Suren Raghavan ( ta, சுரேன் ராகவன், translit=Curēṉ Rākavaṉ; si, සුරේන් රාගවන්, translit=Surēn Rāgavan) is a Sri Lankan academic and former

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the Northern Province. He is of biethnic heritage, classed as

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pr ...

due to paternal descent. Raghavan joined the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

's School of Political and International Relations in 2005 on a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

from the James Madison Trust and received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree after producing a dissertation on

federalism in Sri Lanka Federalism has long been advocated as a means of resolving the ethnic issues and unbalanced development in Sri Lanka. As the unitary state has resulted in uneven development across Sri Lanka, the Western Province dominates over the other eight pro ...

. He then carried out research at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...

before returning to the University of Kent in 2008 on another James Madison Trust scholarship to study for his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

degree. He was also an Overseas Research Students Awards Scheme scholar from 2008 to 2011 and a recipient of the

Ontario Student Assistance Program The Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) ''( French: Régime d'aide financière aux étudiantes et étudiants de l'Ontario (RAFEO))'' is a provincial financial aid program that offers grants and loans to help Ontario students pay for their ...

award. In 2012 he received a doctorate politics and government from the University of Kent after producing a

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

titled ''Multimational Federaiism and Sinhala Buddhism. Is there a (In)compatibility? The Case of Ethnonationalism in Sri Lanka''. Raghavan was a

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

Saint Paul University Saint Paul University (french: Université Saint-Paul) is a bilingual Catholic Pontifical university federated with the University of Ottawa since 1965. It is located on Main Street in Canada's capital city, Ottawa, Ontario. Fully bilingual, it ...

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

at the

Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies The Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies (OCBS) was founded in 2004 by Prof Richard Gombrich, Emeritus Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford. The centre is a recognised independent centre of the University of Oxford. The OCBS is in ...

and a visiting research scholar 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

's Department of History. He was chairperson and national director of Colombo School for Critical Studies. He has been a jury member for several

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon ...

s including the OCIC, South Indian Film Federation and Asian Cinema Centre. He organised the Indian Film Festival in

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 ...

. Raghavan was appointed

adviser An adviser or advisor is normally a person with more and deeper knowledge in a specific area and usually also includes persons with cross-functional and multidisciplinary expertise. An adviser's role is that of a mentor or guide and differs categor ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Maithripala Sirisena Maithripala Yapa Sirisena ( si, පල්ලෙවත්‍ත ගමරාළලාගේ මෛත්‍රීපාල යාපා සිරිසේන; ta, பல்லேவத்த கமராளலாகே மைத்திரி� ...

and director of the Presidential Media Unit in November 2018. In January 2019 he was appointed

of the Northern Province by Sirisena. Following the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

in November 2019, newly elected

Gotabaya Rajapaksa Lieutenant Colonel Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa ( si, නන්දසේන ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ; ta, நந்தசேன கோட்டாபய ராஜபக்ஷ; born 20 June 1949) is a former Sri Lankan militar ...

ordered Raghavan and all other provincial governors to resign. Following the 2020 parliamentary election he was appointed to the

Parliament of Sri Lanka The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Shri Lanka Parlimenthuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் ''Ila� ...

as a

National List The National List ( he, רשימה ממלכתית, ''Reshima Mamlakhtit''), sometimes translated as the State List, was a political party in Israel. Despite being founded by David Ben-Gurion, one of the fathers of the Israeli left, the party is ...

MP representing the

Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance The Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance (abbreviated SLPFA; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිදහස් පොදුජන සන්ධානය, translit=Śrī Laṃkā Nidahas Podujana Sandhānaya; ta, ஶ்ரீ லங்கா ப ...

Works

* ''Buddhist Monks and the Politics of Lanka’s Civil War: Ethnoreligious Nationalism of the Sinhala Sangha and Peacemaking in Sri Lanka, 1995-2010'' (2018, Equinox Publishing) * ''Post-War Militancy of Sinhala Saṅgha: Reasons and Reactions'' (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raghavan, Suren Academic staff of the University of Colombo Alumni of the University of Kent Living people Governors of Northern Province, Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan academics Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka