H.E. Sudharshan Seneviratne, The new Sri Lanka High Commissioner to India.

(Source: The Island) Professor Sudharshan Seneviratne has been appointed as the Sri Lankan High Commissioner in India. He was Head of the Department of Archaeology for nearly ten years at the University of Peradeniya and holds the only Chair in Archaeology within the University system of Sri Lanka.

Having Completed the BA (Hon.) Degree at Hindu College, Delhi University, Dr. Seneviratne who speaks Hindi became the first Sri Lankan to receive, both, the Masters and Doctoral Degrees from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His doctoral thesis, entitled the Social Base of Early Buddhism in southeast India (Andhra and Tamil Nadu) and Sri Lanka, 3rd Century BC to 3rd Century AC, under the supervision of Professor Romila Thapar was the first multi-disciplinary doctoral thesis undertaken from a cross regional perspective on this region. Dr. Seneviratne also was the first Sri Lankan to receive a merit fellowship awarded from the Indian Council of Historical Research in support of his doctoral research. He is the 2012-2013 Edwin F. Arnold Visiting Professor of South Asian Archaeology at Whitman College, USA.

In the course of the last thirty odd years he has worked extensively at Sri Lanka and Indian archaeological sites and has contributed towards cross regional studies, innovative research methodologies in interpretative archaeology and training the next generation of archaeologists in south Asia.

Prof Seneviratne quite naturally has a wide circle of friends and contacts in high places in Delhi where he is both known and respected. His critics seek to make out that since he has no diplomatic experience, he does not qualify; how many of our heads of Missions have had experience in diplomacy. it is said that one of the most successful heads of Mission in Delhi was another Academic, Prof Stanley Kalpage, who later served as our Permanent Representative to the UN, there were other academics such as E.R. Sarachchandra in Paris or W.S. Karunaratne in Washington or Wickrema Weerasooria in Canberra who represented our country with much success.

Professor Seneviratne has represented Sri Lanka at several international fora and holds membership in numerous national and international professional organizations and policy-making committees relating to archaeology, heritage management and Higher education. He is Archaeological Director of the UNESCO World Heritage site, Jetavana at Anuradhapura, Director & Senior Coordinator of UNESCO & NORAD Heritage Projects, Co-Director of the Anuradhapura Citadel Archaeology Project and the Galsohonkanatta Megalithic Project. Seneviratne is a member of the Board of Management at the Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology, the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, the Advisory Board to the Director General of Archaeology in Sri Lanka and Board of Governors of the Institute of Fundamental Studies (Kandy).

We wish H.E. Sudharshan Seneviratne the very best!