Social Studies Revision Resource - Causes of Conflict in Sri Lanka

Factors: Causes of Conflict in Sri Lanka

 British Colonial Rule
 Citizenship Rights
 Language Policy / ‘Sinhala Only’ Policy / Jobs in the Civil Service
 University Admission
 Resettlement Policy

British Colonial Rule:

 The conflict is due to British colonial rule because the Tamils were favoured at that
time in jobs and education.
 English-educated Tamils could enter government service and occupy some of the
most powerful posts in the country.
 As a result, when Sri Lanka became independent, the Sinhalese majority introduced
policies which favoured them rather than the Tamils and this caused friction between
the two groups.

Citizenship Rights:
 Upon independence, the Sri Lankan government granted citizenship only to those
born in Sri Lanka or whose fathers or grandfathers were born in Sri Lanka.
 As a result, Indian Tamils from India who had worked on the plantations and
contributed to the economy were denied citizenship.
 They were angry that they were treated unfairly and given no rights.
 The Indian Tamils were also frustrated with the government’s insincerity in solving
the problem as they took more than 20 years to grant the remaining Indian Tamils in
Sri Lanka citizenship rights.

Language Policy / ‘Sinhala Only’ Policy / Jobs in the Civil Service:

 Under the British, many Tamils worked in the civil service and were promoted,
making the Sinhalese jealous.
 When Sri Lanka became independent, the Sinhalese put in a policy where Tamil civil
servants had to learn Sinhala within 3 years or be dismissed.
 This angered the Tamils because they no longer had a bright future as they could
lose their jobs or promotions.
 Protests took place and it took a very long time for Tamil to be recognised as a
language of administration in Tamil areas, making the Tamils frustrated with the
government’s insincerity.

University Admission:
 A reason for the conflict is the unfair policy of university admissions where there is
discrimination against the Tamils who have to score higher marks than the Sinhalese
to enter the same courses.
 Places are also reserved for Sinhakese students, which causes resentment amongst
the Tamils who feel they are not being treated equally.
 Young Tamils are also frustrated that this form of discrimination robs them of a bright
future and education.

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Upper Secondary Social Studies Resource
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Resettlement Policy:
 A reason for the conflict is the resettlement policy. The Sinhalese government
resettled poor Sinhalese peasants in Tamil lands where they were given land to
cultivate. This caused tension because the Tamils were angry and that the Sinhalese
peasants were taking up their land.
 Later on, Buddhist monks and Sinhalese Army troops also came to stay in Tamil
lands. Furthermore, there was also religious tension due to differences in religion.
Tamils were also bullied and ill-treated by the Sinhalese Army troops.
 The resettlement programme was also an important cause of the conflict in Sri Lanka,
as the Tamils believed that the Sinhalese-dominated government deliberately moved
Sinhalese peasants into Tamil areas.
 The Tamils felt that this was done to reduce their numbers in their land, and to erode
the importance of their culture and language.

Analysis of Causes of Conflict

British Citizenship Language University Resettlement

Colonial Rule Rights Policy / Admission of Population
‘Sinhala Only’
Policy /
Jobs in the
Civil Service
Caused Caused tension Tamil has been Discrimination Causes tension
discrimination only among the granted greater in University among the
of Tamils within Indian Tamils recognition by Admission is Tamils and
the civil service and the the government still continuing Sinhalese who
and resulted in Sinhalese which made it today. If the populate the
the ‘Sinhala government. the language of Tamils do not same areas in
Only’ Policy. Was resolved administration have an equal Sri Lanka.
However, Tamil in 2003 when in the northern chance of These areas do
has now been the Sinhalese and eastern getting a good not form a very
recognized as government provinces as education, they large part of Sri
an official passed the well as an cannot get Lanka.
language. Grant of official good jobs and
Citizenship to language. have a fair
Persons of share of
Indian Origin influence in
Bill. running the
country.

Social Studies Revision Resource - Consequences of Conflict in Sri Lanka

Factors: Consequences of Conflict in Sri Lanka

 Political: Armed Conflict, Foreign Intervention
 Economic: Unemployment, Loss of Investment from other Countries, Fall in
the Number of Tourists
 Social: Sri Lankan Tamils Driven Out of their Homeland

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Upper Secondary Social Studies Resource
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Political Consequence:

Armed Conflict:
 A consequence of the Sinhalese-Tamil conflict has been armed conflict.
 Due to the failure of using peaceful means to try and resolve the conflict, some Tamil
youths formed a militant group called the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) who resorted to
violence to demand and obtain Tamil rights.
 The Tamil Tigers have used terrorist means to attack Sinhalese, Tamil supporters of
the government, Tamil police officers and anyone who opposes them.
 In addition, the Sinhalese also showed their hostility towards the Tamils and this
sparked off riots which eventually led to a long armed conflict between the Tamil
Tigers and the Sri Lankan government forces.
 The armed conflict has resulted in a great loss of life and has affected the people of
Sri Lanka economically and socially as well.

Foreign Intervention:
 India intervened in the Sinhalese-Tamil conflict by attempting to provide relief aid to
the Sri Lanka Tamils.
 Although the Indian ships were turned back by the Sri Lankan navy, the Indian Air
Force went ahead to drop the aid by air and in doing so, violated Sri Lankan airspace.
 Later on, the India pressured Sri Lanka to sign a peace accord but when the Tamil
Tigers refused to surrender their weapons, Indian peacekeepers took control by
force and this resulted in clashes between the Indian troops and the Tamil Tigers.
 Not only was Sri Lanka’s sovereignty not respected, the intervention by India
worsened the conflict until the Indian troops were withdrawn in 1990.

Economic Consequence:

Unemployment:
 Massive unemployment occurred for both the Tamils and the Sinhalese due to the
riots and armed conflict in Sri Lanka as places of work were vandalized, looted or
burned.
 Many businesses also closed down as they lost their workers or could not operate
due to the violence.

Loss of Investments from other Countries:

 Due to the armed conflict and political instability, many investors were afraid to invest
in Sri Lanka.
 Without foreign investment, the Sri Lankan economy cannot recover or grow and
there would continue to be unemployment and economic suffering.

Fall in the Number of Tourists:

 Due to the armed conflict and violence, tourism, one of Sri Lanka’s major income
earners, was disrupted and the number of tourist arrivals fell as visitors were too
afraid to come to Sri Lanka.
 Due to the fall in the number of tourists, there was a loss of jobs in the tourism
industry and fall in earnings.
 This affected the economy because there was a lack of funds from tourism earnings
to develop facilities such as amenities, transport and housing.

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Upper Secondary Social Studies Resource
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Social Consequence:

Sri Lankan Tamils Driven Out of their Homeland:

 Due to the armed conflict and violence, large numbers of Sri Lankan Tamils were
driven out of their homes.
 High Security Zones (HSZ) set up by the Sri Lankan army to keep Tamil Tigers away
resulted in a large-scale occupation of Tamil lands.
 Escalating violence and fighting between government troops and Tamil Tigers have
also forced many Tamils to flee their homes and seek refuge in refugee camps and
having to suffer in overcrowded conditions.
 Other Tamils have fled to India where they remain as refugees without a proper
home or status.

Analysis of Consequences of Conflict

Political Economic Social

Armed Conflict:
Most important / damaging
consequence because its
resulting effects are the
economic and social
consequences of the
conflict in Sri Lanka. As
long as the armed conflict
does not stop, economic or
social recovery will be
unattainable.
Foreign Intervention:
Damaging consequence
because foreign
intervention could result in
the country becoming
invaded by a foreign power
or the conflict could worsen
as an additional party will
be involved in the fighting.
Unemployment / Loss of
Investment from other
Countries / Fall in the
Number of Tourists:
Damaging consequence
because it prevents the
country from recovering
economically and gaining
revenue needed for
development. As the
economic suffering
continues, Sinhalese and
Tamils will continue to
blame each other for the
suffering and peace will be
difficult to achieve.
Sri Lankan Tamils Driven
Out of their Homeland:
Damaging consequence
because it uproots whole
families and causes large
numbers of people to
suffer. Some of these
Tamils are also caught in
the cross-fire of
government troops and
Tamil Tigers causing large
numbers of dead and
injured Tamils.

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Upper Secondary Social Studies Resource
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 Social Studies Revision Resource – Efforts to Resolve the Conflict

Is there Peace in Our Time?

Yes No
 Efforts to begin peace talks were made  Tamil Tigers withdrew from peace talks
in 2002 with the Sri Lankan government.
 Launched suicide bomb attacks
 Assassination of the Foreign Minister
by the Tamil Tigers
 Increased attacks on army and police
vehicles
 Threats by the Tamil Tigers to use all
available resources to fight for their
homeland

Social Studies Revision Resource – Who is to Blame for the Conflict?

Sinhalese Tamils British Colonial Rule

 Marginalised the Tamils  Despite initially using  Favoured the Tamils
by implanting peaceful methods to try during colonial rule and
discriminatory policies and obtain rights for marginalised the
like Citizenship Rights, themselves, the Tamils Sinhalese who retaliated
Language Policy / also allowed the by implementing
‘Sinhala-Only’ Policy / formation of the Tamil discriminatory policies
Jobs in the Civil Service / Tigers who used violence against the Tamils.
University Admission and to achieve their cause
Resettlement Policy and triggered the armed
which caused tension conflict with the Sri
between the two groups Lankan government.
that ultimately led to
conflict.
 Showed hostility against
the Tamils in the July
1983 riots which
triggered retaliation by
the Tamil Tigers leading
to the armed conflict with
the Sri Lankan
government.
 However, most of the
Tamils’ problems have
been settled and the
Sinhalese have settled
the issues regarding
Citizenship Rights and
the Language Policy /
‘Sinhala Only’ Policy.

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Upper Secondary Social Studies Resource
Secondary 3E/NA, 4E/NA, 5NA