Background to the Ethnic Conflict
Invasions of Sri Lanka in Pre Colonial Sri Lanka
The ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, to people aren’t too familiar with it would probably think that the war
started in the early 1980’s with the riots that occurred in Sri Lanka. However, a Sri Lankan would know
that the ethnic clashes in Sri Lanka date not just back to British Colonialism but to the invasion of Sri
Lanka by the South Indians in
. the invasion by the Tamilian King Ellare led to South Indian rule in Sri
Lanka however this was very short lived as he was defeated by the Sinhalese king Dutugamunu.
Nevertheless, Indian invasions followed and many people contribute these invasions as the starting
point to ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.
Western Invasions of Sri Lanka
Following Indian invasions of Sri Lanka, came the European invasion of Sri Lanka. First by the
Portuguese, then the Dutch and finally the British. The latter being one of the main factors to the
Sinhala-Tamil clashes. British colonialism was invariably a cause as many Sinhalese felt that the Tamil
were given preferential treatment by the British invaders as part of the “divide and conquer” strategy in
Sri Lanka. However, as Sri Lanka became independent from British rule on the 4th of February, 1948, the
Tamil minority in Sri Lanka were at a disadvantage. This was because as they no longer had the so called
favoritism that they had showered upon them during British rule. Hence, the minority found themselves
in a tight spot.
Reasons for the Ethnic Conflict breaking out in 20th Century
There were many reasons as to why the ethnic war broke out in Sri Lanka however; there are a few
reasons that can be singled out. The difference in language can be said to be one of the most significant
reasons. The official language policy which came into effect in 1958 under the Sri Lanka Freedom Party
(SLFP) claimed Sinhalese as the official language of Sri Lanka. This meant increasing rates of
unemployment for the Tamil minority who weren’t familiar with Sinhalese. Thus, leading to bitter
uprisings within Sri Lanka as the Tamils felt that they were being singled out by the Sinhalese. Hence
most Tamils feel that the “Sinhala Only” movement by the SLFP as the groundwork of the civil war that
Sri Lanka is facing even today.
Other reasons included the lack of equal access to higher education for both Tamils and the Sinhalese.
Under British rule, Tamils were given more admittance to the English Medium education that Sri Lanka
followed at the time. Consequently, many students who enrolled in universities were Tamils who were
fluent in English. This therefore led to indignation by the Sinhalese who reciprocated by standardizing
university enrollment in order to resolve discrepancies which occurred under British rule in Sri Lanka.
This came to be known as the 1978 Universities Act. Once the legislation came into effect, many Tamils
felt that gaining tertiary education was harder. Thus adding more strain to the already divided ethnic
barrier.
Although language and education were some of the major reasons as to why there is a great ethnic
divide in Sri Lanka today, the 1983 riots known as ‘Black July’ was the final catalyst to already
deteriorating relations between the Sinhalese and the Tamil. Black July which started on the 23rd of
June, 1983 is seen by many – both Sinhalese and Tamil – as the beginning of the armed ethnic conflict in
Sri Lanka between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan armed forces.
Nevertheless, although there was mounting tension between the Sinhalese and Tamil communities in Sri
Lanka, even before Black July, it can be said that it was in fact the latter that actually triggered off the
military conflict between the two ethnic communities.
The event which came to be known as ‘Black July’ started off after the LTTE ambushed a Sri Lankan
military convoy on the 23rd of July outside Jaffna, in Northern Sri Lanka. The attack results in 15
Sinhalese soldiers dying. In order to prevent repercussions from the majority Sinhalese populations, the
government decided to bury the soldiers on the sly in Colombo. However, this didn’t go according to
plan as the Sinhalese population gained knowledge of the LTTE attack and deaths that occurred as a
result. As a result, Tamil homes were burnt, Sinhalese mobs killed and looted in vengeance for the
deaths of the Sinhalese soldiers. Many of the Tamil minority felt unsafe in a place they had once called
home, thus deciding to leave the country. Nevertheless, the majority of the Sinhalese people did in fact
try to help them regardless of the actions of the Sinhalese mobs by granting them sanctuary in their own
houses.
The violent riots led to a curfew being declared by the Sri Lankan government nevertheless, it was
extremely hard for the forces to enforce this curfew as mobs were out of hand. The violence sustained
and spread throughout Sri Lanka like wildfire. Cars were burnt, Tamils were killed and massacres were
occurring violently all over.
As the acts of violence continued, it eventually led to the flare-up with the civil war breaking out in 1983,
thus marking a beginning to ethnic conflict that rages on to this day.