Thisuri Wanniarachchi

Thisuri Wanniarachchi (Sinhala: තිසුරි වන්නිආරච්චි) is a Sri Lankan author and public policy specialist.[1] She is known for her book Colombo Streets, which she began writing when she was fourteen years old and which won a 2009 State Literary Award.[2][3] She was President Maithripala Sirisena's Assistant Director of Sustainable Development and the youngest political appointee to serve in his administration. [4] Wanniarachchi resigned from her position in the Sirisena Administration in the immediate aftermath of the unconstitutional coup of October 2018. She later served as the Secretary to the President's Expert Committee to Restructure SriLankan Airlines. She is the youngest public official to hold such a post.[5] In 2019 She was appointed as the Lead Analyst of the Ministry of Economic Reforms in the Government of Sri Lanka.

Thisuri Wanniarachchi
Wanniarachchci at the launch of her novel The Terrorist's Daughter
Alma materBennington College, Kansai Gaidai University University of Colombo

Early life and education

Wanniarachchi was born on 25 September 1993 to Sri Lankan sociologist and author Malraji Wanniarachchi and Sri Lanka Army Maj. General Sunil Wanniarachchi.[6] She grew up in Colombo during the time of the Sri Lankan Civil War. From pre school to middle school Wanniarachchi attended St. Bridget's Convent and later moved to The British School in Colombo on a full scholarship.[7][8][4] She received her BA in Political Science from Bennington College.

Books

Wanniarachchi is the author of two books, Colombo Streets[9] and The Terrorist's Daughter.[10] Wanniarachchi wrote Colombo Streets when she was fourteen years old.[11] Colombo Streets is a story about how children belonging to different social classes experienced the Sri Lankan civil war. The book went on to be a local bestseller[12] and made Wanniarachchi the youngest State Literary Award recipient.[13]

The Terrorist's Daughter, written by Wanniarachchi during her first year at Bennington College, was launched in Sri Lanka in August 2014.[14] The Terrorist's Daughter is a fictional love story. According to The Nation, Wanniarachchi uses the novel as a platform to discuss, criticize and analyse post-war Sri Lanka's political spectrum.

Political advocacy

Her open letter[15] in response to Namal Rajapaksa's article for the Colombo Telegraph became a viral sensation in Sri Lanka.

Wanniarachchi is also an advocate for education reform in Sri Lanka. Speaking as the youngest panelist at a discussion[16] for young politicians held in Colombo at a virtual event in collaboration with the 2015 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wanniarachchi stressed on the need for education reform in Sri Lanka.

Dividing her time between university and Sri Lanka in 2014 Thisuri served as intern of the Ministry of Higher Education (Sri Lanka) and later in 2015 served as an Intern to the Presidential Secretariat during President Maithripala Sirisena's first year in office.[17]

Leading Sri Lankan political scientist Dayan Jayatilleka said Wanniarachchi's The Terrorist's Daughter is "one of the most important literary works in post-war Sri Lanka" and suggested that it is a "road map to reconciliation" and a "manifesto" for the Sri Lankan government.[18] The Terrorist's Daughter was nominated for the 2015 State Literary Award.[19]

In 2014, the leading feminist movement Lean In featured Wanniarachchi's story.[20]

Criticism

Wanniarachchi's received much criticism for her advocacy and writing on the abolition of the death penalty in Sri Lanka, equal rights to LGBTQ Sri Lankans, sex education reform by civil society and lobby groups that oppose her views.[21][22]

Bibliography
  • Colombo Streets (2009)
  • The Terrorist's Daughter (2014)[23][24]

References
  1. "Colombo Streets (interview)". Sunday Times. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  2. "Thisuri's dream award". Nation. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  3. Hussain, Nabeela (8 November 2010). "A budding novelist". The Daily Mirror (subscription required). Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  4. "'The Terrorist's Daughter' (review)". Daily FT. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  5. http://www.colombopage.com/archive_19A/Jan28_1548692811CH.php
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 November 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "Thisuri Wanniarachchi". Thisuriwanniarachchi.com. 30 November 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  8. Athukorala, Prabuddha. "Thisuri grabs top honours with the pen". Daily News. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  9. "Colombo Streets". Vijithayapa.lk. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  10. "Terrorists Daughter". Vijithayapa.lk. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  11. "Colombo Streets". Sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. "Artscope - Online edition of Daily News - Lakehouse Newspapers". archives.dailynews.lk. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  14. "In search of an identity - The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka". Sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  15. "An Open Response to Namal's rant on the Colombo Telegraph "Vengeful Politics And Rugby: Phone Calls To My Brothers"". Thisuriwanniarachchi.com. 31 January 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. "Progress is coming by way of participatory democracy - The Sunday Times Sri Lanka". Sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  18. Thisuri Wanniarachchi (30 August 2014). "The road map to reconciliation". YouTube. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  19. Department. "Nominated Books For the State Literary Awards 2015". Culturaldept.gov.lk. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  20. "Thisuri Wanniarachchi". Leanin.org. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  21. "Sri Lanka's Daughter – Colombo Telegraph". Colombotelegraph.com. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  22. "For The Love Of Humanity – Colombo Telegraph". Colombotelegraph.com. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  23. Samaraweera, Kishani. "Gives a powerful message of love, life and faith". The Nation. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  24. "In search of an identity". Sunday Times. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
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