years of British colonization, Ceylon gained independence in 1948.
Despite pressure from Tamil political leaders for a state with
equal power sharing between the Tamil and Sinhalese, a single-level
centralized government was created with a population-based electoral
system. However, with the population more than 70% Sinhalese,
the nature of the electoral setup soon enabled a majoritarian
rule. Tamils whose ancestors came to Ceylon in the 1800’s
were deprived of their citizenship rights within a year, while
Sinhalese were financially supported by the government to move
from traditional Sinhalese areas and settle in other areas.
to the sudden changes in political landscape, mistrust and distance
between the different ethnic groups began to build.