NEW DELHI: On a mellow October noon in Delhi, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarasuriya crossed the storied gates of Hindu College—three decades after first entering as a wide-eyed sociology student, with the sky perhaps the only limit.
It was more than a return. It was a full-circle moment for a leader now at the helm of a nation rebuilding itself, once again, from the fault lines of another crisis with resolve. Amarasuriya, who studied at the college from 1991 to 1994, arrived on campus during her first visit to India since taking office in November 2024. The mood was electric and joyous. Students crowded the lawns, teachers fine-tuned final details, and everything celebratory and not ceremonial.
For Hindu College, it marked a historic first. An alumna returning not as a guest, but as a sitting Prime Minister. Clad in her signature simplicity, Amarasuriya was welcomed with a ‘Guard of Honour’ before addressing a packed Sanganeria Auditorium.
“When I walked through these gates in 1991, I was just a nervous girl from Sri Lanka with dreams and doubts,” she said. “Walking back through them today, I feel immense gratitude—and a deep sense of admiration.”
Her speech blended nostalgia with reflection. She recalled the long conversations under trees, fierce debates on inequality, and the formative influence of student theatre and activism.
“This college didn’t just teach me theory,” she said. “It taught me to question. To resist cynicism. To believe that injustice is not inevitable.”
That belief would later define her career.
Born in Colombo in 1970 to a tea planter and a homemaker, her early years were shaped by the fractures and fissures of post-colonial Sri Lanka. She studied across continents earning degrees in sociology, development studies, and a PhD in social anthropology from the University of Edinburgh, where her research focused on child protection.
Before entering politics, she spent over a decade as a lecturer at the Open University of Sri Lanka, combining academic rigour with grassroots activism. Her work on human rights, gender justice, and youth development placed her at the heart of several national reform efforts.
Yet she remained grounded, serving on the boards of organisations such as NEST and the Law and Society Trust, always focusing on the voices of the marginalised.
In 2022, as Sri Lanka teetered on the brink of an economic collapse and political uncertainty, Amarasuriya emerged as a key voice of reason amid the chaos. The protests that rocked the country, fuelled by inflation, blackouts, and sense of political betrayal reshaped its political fabric.
Her election to Parliament came soon after, and in 2024, she was appointed Prime Minister by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. She also holds the education, higher education, and vocational training portfolios apt for someone who has long championed learning as a vehicle for change.
At Hindu College, she used her platform not just to reminisce, but to challenge. “Democracy is not a spectator sport,” she told the students. “It demands participation, courage, and hard work. Show up. Speak up. Build bridges, not walls.”
She also struck a warm chord on India-Sri Lanka relations, calling the two countries “bound by history, values, and kinship.” India, she noted, had played a vital role in Sri Lanka’s recovery. “We may not always agree, but we show up for each other when it matters most.”
After her address, Amarasuriya walked through the campus past the sociology department, her old hostel, and Room No. 27, where she once sat as a student. The college had renamed its new Social and Ethnographic Research Lab in her honour. The gesture moved her to quiet tears.
As she paused in the sun-dappled corridors, now surrounded by students eager for selfies or simply sharing space with her, the symbolism was hard to miss. This wasn’t just a visit. It was a testament to a life shaped by inquiry, integrity, and quiet conviction. Harini Amarasuriya’s story is one of substance—a reminder that leadership, at its best, begins with listening, learning, and daring to return to where it all began.
