D emocracy in S ri L anka

D emocracy in S ri L anka We have already seen that Sri Lanka has retained democracy since its independence in . But it faced a serious challenge, not from the military or monarchy but rather from ethnic conflict leading to the demand for secession by one of the regions. After its independence, politics in Sri Lanka (it was then known as Ceylon) was dominated by forces that represented the interest of the majority Sinhala community. They were hostile to a large number of Tamils who had migrated from India to Sri Lanka and settled there. This migration continued even after independence. The Sinhala nationalists thought that Sri Lanka should not give ‘concessions’ to the Tamils because Sri Lanka belongs to the Sinhala people only. The neglect of Tamil concerns led to militant Tamil nationalism. From onwards, the militant organisation, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Nepal sounds really exciting. I wish I was in Nepal! Democracy activist, Durga Thapa, participating in a pro-democracy rally in Kathmandu in . The second picture shows the same person in , this time celebrating the success of the second democracy movement. Photo credit: Min Bajracharya