Ethnic Conflict and Reconciliation in Sri Lanka National Capilal District Boundarl3S * Province Boundaries Q 10 20 30 010;1)304050 Sri Lanka • Ethnic Conflict and Reconciliation in Sri Lanka CHELVADURAIMANOGARAN MW~1 UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII PRESS • HONOLULU - © 1987 University ofHawaii Press All Rights Reserved Manufactured in the United States ofAmerica Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication-Data Manogaran, Chelvadurai, 1935- Ethnic conflict and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Sri Lanka-Politics and government. 2. Sri Lanka -Ethnic relations. 3. Tamils-Sri Lanka-Politics and government. I. Title. DS489.8.M36 1987 954.9'303 87-16247 ISBN 0-8248-1116-X • The prosperity ofa nation does not descend from the sky. Nor does it emerge from its own accord from the earth. It depends upon the conduct ofthe people that constitute the nation. We must recognize that the country does not mean just the lifeless soil around us. The country consists ofa conglomeration ofpeople and it is what they make ofit. To rectify the world and put it on proper path, we have to first rec­ tify ourselves and our conduct.... At the present time, when we see all over the country confusion, fear and anxiety, each one in every home must con­ ., tribute his share ofcool, calm love to suppress the anger and fury. No governmental authority can sup­ press it as effectively and as quickly as you can by love and brotherliness. SATHYA SAl BABA - • Contents List ofTables IX List ofFigures Xl Preface X111 Introduction 1 CHAPTER I Sinhalese-Tamil Ethnic Differences and the Beginnings of Conflict 19 CHAPTER 2- Problems ofNational Integration 41 CHAPTER 3 Tamil Districts: Conflict over Traditional Homelands, Colonization, and Agricultural Development 78 CHAPTER 4 Education, Employment, Economic Development ofTamil Districts, and Electoral Representation 115 CHAPTER 5 The Tamil Move toward Eelam 151 Epilogue 167 APPENDIX I: The Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam Pact 187 APPENDIX II: The Senanayake-Chelvanayakam Pact 190 APPENDIX III: Tamil Language (Special Provisions) Regulations, 1966 191 VII - VIII CONTENTS APPENDIX IV AnnexureC 192 APPENDIX V: President's Proposals to All-Party Conference 195 APPENDIX VI: Why TULF Rejected President's Proposals 198 Notes 201 Bibliography 217 Index 225 Tables 1. Ethnic Communities in 1981 6 2. Population by Religion in Sri Lanka, 1981 6 3. Sector Composition ofGross National Product and Employment, 1983 7 4. Population Densities ofSelected Regions in the Dry Zone for the Years 1871,1931, and 1946 82 5. Peasant Colonization in the Northern and Eastern Provinces at the End of1953 91 6. Alienation ofLand to Peasants for Village Expansion in the Dry Zone, 1961-1962/1963 92 7. Actual Versus Projected Population Increases in Tamil Districts, 1953-1983 96 8. Actual Versus Projected Population Increases ofSinhalese in the Eastern and Northern Provinces, 1953-1981 100 9. The Number ofPeople Added to a Square Kilometer of Area in Selected Dry Zone Districts from 1953 to 1983 101 10. Climatic Parameters for Selected Dry Zone Stations 104 11. Mean Annual Discharge from River Basins in the Dry Zone 105 12. Changes in Gross Extent ofArea Sown and Yield Per Hectare ofRice in Dry Zone Districts, 1961/1963-1981/1983 109 13. Changes in the Annual Per Capita Production ofRice in Dry Zone Districts, 1961/1963 to 1981/1983 112 14. Size ofLand Holdings and Percentage ofSown Area under Irrigation in the Dry Zone 113 15. University Admissions Based on Minimum Marks, 1971 121 16. Analysis ofPopulation with Different Levels ofEducation, 1978/1979, by Region 123 IX - x LIST OF TABLES 17. Changes in the Ethnic Composition ofCandidates Admitted to the Different Faculties in Sri Lankan Universities between 1970 and 1983 125 18. Ethnic Representation in Public and Corporation Sector Employment in 1980 128 19. Tamils' Share ofGovernment ServiceJobs for Selected Years 129 20. Government-Sponsored Industries in Sri Lanka, 1965-1982 131 21. Number ofEmployees Registered under the Employees Provident Fund on a District Basis, 1967 and 1977 136 22. Distribution ofEthnic Communities in Predominantly Tamil Districts, 1953-1981 141 23. Ethnic Distribution and Parliamentary Representation in Sri Lanka, 1946-1977 144 Figures Figure 1. Tamil Districts 5 Figure 2. Reliefand Water Resources 79 Figure 3. Climate and Colonization 89 Figure 4. Projected Versus Actual Population Growth for Selected Districts 98 Figure 5. Extent ofArea under Paddy (Mannar, Vavuniya, ]affna, Anuradhapura, and Polonnaruwa) 110 Figure 6. Extent ofArea under Paddy (Amparai, Batticaloa, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, and Trincomalee) 111 Figure 7. Major Communities in Amparai and Trincomalee Districts 145 Figure 8. Changes in District Boundaries 147 Figure 9.]affna Peninsula 166 XI • Preface THERE has been no comprehensive study by geographers of the eth­ nic conflict in Sri Lanka which has been partially caused by the inabil­ ity ofa community to preserve and develop a well-defined geographi- -cal region considered to be its traditional homeland. My aim has been to analyze__~.f!12~g other factors the geographical dctermmants.-2fthe conflict."especially_tbg?_~geaUI1gwit.li.theaIIOC:itiOnofwateron a spa­ tial ba~~.iQ!agriculturaIdeyeJ<:>P!!lentand land seufe'"~ent. I have undertaken this ambitio~~ taSk "serlOils[y and the book is the culmination of a decade of intensive study and exclusive research on this topic. I have undertaken numerous trips to Sri Lanka from 1977 to 1983. The book deals primarily with contemporary issues, but I had to discuss developments prior to independence in order to make readily understandable the origins ofthe ethnic conflict. Although the author is a Tamil and shares the concerns ofhis com- ­ munity, he nevertheless has attempted to look at all sides of the issue and make as disinterested a judgment as possible. So far as is humanly possible, I have tried to approach the topic from the view­ point of a professional scholar. The reader has to judge for himself/ herselfhow well the author has succeeded in achieving that goal. I am deeply indebted to my colleague]ohn D. Buenker, an author­ ity on ethnic history of the United States, who read all of the manu­ script, offered valuable criticism, and gave encouraging support. In this regard, I greatly appreciate the contributions made by the readers, whose critical reviews forced me to tighten the manuscript and strengthen its substance. My sincere thanks also go to B. J. Nielsen of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside library for her skill and patience in obtaining most of the reference materials used in this XIII - XIV PREFACE book via the inter-library loan system. Donald Litner and Catherine Owen of the Media Services of the university and my brother Ainkaran assisted me with the compilation, drafting, and photo­ graphing of illustrations. Two of my former students, Patrick Lu­ chack, a Fulbright Scholar who completed one year ofgraduate study in Sri Lanka in 1986, and Lydia Morrow, who is employed in the cata­ loging section of the university library, assisted me in the library research and computer analysis ofdata. One of the pleasures ofwriting this book has been the opportunity to work with the members ofthe University ofHawaii Press. I am par­ ticularly indebted to Damaris A. Kirchhofer for her careful editing and numerous improvements in the manuscript. Finally, more than these words can convey, lowe a great deal to my family-Devi, Shakila, and Anita-who had to suffer through my moods and anxieties. Introduction SRI LANKA, a small tropical island situated fewer than twenty-six miles off the southern tip of India, has been the home of two major ethnic groups, the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority, for cen­ turies. Previously known as Ceylon, the island is 61,610 square kilo­ meters in extent and is made up of predominantly coastal lowlands and a central highland of less than 2,000 meters in elevation. The lowlands, with a flat to undulating surface, comprise four-fifths of the island and.are drained by rivers, many of which are dammed to irrigate crops. The island is divided into a Wet Zone and a Dry Zone, based on the regional distribution of annual precipitation. The Wet Zone corresponds to the southwestern coastal plain and western por­ tion of the central highlands where large quantities of moisture are delivered by the southwest monsoon. The Dry Zone, which covers the rest of the island, receives between 1,000 to 1,800 millimeters of annual rainfall from the often unreliable northeast monsoon and cyclonic storms during the months ofNovember and December. Although the Sinhalese and Tamil communities of Sri Lanka trace their ethnic heritage and culture to India, the physical separation. of the island from the subcontinent fostered the developmenr of a Sri Lankan society with its own historical and cultural tradition.s. Within Sri Lanka, however, each of these communities developed its own sense of group identity, differentiated from the other on the basis of ethnic origin, ancestral territory, language, religion, and cultural attributes. Sinhalese, the majority of whom are Buddhists, consider themselves to be descendants of the fair-skinned Aryan people of! North India, pointing out that the Sinhala language is related to th refined and widely used Indo-European group of languages rathe than to the I:')ravidian language of the Tamils, the darker-skinned largely Hindu people ofSouth India. - 2. INTRODUCTION Colonized by Europeans in the sixteenth century, Sri Lanka became an independent state in 1948. In the past decade, however, ethnic conflict between the Sinhalese and the Tamils has undermined national unity and all but destroyed the political integration of Sri Lanka. The Sinhalese/Tamil relationship in Sri Lanka has its roots in a long history that includes both traditional rivalry and peaceful coexis­ tence between the two groups. The Tamils have long been perceived as a privileged community in Sri Lanka, a perception that remains strong although it no longer holds true.