Notes of a Native

Sinhala Buddhists are not terrorists, at least not a majority of them. They are confronted by a problem other ethno-religious groups do not face; they are a local majority, but yet a global minority. To be a majority in a country that is 1/50th the size of India, which in turn contains 20 times the number of Tamil people we have, is not much of an achievement. But that is all they’ve got. What good can come out of demonising them and questioning their right to their history?

Insecurity is the first step to chauvinism. This we know. To address the latter, it is thus necessary to address the former. Whether our radicals will realise this, or whether they will keep on using Sinhala Buddhists as punching bags, only time can tell.

UDAKDEV1@GMAIL.COM