Comparisons with Japan
Dissimilar: True Tropical Former Colony Multi-Ethnic
Poor Internal Conflict
Similar: Rice Culture Patronage Literacy
Welfare state Personalism Bureaucracy
Big Neighbor
Themes:
1. The difficulty of staying serendipitous
2. Omnipresent influence of big neighbor on policies
3. South Asia as a cauldron of troubles
Aside: It is dangerous to be thought a "good bet" for the future
Sri Lanka Sudan Ghana Malaya Nigeria Brazil Mexico Iran
What are the effects of the geographic setting
Climate -- Monsoon
Topography--highlands and rainshadow
Harbors--strategic harbors and outsiders--Trincomalee
Location--convenient offshore way station to desirable places
History
Tamils and Sinhalese
Indian versus "local" Tamils -- citizenship and voting
The welfare state and the expectations it aroused
Economic problems since independence
Terms of trade
The oil crises and their impacts
on the welfare system
on the beginnings of Tamil troubles
Indian intervention and its aftermaths
Ethnic Violence in Sri Lanka
1883 Sinhalese Buddhists against Catholics
1915 Sinhalese Buddhists against Muslims
1930s Sinhalese Buddhists against Malayalis
After 1948 (Independence):
Violence between Sinhalese and Tamils.
The violence escalated after 1977 and has been endemic since 1983.
1956-58 Violence related to the question of official language
1977-83 Localized violence and nation-wide riots against Tamils
1983 July riots ("Black Friday")
1983-87 LTTE war I (LTTE: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam)
1987-89 War between LTTE and IPKF (Indian Peace Keeping Force)
1987-89 JVP insurrection (Sinhalese guerilla)
1990- LTTE war II
Sinhalese Consciousness and Chauvinism
Sinhalese propaganda against other ethnic groups:
1. Sinhalese are seen as superior to other ethnic groups, because they were the original inhabitants of the island and because (according to the myth) they were 'Aryan' migrants from Bengal.
2. Sri Lanka is seen as an isolated island, i.e. the Sinhalese feel that they are a minority in the region with no other country except Sri Lanka. The minority groups have ethnic links with other countries (e.g. Tamil Nadu in India).
3. The Sinhalese see themselves as the protectors of Buddhism. Appeals to save Buddhism from non-Buddhists and calls for a 'dharma yudhaya' (holy war) to protect Buddhist monuments and religion have been made.
Hence, Sinhalese Buddhist ideology sees Sri Lanka as the land of Sinhalese Buddhists who are the true 'bhumi putra' (sons of the soil). All other groups are aliens who are out to exploit the country and its people for their own gain, in the process disgracing the 'purity' and 'integrity' of the Sinhalese Buddhist people. This charge is now laid mainly against Tamils.
Economic 'Injustices'
Two economic 'injustices' are frequently referred to by Sinhalese:
1. Foreign or minority-owned businesses are said to have retarded the development of Sinhalese businesses. Calls are therefore made for privileges for Sinhalese merchants and for measures against 'alien traders'.
2. Another common view is that non-Sinhalese have an unfair share of government jobs and university places.
The Tamil Consciousness has evolved as a mirror-image to the Sinhalese consciousness. This has also resulted in Tamil chauvinism against Sinhalese and Muslims.
An alternative way of explaining the conflicts:
The ethnic conflicts are mainly about economic opportunities and power for different groups/classes of people. These groups/classes are not defined by ethnicity.
1. The Urban Conflicts
i) Political administration
ii) Commercial activities
Colonial period (- 1948) / Early post-colonial period (1948-1956)
Political administration dominated by a westernized elite (upper-class, english-speaking, well-educated). A fair share of Tamils, due to educational opportunities (missionary schools in Jaffna). Beginning antagonism between Sinhalese and Tamils caused by British 'divide and rule' policies in the 1920s.
1956
Sinhalese populist/nationalist 'revolution' against westernized elite. After the election in 1956 the Sri Lankan State evolved as a Sinhalese State.
1956-1977
Political administration increasingly dominated by middle-class Sinhalese. This group has made decisions on official language, admission to universities and on recruitment to administrative services favoring the Sinhalese.
State-regulated economy (expanding public sector within a context of a closed import-substitution strategy, limited private sector). State patronage became very important.
The (Sinhalese) state;
- through political patronage helped Sinhalese entrepreneurs
- created extensive job opportunities mainly for the Sinhalese people, through the expansion of the public sector.
Consequently, the Sinhalese urban middle- and upper-classes had good opportunities for upward social mobility. The urban lower-classes were covered by extensive welfare schemes. The Tamils were increasingly alienated, and calls for a Tamil Eelam (Homeland) started to appear in the 1970s. The Tamils that entered into business ventures had to do so through private sector trading, transport and service. The ethnic tension increased but did not erupt into widespread rioting.
1977
The economy in deep crisis;
i) Increasing trade deficit due to lowered prices on tea, rubber and coconut in the world market.
ii) The state-regulated economy was unable to create economic growth, employment and eradicate poverty.
Consequently, shift to a policy of an open market economy and reduced welfare transfers.
Sinhalese entrepreneurs, without state patronage, found themselves in direct competition with foreign businesses as well as with Tamil and Muslim entrepreneurs. Many Sinhalese small-scale industries disappeared. The urban poor lost their welfare support. On the other hand, increased trade and expansion of the private sector created better opportunities for the minority ethnic groups (Tamil businessmen dominated trade).
This resulted in frequent, widespread and very violent ethnic riots between 1977 and 1983. Organized mobs of dissatisfied Sinhalese (backed by the Government) attacked Tamils in 1983. This further alienated the young middle-class Tamils who now demanded a Tamil Eelam (homeland). Since 1983; direct war between Tamil separatists and the Government over the question of a Tamil Eelam. (LTTE: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam)
2.The Tamil Eelam
After Independence, the Sinhalese political elite became dependent on the rural masses (i.e. poor Sinhalese peasants) for electoral support. Consequently, they sought to alleviate rural poverty and unemployment in the Sinhalese regions through agricultural development (capital intensive irrigation expansion, land development and peasant resettlement). These Government policies increased the concentration of (high-yielding) land within a section of the Sinhalese population. The majority of the Sinhalese and Tamil peasants did not benefit.
These developments were escalated by the large-scale Mahaweli Development Project started in the 1970s. Large parts of the Mahaweli Project is located within the proposed Tamil Eelam, and was hence seen as Sinhalese colonization of Tamil Eelam. The construction of the Mahaweli Project was accelerated after 1977 (funded by the World Bank).
This broadened the Tamil-Sinhalese conflicts from being an urban (mainly) middle-class conflict to include the poor peasants in the rural areas. The Tamils now felt that they were becoming increasingly marginalized even within their own areas, that their area was simply colonized by Sinhalese.
3. The Plantations
The Indian Tamils were brought to Sri Lanka by British estate owners to work on the (labor-intensive) tea plantations (in the 19th century). Plantations are 'total institutions' that regulate almost every aspect of the lives of the workers (work, housing, markets, religious activities, education etc.). The plantation workers are segregated from the rest of society by the system of production and by ethnic characteristics. The plantation workers are thus confined to the plantation system and are strongly dependent on the plantation while also having little bargaining power (many similarities to slavery).
This system was used to increase the profitability of the plantations in the colonial period. After independence, the Sinhalese state used the same basic system to secure profits for the state. One way to control the plantation labor was to make sure that the workers did not get citizenship rights in the new and independent country. The ethnic differences were used to justify the increased oppression of the Indian Tamil plantation workers.
Changes after Independence:
1948 Decision not to grant citizenship rights to the Indian Tamils (for fear of the political power this would give to a large number of oppressed and radical plantation workers).
1948-90 Decline in the profitability of the plantations; weakened position for the plantation workers.
1972-75 Plantations nationalized to secure the profit for the state. This created more insecurity about employment for the Indian Tamils while at the same time it also meant the entry of Sinhalese nationalism into the estates.
1977- Ethnic violence against Indian Tamils by Sinhalese mobs.
4. External relations of Sri Lanka
Economy
The Sri Lankan economy is an export-economy which is dependent on three cash crops: tea, rubber, coconut. The total production has been relatively stagnant while the prices for the export products in the world market have shown negative trends since Independence. This economic situation can explain the economic policy decisions made by the Sinhalese elite (e.g. the state-regulated economy), which in turn has contributed to the ethnic hostilities.
Politics
India is a regional superpower with strong interests in the situation in Sri Lanka because of the power of Tamil Nadu politicians and for larger geo-political reasons.
India's position and power is also a reason for Sinhalese nationalism. Sinhalese nationalists see Sri Lanka as being constantly threatened by India. Indeed, an Indian invasion was planned in 1984. This was never realized, partly due to the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
Tamil Nadu/India have provided training, economic support, supplies of arms and safe bases for the Tamil separatists. A solution to the ethnic conflicts seems impossible without the consent of India.
1987 Indo-Lanka Peace Accord (IPKF: Indian Peace-Keeping Force).
i) IPKF never managed to disarm the LTTE
ii) The presence of Indian soldiers in Sri Lanka caused a spontaneous Sinhalese nationalist (JVP) uprising against the 'invaders'.
5. JVP
The capital-intensive agricultural development programmes (peasant resettlement in irrigation schemes) meant that the control of high-yielding land became more concentrated. The majority of the peasants were left in a situation of poverty and underemployment. For the rural youth very few opportunities existed. This crisis of poverty and unemployment in the rural Sinhalese areas created the movement called JVP.
JVP started off as a Marxist revolutionary movement made up of unemployed poor rural youth. In the 1980s the movement turned more towards Sinhalese ethnic consciousness and the strategy was shifted to that of 'revolution through ethnic struggle'. This increased the support (JVP members in the state apparatus) while at the same time the movement became more fascist in nature (as has also happened to LTTE).
1971 Attempted (marxist) revolution.
1978 General amnesty.
1978-83 JVP in parliamentary politics.
1983 JVP blamed for the ethnic riots and forced underground
1987 Spontaneous Sinhalese nationalist (led by JVP) uprising against the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord and the 'Indian invasion'. The Government was seen as traitors and hence made the main target.
1988-89 JVP a serious (nationalist) threat to the Government.
1989 Increased use of torture and general violence by the armed forces and death squads.
1990 JVP defeated.
The Government is now using the same kind of strategy against the Tamil separatists. In this case the strategy is less likely to succeed because of the strength of the LTTE and because of its external support. One possible indicator of this is that the strongman behind the hardline Government strategy was assassinated in early 1991.
<..This material on ethnic violence was prepared by Dr. Kristian Stokke, a doctorate in geography at Penn State who wrote his dissertation on development problems in Sri Lanka and who visited there in 1990..>
The struggle continues with continuing attempts at a negotiated solution unsuccessful, continued government attacks on the Tiger strongholds in the Jaffna peninsula in the north, massacres of Sinhalese and Muslims in north and east, and more assassinations of government and military officials.
"Sri Lankan rebels blow up ship off the port of Madras," NYT 17Ja93, p.13 talks of the Tamil Tigers destroying a ship carrying arms for their secessionist struggle after it was surrounded by the Indian Navy.-- Followup; the second in command of the Tigers was killed in this action. One suspicion of the Indian police is that the bombings in Bombay and other cities may have had Tamil roots as a revenge.
"Us and them," Economist 20Fe93, p.34 talks of pressure on independent newspapers. Unlike those funded by government which prosper but are not trusted, these are influential. There are two mainstream groups and a number of antigovernment political weeklies. Some weeklies are going out of business because the government has insisted they pay their bills (including those due to government agencies like electricity) on time. The newspapers say they are not being treated like other businesses. The mainstream groups have been accused by government of being run by feudalists. They are respectively controlled by Ranjit Wijewardene and the Upali Wijewardene family. The Cambridge educated heads may make the proletarian prime minister Premadasa upset. The families are related to Junius Jayawardene, Premadasa's predecessor. Ranjit Wijewardene is married to a niece of 4 time prime minister Dudley Senanayake.
"Sri Lanka Army makes gains against rebels," Edward A. Gargan, NYT 20Mr93, p.1 talks of army gains in the east while it is confining insurgency to the north. The government's confidence seems higher with this and with recent economic growth and it is proposing a political settlement. The death toll since 1983 exceeds 20,000. The major leader, Velupillai Prabakaran has indicated publicly for the first time that he is willing to consider a solution short of independence. Joseph Pararajasingham of the Tamil United Liberation Front noted the following demands of his party: 1 administrative linking of north and east; 2) limits on the right of Sinhalese to move into these areas; 3)devolution of power within some kind of federal system. On the other side are feelings such as those expressed by Gamil Jayasuriya, a former minister and now president of the Sinhala Protective Organization in Colombo: "All land belongs to all its people...The concept of traditional homelands we consider a myth..one kind of solution, bringing them to heel."
"Who killed Lalith," Economist 1My93, p.37 Police have fingered Tamils as killers of the major opposition leader Lalith Athulathmudali of the Democratic United National Front on 23 April. But there is a feeling it may have been a government hit. His bodyguard shot at the assassin who wore a black shirt. The man found by the police worse a white shirt. Lalith was well educated (unlike the prime minister) and had tried to impeach the PM. Tamils had also been accused to killing a defense minister Ranjan Wijeratne in March of 1991 and a general in August, 1992 but no firm evidence of their doing so has been presented. So conspiracy theories abound.
"Death in Sri Lanka: A paradise that lost its peace," Edward A. Gargan, NYT 3My93, A3 talks of the death of the main opposition leader and the Prime Minister in the same week. The PM died in a car bomb explosion. The Tamil Tigers are prime suspects; police said a piece of a cyanide capsule was embedded in the neck of the bomber; these capsules are a trademark of the Tigers. Firecrackers were set off in Sinhalese areas to celebrate the assassination. The PM was felt by many to be a ruthless and evil person.
Parliament will select a new president to serve until December, 1994, the next election.
2 letters, NYT 17My93, a16. Rajan Sriskandarajah, editor of Tamil Voice of US Tamils blames current violence on Sinhalese attempts to make the country one of one language and one religion with discrimination against Tamils. He advocates separation and self rule by each group. Niazul Huda says before independence the Sinhalese majority was dominated by the Tamils. The Tamils resorted to violence, encouraged by India; the LTTE is a creation of Indian security forces. The tragedy of Sri Lanka results from a regional bully intervening in a smaller neighbor. Karunyan Arul writes about political Sinhala Buddhism which has used the religion as a fetish and an idol to gain access to power. The Tamil minority had to take arms to defend itself. SB's ideology is exclusiveness, dominance and intolerance.
"Sri Lanka: Muzzling the press," The Economist, 30 Se 95, 36 notes that with a major offensive due to start in (the Tamil's biggest city in Sri Lanka) the Jaffna area in the next fortnight the government has ordered both foreign and domestic reporters to give their reporting to military authorities for censorship. The government has apparently abrogated its original commitment to openness when it was elected a year ago. "Some Sri Lankan newspapers make up stories, publish gossip as news, print misleading headlines and fuel racial mistrust."
"Sri Lankan war continues with worst day yet," CDT (AP dispatch), 4 Oc 95, 18A noted that 140 Tamil separatists and 27 soldiers had been killed in two battles in a Tamil counterattack on soldiers advancing onto the guerrillas' territory. Rebels were also reported to have attacked troop carrying ships, killing 15 soldiers and 3 sailors.
"Sri Lankan army drives on Tamil rebels," John F. Burns, NYT, 5 No 95, 12 says that after 12 years of civil war, the army reversed the tide of war by attacking and bringing the rebel capital, Jaffna, close to being overrun. The London office of the LTTE announced they were moving their headquarters to a group of villages to the east of the town.
"Two attacks intensify war in Sri Lanka: A paradise lost sees its bloodiest chapter," John F. Burns NYT, 12 No 95, 4 reports on a suicide attack by rebel Tamils (the Black Tigers) in the capital, Colombo, which killed at least 17. The casualties in the last three weeks of more than 7000 include 2100 dead.
The Regional Context
The Region
The British Impress
India
Settlement of the subcontinent before the British
Madras (1639) Bombay (1661) Calcutta (1690) Delhi (post 1857)
Favored "races" -- Punjabis, Sikhs, Gurkhas
A Multi-ethnic multi-lingual state and the problems of choosing one of the local languages as "official"
Linguistic states as a de facto policy and the problems they cause -- central government "takeovers"
Patronage policies and caste
1946 Indian Federation Proposal and ultimate partition
One family dominance -- The NEHRUs
Motilal (1881-1931) Jawaharlal (1889-1964)
Indira G(1917-1984) Rajiv Gandhi (1944-1991) The end?
Indian interventions -- a regional superpower
Kashmir Goa Sikkim Bhutan Nepal
Pakistan and Bangladesh (Punjabis and Bengalis don't mix)
Sri Lanka
The Maldives
Burma/Myanmar?
Pakistan
An uneasy unitary state -- is one factor (religion) enough basis for unity
Rule by oligarchies
Location and its importance again -- the American and Chinese connections
Burma/Myanmar
A state built on assassinations (1947). What if Washington and Jefferson had not lived? Nobel prize winning activist, under house arrest since her party won 80 percent of the vote in 1990, is the daughter of the most revered pre-independence leader.
U Nu and Ne Win -- different faces of Burma
Politics of Autarchy
Incessant ethnic conflict -- Karens, Shans, etc.
News and snippets:
"Rally for Rama," The Economist, 13Ap91, p.36. Talks of the Bharatiya Janata party in India which is trying to build up a sense of Hindu power to win control of government. Notes support by 6000 holy men. Discusses the struggle over the mosque at Ayodhya whose destruction in late 1992 caused riots and deaths in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.
"For Muslims in Bombay, fear turns to grief and rage," NYT 15Ja93, p.a3 and "Week of rioting leaves streets of Bombay empty," NYT, 12Ja93, p3 and "In a Bombay slum, fires and flight," NYT, 13JA93, p.3. After the destruction of the Ayodhya mosque, riots took place in many parts of India as well as Pakistan and Bangladesh. Bombay was one of the worst hit areas. The extent has not yet been estimated but thousands of homes and businesses have been destroyed and most of the more than 620 (official toll) people killed this month were Muslims. In many places, police stood passively by, in others they have taken tough action. Shiv Sena, a Hindu fundamentalist group, has been blamed -- it is an ally of the BJP. J. R. Tata, India's best known industrialist, talked of the city being taken over by "mobsters and beasts in the form of men." There has also been a suspicion that some of the destruction has been sponsored by slumlords, anxious to clear out slum areas for redevelopment. An example of one such area is Dharavi where 600,000 are packed into one square mile.
"And now, killer buses; It's just too, too much," Edward A. Gargan, NYT p.4 12Je93 is a discussion of breakdowns in infrastructure in the capital of India, New Delhi. The town area was once capital of Mogul India; the current city was a masterpiece of urban planning by Sir Edwin Luytens. Now, Malvika Singh, assistant publisher of Business India said "there's no power and water. The phones don't work. The bus drivers are mauling human beings as they go by. It is grim." The population has quadrupled to 9.4 million in 30 years, faster than improvements in facilities. At current growth rates, there will be 13.5 million people by 2000.
"Yangon Journal: AIDS onslaught breaches the Burmese capital," NYT 11Mr94, P4. Aids epidemic is likely to ravage the country as it is its neighbors. Problems: large group of intravenous drug users, a migration of prostitutes, shortage of condoms, conservative culture making AIDS education difficult. Also Burma is the target of sanctions affecting international aid for health projects. UNICEF took a year to persuade the Burmese government to show a special film for Burmese TV, "Poisonous Love." Only the fact that General Khin Nyunt's wife is a physician made it possible.
"Burmese general bars talks soon with arrested democracy leader," NYT 7Mr94, A8 Philip Shenon. "The Burmese junta has yet to decide how to deal with its foe."
INDIA
"Rao's new-year resolution," Economist, 8Jn94, 35-36. Narasimha Rao the only PM outside the Nehru-Gandhi to survive as much as half a parliamentary term. And looks good for second half. Was banking scandal (Bombay). Manmohan Singh fiannce minister architect of free-market reforms.
"Cold words over Kashmir," Economist, 8Jn94,36. Hopes for I-P reconciliation didn't last. Clinton admin prodded P into talks, but no go. Siachen glacier, nuclear proliferation etc. Bhutto turned tough.
"All in the family," Economist, 8Jn94, 36-37. Anura Bandaranaike assumed he'd take over SriLanka Freedom Party when mother Sirimavo B stepped down. But Mrs. B favors her daughter Chandrika. [The daughter did take over and won as prime minister. She then made herself President -- a more powerful post.]
"The tiger steps out...a survey of India," The Economist, 21 Ja 95 is an extended report on the state of that country. While focusing on the economy, the other aspects of the society are not flouted by any means. These surveys, which appear every few months on various topics are one of the attractions of this journal.