Majoritarianism is a belief that the majority community should be able to rule a country in whichever way it wants by disregarding the wishes and needs of the minority. According to this philosophy, the major community has the right to make the rules for all members of society. In this method, The majority community govern the country by ignoring the minor communities. The minority’s views are not taken into account; even their basic rights are denied. Minor communities are not able to raise their voice against any unjust. The ethnic composition of Sri Lanka is very complex. In Sri Lanka, Sinhalese are 74% of the total population, Tamil are 18% of the total population, and Christians are 7%. Sinhala speakers are the majority and, Tamil and Christians are in the minority in Sri Lanka. Most of Sinhalese are Buddhist, and most of Tamils are Hindu or Muslims where Christians are both Tamil and Buddhist. Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948, after independence, a democratic government was formed in Sri Lanka, but the government did not follow the principle of democracy. We considered Democracy is a ruled by majority opinion, but the majority always needs to work with the minorities. The rule by the majority should not become the rule by the major community in the country. But in the case of Sri Lanka, As Sinhalese are in the majority in Sri Lanka; in government also Sinhalese leaders were in the majority, they tried to claim their influence over the government. Sinhalese leaders started controlling the government, and dominating the minorities means they started dominating the minorities, Tamils and Christians. Thus, The democratic government of Sri Lanka ruled by the majority opinion and ignored the minority’s interests. The government took many measures to establish Sinhala supremacy- (i) The government in 1956, passed an Act that declared Sinhala as the official language of the country, Sinhala become the only language to be used as the official language. The Tamil language was not given any importance. (ii)The Sri Lankan Government formulated a policy in which only Sinhala applicants were preferred for university positions and government jobs. The government and other professions, including railways, schools, and universities, jobs given to Sinhala speaking people. (iii) The new constitution of Sri Lanka declared that the state would promote Buddhism. Means, Buddhism is given primary protection as the state religion. One after other, these measures increase the feeling of alienation among the They felt that none of the major political parties led by the Sinhala leaders was sensitive to their language and culture. There were many parties in Sri Lanka, but all of them was formed and led by Sinhalese, they were not sensitive about Sri Lankan Tamils, and they never raised their issues. 1) Constitution and government policies both had denied their political rights. 2) They were discriminated in getting jobs and other opportunities in their own country. 3) No one political Party was sensitive to their culture and language As a result, the relation between Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamils strained over time. The Sri Lankan Tamils launched political parties and struggles for their rights. By 1980s, many political organizations were formed, and the Sri Lankan Tamils put forward some demands. The demands of Tamils in Sri Lanka- 1. Sri Lankan wanted to recognize the Tamil language as an official language. 2. They wanted an equal opportunity in getting education and jobs. 3. They wanted to form an independent state ( Tamil Eelam) in the northern and eastern part of Sri Lanka. This struggle between the two communities got violent and soon turned into a civil war. As a result, thousands of people of both sides have been killed. Many people forced to leave the country, many lost their livelihood. They became homeless and jobless. All we can say, democracy in Sri Lanka has failed to accommodate social diversity. Still, this situation could be avoided by power-sharing between these two communities. Please watch my Youtube video on ‘Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka’ (Civics, Chapter-1, Power-sharing, Class-10 CBSE) Answer VerifiedHint:The Sinhalese are an ethnic group of Indo-Aryans native to the island of Sri Lanka. They make up about 75% of the population of Sri Lanka and account for more than 16.2 million people. Language, historical heritage, and religion are the basis of Sinhalese identity.Sinhalese people speak Sinhala, an island language of Indo-Aryan, and are predominantly Theravada Buddhists, although a small percentage of Sinhalese follow Christian branches. Complete answer: Note:Observations of current religious beliefs and practices show that, like Buddhists, the Sinhalese have a complex worldview as a religious community. There are numerous areas where Buddhists and Hindus share religious beliefs and practices because of certain doctrines' proximity and similarity.Sinhalese Buddhists have, in their religious practices, adopted religious elements from Hindu traditions. Some of these practices may be related to Hindu deities' worship, ancient indigenous beliefs, and traditions of spirits.In healing rituals, some of these demonic figures are used and may be native to the island. |