Ethnic conflict and democracy in Sri Lanka; also covers India's Intervention, Rajiv Gandhi's assassination and LTTE.

1. SRI LANKA
ETHINIC CONFLICT AND DEMOCRACY

2. INTRODUCTION
At independence, Sri Lanka was
expected to flourish among its
newly liberated South Asian
counterparts. It had gained
universal suffrage as early as 1931,
and had a relatively peaceful
transfer of power from its colonial
rulers to the local government. As
well, its minority Tamil population
was seen as a passive people not
prone to violence. Yet the ethnic
conflict that soon engulfed Sri
Lanka is one of the world’s most
violent and prolonged secessionist
movements since the end of the
Second World War.

3. LTTE
Furthermore, the Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was,
“arguably the most disciplined,
dedicated, and ruthless guerrilla
organization in the world.”
Although recently defeated in 2009,
the underlying ethnic divides which
propelled the rebel movement are
far from being resolved. The
following attempts to explain why
this peaceful minority eventually
became a violent secessionist group
dedicated to the goal of establishing
Tamil Eelam (homeland).

4. THE CONFLICT
• From independence in 1946 to the beginning of the civil war in 1983, Tamil
demands changed from peaceful attempts to gain language equality to violent
demands for a distinct Tamil nation and complete secession from Sri Lanka.
• This, I will argue, is due to the Tamil’s loss of faith in every aspect of the Sri
Lankan state. I will begin by surveying the relevant literature regarding both
general theories of ethnic conflict and the Sri Lankan case in particular.
• Then, the historical factors that contributed to the Tamils rejection of Sri Lanka and
demand for secession will be explored in more detail. Finally, I will analyze the
reasons why (a) the Tamil movement became distinctly secessionist and (b) why it
took on such a violent nature. In conclusion, some insight will be provided for
future developments regarding the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka: although the Tamil
Tigers have been removed, if the Sinhalese continue to neglect the needs of the
Tamil people and foster distrust among them, it is only a matter of time before
another group of Tamil youths give up hope in the Sri Lankan state and resume
the war for Tamil Eelam.

5. SPARK THAT LIT THE FLAME-
BEGINNING OF CONFLICT
• As early as 1944, politicians proposed resolutions in Parliament to declare
Sinhalese the official language, while other amendments proposed both
Sinhalese and Tamil as official languages. A 1944 resolution specified that
Sinhalese and Tamil would become the languages of instruction in schools,
examinations for public services and legislative proceedings.
• The resolution was approved by 27 to 2 in the Sinhalese-dominated
legislature. Committees were established to advise on how these changes
were to be implemented, however, there was little progress in
implementing the policy. In 1956, S.W.R.D Bandaranaike was elected Prime
Minister with a main election promise of establishing Sinhalese as the
official language of the country, replacing English. The new government
fulfilled this promise—through the passage of the so-called “Sinhalese
Only Bill” (Official Language Act, No. 33 of 1956)—soon after the election
giving no status of parity to the Tamil language.
• The language issue in many ways brought the Sinhalese-Tamil conflict into
the forefront of Sri Lankan politics. In terms of the dominant strands of
Sinhalese nationalism, the Sinhalese language along with the Buddhist
religion necessarily had to occupy the pre-eminent position in society.

6. INDIA’S INTERVENTION
• The Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War was the deployment
of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka intended to perform
a peacekeeping role. The deployment followed the Indo-Sri Lankan
Accord between India and Sri Lanka of 1987 which was intended to end
the Sri Lankan Civil War between militant Sri Lankan Tamil nationalists,
principally the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and the Sri Lankan
military.
• The original intention was the Indian Peace Keeping Force would not be
involved in large scale military operations. However, after a few months,
the Indian Peace Keeping Force engaged the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam in a series of battles. During the two years in which it was deployed,
the IPKF fought numerous battles against the LTTE. The IPKF began
withdrawing in 1989, and completed the withdrawal in 1990.

7. RAJIV
GANDHI’S
ASSASSINATIO
N
-The Supreme Court judgement, by
Justice K. T. Thomas, confirmed that
Gandhi was killed because of personal
animosity by the LTTE chief
Prabhakaran arising from his sending
the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF)
to Sri Lanka and the alleged IPKF
atrocities against Sri Lankan Tamils.

8. DEMOCRACY
IN SRI LANKA
Politics of Sri Lanka takes place in a
framework of a semi-
presidential representative
democratic republic, whereby
the President of Sri Lanka is
both head of state and head of
government, and of a multi-party
system. Executive power is exercised
by the President on the advice of the
Prime Minister and the Cabinet of
Ministers. Legislative power is vested
in the Parliament. For decades, the
party system was dominated by the
socialist Sri Lanka Freedom Party and
the conservative United National
Party. The Judiciary is independent of
the executive and the legislature. The
Politics of Sri Lanka reflect the
historical and political differences
between the three main ethnic groups,
the majority Sinhala and the
minorities Tamils and Muslims, who
are concentrated in the north and east
of the island.