Do Sinhalese really discriminate Tamils in Sri Lanka?

D.N.Kannan

It is more than two decades; since the Sri Lankan civil war began in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka in which mostly Tamils are being involved (LTTE) fighting with the Sri Lankan army. There had been a civil war in the early 70s, which came up predominantly from the Sinhalese community (JVP) in the southern part of Sri Lanka. There must be a genuine reason for both Tamils and Sinhalese to become armed rebellions and to fight with the government.

Some Tamils believe or are made to believe that the Sinhalese discriminate Tamils with the education, and job opportunities in Sri Lanka. If it was the reason for Tamils to fight, what was the reason for Sinhalese to get arms against the government?

The actual cause of the problem may not be ethnic as claimed by LTTE and most of the westerners. There are a number of rival terrorist or moderate Tamil groups, who oppose to LTTE, are actively engaged in counter terrorism in the northern and Eastern parts of Sri Lanka. In an ethnic problem, there shouldn't be many rival groups from the affected ethnic group fighting with each other. Our problem in Sri Lanka is more likely to be political than ethnic. Therefore it is important to understand the real cause, prior to proposing solutions.

As a Sinhalese village boy who grew up in the southern part of Sri Lanka in the early 1970s, I had a better understanding about the grievances of Sinhalese people and the reasons for participating or sympathizing JVP movement which launched armed struggle with the Sri Lankan government. The discrimination in the job market had gone to extend that, it was almost impossible for a qualified young person to secure a job without support from politicians or other influential people. In most of the public services such as police, hospitals, or government offices, there was discrimination at different levels. The people who could influence officers get better services than others. Most of the government officers abuse their power in their work places.

Sri Lankan society is multi ethnic and multi religious. Within this complex society, some virtual groups which are based on wealth, job status, caste, language, religion or family circles coexist. The people within the same group help each other in work places which could badly affect the administrative system in Sri Lanka.

None of the Sri Lankan leaders, who came to power after the independence in 1948, were capable of eliminating corruption and restoring law and order. Many abused the power and made the situation worse. Some politicians used some sensitive issues such as language and religions for their cheap political gains at the cost of ethnic harmony of the society.

Knowingly or unknowingly, almost all the Sri Lankan people are involved in some level of corruption, discrimination, abuse of power, or injustice in one way or the other. It is not just Sinhalese discriminating Tamils. The solution to our problem is the establishment of democracy and restoring law and order in the country. That is the only way to guarantee equal rights to all the citizens and hence to establish long lasting peace and harmony in Sri Lanka.