Vindhya Buthpitiya

as above—polymarket betting on mass murder—so below

Mayday, mayday: How US-Iran conflict unfolded in Sri Lanka’s economic zone

The sinking of the IRIS Dena by a US submarine just 19 nautical miles from Sri Lanka’s shore in its Exclusive Economic Zone has forced Colombo to navigate one of the most complex diplomatic and legal crises in its recent history www.sundaytimes.lk/260308/news/...

Revealed: At least 455 Southasians killed fighting for Russia in Ukraine war, Ukraine says AT LEAST 455 Southasians have been killed fighting for Russia in the Russo-Ukrainian war, according to data provided to Himal Southasian and the Organised Crime

at least 455 Southasians killed fighting for Russia in Ukraine war- Sri Lankans top death toll, accounting for 275 of 455 killed, while Southasian fighters & their families report human trafficking and coercion in recruitment www.himalmag.com/politics/rus... via @himalsouthasian.bsky.social

Govt.’s failure to take firm stand on Israel/US attacks www.ft.lk/ft_view__edi... the JVP/NPP keeps telling on itself with its frankly *terrible* leftist/solidarity politics for a party founded on anti-imperialism and shockingly poor governance capacity. #SriLanka

Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi | The dry and the wet burn together The war launched against Iran by the United States and Israel is a war of choice and of hubris. There is scarcely even...

essential reading: The dry and the wet burn together by Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ma... via @lrb.co.uk

US troops were told war on Iran was ‘all part of God’s divine plan’, watchdog alleges Religious freedom group says 200 troops sent complaints of superiors using extremist Christian rhetoric to justify war

US troops were told war on Iran was ‘all part of God’s divine plan’, watchdog alleges: Religious freedom group says 200 troops sent complaints of superiors using extremist Christian rhetoric to justify war www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

So glad to share this interview about Coolie Migrants, Indian Diplomacy, coinciding with the US publication of the book with @academic.oup.com

Many thanks to @rohanvenkat.bsky.social for this thoughtful conversation and for his close and generous reading of my book.

need you lot to be doing a bit more than dissociating yourselves from your genocidal, colonising states/leaders who have been mass murdering the rest of the planet and stealing our labour and resources for centuries.

That argument exists because the lives of non-white people are cheap in imperial discourse. Mass death on the other side of the world has no reality outside of what space it takes up on the american tv news cycle. If it were otherwise, the old normal would have been as insupportable as the new

U.S. Strikes in Middle East Use Anthropic, Hours After Trump Ban Within hours of declaring that the federal government will end its use of artificial-intelligence tools made by tech company Anthropic, President Trump launched a major air attack in Iran with the hel...

there are no ethical billionaires and there is certainly no ‘ethical’ AI. Shame on everyone (especially in HE) enabling this poison as a part of learning | U.S. Strikes in Middle East Use Anthropic, Hours After Trump Ban www.wsj.com/livecoverage...

my book uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295754444/a-volatile-picture/ is out in April. Anxious/excited to talk about it for the 1st time next week with many thanks to @kalathmika.bsky.social for the kind invitation. Also giving a lecture on more recent work on televising atrocity & maps in Sri Lanka.

All good things come to an end It is with great sadness that we are sharing the news that the UCL Faculties of Social & Historical Sciences and Arts & Humanities have decided to close the IAS on 31 July 2026.

corporatising/corporatised universities really are out here destroying everything that makes places of learning so valuable. | All good things come to an end | Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) - UCL – University College London www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of...

‘In the end, you feel blank’: India’s female workers watching hours of abusive content to train AI Women in rural communities describe trauma of moderating violent and pornographic content for global tech companies

‘In the end, you feel blank’ - Women workers in rural communities in India describe having to watch hours of abusive content to train AI and the trauma of moderating violent and pornographic content for global tech companies www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Studio Ilankai: A Tamil Photographic History of Sri Lankan Citizenship with Vindhya Buthpitiya — By / For: Photography & Democracy Sri Lanka’s recent history and present, characterised by majoritarian governance, ethno-nationalist conflict, and civil war, is entangled with the multidimensional marginalisation of the island’s Tami...

Studio Ilankai: A Tamil Photographic History of Sri Lankan Citizenship (happening soonish on the 6th of March and online!) - registration: www.byforcollective.com/programs/vin...

has anyone searched the files - I can think of a couple names which I wouldn’t be too surprised by.

Why are so many academics in the Epstein files? It’s not just about money | Christopher Marquis In a university ecosystem that breeds hunger for status, Epstein made scholars feel like celebrities

nothing about this should surprise anyone in academia - we’ve all come across versions of these people. | In a university ecosystem that breeds hunger for status, Epstein made scholars feel like celebrities www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

postcolonial states have been trained to turn/wield their weapons against their own citizens and uphold/continue the work of empire. So long as this system endures, we will continue to be collectively exploited and/or murdered for the benefit of our colonizers.

happy new year from Colombo friends!

wishing everyone a very happy Christmas from Colombo 🎄

AI is Destroying the University and Learning Itself Students use AI to write papers, professors use AI to grade them, degrees become meaningless, and tech companies make fortunes. Welcome to the death of higher education.

‘This isn’t innovation—it’s institutional auto-cannibalism.’ | AI is Destroying the University and Learning Itself www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...

70,000+ still in 760+ relief centres The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) reported that over 20,000 families affected by the recent disaster caused by cyclone Ditwah are still sheltered in relief centres

A total of 70,055 people from 22,522 families are currently sheltered in 762 relief centres across Sri Lanka www.themorning.lk/articles/Qqt... #CycloneDitwah

Studio Ilankai: A Tamil Photographic History of Sri Lankan Citizenship with Vindhya Buthpitiya — By / For: Photography & Democracy Sri Lanka’s recent history and present, characterised by majoritarian governance, ethno-nationalist conflict, and civil war, is entangled with the multidimensional marginalisation of the island’s Tami...

giving a rare (these days) lecture online in the spring (6th March 2026): Studio Ilankai: A Tamil Photographic History of Sri Lankan Citizenship. Info and registration: www.byforcollective.com/programs/vin...

Palestinians in Gaza are dying as the Israeli siege turns harsh winter weather deadly Severe weather conditions in Gaza have claimed the lives of 13 people, including babies who froze to death, as Israel continues to block the entry of aid that could provide shelter to 1.5 million…

Severe weather conditions in Gaza have claimed the lives of 13 people, including babies who froze to death, as Israel continues to block the entry of aid that could provide shelter to 1.5 million Palestinians living in worn-out tents.
mondoweiss.net/2025/12/pale...

likewise 🙏🏽

Satellite images show the scale of destruction from Asia floods More than 1,800 people have died as floods have ravaged Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

More than 1,800 people have died as floods have ravaged Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

the figures charting the destruction to infrastructure presented in this UNDP / DMC rapid assessment are truly staggering. | Mapping the Initial Impact of Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka geosmart.undp.org/arcgis/apps/...

Sri Lanka declares emergency as floods wreak havoc across Colombo More than 25,000 homes destroyed, 147,000 displaced, in Sri Lanka's deadliest flood since 2017, affecting Colombo.

Sri Lanka declares emergency as floods wreak havoc across Colombo
- More than 25,000 homes destroyed, 147,000 displaced, as Sri Lanka faces its deadliest flood since 2017, affecting the capital. www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2025...

Studio East: Everyday Photography and the Militarisation of Leisure in Trincomalee - Eidolon Journal by Vindhya Buthpitiya This essay by Vindhya Buthpitiya is the result of her research supported by the inaugural Eidolon Grant, awarded in 2024. Studio East: Everyday Photography and the Militarisation...

wrote about Trincomalee's long history of occupations not long ago. Relevant given the current discourse on the state's insidious, colonially-rooted practice of archaeological claim-making everydayphotography.org/journal/stud...

‘Picturing the Disappeared,’ which is focused on the protests of the Tamil families of the disappeared in Sri Lanka, making up ‘Images rémanentes de la disparition forcée’ at the Mural Alexei Jaccard-Droits Humains, Geneva will be on view until 15th February 2026 www.unige.ch/cite/eveneme...

Home Office eVisa failures leave thousands 'unable to work or leave UK' Foreign nationals have been wrongly charged for NHS treatment and incorrectly told they have been given refugee status, according to campaigners

surprising no one who has been living with the stress of this mess every time they need to verify ID. | Home Office eVisa failures leave thousands 'unable to work or leave UK' inews.co.uk/news/home-of...