Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lank
For further information about the nation of Sri Lanka, visit its main page.
The currently known Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is ethnically, linguistically and religiously diverse. Ethnicities include: Sinhalese (74% of the population) most of who practice Buddhism and populate the South West; Ceylon Tamils (approx. 12%); Indian Tamils (approx. 5%), most of who practice Hindu but with sizable Christian minorities based in the ‘tea country’ of south-central Sri Lanka]and other smaller minorities including Muslims (about 7%), the majority of whom practice Sunni Islam; Burghers and aboriginal Veddahs. Whilst the constitution of 1978 assures religious freedom, it accedes predominance to Buddhism.
Since the 1980s, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have been fighting for an independent homeland. The origin of the conflict lies within the corrosion of the relationship between the Tamil and Sinhalese subgroups in the 1950s. In 1983 there were serious ant-Tamil protests in Colombo resulting in the lynching and killing of about 2000 Tamils. Towards 1987, the Sri Lankan government's embargo of Jaffina resulted in hardship for Tamils. Consequently an Indo-Sri Lankan Accord was agreed upon.
Whilst there has been past cooperation between the Sinhalese and the Tamils, during colonial occupation the Sinhalan pysche has determined that the Tamil are historical enemies. Tamils are viewed by the Sinhalese as a threat to their singular identity. As a result Sinhalese became the official language of Sri Lanka and politics became Sinhalese-dominated, tending toward a Sinhala hegemonic state. Consequently the Tamil culture and identity was oppressed. On the other hand, the Tamils saw Sri Lanka as a place of coexistence, a place with equal rights whilst maintaining their culture and values.
Sri Lankan Tamils are descendants of the indigenous Tamils and subdivided into three predominate groups: Jaffina Tamils of the Jaffina Peninsula and the Northern Province; Batticaloa Tamils; and the Tamils of the Eastern coastal region and Colombo. Some Tamilan artists have settled in Colombo making that the centre for Sri Lankan Tamil Dramas. The suppression of their values by the Sinhalese culture has led to an identity crisis for Tamils. For who are they if they have no acknowledgment or homeland? In essence it can be compared to the Palestine and Israel debate.
However the suppression of the Tamilan identity has been ameliorated somewhat by the introduction of electronic media forms. Website visualising the claims for Tamil Eelam and websites that allow the reports of Tamil related events . They have allowed the world to view the Tamil perspective.
Read more about this topic: Sri Lankan Tamil Dramas
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