Pathfinder Foundation launches ‘Samudura Kelambuma’: Sinhala translation of ‘Samudra Manthan’

Saturday, 27 January 2018 00:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The first copies of the ‘Samudura Kelambuma’, the Sinhala translation of Dr. Raja C. Mohan’s ‘Samudra Manthan: Sino-Indian Rivalry in the Indo-Pacific’, published by the Pathfinder Foundation ware handed over to a group of former senior diplomats, some of whom had represented Sri Lanka in New Delhi at a ceremony held at Cinnamon Grand.

The chief guest at this event was the High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu, who inaugurated the event by lighting the traditional oil lamp.

Speaking at the event Bernard Goonetilleke said that Sri Lankans should be aware of dangers associated with conflicts involving big powers in their neighbourhood and it is for that reason, the Pathfinder Foundation decided to translate ‘Samudra Manthan’, so that the local people would have a better understanding of what is going on in their neighbourhood.

Citing a tale from Hindu mythology – Samudra Manthan or ‘Churning the Ocean’ – Dr. Raja C. Mohan relates the story of Sino-Indian rivalry spilling over from the Great Himalayas into the Indian and Pacific Oceans. He examines the prospects for mitigating tensions and constructing a stable Indo-Pacific order. The United States of America, the dominant military power in the Indian Ocean region, is being drawn into the unfolding Sino-Indian competition. Despite the huge differences in the current naval capabilities of China, India, and the United States, Dr. Mohan argues that the three countries are locked in a triangular struggle that would eventually mould the future the Indo-Pacific.

The India-Sri Lanka Foundation supported translation of the book and its publication. Dr. Mohan presented the book to former ambassadors G. Wijayasiri, John Gooneratne, H.M.G.S. Palihakkara, K. Godage, and Ananda Goonesekera as well as to Dr. Pinnawala, who helped edit the book and Sunethra Siriwardena, who translated Samudra Manthan to Sinhala, at the conclusion of the launch. Admiral Dr. Jayanath Colombage, Director Indo-Lanka Initiatives and Centre for Law of the Sea; Luxman Siriwardena, Executive Director, Pathfinder Foundation and Director China-Sri Lanka Cooperation Studies Centre were associated with the book launching event.