Page 67 - Soul of India: The Colorful South

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(northern, Tamil speaking, Hindu) and Polonnaruwa (southern, Sinhalese, Buddhist). When
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but related, kingdoms centered on the cities of Kandy and Kotte.

The Age of Colonization
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further enraged the Tamil rulers by trying to convert the populace from Hinduism to the
Catholic faith.

In time, the Portuguese controlled large sections of the island and the lucrative spice trade
with Europe. Only the kingdom of Kandy retained some independence, due to its secure
location in the highlands.

When other European powers showed interest in the same trade, the local rulers tried to
use the Europeans’ rivalries to eject the Portuguese. Unfortunately, this only succeeded in
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1796) took over the island. In 1815, the kingdom of Kandy surrendered to the British, who
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divides between the Sinhalese and the Tamils, especially with the arrival of large numbers
(some estimates state 850,000) indentured Tamil workers from India. It wasn’t until after
Indian independence in 1947 that Ceylon (the colonial name for Sri Lanka) gained its own
independence in 1948.

Independence and Division

After independence, the Sinhalese-Tamil divide came to the forefront of Sri Lankan politics.
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language and begin using Sinhala instead—a movement that would have left the Tamils, who
speak Tamil and not Sinhala, out in the cold. Both sides felt threatened; the Tamils by fear of
being relegated to second-class citizens and the Sinhalese by fear that India might intervene
on the Tamils’ behalf. An early attempt by the Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike to create a
federation between the two groups provoked his assassination in 1959.

The unrest continued and eventually led to a state of emergency being imposed on Tamil lands
in the north in 1971. For many Tamils, this was viewed as an act of aggression akin to an
occupation, hence the formation of opposition groups such as the “Tamil Tigers” (Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE). The cycle of mistrust and revenge during the next couple
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2009, the peace process has begun.

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