How bad was it?

12 May 2009 - As many as 1,000 civilians may have been killed in two days of shelling that marked some of the worst violence in Sri Lanka

29 May 2009 - More than 20,000 civilians were killed in the final months of Sri Lanka's civil war

13 May 2009 - more than 50 people died when two shells hit the zone's main hospital compound.

5 July 2009 - A Tamil Tiger grabbed the gun of a Sri Lankan soldier conducting a search of a boat and shot three troops, killing one

A DIVIDED ISLANDA DIVIDED ISLAND

SRI LANKASRI LANKA

1. Citizenship Rights

2. “Sinhala Only” Policy

3. University Admission Criteria

4. Resettlement

People of Sri Lanka

The Majority - Sinhalese•speak Sinhalese •Buddhists

The Minority- Tamils•speak Tamil •Hindus

Sri Lankan Tamils – descendents of Tamil migrants, lived in Sri Lanka since 300 BCE

Indian Tamils – came later, brought in by

British rulers to work in tea plantations

Racial Composition in Sri Lanka

0%20%40%60%80%

Sinhalese SriLankanTamils

IndianTamils

SriLankan

Moor

Others

Under the British Colonial Rule before 1948

• Tamil minority are favored in terms of jobs & education

• Could read/write English

After independence in 1948

• New government made up of mainly Sinhalese

• Introduced policies that favored the Sinhalese

Citizenship Rights

‘Sinhala Only’ Policy

University Admission

Resettlement of Population

Ceylon Citizenship Qualification Act in 1948

granted to those who were born in Sri Lanka

granted to those whose father and grandfather were also born there

Result of the Act

Many Indian Tamils brought from India by the British to work in Sri Lanka became stateless

Indian Tamils lost their basic rights: education, jobs, housing and voting

Issues that led to Conflict

Denying Indian Tamils of citizenship

Why?-so that Tamils will not be given voting rightsand Tamils will not gain political power

1964: India tried to help but was not successful.2003: Grant of Citizenship to Persons of Indian Origin Bill:

Citizenship to any person of Indian origin who has lived in Sri Lanka since 1964 or was descended from someone who had stayed in Sri Lanka since that date.

Under the British Rule

• Many educated Tamils could enter government service

• They held important jobs in the government

• Sinhalese were disadvantaged because they could not read/write English well.

After Independence

1. Sinhala was made the only official language of administration in 1956.

2. Tamils in the government service were given three years to learn Sinhala or be dismissed from the job.

Tamils’ Reaction to the 1956 Official Language

Act

Tamils’ Reaction to the 1956 Official Language

ActUnhappy as they were now unable to get jobs or promotions

Organized a peaceful demonstration against the Official Language Act

Peaceful demonstration was disrupted by the Sinhalese supporters – riots occurred.

Making Sinhala the official language-only language of administration, instead of English language

Why ? -Nationalistic feelings-to win support of Sinhalese voters-to give Sinhalese more opportunities to better jobs

Issues that led to Conflict

BUT -made it difficult for Tamils to get government jobs

Compromise : 1978 -recognition of Tamil as national language and language of administration in Tamil majority areas

Before 1970

University admission based on merit & exams are in English

After 1970

Tamil students have to score higher marks than the Sinhalese students to enter the same courses in the universities.

Fixed number of places reserved for Sinhalese

Higher entry standards for Tamils for University Admission

Why ? -To allow more Sinhalese to study in the University

Issues that led to Conflict

BUT-more difficult for Tamil students to enter University

• Transferred Sinhalese from the densely populated south-western and and central areas into the Tamil area.

• The aim of this policy was to provide land for the landless Sinhalese peasants to live on and to cultivate rice.

Resettling Sinhalese in Tamil areas

Why ?•To give landless Sinhalese peasants to make a living•To change population representation : to increase Sinhalese population so that the area becomes Sinhalese majority

Issues that led to Conflict

BUT-made Tamils a minority in the area-made life more difficult for Tamils with the coming of the army and militant monks

SRI LANKASRI LANKA

Racial DifferencesSinhalese vs Tamils

Conflicts overConflicts overCitizenship rightsGovernment Jobs

University AdmissionResettlement of Population

2 views, 2 takes

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_tSIkecolo&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2Fvideosearch%3Fq%3Dtamil%2Btigers%26oe%3Dutf-8%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26um%3D1%26ie%3DUTF-8%26ei%3DIfp&feature=player_embedded

• http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x88jka_tamil-tigers-release-video_news