Negotiating Power and Constructing the Nation: Engineering in Sri Lanka

Negotiating Power and Constructing the Nation: Engineering in Sri Lanka argues that engineering is not just an object of science, an artifact or a technical programme, but also a symbol, a worksite, a conceptual space, a community or even a myth. It is within this broader understanding that three very diverse engineering sites in Sri Lanka are used as case studies to discuss the way in which Sri Lankan engineering is enmeshed with Sinhala nationalism. The three sites are the Aberdeen-Laxapana Hydro Electric Scheme — the first ever hydro electric project implemented during the British colonial times; the Accelerated Mahaweli Development Project — the mega multi-purpose engineering project implemented in post-Independence Sri Lanka with a focus on River Mahaweli, and the popular discourse on King Ravana that is widespread among the Sinhalas in recent times that showcases the character of Ravana from the Hindu epic Ramayana as a Lankan engineer