Sri Lanka

While Sri Lanka falls short in upholding international legal standards, the country has ratified all major United Nation (UN) treaties and engages with monitoring bodies. National legislation tends to undermine these commitments and instead utilize them to persecute political opponents. These shortcomings highlight the gaps between international commitments and implementation.

The Sri Lankan Constitution recognizes the state’s plural nature. This commitment has been upheld in the national legal framework, by incorporating traditional Sinhala and Tamil practices and statutes. Despite such provisions, the Constitution hints at a hierarchy of religion and language. Per the Constitution, Sri Lanka’s first official language is Sinhala and Buddhism occupies a privileged position.

Although the law makes no distinction between citizens of Sri Lanka, this is not the experience in practice. There is a sense among minorities that being Sinhalese Buddhist trumps being Sri Lankan, due to the privileges afforded to them. Additionally, between 1948-1988, citizenship rights were routinely denied to Tamils. Although this was reversed, Tamils’ living conditions remain negatively affected.

Policies that prioritize the majority community and policies of ethno-nationalist populism undermine Sri Lanka’s efforts for pluralism. There is limited access to government services in the two official languages. Most services operate in Sinhala, and Tamil speakers who are socio-economically marginalized face additional obstacles by not speaking Sinhala. While the law is non-discriminatory, women, especially Muslim women, are impacted by patriarchal policies.

Sri Lanka’s overall data collection is of commendable quality. Demographic census data provides information on ethnicity and religion, education, migration, etc. Despite this comprehensive data collection, there is a lack of data on group-based inequalities. Additionally, as policies get made on the national level, there is no regard to how they might impact ethno-religious groups.

The right to protest is constitutionally protected in Sri Lanka. While effective claims-making helps legitimize peoples’ concerns, the privileging of the majority group’s concerns also impacts the claims’ outcomes. The government tends to only respond to claims from Sinhalese Buddhists. Claims-making, thus, can lead to minorities feeling a lack of power.

All parties in Sri Lanka embrace pluralism, but some party platforms prioritize the majority group. Tamil parties tend to promote nationalism, while Muslim parties have pushed to reform the country’s political party system. Political corruption is present across all levels of politics, but especially in local and provincial levels. At higher levels of government, dynastic politics (many generations of the same family in politics) has become increasingly common.

Sri Lankan media operates in three languages: Sinhala, Tamil and English, but they often operate in silos, at the expense of pluralism. For example, Sinhala language media focuses on Sinhalese concerns. Tamil media provides space for issues impacting the Tamil community. Finally, English language media tends to be more pluralist, but its reach is limited.

Most media promote government narratives that minimize minority grievances and experiences. The media not only furthers majority interests, it also contributes to silencing minority communities. The media also ensures that armed forces are portrayed favorably. This results in minorities feeling unable to criticize the military, despite being disproportionately targeted by them.

There is considerable pluralism within Sri Lanka’s civil society. Sri Lanka has laws that protect freedom of association and expression, and people are generally accepting of differences. This means that polarization, as in other areas of society, is not so extreme. Although non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations are typically pro-democracy, they are seen as opponents by the government.

Sri Lanka’s private sector is hardly a vocal supporter of pluralism. There are two general groupings for businesses: large companies and small private businesses. Small private businesses have notably contributed to weakening pluralism. Most small trader establishments tend to hire from their own communities. In turn, this reinforces societal divisions along ethno-religious lines.

Sri Lankans value their vote and vote in high numbers. The country holds mainly free and fair polls with all communities having the freedom to vote. Ramped up militarization may prevent some Tamils from voting in the northeast. Despite there being many multi-ethnic parties, it is still difficult to envision a non-Buddhist becoming president.

Most wealth is accumulated in the Western Province, while rural areas fare worse. For example, Indian Tamils have been disproportionately impacted by economic inequality, as a consequence of the civil war. Additionally, Tamil women are often hired as tea pickers or garment factory workers. They are often exploited and disempowered by low wages.

Sri Lanka has a comprehensive social welfare program. Whenever social programs are threatened to be cut back or privatized, this leads to widespread protests. Recently, Sri Lanka has allocated more resources towards military spending, with the health sector being the most negatively impacted. Despite this, there is free access to education across the island, although the quality of education is not equal.

Sri Lankans celebrate all aspects of their culture openly and all major religious festivals are national holidays. However, since the civil war, anti-Muslim rhetoric has increased because Islam has been seen as a threat to the Buddhist majority. In short, while religious minorities are able to celebrate their heritage, this can only be done without offending the majority sentiment.

Access to justice is characterized by legal delays, an uneven court system, political interference and corruption at the lower courts levels. Sri Lankan Courts have cemented the privileged position of the Sinhalese Buddhist population and allowed for the discrimination of religious minorities. For example, Muslims are disproportionately impacted and taken into custody for the slightest suspicion.

Nearly every group has experienced intergroup violence in Sri Lanka, following the civil war. Politicians have used intergroup violence to advance their careers and popularity. For the most part, intergroup violence has been stoked by ethno-religious nationalism. Overall, marginalized groups suffer disproportionately when it comes to violence.

There is low inter-group trust in Sri Lanka. The scarcity of resources has been used to sow discord among Tamils and Muslims. This is most prevalent in the northeast region, where both groups are present. Inter-group trust is also impacted by the Sinhalese, who feel threatened by the large population of Tamils who surround them.

Corruption has diminished the efficient nature of Sri Lanka’s public institutions. Public sector jobs are increasingly popular, as people see them as opportunities to benefit from corruption. The lack of minority representation in institutions has resulted in them experiencing unequal treatment. Overall, the decay of the island’s public institutions has impacted all, resulting in diminished pluralism.

Sri Lanka’s religious communities operate in a state of relative freedom. There are two main findings regarding majoritarianism (prioritizing the majority). First, Sinhalese believe it is fine for Buddhism to be provided the foremost place in the Constitution, because they benefit from this. Second, in areas where minorities predominate, they also tend to adopt a majoritarian mindset. This can result in exclusionary treatment to those belonging to other groups.

In Sri Lanka, ethno-religious minorities do not feel that they are an equal part of society. Sri Lanka has reached a point where ethnicity outranks citizenship. Most groups, particularly Muslims and Buddhists, prefer to live among themselves, as opposed to among other groups. Overall, there is a sense of unequal citizenship that impacts all, regardless of class or gender.