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Explain the measures taken by Sri Lanka in the 1956 Act

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The Sinhalese are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group living on the island of Sri Lanka. They make up about 75 percent of Sri Lanka’s population with more than 16.2 million people. Religion, Historical Heritage, and Language are the basis of Sinhalese identity. The people of Sinhalese speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan island language, and are primarily Theravada Buddhists, although a small percentage of Sinhalese follow branches of Christianity.

Measure taken in 1956 Act of Sri Lanka

  1. To create the Sinhalese Domination, a majority measure was introduced by the government. An Act or law in accepting Sinhala as the only official language was passed in 1956, thus disregarding the Tamil language. 
  2. The government has adopted preferential policies in favor of Sinhalese candidates for academic and government positions.  
  3. The new constitution stipulates that Buddhism must be preserved and promoted by the state. The Tamilians felt that none of the political parties of the Sinhalese Buddhist rulers were sensitive to their culture and language.
  4. As a result, over time became strained due to relations between the Tamil communities and Sinhalese, and this quickly turned into a civil war.
  5. The Sinhalese people are mainly found in Sri Lanka in the north, south, central and west regions.

Important Points

  • Observation of current religious beliefs and practices reveals that, like Buddhists, the Sinhalese as a religious community has a complex worldview.
  • Buddhists and Hindus share religious beliefs and practices because certain doctrines are close and similar.
  • Sinhalese Buddhists embraced the religious elements of the Hindu tradition in their religious practices. Some of these practices may relate to the worship of Hindu gods, ancient indigenous beliefs, and spiritual traditions.
  • Healing rituals use some of these demonic figures who may be the island’s natives.

Sample Questions

Question 1: What amendments were introduced in Sri Lanka by the 1956 Act? 

Answer: 

Official Languages ​​Act No. 33 of 1956, commonly referred to as the Sinhala Proprietary Act, was passed by the Ceylon Parliament  in 1956. This 1956 Act  replaced English with Sinhala as Ceylon’s only official language and excluding Tamil.

Question 2:  How did the 1956 Act affect Tamils ​​in Sri Lanka?

Answer:

They believed that the Constitution and government policies deprived them of equal opportunity in public office and ignored their interests. During the civil war triggered by the 1956 law, many Sri Lankan Tamils ​​were killed, many were forced to exit the country and many of them lost their normal livelihood. They started opposing several policies introduced by Sri Lankan government.

Question 3: What are the three major demands of Tamils ​​in Sri Lanka? 

Answer:

The 1956 Act of Sri Lanka has effected Tamil people as minorities. 

The Major demands of Tamil people in Sri Lanka are as follows:

  1. Tamil language must be recognized as an official language. 
  2. Equal opportunities for Tamil people ​​in government positions and academic institutions.
  3. Tamil Dominated states should be given Provincial Autonomy.

Last Updated : 18 Jul, 2022
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