The Inherent Concept Of Sinhala-Buddhist Domination In Sri Lanka

By Thambu Kanagasabai –June 25, 2015 

Thambu Kanagasabai

The recent news feature in Colombo Telegraph spotlighted the Sinhala-Buddhist mentality of the President Maithripala Sirisena. To be precise, he is only following the footsteps of all his predecessors right from the first Prime Minister DS Senanayake in 1948, who without any delay targeted the Tamils in the East with Sinhalese colonisation and then killed the Indian Tamils’ representation in Parliament with two legislations.

This process has been faithfully followed and executed by the succeeding Prime Ministers and Presidents.

For recapitulation, the acts and deeds of the Sinhalese leaders are summarised as follows, which are featured with breach of pledges, pacts and betrayals.

The pledge given to Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam in 1921 was the first breach when James Peiris and EJ Samarawickrema promised a seat from the Western Provincial to Arunachalam and then dishonoured it. This was also the first historical betrayal which sowed the seeds of Tamil nationalism and the starting point for the communal drift and mistrust. No wonder Arunachalam fired the first salvo of ‘Tamil land’ or Tamil Aham when he inaugurated the ‘Tamil Mahajana Sabhai’ Jaffna in August 1921.

JR Jayewardene proposed the “Sinhala Only” idea in 1944 before the Soulbury Commission which was rejected. JR thus pioneered the Sinhala Language domination as a communal politician.

DS Senanayake initiated colonisation schemes in the Gal Oya region in 1948 and his speech on that occasion to the settlers bares the naked Sinhalisation agenda. “One day the whole country will look up to you. You men and woman who will carry the Island’s destiny on your shoulders. One day the country will look up to you as the last bastion of the Sinhala.”

DS then targeted the Indians Tamils to ensure their non-entity in Sri Lanka’s politics and passed the Ceylon Citizenship Act in 1948 and Indian and Pakistan Resident’s Act in 1949. The toiling Indian Tamils were sacrificed to ensure Sinhalese domination in Parliament.                      Read More