The recent increase in top level Indian delegation visits to Colombo indicates that India has entered a new and more comprehensive phase of bilateral relations with Sri Lanka. However, a highest level political visit from India is yet to materialize, while Sri Lankan counterparts have already visited Delhi twice in the recent past. What underlies these frequent diplomatic visits? The global power configuration is changing in favour of Asia, particularly China and India. The United States and the West in general, are losing the pre-eminent position that they have had for centuries. Moreover, smaller regional countries are also emerging with strong identities. In this setting, India finds its rivals making inroads into Sri Lanka.

A National Anthem is a song of patriotic sentiment affirming loyalty to one’s country or nation adopted officially by that Country or Nation. An anthem becomes a national anthem through Constitutional provision, specific legislation or long –standing tradition.

Stylistically the majority of anthems are marches or hymns .They are usually written or composed in the most common language in the Country. There are however some notable exceptions to this rule particularly in multi-ethnic nations.

In Sri Lanka then known as Ceylon , the song “Namo Namo Matha” written by the artist-poet Ananda Samarakoon was formally adopted as the national anthem in 1951. It was slightly amended and changed to “Sri Lanka Matha” in 1961 without the consent of Samarakoon.

The Head of State of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, went to London to address the Oxford Union upon their invitation. While the address was scheduled for December 2, 2010 the President was informed the previous day by the Oxford Union that the address had to be called off because of alleged ‘security concerns’ of which they had just come to know.

If the excuse given by the Oxford Union for canceling the scheduled address is true (it has not been contradicted by the Oxford Union or the British Government to date), it must follow that this episode proves beyond doubt, firstly, that the law enforcement authorities of the allegedly ‘Great’ Britain were intimidated by and/or confessed to being unable to control a gang of Tamil hooligans/rowdies/rabble and their backers if they chose to misbehave on the streets of Oxford and inconvenience bona fide travelers thereon; and secondly, that the law enforcement authorities of the allegedly ‘Great’ Britain and the members of the Oxford Union are a bunch of imbeciles.

The Government is committed to the IMF to keep the budget deficit for this year to 8% of GDP. Figures for eight months show that the deficit has overshot the full year’s target. Capital spending for the first eight months was up 15.1 percent to 158.3 billion rupees. Cutting the budget deficit to levels agreed with the IMF will be possible only if growth quickens in the rest of the year. Will the Government dump the IMF prescription without following the austerity measures recommended to provide a corrective for our problems?