Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
CAUSES OF DISSENSION
Religious, linguistic, political, and economic differences
fomented dissension between Sinhalese and Tamils. Political
assassinations and violence continue to revolve around
these fundamental differences, although the cleavage is
not simply two-sided. Anthropologist S. J. Tambiah
(1986) makes a salient point: “Sinhalese and Tamil labels
are porous sieves through which diverse groups and cate-
gories of Indians intermixed with non-Indians . . . have
passed through.” Moreover, this already complex situation
is exacerbated by international involvement.
The Sinhalese are of Aryan extraction with ancient
roots on the island. They are Buddhist and speak
Sinhala,
an Indo-Aryan language with its own script. Sinhalese
make up 74 percent of the population and are predominent
in administration.
The Tamils, who make up 20 percent of the popula-
tion, are a Dravidian people. They are Hindu and speak
Tamil,
a Dravidian language with a script different to the
Sinhala one. It was not until the 1970s that Tamil was
given recognition as a national language.
Since the Sinhalese dominate government, they have
tried to inculcate Sinhalese history and values into
schools, textbooks, and the like. There have also been
efforts to divorce Sinhalese and Tamils from any common
history , such as their relationship with India. These prac-
tices have encouraged social distancing and hostility .
English is regarded as a
link-language;
it is supposed to
serve as a
lingua franca,
or common language. But English is
spoken and understood by an elite minority , and years of
anti-English and pro-Sinhala policies mean that it is not a
common language. Students have rioted and burned topics
at Colombo University because 90 percentof the topics are
in English. For many rural Sinhalese, English is known
as
Kaduwa
—the sword that separated the privileged from
the masses.
Violence erupted in the 1950s with a succession of
Tamil uprisings against the Sinhalese. After her husband
was assassinated, Sirimayo Bandaranaike became the first
woman head of state in the world. She nationalized oil
fields, companies, and plantations. Communal strife
worsened in the following years as Tamil nationalism hard-
ened. In 1972, Ceylon was declared a republic and renamed
Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, organized terrorism continued.
In the 1980s, transnational capital entered in the form
of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) development
program and U.S. aid “to stabilize the region.” Subsequently ,
U.S. warships acquired refueling rights at T rincomaleon
the east-west sea route via the Suez Canal. Sri Lanka was
to be developed as an “export center” like Hong Kong, and
this led to the creation of a free trade zone in Latunyabe.
However, interethnic and other discriminatory practices
channeled most benefits to the Sinhalese.
CIVIL W AR AND ITS AFTERMATH
The killing of 13 Sinhalese soldiers by Tamils in Jaffna in
1983 sparked a spiral of violence that has only tentatively
ended. Clashes between Sinhalese and Tamils resulted in
40,000 Tamils seeking refuge in India' s state of Tamil
Nadu. A series of political assassinations followed, and
foreign investment faded.
More fighting led to the intervention of Indian
troops. In 1987, the Tamils were granted a degree of
autonomy in the north and northeastern provinces, and
their language rights were guaranteed. Meanwhile, Tamil
militancy had intensified in the form of a strong guerrilla
force with international ties. Known as the
Tamil Tigers,
the group called for the establishment of a Tamil state to
be named
Tamil Eelam.
In 1991, India' s Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a suicide bomber. The
Tamil Tigers are blamed for this act.
December 1995 witnessed the largest military opera-
tion in the island' s history . Government forces routed the
Tamil Tigers and took control of Jaffna. Perhaps 2,000
died, and half a million civilians were displaced in this
conflict. A cease fire was broken in 1996 when a bomb
exploded in Colombo, killing 91 and injuring 1,400 people.
The explosives were determined to be Ukrainian RDX
smuggled via Dhaka. Kandy' s holy T Temple of the T Tooth
was bombed in 1998.
With international mediation, another cease fire
agreement was signed in 2002. Nevertheless, hostilities
broke out again in 2005 and the conflict escalated. The
government swept the Tamil Tigers out of the eastern
part of the island in 2006 and moved on to the northern
region the following year. With the destruction of a
number of arms-smuggling ships belonging to the Tigers
and an international crackdown on illicit funding, the Sri
Lankan army was able to defeat them in 2009. The con-
flict has left more than 100,000 people dead and the east
and especially the north devastated.
Tsunami 2004
On December 26, 2004, a huge earthquake struck off
the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia (see Chapters 2
and 16) thereby generating one of the biggest
tsunamis the world had ever seen. On January 3 in
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