Sri Lanka--Ethnic Fratricide and the Dismantling of Democracy

by Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah

Focusing on the historical events of post-independence Sri Lanka, S. J. Tambiah analyzes the causes of the violent conflict between the majority Sinhalese Buddhists and the minority Tamils. He demonstrates that the crisis is primarily a result of recent societal stresses—educational expansions, linguistic policy, unemployment, uneven income distribution, population movements, contemporary uses of the past as religious and national ideology, and trends toward authoritarianism—rather than age-old racial and religious differences.

"In this concise, informative, lucidly written book, scrupulously documented and well indexed, [Tambiah] trains his dispassionate anthropologist's eye on the tangled roots of an urgent, present-day problem in the passionate hope that enlightenment, understanding, and a generous spirit of compromise may yet be able to prevail."—Merle Rubin, Christian Science Monitor

"An incredibly rich and balanced analysis of the crisis. It is exemplary in highlighting the general complexities of ethnic crises in long-lived societies carrying a burden of historical memories."—Amita Shastri, Journal of Asian Studies

"Tambiah makes an eloquent case for pluralist democracy in a country abundantly endowed with excuses to abandon such an approach to politics."—Donald L. Horowitz, New Republic
"An excellent and thought-provoking book, for anyone who cares about Sri Lanka."—Paul Sieghart, Los Angeles Times Book Review

Genres: History, Anthropology, Nonfiction

205 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1986

About the author

Dr. Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah, Ph.D., was Esther and Sidney Rabb Professor of Anthropology at Harvard University, specializing in studies of Thailand, Sri Lanka, and the Tamils, as well as the anthropology of religion and politics.

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very thoughtful and thorough analysis of the conflicts in Sri Lanka in the first half of the 1980s.

[George Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific explainer on the tensions that would explode into the Sri Lankan civil war- its great to get a usable background on this conflict outside outside of its representation in Tamil cinema

[PeaceAll · Rating 5 out of 5]

A MUST read to understand the ROOT causes of conflict in Sri Lanka, written by a professor of Anthropology at Harvard University. As reviewed by: Amita Shastri, Journal of Asian Studies:

"An incredibly rich and balanced analysis of the crisis. It is exemplary in highlighting the general complexities of ethnic crises in long-lived societies carrying a burden of historical memories."