Sri Lanka Formerly known as Ceylon, this island country off
the southeast coast of India is today known as Sri Lanka.
According to local legend, Sri Lanka was the destination of
the biblical Adam's exit from paradise.
Despite its exquisite natural beauty, the island's human
geography has been significantly more problematic.
Since 1981, the country has been torn apart by civil
conflict between the island's two primary ethnic groups, the Sinhalese and
Tamils.
The Sinhalese make up over 70% of the population, are mostly
Buddhist, and dwell primarily in southern, western, and central Sri Lanka.
They believe themselves to be the island's traditional
occupants.
Tamils, who make up little over 20% of the population and
are both Hindu and Christian, are located in the north and east.
About half of the Tamils are derived from medieval
conquerors who founded Tamil kingdoms in northern Sri Lanka after crossing the
straits from southern India, while the other half were transported to Sri Lanka
in the nineteenth and early twentieth century to work on tea plantations.
Since 1948, the Tamils have been at a considerable
disadvantage in comparison to the Sinhalese, whose majority has enabled them to
exert control over practically every element of national life.
Anti-Tamil riots, particularly in Colombo, the country's
capital, exacerbated this perilous situation.
In the Tamil majority districts, Tamil organizations started
fighting for independence in 1981.
The Sinhalese majority was adamantly opposed to this idea,
and Sri Lanka has been ravaged by civil conflict ever then.
The Tamils have resorted to guerilla warfare due to their
limited resources.
Their warriors are known for carrying cyanide capsules
around their necks in case they are kidnapped.
These troops are also well-known for their readiness to act
as human bombs, attacking civilians in metropolitan areas.
A person bomb was used to assassinate former Indian Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, in retaliation for Gandhi's alleged treason in
cooperating with the Sri Lankan government.
Although Sri Lanka's current Prime Minister, Chandrika
Kumaratunga, has promised some autonomy to the Tamil areas, the conflict has
been so acrimonious that it is unlikely to be quickly resolved.
Sri Lanka has a long history of cultural connections with
India and has always been a member of the Indian cultural circle.
According to local legend, Mahinda, the son of Mauryan ruler
Ashoka, introduced Buddhism from India to Sri Lanka in the third century B.C.E.
Sri Lanka also has an important Hindu pilgrimage site
(tirtha), Kataragama, on the island's southern shore, as evidence of this link.
Kataragama's purported potency attracts Hindus from across
the world as well as Sri Lankans of all faiths.
Despite the fact that Kataragama is Sri Lanka's sole
significant Hindu monument, the northern areas largely represent the Tamil
culture of the region's inhabitants, which originates from their geographical
origins.
Also see Tamil Nadu.
You may also want to read more about Hinduism here.
Be sure to check out my writings on religion here.
