Examine any four reasons for strained relationship between the Sinhala and the Tamil communities.
Ans. After the Independence (1948), the leaders of the Sinhala community of Sri Lanka took some Majoritarian measures to establish their dominance. These are
(i) In 1956, an Act was passed which recognised Sinhala as the only official language, thus disregarding Tamil language.
(ii) Preferences were given to Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs, etc.
(iii) State shall promote Buddhism according to new Constitution.
(iv) Sri Lankan Tamil felt that none of the major political parties led by Buddhist Sinhala leaders were sensitive to their language and culture.
All these measures strained the relationship between the two communities.