***During the 1971 insurrection, a popular inspector of Police, Inspector Thomas, was killed by a JVP sniper’s bullet, which hit him on his forehead. This young man was from a politically powerful family and the next day he brought a letter from no less a person than the Prime Minister himself, asking Sydney de Zoysa to reconsider his decision. “Sorry, my friend,” said Sydney when the young man had done as he was bid, “you are still half an inch too short. Dejected and heart-broken, the young man retraced his steps. for the young man cast off his melancholy and once again become the happy youth everybody knew.

Source: The Nation April 29, 2021 00:56 UTC