Sri Lanka, Jan. 26 -- Martin Wickramasinghe would have been a keyword that briefly spiked search engine attention on social media last week. A single remark by a tuition teacher was enough to set off a small cultural storm. The reactions followed a familiar pattern. Many were hurt. Some tried to sound balanced. Others seized the moment to reopen an old file: the relevance of Wickramasinghe himself.

What we get to see here is that such moments are rarely about the person who makes the remark. They are more about the iconic figure who is invoked. The controversy, though triggered by a teacher, quickly detached itself from him. It revolved around Wickramasinghe. His name circulated. His books were quoted, defended, dismissed, sometimes unr...