Sri Lanka’s business leaders meet Dr. Shashi Tharoor

Sri Lankan business personalities met the acclaimed Indian politician and speaker Dr. Shashi Tharoor at an exclusive dinner event in Colombo organised by the Horton Debate Society on Tuesday.

The Congress MP and former Minister of State for External Affairs met Sri Lankan business leaders after attending the launch of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s biography written by Dinesh Weerakkody.

Among the guests were Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Dr. Harsha de Silva, Tharaka Balasuriya, Prashan Nagendra, Hanif Yusoof, Dr. Chris Nonis, Vinod and Lena Hirdaramani, and Richard Gunawardene. 

In an eloquent address, Tharoor described his writings of British rule and its impact on India, and why this period severely damaged and drained the Indian economy. 

His book last year, ‘An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India,’ is one of several books written by him that explain the impact of the East India company and the plunder and massacres at the time. 

Tharoor believes that reparations or an official apology is not out of the question, and there is a need to set the historical record straight.

The former UN Under-Secretary General also gave his views on current developments in the Indian Parliament including how PM Narendra Modi’s economic policies compared with his social policies.

JAT Holdings, Sri Lanka’s top furnishing and finishing company, sponsored the event.

The Horton Debate Society has held 20 exclusive events with personalities such as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, former New Zealand PM John Key, top foreign ambassadors, Forbes rated investors, sports personalities and thought leaders. 

Corporates Expolanka, JAT Holdings, Opex Holdings, Hirdaramani Group and Cake Labs are among the members of the networking group.