The Roots of Ethno-Political Strife in Ceylon: The Dividing Power of British Colonialism

A bloody civil war has rocked Sri Lanka for decades, as the Sinhalese and Tamil populations fight each other for recognition, access, and control. Since the 1950s, each group has feared domination by the other, resulting in bitter battles on the ballots and in the streets to assert or retain power and subjugate the culture of the other. Each conflict perpetuates the vicious circle of retaliation and retribution through the generations, and the roots of this divide can be directly traced to the colonial occupation of the island in the 1800s. What began with the Dutch and became refined by the British was a complete and systematic domination that hooked the island nation known as Ceylon into dependence on the global economy, undermined the cultures of its native inhabitants, and ultimately divided them along ethnic lines. This paper examines how Britain’s colonial rule sowed the seeds of resentment that all but ensured any unity post independence would be short-lived. Part of the panel: Asia in Collision Moderator: Professor Jennifer Kerns