In an interview on Sri Lanka

So what about Playing Lions and Tigers, your next choice?

So what I’ve chosen here is a novel by a feminist writer, who lives in India, called Rohini Hensman. So the lion is a symbol of Sinhala nationalism and is on the Sri Lankan flag. The tiger is of course the symbol of the rebel group LTTE. And basically it’s a novel about what happens to ordinary people in the midst of a conflict like this. It’s about the lives of activists – people like Rajani who was killed in 1989; how brutal the situation is, and how resilient people and dissenters are in the face of it.

So is it just about Tamil activists?

No, no not at all. You have to understand that in Sri Lanka there are at least four different groups. There are the Sinhalese majority, who are based in the south. Then there is the Tamil community (most of whom are Hindu), and there is also a Muslim minority. And lastly, there are the up-country Tamils. They were basically indentured labor, brought over by the British from India. And they are the most exploited, socially deprived class of all. And ironically, they work in the tea plantations, where most of the country’s wealth comes from. This novel is about activists from all these communities. The war tries to tear us all apart, but there’s always friendships and relationships between all these different ethnic groups. And I hope that going forward people will come together, that is the big hope, that that could be the future of our country.