The mass uprising in Sri Lanka in the summer of 2022 had one unifying chant — “Gota go home”, reflecting the protesting citizens’ chief demand that then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resign.
asserted
Rajapaksa → have → demand
It was one of many diverse chants, their tone ranging from witty irreverence to daring dissent, that captured the spirit of the Janata Aragalaya, or people’s struggle.
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that → range → Aragalaya
The protesters were emphatic in their rejection of Mr. Gotabaya, whom they held responsible for the country’s bankruptcy and their endless wait in queues amid acute shortages.
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they → hold → shortages
They were unafraid to voice their anger with the Rajapaksa clan and their frustration with the entire political class.
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They → voice → class
But in that watershed moment, they were thirsty for something else, something new — “system change”, their posters screamed.
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posters → scream → something
Once the Rajapaksas grudgingly quit office and Ranil Wickremesinghe took charge, with the Rajapaksas’ party backing him in an urgent parliamentary vote, the protests fizzled out.
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protests → quit → vote
The many fragments of the movement had varied reactions to Mr. Wickremesinghe’s rule.
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fragments → have → rule
To some, he was an experienced leader capable of facing the challenge of fixing the country’s battered economy.
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he → face → economy
Others, however, saw him as embodying a continuation of the Rajapaksa rule, except in a suit.
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Others → see → suit
It was far from the political and systemic overhaul they had sought.
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they → seek → overhaul
That is why Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s campaign in 2024, promising to change the “corrupt political system,” found resonance with voters.
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campaign → promise → voters
It was the first election held since the economic crisis.
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It → hold → crisis
Although led by the leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a party tainted by its history of brutal violence, the broader National People’s Power (NPP) coalition Mr. Dissanayake founded (in 2019) and built up in the subsequent years emerged as a new force offering rare promise.
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Dissanayake → lead → promise
Voters who had until then switched between one of two legacy political formations alternating at the country’s helm felt they had a real choice.
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they → switch → choice
Two years on
Short of a clear majority in the three-cornered presidential race — he secured 42.31 % of the votes — Mr. Dissanayake made it with his tally of preferential votes.
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Dissanayake → secure → votes
His impressive win propelled the NPP to a historic supermajority in the general elections that soon followed.
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that → propel → elections
Citizens who seemed torn or tentative in the September presidential polls were certain in November 2024.
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who → seem → November
They were going to give “AKD” and his government a real chance.
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They → go → chance
There are things I know and don’t know,” Mr. Dissanayake said soon after being sworn in on September 23, 2024.
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Dissanayake → be → September
“But I will commit to always doing the right thing, and to lead a collective effort to rebuild our nation,” the new President said in his first address to the country.
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President → commit → country
Last week, President Dissanayake completed two years in office.
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Dissanayake → complete → office
He has been addressing rallies across the country as part of a series titled ‘People’s Rule — Two Years Strong. Progress for All’.
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He → address → All
Leading a country struggling to recover from a financial crash was never going to be easy.
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Leading → lead → crash
A year into forming government, the Dissanayake administration faced the deadliest natural disaster the country had witnessed since the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004.
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country → form → 2004
Cyclone Ditwah claimed nearly 700 lives and displaced several thousand people, even as nearly 1,200 landslides swallowed villages in the island’s hilly regions in late 2025.
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landslides → claim → 2025
Within months, the West Asian crisis began, resulting in volatile fuel prices in the global market.
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crisis → begin → market
Wasting no time after it came to power, the NPP government prioritised economic stability and recovery.
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government → waste → stability
The government opted to go ahead with the International Monetary Fund programme finalised by its predecessors, staunchly pursued fiscal discipline and macroeconomic stability as the IMF spelled them out, and achieved or even surpassed crucial targets set by the Fund.
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IMF → opt → Fund
While the ruling administration initially referred to the IMF programme as a compulsion in the economic and social circumstances in the country, it gradually began following through with conviction.
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it → rule → conviction
Meanwhile, studies have found that poor families are eating less, as they struggle to cope with crushing austerity.
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they → find → austerity
“We surpassed the target revenue last year and cut down on unnecessary state expenses.
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We → surpass → expenses
It was because of this discipline that we were able to respond to Cyclone Ditwah and the West Asian crisis without passing on the burden to the public,” says Nihal Abeysinghe, General Secretary of the NPP and Member of Parliament.
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Abeysinghe → respond → Parliament
Speaking to The Hindu at the JVP party headquarters on the NPP administration’s performance, Dr. Abeysinghe said it has “changed the political culture”.
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it → speak → culture
The Dissanayake government has made a series of high-profile arrests, especially of notorious suspects in the narcotics underworld and prominent politicians and bureaucrats accused of grand corruption.
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government → make → corruption
The arrest of a former intelligence chief in connection with the ongoing probe into the 2019 Easter terror bombings raised eyebrows.
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arrest → raise → eyebrows
“Law enforcement is the same for all, whether it is a former president or anyone else,” Dr. Abeysinghe says.
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Abeysinghe → say → all
According to him, the government will focus on the Provincial Council elections and drafting a new constitution in the three years that remain of its term.
uncertain
that → accord → term
Both were among the key promises the NPP made to Tamil voters.
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NPP → make → voters
While the conduct of the provincial polls remains stuck with a parliamentary committee
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conduct → stick → committee
The government’s efforts to bring about legislative changes remain in sharp focus for both its eagerness in some respects and its lethargy in others.
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efforts → bring → others
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
