Reference Mr.Arjuna Hulugalla’s reaction titled ‘Getting the readings of history correct’, published in this newspaper on Oct. 30 on page 13, to my review of the book, ‘Pathways of Dissent – Tamil Nationalism in Sri Lanka’, carried in the Mid Week Review of this newspaper on Oct. 28, I wish to point out that it is with Emeritus Professor S.K. Sitrampalam that Mr. Hulugalla should take issue with regard to the paragraph on the ‘settlements’ issue which he considers ‘misleading’ and ‘out of context’ and not with me because the views expressed are entirely those of the Professor.

Considering the above, the claim by Mr. Hulugalla that I am ‘conveying’ the ‘impression’ that Prof. Sitrampalam is ‘implying’ that ‘D.S. Senanayake was obsessed with the colonization of the "Tamil areas"’, is completely without foundation because the quote in question was taken directly from the scholar’s paper and he is lucidly explicit in his pronouncement on this issue.

I wish to remind Mr. Hulugalla that the task of a book reviewer, among other things, is to draw attention to controversial issues raised in the material under review, for the purpose of spurring further public debate and clarification. This is exactly what I have done with the Sitrampalam quote.

I also stand by my conviction that ‘Pathways of Dissent’ is a ‘must read’ for those who wish to learn ‘the other side of the story’.