The Origins of Sri Lanka's Ethnic Conflict

Sri Lanka's civil war was one of the longest running in modern history. The conflict between the Sinhalese and the island's Tamils was brutal and terrifying, yet its origins were surprisingly recent. This video examines the forces of populism and population that grew into the horrifying experience that still scars Sri Lanka today.

https://buymeacoffee.com/lostincontext

Sources:
-A History of Sri Lanka, K. M. de Silva
-Elephant Complex; Travels in Sri Lanka, John Gimlette
-The Cage: The Fight for Sri Lanka and the Last Days of the Tamil Tigers, Gordon Weiss
-The Ocean of Churn: How the Indian Ocean Shaped Human History, Sanjeev Sanyal
-This Divided Island: Stories from the Sri Lankan War, Samanth Subramanian
Various news sources, especially The Economist

00:00 Intro
01:17 Buddhism under the British
01:40 Henry Steel Olcott and Spiritualism
03:10 Dharmapala
04:00 Hindu-Buddhist history
05:02 Other contributing factors
07:18 Cricket in Galle
13:24 Sunday evening in Galle
15:19 Sri Lanka since independence
17:49 1956 Official Language Act
19:22 Was it inevitable?
20:27 Going east
22:19 Next video