P. K. Balachandran
Sri Lanka’s minority communities—Tamils, Muslims, and Malaiyaga Tamils—face persistent challenges in securing meaningful political representation within a system heavily influenced by the Sinhala-Buddhist majority, according to a report by the Minority Rights Group and Oxford Brookes University, led by Dr. Farah Mihlar. Despite experimenting with various strategies, these groups continue to grapple with systemic barriers, with effective representation remaining elusive, particularly for North-Eastern Tamils.
The report, Divided and Weakened: The Collapse of Minority Politics in Sri Lanka, highlights the structural disadvantages minorities face, whether their parties align with the government or remain in opposition. North-Eastern Tamils, who often advocate for federalism—a concept largely rejected by the Sinhalese majority—experience widespread disillusionment. In contrast, Muslims and Malaiyaga Tamils have achieved relatively greater success by adopting more flexible and pragmatic approaches, cooperating or confronting the majority based on specific issues.
Dr. Mihlar notes, “Minority politics in Sri Lanka is disintegrating, crushed by structural majoritarian nationalism and stunted by a lack of vision, identity, and leadership within minority parties.” A former Tamil militant, who transitioned to an elected MP in 1989, expressed frustration, stating, “No one gained by it; not a single MP has achieved anything. We have no other solution, we have no option, we have to do this politics.”
Majoritarian Nationalism and Political Marginalization
Since independence, majoritarian nationalism, embedded in state institutions like the military and civil service, has curtailed the effectiveness of minority representatives. This was particularly pronounced during the presidencies of Mahinda Rajapaksa (2005–2015) and Gotabaya Rajapaksa (2019–2022), periods marked by heightened Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism. The report alleges that strategies such as co-opting minority MPs, sowing division within their parties, and restricting their ability to serve their communities were employed to undermine minority representation.
No comments:
Post a Comment