Question

What were the prefential policies adopted by Sinhalas in Sri Lanka

Answer 1

Sri Lanka emerged as an independent country in 1948. The democratically elected government adopted a series of measures to establish Sinhala supremacy.

In 1956, an Act was passed to make Sinhala as the official language.The government followed preferential policies favouring Sinhala applicants for University positions and government jobs.The constitution provided for State protection for Buddhism.

       The Sri Lankan Tamils felt that none of the major political parties led by the Buddhist Sinhala leaders were sensitive to their language and culture and denied them equal political rights which led to increased feeling of alienation among them.