A HOMECOMING OF HISTORY AND HEART

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.

- JAYANTH JACOB

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.”