Question

What were the reasons for the alienation of Srilankan Tamils ? What was the effect of this on the country ?

CBSE Class X Social Science SA ( 3 marks)

Answer 1

Sri Lankan Tamils felt alienated because :
(a) Government adopted majoritarian measure to establish Sinhala Supremacy. In 1956, an Act was passed to recognize Sinhala as the only official language thus disregarding Tamil.
(b) The governments followed preferential politics that favoured Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.
(c) A new constitution stipulated that the state shall protect and foster Buddhism.
(d) Srilankan Tamils felt that none of the major political parties by the Buddhist Sinhala leaders were sensitive to their language and culture.
(e) As a result, the relations between the Sinhala and Tamil communities strained overtime and it soon turned into a civil war.

Answer 2

Sri Lankan Tamils felt alienated because :

(a) Government adopted majoritarian measure to establish Sinhala Supremacy. In 1956, an Act was passed to recognize Sinhala as the only official language thus disregarding Tamil.

(b) The governments followed preferential politics that favoured Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.

(c) A new constitution stipulated that the state shall protect and foster Buddhism.

(d) Srilankan Tamils felt that none of the major political parties by the Buddhist Sinhala leaders were sensitive to their language and culture.

(e) As a result, the relations between the Sinhala and Tamil communities strained overtime and it soon turned into a civil war