Social Studies

Chapter 4: Sri Lanka

Done by: Elijah Chai (2012)

Causes of Conflict

• Citizenship Rights

• University Admissions

• Resettlement Programmes

• The ‘Sinhala Only’ Policy

Citizenship Rights

• Tensions between the Sinhalese and the Indian Tamils in Sri Lanka arose as soon as Sri Lanka attained independence from the British.

• In 1948, Tamil plantation workers made up half the Tamil population on the island.

• According to the new 1948 Citizenship Act, only the following could qualify for citizenship:

– those born in Sri Lanka

– those, whose father or grandfather was born in Sri Lanka

• Only less than 10% of the Indian Tamils qualified for citizenship.

• Many Indian Tamils were left stateless.

• In 1964, India intervened to help the Tamils. – The Indian government allowed to let over 500 000 Indian Tamils to return to India over a 15-

year period.

– In return, Sri Lanka would grant citizenship to some 300 000 Indian Tamils.

• In 2003, steps were taken to resolve the citizenship problem.– Sri Lanka passed new law to grant citizenship to any person of Indian origin who has lived

• permanently in Sri Lanka since 1964.

University Admissions

• Before 1970, university admissions were based on academic qualifications.

• As the standards of Tamil-run schools were higher, many Tamils had places in the state-run universities.

• The Sri Lankan government was worried about the high admittance rate of Tamils into universities.

• The government introduced a complex system of quotas which limited the number of Tamil students entering universities.

• More places were reserved for the Sinhalese.

• Under the new regulations after 1970, Tamil students needed higher marks to gain admission to universities.

• The university quota system led to riots and demonstrations because the Tamils saw the university quota system as a form of discrimination – it limited their educational and career prospects.

Resettlement Programmes

• Land was another issue which divided the Tamils and the Sinhalese.

• Areas in the North and East of Sri Lanka were well irrigated and initially occupied by Indian Tamils.

– The Sinhalese government resettled the poor Sinhalese farmers from the crowded South to the North and East for them to engage in agriculture.

• The Sri Lankan government considered resettlement as part of a national plan to improve the economy of Sri Lanka.

• Many Sinhalese felt that as citizens of Sri Lanka, they should be allowed to settle in any part of the island.

• The Tamils argued that the formation of the new Sinhalese settlements was part of a deliberate plan to change the demographic balance and deprive the Tamils of land.

• The new land resettlement scheme brought both Tamil and Sinhalese communities into closer contact with each other and increased the possibility of ethnic violence.

The ‘Sinhala Only’ Policy

• When Sri Lanka was a British colony, many English-educated Tamils were given positions in the civil service and promoted to positions of authority.

• Many Sinhalese were disadvantaged as they were unable to read or write English well. In 1956, only 6% of the population spoke and understood English.

• 1956 – the Sri Lankan government tried to improve the position of the Sinhalese by introducing a 'Sinhala Only' policy.

• According to the policy, Sinhala would replace English as the official language of the country –Sinhala would be the only language used in the government.

• Tamils in the Sri Lankan civil service were given 3 years to learn Sinhala or be dismissed.'

• Many Tamils were unhappy with the 'Sinhala Only' policy as they though the language policy:– Handicapped them in the civil service

– Would erode Tamil culture

• Violent racial clashes broke out between the Tamils and Sinhalese in Colombo (capital of Sri Lanka).

• Although Sinhalese and Tamil leaders signed an agreement to recognize Tamil as a national minority language in 1958, racial tension continued.

• Only in 1966 that the Tamil language was granted recognition as a language of administration in the Northern and Eastern provinces.

• In 1978, the Sri Lankan constitution was changed to include Tamil as a national language but racial tensions continued because Sinhala remained the higher status 'official' language – those entering the civil service had to be proficient in it.

Consequences of Conflict

• Economic Consequences– Fall in the number of Tourists

– Loss of Investments from other countries

– Unemployment

• Political Consequences– Armed Conflict

– Foreign Intervention

• Social Consequences– Large-Scale Displacement

Fall in the number of Tourists

• Since the July 1983 riots, the number of

tourists to Sri Lanka dropped steadily.

• The Cyclic Effect:

– Fall in tourism brought about a fall in the

government's revenue, which meant that there

were

– less funds to develop facilities for the tourists.

Loss of Investments from other

countries

• Investments in Sri Lanka were rather instable.

• Investors from other countries had no

confidence to invest in the country as there

were sporadic violence.

• However, some small companies continued to

invest in Sri Lanka.

• The economy of Sri Lanka became stagnant

with the instable investments.

Unemployment

• The July 1983 riots resulted in massive unemployment.

• Thousands of self-employed people, plantation workers and factory workers became jobless.

• Those unemployed vandalized, looted or burned down buildings out of anger.

• Both the Sinhalese and the Tamils suffered due to such bursts of violence.

Armed Conflict

• 1956 – first anti-Tamil riot occurred in response to the Tamils' peaceful protest against the 'Sinhala Only' language policy.

– Hundreds of Tamils lost lives and property.

• The Sinhalese government repeatedly turned down requests from the Tamils to grant them more rights and to grant them a separate land.

• Angry Tamil youths formed a militant group known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the Tamil Tigers.

• Tamil Tigers wanted a separate land for the Tamils in the north and eastern areas of Sri Lanka and also wanted to prevent an unfair treatment of the Tamils.

• The Tamil Tigers attacked the Sinhalese mainly.

• Tamil tigers even attacked Tamil members and supporters of the ruling party, police force and other Tamil politicians.

• The activities taken by the LTTE worsened the hatred and distrust between the Tamils and the Sinhalese.

Foreign Intervention

• After the July 1983 riots, India first tried to mediate between the conflicting parties.

– India sent foreign minister to Sri Lanka to hold a dialogue between the Sinhalese and the Tamils.

• July 1987 – India pressured Sri Lanka to sign a peace accord with India.

– The peace accord stipulated that there will be a ceasefire between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan forces if the Tamil Tigers were to surrender their weapons to Indian peacekeeping troops.

• Tamil Tigers refused to surrender their weapons fully.

Large-Scale Displacement

• There was a large-scale displacement - thousands

of Tamils fled to India during the 1983 riots.

• Sri Lankan forces occupied large parts of Tamil-

dominated areas in north and east of Sri Lanka.

• 1995 – the Sri Lankan forces moved into Jaffna to

confront the LTTE – many Tamils fled Jaffna due

to the violence that followed

• An estimated 65 000 Sri Lankans remain as

refugees in India.