Learning Politics From Sivaram

This is the story of the life and impact of the political activist, journalist and freedom-fighter sivaram dharmeratnam, who dedicated his life to helping the tamil people in sri lanka. he started out as an active participant in the war against the sri lankan government and was labelled a 'terrorist'. yet he stepped away from ruthless violence. instead, he became a high profile journalist in the sri lankan press, and used his position to fearlessly critique the government, despite repeated threats on his life. finally, in 2005, sivaram was assassinated. this vivid life history also engages with much broader issues. it offers an intimate portrait of why an educated man adopts a position of supporting violence. review 'very interesting and original. the concerns he raises have been central to american anthropology for twenty years-thomas eriksen, professor of social anthropology, university of oslothis book has been long-awaited by many scholars, and others concerned about the conflict in sri lanka. it could become a new exemplar of how anthropology should be done. -margaret trawick, professor of social anthropology, massey university, new zealand mark whitaker is assistant professor of anthropology at university of south carolina, aiken. he received his phd from princeton university. he is the author of learning politics from sivaram: the life and death of a revolutionary tamil journalist in sri lanka (pluto, 2006), and has written widely on sri lanka.