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The recent conflict in Sri Lanka has been widely reported in the media, its linguistic origins however have not been covered. The civil war has been widely reported as a 30 year struggle however, its origins can can be traced back to an Act of Parliament in 1956 concerning the national language of Sri Lanka, then known as Ceylon.

This act concerning language, led to a bloody civil war where thousands of lives have been lost and millions displaced.

The population of Sri Lanka comprises of the Sinhalese majority (74%) and the Tamil Minority (18%). For more than 2000 years the two communities enjoyed cordial relations.

European interest in Sri Lanka began with the Portuguese in 1505, followed by the Dutch in 1685 with Britain starting to take over in 1796. The entire island came under a single administration for the fist time in 1833. The island was a British colony for 150 years, until 1948. During this time, English was the language of the civil and judicial service. Fluency in English now became necessary to progress in many areas of society. As in the rest of the British Empire those that did not know English were at a disadvantage.

An English education system established in the Tamil dominated north of the country by American missionaries meant a disproportionately high number of Tamils spoke English giving them a significant advantage in society. Prior to independence Tamils made up 33% of the civil service, 40% of the judicial service, 31% of university students, and 50% of doctors and engineers. [1]

Ceylon gained independence in 1948. A Sinhalese nationalist movement gained popularity and the Sinhala Only Act was passed in 1956 making Sinhalese the only official language. Where previously English was necessary for civil service jobs and education, now Sinhalese was, excluding the Tamil minority from many opportunities.

The Tamil campaign for equal rights began within the legal system. Peaceful protest against the act was met with anti-Tamil riots as nationalism grew. During that time other discriminatory acts were passed including the policy of standardization, effecting university admission, and acts effecting Tamil language media. In the 70’s the campaign for equal rights became militant.

In 1983 the The Tamil language was once again recognized as an official language, but by then the damage had been done. What had begun as peaceful protests for equality had tuned into an all out war for independence resulting in more than 70,000 dead and today 300,000 interned in government camps.

Further Reading: Wikipedia , The linguistic roots of the Sri Lankan civil war