Commentaries by Nirogini Vichvaneadhdhiran

The Gendered Legacy of Sri Lanka’s Black July Pogroms

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The Gendered Legacy of Sri Lanka’s Black July Pogroms

Nirogini Vichvaneadhdhiran

August 17, 2023 09:09:06 pm

In the summer of 1983, ethnic violence swept the island nation of Sri Lanka. Known as Black July, the outbreak of communal violence between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority communities left thousands dead and hundreds missing. Four decades later, the legacy of the violence lives on, searing Sri Lanka‘s social and political landscape. This [...]

THIS DAY @ LAW

American colonists throw tea into Boston harbor in protest of Britain-imposed tea tax

A group of American colonists known as the "Sons of Liberty" boarded an East India Company ship carrying tea disguised as Native Americans on December 16, 1773, throwing the cargo overboard in protest of the British Parliament's taxes on tea imported by Americans. The protest would result in five acts of Parliament known as the "Intolerable Acts," including the Boston Port Act, which closed Boston Harbor to all ships. Read an eyewitness account of the Boston Tea Party.

English Bill of Rights took effect

On December 16, 1689, the English "Bill of Rights" went into effect. Review An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown.

President Truman proclaims state of emergency in response to China entry into Korea War

On December 16, 1950, US President Harry S. Truman proclaimed a national state of emergency during the Korean War in response to Chinese intervention.