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2 Citizenship RightsCitizenship Rights Jobs in Government ServiceJobs in Government Service University AdmissionUniversity Admission Resettlement of PopulationResettlement of Population WHY THE CONFLICT?

3 Citizenship Rights 1948 : Citizenship granted1948 : Citizenship granted a.Those who were born in Sri Lanka b.Those whose fathers and grandfathers were born there ExcludedExcluded a.Many Indian Tamils brought from India to Sri Lanka –To work on tea plantations –Found themselves stateless –Lived in Sri Lanka for many years yet denied basic rights such as voting WHY THE CONFLICT?

4 Citizenship Rights 1964 : India stepped in1964 : India stepped in Help those Tamil Indians who were statelessHelp those Tamil Indians who were stateless Held discussions with Sri LankaHeld discussions with Sri Lanka Agreed to allow a number of Indian Tamils to return to IndiaAgreed to allow a number of Indian Tamils to return to India The rest granted citizenshipThe rest granted citizenship Problem : Till late 1980s, agreement still not carried out in full by Sri LankaProblem : Till late 1980s, agreement still not carried out in full by Sri Lanka About 100,000 still statelessAbout 100,000 still stateless Working on tea plantations and contributing to the economyWorking on tea plantations and contributing to the economy WHY THE CONFLICT?

5 Jobs in Government Service British RuleBritish Rule  English-educated Tamils entered government service  Held some of the most powerful jobs although they were a minority  Sinhalese – majority in the country but could not read or write English WHY THE CONFLICT?

6 Jobs in Government Service IndependenceIndependence  Sinhalese government wanted to improve position of majority Sinhalese  Made Sinhalese the only language of administration in 1956 under the Official language Act  Tamils were given 3 years to learn Sinhala or be dismissed  Tamils upset as they could not be promoted; some could not even secure jobs  A peaceful demonstartion was disrupted by Sinhalese and riots occurred  Resulted in more than 100 deaths WHY THE CONFLICT?

7 Jobs in Government Service July 1957 : Pact between Sri Lankan PM Bandaranaike and Tamil leader ChelvanayakamJuly 1957 : Pact between Sri Lankan PM Bandaranaike and Tamil leader Chelvanayakam To make Tamil language of the minorityTo make Tamil language of the minority To allow Tamil as a language of administration only in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka where most Tamils are foundTo allow Tamil as a language of administration only in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka where most Tamils are found Met with protests from the SinhaleseMet with protests from the Sinhalese Agreement was withdrawn in 1958Agreement was withdrawn in 1958 Increased tension in the following months led to fightingIncreased tension in the following months led to fighting Many died, more were made homelessMany died, more were made homeless WHY THE CONFLICT?

8 Jobs in Government Service 1978 : Sri Lankan Constitution granted more recognition to the Tamil language1978 : Sri Lankan Constitution granted more recognition to the Tamil language Made Tamil language of administration in northern and eastern provincesMade Tamil language of administration in northern and eastern provinces English was encouraged as a link languageEnglish was encouraged as a link language Since 1987, Tamil has been accepted as an official languageSince 1987, Tamil has been accepted as an official language But still not widely usedBut still not widely used WHY THE CONFLICT?

9 University Admissions Before 1970Before 1970  University admission based on merit  Exams held in English  Number of Tamil and Sinhalese students in medical and engineering almost equal  1969 : 50% medical students Tamil  48% engineering students Tamil  Sinhalese were unhappy because the ratio was not proportionate to the numbers WHY THE CONFLICT?

10 University Admissions After 1970After 1970  Change in education policies  Compulsory for Tamil students to score higher marks than their Sinhalese counterparts  Over the next 4 years, admission criteria were changed to make it more difficult for tamil youths to enter university  Tamil student % for engineering courses fall from 48% in 1969 to 24.4% in 1973  14.2& in 1975  But more Sinhalese students were able to enter university WHY THE CONFLICT?

11 Resettlement of Population  Another policy which caused resentment  Resettlement of poor Sinhalese peasants  Transferred from densely populated south-western and central areas into Tamil areas  Govt implemented this to provide land for landless Sinhalese peasants  Tamils were of course unhappy  Buddhist monks and Sri Lankan soldiers(mostly Sinhalese) also came to occupy their land WHY THE CONFLICT?

12 Next lesson We’ll discuss the consequences of the Sinhalese-Tamil Conflict WHY THE CONFLICT?

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