Suren Raghavan
சுரேன் ராகவன்
සුරේන් රාගවන්
Member of Parliament
for National List
Assumed office
20 August 2020
6th Governor of the Northern Province
In office
7 January 2019 – 20 November 2019
PresidentMaithripala Sirisena
Preceded byReginald Cooray
Succeeded byP. S. M. Charles
Personal details
Political partySri Lanka Freedom Party
Alma materUniversity of Kent
ProfessionAcademic
EthnicitySri Lankan Tamil

Suren Raghavan (Tamil: சுரேன் ராகவன், romanized: Curēṉ Rākavaṉ; Sinhala: සුරේන් රාගවන්, romanized: Surēn Rāgavan) is a Sri Lankan academic and former Governor of the Northern Province. He is of biethnic heritage, classed as Sri Lankan Tamil due to paternal descent.[1]

Raghavan joined the University of Kent's School of Political and International Relations in 2005 on a scholarship from the James Madison Trust and received a Master of Arts degree after producing a dissertation on federalism in Sri Lanka.[2][3] He then carried out research at the University of Ottawa before returning to the University of Kent in 2008 on another James Madison Trust scholarship to study for his doctorate degree.[2][4] He was also an Overseas Research Students Awards Scheme scholar from 2008 to 2011 and a recipient of the Ontario Student Assistance Program award.[2][3] In 2012 he received a doctorate politics and government from the University of Kent after producing a thesis titled Multimational Federaiism and Sinhala Buddhism. Is there a (In)compatibility? The Case of Ethnonationalism in Sri Lanka.[3][5]

Raghavan was a visiting professor at Saint Paul University, research fellow at the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies and a visiting research scholar at the University of Colombo's Department of History.[2][3][6][7] He was chairperson and national director of Colombo School for Critical Studies.[7] He has been a jury member for several film festivals including the OCIC, South Indian Film Federation and Asian Cinema Centre.[7] He organised the Indian Film Festival in Colombo.[7]

Raghavan was appointed adviser to President Maithripala Sirisena and director of the Presidential Media Unit in November 2018.[3][8] In January 2019 he was appointed Governor of the Northern Province by Sirisena.[9][10] Following the presidential election in November 2019, newly elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa ordered Raghavan and all other provincial governors to resign.[11][12] Following the 2020 parliamentary election he was appointed to the Parliament of Sri Lanka as a National List MP representing the Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance.[13][14][15]

Works

References

  1. ^ Suren Rāghavan, Buddhist Monks and the Politics of Lanka's Civil War, Ethnoreligious Nationalism of the Sinhala Saṅgha and Peacemaking in Sri Lanka, 1995-2010, 2016
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Suren Rāghavan". Oxford, U.K.: Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e "First Tamil Governor, Dr. Suren Ragavan, appointed for North". Tamil Diplomat. 8 January 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Centre for Federal Studies: Members". Canterbury, U.K.: University of Kent. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Centre for Federal Studies: Research degrees". Canterbury, U.K.: University of Kent. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  6. ^ "Contributors". Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies. 1: 5. October 2011. ISSN 2047-1076.
  7. ^ a b c d "Executive Board: Suren Rāghavan". Colombo, Sri Lanka: Arts Council of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  8. ^ "Suren Ragawan appointed Presidential Media Director!". Sri Lanka Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 25 November 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  9. ^ "Three more governors appointed". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  10. ^ "Keerthi Tennakoon appointed Governor Uva". The Island. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 9 January 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  11. ^ "Governors resign". The Island. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  12. ^ "Governors asked to resign". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  13. ^ "Part I : Section (I) — General - Government Notifications - Parliamentary Elections - 2020 - Declaration under Article 99A of the Constitution" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. No. 2188/2. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 10 August 2020. p. 2A. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  14. ^ "SLPP National List goes to EC". Daily FT. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 8 August 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  15. ^ "SLPP releases National list". Sunday Observer. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
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