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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Sri Lanka
Index
Woman bringing "ambula" (noon meal) to the field
SRI LANKA LIES practically in the center of the Indian Ocean
and thus has climatic and cultural links with three continents.
Monsoon winds, driving against Sri Lanka's peaks, support lush
vegetation on the southern half of the island, but the northern
half is a dry zone. The winds affect human culture as well,
having brought wave after wave of immigrants and merchants
following the southerly trade routes. Outsiders found a wide
range of ecological niches on the coast, on the plains, or in the
mountains, and they built a remarkably variegated civilization.
Merchants long have sought Sri Lanka as the source of pearls,
jewels, spices, and tea. Visitors for centuries have marvelled at
the beauty and great diversity of the island.
The South Asian landmass to the north has strongly influenced
Sri Lankan culture in the past and continues to do so. From an
outlander's perspective, some of the main aspects of Sri Lankan
society--language, caste, family structure--are regional variants
of Indian civilization. From the perspective of the islander,
however, the Indian influence is but the largest part of a
continuing barrage of stimuli coming to Sri Lanka from all sides.
The people of the island have absorbed these influences and built
their own civilization.
The
Sinhalese (see Glossary),
a distinct ethnic group
speaking the
Sinhala (see Glossary)
language and practicing a
variant of
Theravada Buddhism (see Glossary), comprise the
majority--74 percent--of the population, and their values
dominate public life. There are, however, substantial minority
groups. The Tamils, speaking the Tamil language and generally
practicing Hinduism, comprise almost 18 percent of the
population. Muslims, many of whom speak Tamil as their main
language, make up 7 percent of the populace. Each of the main
ethnic groups is subdivided into several major categories,
depending on variables of religion or geography. There also are
sizable Christian minorities among the Sinhalese and Tamil.
People living in the central highland region of the country
generally adhere more closely to their traditional ethnic customs
than lowland dwellers.
Caste creates other social divisions. The
Goyigama (see Glossary)
caste of the Sinhalese--traditionally associated with
land cultivation--is dominant in population and public influence,
but in the lowlands other castes based on commercial activities
are influential. The Tamil Vellala caste resembles the Goyigama
in its dominance and traditional connection with agriculture, but
it is completely separate from the Sinhalese caste hierarchy.
Within their separate caste hierarchies, Sinhalese and Tamil
communities are fragmented through customs that separate higher
from lower orders. These include elaborate rules of etiquette and
a nearly complete absence of intercaste marriages. Differences in
wealth arising from the modern economic system have created,
however, wide class cleavages that cut across boundaries of
caste, religion, and language. Because of all these divisions,
Sri Lankan society is complex, with numerous points of potential
conflict.
The population of Sri Lanka has grown considerably since
independence in 1948, and in the 1980s was increasing by
approximately 200,000 people or 1.37 percent each year. Because
of this population pressure, the government has faced a major
development problem as it has attempted to reconcile the
divergent interests of caste, class, and ethnic groups while
trying to ensure adequate food, education, health services, and
career opportunities for the rapidly expanding population.
Politicians and officials have attempted to meet these needs
through a form of welfare socialism, providing a level of support
services that is comparatively high for a developing nation.
Building on colonial foundations, Sri Lanka has created a
comprehensive education system, including universities, that has
produced one of the best-educated populations in Asia. A free
state-run health system provides basic care that has raised
average life expectancy to the highest level in South Asia.
Ambitious housing and sanitation plans, although incomplete,
promised basic amenities to all citizens by the year 2000. In
1988 the government addressed the nutritional deficiencies of the
poor through a subsidized food stamp program and free nutrition
programs for children and mothers.
The crucial problem facing Sri Lanka's plural society is
whether it can evolve a form of socialism that will address the
needs of all groups, or whether frustrated aspirations will
engender further conflict. In the field of education, for
example, excellent accomplishments in elementary schooling have
emerged alongside bitter competition for coveted places in the
university system; this competition has fueled ethnic hatred
between the Sinhalese and Tamil communities. In a land with
limited resources, the benefits of social welfare programs
highlight the inadequacies of progress for some regional or
ethnic groups. In these circumstances, caste, ethnic, or
religious differences become boundaries between warring parties,
and a person's language or place of worship becomes a sign of
political affiliation. The social organization of Sri Lanka is
thus an important component of the politics and economy in the
developing nation.
Data as of October 1988
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