About the Author
Biographer of Major General Milinda Peiris, Senior Academic & Author of Beyond Rank
Kithsiri Amaratunga, MPhil
Biographer & Senior Academic
Former Senior Lecturer in English, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University
Key Appointments
Senior Lecturer in English
KDU · 2010–2025
Head, Department of Languages
KDU · 2003–2019
Dean, Faculty of Management, Social Sciences & Humanities
KDU · 2020–2023
Official Links
Senior academic Kithsiri Amaratunga spent over two decades at General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU), serving as Senior Lecturer, Head of the Department of Languages from 2003, and Dean of the Faculty of Management, Social Sciences and Humanities.
As one of fewer than fifteen academics who formed the university’s core teaching nucleus when Major General Milinda Peiris arrived as Vice Chancellor at the end of 2008, he observed the university’s historic national transformation from within its halls.
He holds an MPhil in English and an MA in Linguistics from the University of Kelaniya, and a BA (Special) in English with Second Class Honours from the University of Peradeniya. Beyond academic leadership, he is a noted translator and author: he translated R. K. Narayan’s novel The Vendor of Sweets into Sinhala as Rasakevili Velenda.
“Writing this story has been more than an attempt to document a distinguished career. It has been an exploration of how character is formed, through early influences at home, formative experiences in school and scouting, the discipline of sport, the strength of family bonds, and the crucible of military life.”
Professional Certifications & Training
Advanced English Language Instructor Course (AELIC)
Defence Language Institute, Texas, USA
Managing English Language Training (MELT)
Defence Language Institute, Texas, USA
Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT) Band 4
University of Cambridge ESOL
Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education (CTHE)
University of Kelaniya
Selected Books & Publications
Biography · 2024
Beyond Rank: The Leadership and Legacy of Major General Milinda Peiris
Written at Peiris’s request, serving as a comprehensive record of military leadership, institutional building, and national education reform.
Biography · 2016
Words Epitomizing Leadership: Voice of Major General Milinda Peiris as Vice Chancellor
Published during Peiris’s tenure as Vice Chancellor, documenting speeches, policy directives, and institutional vision.
Literary Translation
Rasakevili Velenda
Sinhala translation of R. K. Narayan’s celebrated novel The Vendor of Sweets.
Journal Papers
Research Papers in Social Sciences & Epistemology
Author of scholarly articles including The Buddhist Perspective of Interpretivism as a Philosophical Base for Social Science Research and Pluralism: Research Methodology for Social Sciences (IJSR).
Beyond Rank grew from extensive conversations with Major General Milinda Peiris.