regional autonomy was given to the tamils
Answers
Rise in two nationalisms
The post-independence history of the conflict traces back to the years leading up to Sri Lankan independence and to assurances given to the Tamil minority by the first Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Stephen Senanayake, that they would not be discriminated against with regard to representation and legislation. However, this did not transpire in a manner that met minority aspirations.
The growth in Sinhala nationalism and the adoption of Sinhala as the official language of Sri Lanka contributed to the discord amongst the Tamils and resulted in further discrimination and isolation of minorities. The assassination of Bandaranaike in 1959 led to the strengthening of the main Tamil party, Tamil Federal Party, which called for parity of status for Tamils, citizenship on the basis of residence, and the creation of one or more linguistic states. Elections held in 1960 saw the Federal Party gain the Northern Province and win all seats representing the Eastern Province.
During the 1960s the ‘Sinhala only’ policy was expanded by the ruling United Front (UF) government to include court proceedings, previously conducted in English. In 1964 an agreement between Sri Lanka and India provided for the repatriation of 975,000 Tamils over a period of fifteen years; 300,000 others would be granted Sri Lankan citizenship. In 1968 the Federal Party left the government and the new UF government which came to power in 1970, wrote a new Constitution. This 1972 Constitution further discriminated Tamils. State-sponsored colonization schemes put many Sinhalese settlers into Tamil areas. Gradually groups from both communities moved towards extremism. The idea of a separate state became dominant in 1976 with the creation of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF). Among several resistance groups formed at this time was the Tamil New Tigers, later becoming the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Anti-Tamil riots and strengthening militancy
The United National Party (UNP) led by J.R. Jayawardene came to power in 1977. The TULF, now pledged to achieving a separate state, gained all 14 seats in the Northern Province and 3 out of 10 seats in the Eastern Province and became the principal opposition party. Relations with the UNP were at first cordial. Standardization in university admissions was abolished, and Tamil was recognized in the Constitution as a national language. Talks were planned on the subject of removing discrimination in employment and education. Within a month of the elections, however, violence broke out in the north, quickly spreading to the south. The government extended legislation renewing special powers to curb the violence, and from this time on there was a steady erosion of democratic government and human rights protection which affected all communities but most particularly Tamils.
During the upheavals Up Country Tamils, who had not previously been involved in the trouble, came under Sinhalese attack. A scheme put forward by President Jayawardene in 1981, offering Tamils some degree of autonomy under an all-island system of district development councils, was far too little to satisfy Tamil aspirations. Sinhalese hardliners opposed any concessions to Tamils, and Jayawardene instituted a series of measures which effectively curtailed civil liberties. A state of emergency and censorship of the press were imposed in 1981, while in late 1982 a referendum was used to extend the government’s term of office until 1989. Extremist actions were increasing, and in July and August 1983 inter-communal violence reached a new pitch of intensity in the south when state-backed Sinhalese mobs turned on Tamils. Several hundred people lost their lives. Almost every Tamil living in urban areas lost their home and/or business. Tamils began to leave the country as refugees resulting in an exodus of close to half a million.