How far did resettlement of the Sinhalese to the Tamil areas caused the conflict in Sri Lanka? Explain your answer.

Issue : Reasons for the conflict in Sri Lanka

Given Factor : Resettlement of Sinhalese to the Tamil areas

Alternative Factor :
Citizenship rights
Official Language Act

Rank:

The conflict between the Sinhalese and the Tamils has existed since 1948. This is because the Tamils feel that the Sinhalese-dominated government has been unfair to them in various ways.

.g. The government implemented a policy to provide land for the poor Sinhalese peasants. These peasants were transferred from the densely-populated south western and central areas into Tamil areas. However, the Buddhists monks and the Sri Lankan Army came with the other Sinhalese to the Tamil areas to occupy the land. This caused unhappiness because the Tamils now have to compete with the Sinhalese peasants for land as well as jobs and sales of their products. They thus resented the government and began to oppose the government. Many gave their support to the Tamil Tigers in their opposition against the government and this gave rise to the conflict. There was also resentment against the monks and the Sri Lankan Army and this worsened the relationship between the Tamils and the Sinhalese, increasing the tension and the hostility. Therefore resettlement of the Sinhalese to the Tamil areas caused the conflict in Sri Lanka but it is not the only reason.

For example, in 1948, Sri Lanka granted citizenship to only those who were either born in Sri Lanka or those whose fathers and grandfathers are born there. As a result many Indian Tamils found themselves stateless. Though India tried to help them solve this problem, many Indian Tamils continued to remain stateless in the late 1980s. This caused them to be very unhappy as despite their contribution to the economy, they were not given citizenship rights like voting. They thus supported the Tamil Tigers in their opposition against the government and this caused the conflict. Therefore citizenship rights also contribute to the conflict in Sri Lanka.

Under the British rule the language of administration was English and the Tamils held powerful jobs in the government service because of their good command of English which the Sinhalese did not learn well. However, when the 1956 Official Language Act was passed, Sinhalese became the language of administration. The Tamils held a peaceful demonstration which was however disrupted by the supporters of the Sinhala language. This upset the Tamils as they found that they were unable to secure jobs or be promoted in the government service. They also concluded that peaceful means might not work and that violence might be the answer to the problem. Hence they supported the Tamil Tigers and this caused the conflict. So this is yet another reason that contribute to the conflict in Sri Lanka.

The conflict between Sri Lanka has been going on for a very long time. Citizenship rights used to be an important issue but has now became a secondary concern as in 2003, the Sri Lanka passed a bill that grant citizenship rights to the Tamils. Similarly the Official Language Act that brought about so much unhappiness has been partly resolved. This is because the Sri Lanka government has granted greater recognition to the Tamil language by declaring it the national language, the language of administration in the norther and eastern provinces as well as an official language. Therefore these two factors are no longer the most important causes for the conflict as the Sri Lanka government has made effort to resolve the issue.

However, the resettlement of the Sinhalese to the Tamil areas has not been resolved. This resentment that the Tamil feel over the issue of resettlement has continued to contribute to the conflict. Therefore, this resentment is the most important reason for the causes of the conflict.

(Note from the Ess :The answer should not only provide the reasons why it is the most important factor and but also the reasons why the other two factors are not as important or show a correlation between the three factors.

Award 11 marks for explaining why one factor is the most important factor and why one other factor is not as important and 12 marks for explaining why one factor is the most important and why 2 other factors are not as important.)