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Before getting into the main thrust of my argument, I want to be clear about the lost opportunity in post-war Sri Lanka. I am echoing here the words of the insightful Tamil intellectual Kethesh Loganathan, who critiqued the attempts to resolve the ethnic conflict during the first five decades after Independence, in his book Sri Lanka: Lost Opportunities. Tragically, the great opening that came with the end of the war has been squandered by the ruling Rajapaksa regime in the interest of consolidating power.In the current situation, authoritarianism with centralised state power and militarisation characterises the state of affairs in the country. Militarisation is doubly oppressive in the war-torn North and East. There has been no serious movement towards a political solution. The reconstruction process has failed, particularly in relation to livelihoods, and a food security crisis is looming over the North.Via http://himalmag.com/component/content/article/1-web-exclusive/5232-reconstructing-the-north.htmlsource: www.himalmag.com