Sirimal Wijesinghe is a Sri Lankan author, political analyst, film director, journalist, alternative intellectual, and leader of the Poor People's Party in Sri Lanka. critic and activist. He is the founding editor of the controversial Sinhala youth magazine, Paradisaya. He is one of the pioneers of the new wave of Colombo-based young political and cultural analysts who emerged in the decade of 1980, particularly after the advent of the open economic system. Wijesinghe's contribution in various fields, ranging from politics to arts, has been considered experimental as well as path-breaking.
Politics
Wijesinghe has been known for his upright stance on supporting fundamental rights of the minority Tamils in Sri Lanka.
He has often voiced his opinion, against a vehemently traditionalistic and nationalistic backdrop, on issues such as sexual freedom, homosexual rights, legalisation of abortion and prostitution as well as the right of the individuals to commit suicide.
His contribution in the political sphere was deeply felt during the period of 1980–1990 when the Sri Lankan youth were seeking an alternative to the open economic system due to its emerging harmful effects on society as a whole.
The post-Marxist and postmodern political theories which Wijesinghe propagated that time became a seminal force in the emergence of various political movements, including the later divisions of the leftist political party, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).
When the local nationalistic forces staged a fierce protest over the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord in 1987, introduced by the United National Party government as a solution to the ethnic crisis, Wijesinghe survived that fierce attack targeted mainly on Tamil sympathisers. Yet, after the government forces counterattacked those nationalistic forces with a ruthless military operative, Wijesinghe was in the forefront of the struggle to protect their human rights.
Wijesinghe was an active member of the Classical Marxist organisation Vikosa. His writings in the bilingual periodical Pravada published in the early 1990s by the Social Scientists' Association of Sri Lanka, headed by Charles Abeysekera, were among the first few such works based on the political and cultural thoughts like neo Marxism, existentialism and post-structuralism.
Wijesinghe was one of the first few advocates of the positive social effects of popular culture. Propelled by an unexpected theoretical backing by the mainstream sociologist Dr. Sarath Amunugama in the late 1980s, the popular culture debate gathered momentum in Sri Lanka and, by the mid 1990s, attained a seemingly discursive triumph; hence Wijesinghe is sometimes hailed as an unsung cultural hero of the times.
Wijesinghe, with journalist/modern thinker Prageeth Eknaligoda, formed The Council of Alternative Intellectuals, a pressure group established for the purpose of providing a fresh ideological contribution to the Opposition of the Sri Lankan government. But the project had to be abandoned in its early stages, in 2010, as Eknaligoda was allegedly abducted by pro government forces. Eknaligoda is still considered to have gone missing and various local and international media rights organisations complain the present Sri Lankan government for his abduction.
He is leader of the Poor People's Party in Sri Lanka which was founded in 2012.
Journalism
Wijesinghe has been an editor of numerous newspapers and periodicals in Sri Lanka for the last 30 years. He is often known for presenting controversial feature articles and social and cultural analyses.
His topics have ranged from politics, arts, culture and sexuality, presented in a more colloquial language comprising satire. Well-known social scientist Prof. Jayadewa Uyangoda once said he learnt to use a different and more effective writing style after reading Wijesinghe's articles.
Paaraadeesaya magazine
1990s popular sociocultural magazine Paradisaya (Paradise) was a brainchild of Sirimal Wijesinghe. Founded on 25 November 1998, Paradisaya became a huge success. Its controversial style and content caused controversy in the country. The magazine reflected Sirimal's steadfastness towards alternate youth politics – human rights, minority rights and sexual autonomy was explicit in his social mediation in Sri Lanka's cultural politics after the 1980s.