The Impact of Religious Conflict on National Cooperation in Post-War Sri Lanka

Abstract

Ten years have gone since the end of three decades of civil war in Sri Lanka. This civil war, a result of the ethnic conflict between two ethnicities caused negative impacts on national solidarity. After the war, the governments that came to power have taken various levels of national and international actions to work together for national solidarity. As a result, the present society experiences a politically peaceful atmosphere compared to the era of civil war. Yet, there are several incidents reported on civil conflicts in various place in Sri Lanka. This study aims to find out the reasons underlying the ethnic conflicts in post-war era in Sri Lanka while examining the religious factors affecting the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. The study used case-study method with special reference to the case known as ‘Theldeniya Sinhala-Muslim Incident’ in Kandy district. Responses from 40 respondents, who have witnessed ‘Theldeniya Sinhala-Muslim Incident’ were interviewed through structured-interview method. In addition, secondary data such as newspaper articles, previous case-study reports and preliminary reports related to the study were referred. Through the case-study analysis it was concluded that the political strategies to weaken the civil society are mirrored as ethnic conflicts in Sri Lanka. Hence, to promote national solidarity grass-root level awareness campaigns must be promoted by government and non-government organisations on ethnic-wellbeing in Sri Lanka.