared some of these chapters after they were revised. The preparation of the camera-ready copy for our printer was handled by Iranga Athukorale who set about the task with her usual professionalism. Laura Gross, Research Associate helped in the editorial work while Kanthi Gamage, Librarian and Yvette Ferdinands, Research Associate took over the proofreading of the chapters of this volume at every stage in its preparation. Vasantha Premaratne helped us in the preparation of maps and diagrams. We would also like to mention the support we have had from our accountant Chalani Lokugamage in handling the budget on this project, and the keeping of records with her customary efficiency, associated by our staff assistant, Samarakoon Bandara. Every other member of our staff gave us his/her support on this project.

K M de Silva
Kandy, Sri Lanka
September 2000

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