These days, the famed Galle Face in Colombo, lapped by the waves of the Indian Ocean, wears a deceptive calm. Hordes of families throng the beachfront playing ball games and snacking on fried fish peddled by eateries. Just two years ago, in July 2022, it was packed with angry supporters of the aragalaya (Sinhala for ‘The Struggle’), who mounted a massive protest against the ruling dispensation headed by the Rajapaksa brothers for the economic hardships they had to endure. These included inflation, which had soared to over 100 per cent, a critical shortage of fuel for motor vehicles and a food and fertilisers crisis that pushed Sri Lanka to the brink of a shocking economic collapse. Both Mahinda, who was prime minister, and his younger brother Gotabaya, who was president,…
