Harini Amarasuriya
Early life and education
Early life and education
------------------------

Born in Galle on 6 March 1970, her father was a planter and her mother a housewife, Amarasuriya was the youngest of three. She is a relative of [H. W. Amarasuriya](/wiki/H._W._Amarasuriya "H. W. Amarasuriya"), Cabinet Minister for Trade and Commerce from 1948 to 1952\. The family moved to Colombo after her father's estate was taken over by the government under the [Land Reform Act of 1972](/wiki/Land_reforms_by_country%23Sri_Lanka "Land reforms by country#Sri Lanka"), where she attended [Bishop's College](/wiki/Bishop%27s_College_%28Sri_Lanka%29 "Bishop's College (Sri Lanka)"), with a year in the United States as an exchange student.

Amarasuriya gained an Indian government scholarship to read [Sociology](/wiki/Sociology "Sociology") at the [Hindu College](/wiki/Hindu_College%2C_Delhi "Hindu College, Delhi"), from 1991 to 1994, graduating with a [Bachelor of Arts](/wiki/Bachelor_of_Arts "Bachelor of Arts") honours degree in sociology from the [University of Delhi](/wiki/University_of_Delhi "University of Delhi"). Her contemporaries at Hindu College included [Imtiaz Ali](/wiki/Imtiaz_Ali_%28director%29 "Imtiaz Ali (director)") and [Arnab Goswami](/wiki/Arnab_Goswami "Arnab Goswami").(24 September 2024\). ["Delhi roots, Colomobo heights: New Sri Lankan PM Harini Amarasuriya's fascinating link to India"](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/delhi-roots-colombo-heights-sri-lankas-new-pm-harini-amarasuriyas-fascinating-link-to-india/articleshow/113641309.cms) . *[The Times of India](/wiki/The_Times_of_India "The Times of India")*. Retrieved on 24 September 2024\. Following her return from India, she worked as a community health worker with Nest Sri Lanka, working with tsunami\-affected children. Five years later she gained a [Master of Arts](/wiki/Master_of_Arts "Master of Arts") in [Applied](/wiki/Applied_anthropology "Applied anthropology") and [Development Anthropology](/wiki/Development_anthropology "Development anthropology") from [Macquarie University](/wiki/Macquarie_University "Macquarie University"), followed by a [PhD](/wiki/PhD "PhD") in [Social Anthropology](/wiki/Social_Anthropology "Social Anthropology") from the [University of Edinburgh](/wiki/University_of_Edinburgh "University of Edinburgh").


How does social anthropology relate to Harini Amarasuriya's work experience?