Question

Explain the reasons for ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka and its impact on India.

Hint:

To remember the reasons and impact of Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict: Sinhala-only policy $\rightarrow$ led to LTTE militancy $\rightarrow$ causing massive Indian Tamil emotional pressure $\rightarrow$ resulting in the failed Peacekeeping mission (IPKF). Mnemonic: SLIP.

Answer 1

Step 1: Historical Roots and Sinhala Majoritarianism Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) achieved independence from British rule in 1948. Immediately, its political landscape was captured by the majoritarian Sinhalese community (primarily Buddhist), who harbored deep historical resentment against the minority Sri Lankan Tamils (primarily Hindu/Christian). This majoritarianism was legalized through institutional policies: [noitemsep]
• The Sinhala Only Act (1956): Made Sinhala the sole official language of the state, systematically excluding Tamil-speaking citizens from civil services, government jobs, and state-funded higher education.
• State-Sponsored Colonization: The government settled Sinhalese peasants in historically Tamil-majority northern and eastern provinces to alter local demographics.

Step 2: The Rise of Tamil Militancy and the LTTE Frustrated by decades of peaceful political protests yield no results, Tamil youth turned to armed insurgency. In 1976, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was formed under Velupillai Prabhakaran. The LTTE demanded a completely sovereign, independent Tamil state called “Tamil Eelam” in the north and east. From 1983 onwards, Sri Lanka descended into a brutal, bloody civil war characterized by ethnic cleansing, suicide bombings, and military crackdowns.

Step 3: Direct Domestic and Geopolitical Impact on India The ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka could not remain a localized domestic issue due to close geographic and cultural proximity to India: [noitemsep]
• Tamil Nadu Political Pressure: The Tamil population in India shared deep ethnic, linguistic, and familial ties with Sri Lankan Tamils. The political parties of Tamil Nadu placed immense pressure on the central government in New Delhi to intervene and protect their ethnic kin.
• Refugee Inflow: Hundreds of thousands of displaced Sri Lankan Tamils fled across the Palk Strait, seeking shelter in India, which strained regional resources and posed security challenges.

Step 4: The Indian Military Debacle (1987--1990) and Tragic Fallout In an attempt to resolve the crisis, PM Rajiv Gandhi signed the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord of July 1987. India agreed to send the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to enforce disengagement and protect the devolution of powers to Tamils. However, the IPKF was sucked into a bloody, unconventional guerrilla war against the LTTE, while being deeply resented by the Sinhalese government. India withdrew the IPKF in 1990 without achieving its objectives. The tragic culmination of this strategic overreach was the assassination of former PM Rajiv Gandhi by an LTTE suicide bomber in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991, permanently changing India's hands-off policy toward Sri Lanka thereafter.