Jayadeva Uyangoda is a

political scientist Political science is the science, scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of politics, political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated c ...

and constitutional expert in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Uyangoda Maha Radage Jamis as his name appeared in the birth certificate, Uyangoda was a

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

student leader and a member of the

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP; ) is a Marxist–Leninist communist party and a former militant organization in Sri Lanka. The movement was involved in two armed uprisings against the government of Sri Lanka: once in 1971 (SLFP), and anothe ...

(JVP) movement in the 1970s. He was arrested following the aborted insurrection of 1971 and was imprisoned by the courts. Later he was released with other JVP rebels on an unconditional pardon by the newly appointed Jayawardena Regime in late 1970s. Having released from the jail, he did his doctoral research in the University of Hawaii on ''Nationalism and State Formation in Bangladesh''. He remains one of Sri Lanka's most veteran commentators on ethnic conflict and human rights. He worked with Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam in drafting the model constitution in 1999. , Uyangoda is a professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Policy at the

University of Colombo (Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate) , mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens'' , established = , endowment = Sri Lankan rupee, LKR 1.461 1,000,000,000 (number), billion

and Founder-Director of the Centre for Policy Research and Analysis, Colombo. He is a former Chairman of the Sri Lanka Foundation,

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

. He was the founder editor and later co-editor of '' Pravada'', an academic journal in English that focuses on Sri Lanka and South Asia. He continues to write prolifically in Sinhala and English.

References

1944 births Living people Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna members Sri Lankan political scientists Sinhalese academics Academic staff of the University of Colombo Sinhalese writers {{SriLanka-academic-bio-stub