Question

the leaders of the sinhala community sought to secure dominance over government by virtue of their majority comment

Answer 1

Dominance of sinhala community over government:
As the Sinhalese are majority in Sri Lanka and as per the 1956 act they have more power and powerful sources than minority. So the leaders of Sinhala community sought to secure dominance over government by virtue of their majority

Answer 2

The leaders of the Sinhala community sought to secure dominance over government by virtue of their majority by following various measures like :

1.  An Act was passed in 1956 which recognized Sinhala as the only official language and thus discriminated Tamil.

2.  Privileges and promotion of Buddhism under Constitution.

3.  No or less share in education, employment and political representation to Tamils.