Tamils need to score higher than Sinhalese to get into the same course. A fixed number of places are also reserved for the Sinhalese
Hence it is harder for Tamils to get into a good course compared to the Sinhalese
This reduced the Tamils' opportunities in life, thus Tamils have a more gloomy future than ths Sinhalese
Tamil hatred towards Sinhalese grew as they felt that their places in university are stolen by the Sinhalese
Tamils felt angry and discriminated against by the Sinhalese Gov
Tensions between Tamils and Sinhalese grew, leading to their conflict
Citizenship Rights issue
Citizenship Act passed in 1948
Only those who are born in Sri Lankan and those whose forefathers were born in Sri Lanka were granted citizenship.
There was a group of Tamils who were not granted citizenship and became statless despite their contributions to Sri Lanka's economy and tea plantation industry
Gov also showed insincerity in resolving the issue as they took more than 20 years to fully grant these Tamils citizenship after many requests
The Tamils felt angry and discriminated against by the Sinhalese Gov
Tamil hatred towards Sinhalese grew
Tensions between Tamils and Sinhalese grew
Outbreak of conflict !!!
Sinhala Only Policy
Under the British, the Tamils were favoured and held better powerful positions than the Sinhalese due to their ability to master the English language
The Official Language Act was passed after independence
Sinhala became the only official language in Sri Lanka
Tamils were given 2 years to master Sinhala or they will be fired
This meant that it is harder for the Tamils to find good jobs compared to the Sinhalese thus a gloomy future
Tamil hatred towards Sinhalese increased as they felt angry and discriminated against by the Sinhalese Gov
Tensions between Tamils and Sinhalese increased, leading to their conflict
Resettlement Policy
Poor Sinhalese peasants, soldiers and Buddhist monks were resettled into Tamil living areas and given Tamil lands to live in
These peasants were given Tamil land to cultivate, and soldiers bullied the Tamils. The Tamils also see the resettlement of the monks as a purpose act of the Sinhalese Gov to errode their culture and beliefs
These angered the Tamils as they felt discriminated against by the Sinhalese Gov
Tamil hatred towards Sinhalese grew
Tensions between Tamils and Sinhalese increased, leading to their conflict