More than two decade old ethnic conflict in Srilanka is most often regarded as one between majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils. In this bipolar understanding of the conflict, the Muslim community seems to have no place, even though they constitute a large, close to between 35 to 40%, section of the population in the troubled Eastern Province. They were mercilessly expelled from the Northern Province too. More than sixteen years after expulsions, these Muslims are still living in camps and districts other than their own. This is an attempt to recount the plight of these Muslims and analyze the role of the political powers that have marginalized the Muslims in Srilanka.
Muslims in Srilanka were regarded as a separate ethnic group. But then their language Tamil led them to be close to the Tamil rank and file in the region. So much so that some of their youth had enrolled for military training with the rebels like LTTE in the Eastern and Northern Srilanka. Some of them joined and fought political elections too through Tamil ethnic parties. This relationship was always difficult to maintain, further deteriorated due to the ongoing conflict resulting in polarization between the two communities. Muslims have been systematically targeted, displaced, and dispossessed by armed actors of both the state and the LTTE and its breakaway faction TMVP.
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9:46 PM
Moderate Islamist here
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