What is Sri Lanka's Civil War: A Legacy of Colonial Divide and Rule Policies

The Sri Lankan Civil War, which ended in 2009 after nearly three decades of brutal conflict, has deep historical roots that trace back to the British colonial period. The war was not an inevitable ethnic clash but a tragic outcome of policies deliberately designed to divide and rule, sowing discord between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority. Understanding this legacy is crucial to grasping the complexities of Sri Lanka’s past and its ongoing challenges.

The Colonial Legacy: From Peaceful Coexistence to Institutionalized Division

Pre-Colonial Harmony

Before the arrival of the British, Sri Lanka was a land where diverse ethnicities and religions coexisted peacefully. The Sinhalese, Tamil and Burger(Muslim) communities lived as neighbors, sharing cultural spaces and engaging in trade and social interaction. Historical evidence shows significant intermarriage and mutual respect, with Buddhist and Hindu traditions often overlapping in practice. The island was divided into several kingdoms, including the Sinhalese-dominated Kandyan Kingdom and the Tamil-dominated Jaffna Kingdom, but these divisions were largely political rather than communal in nature.

British Divide and Rule Policy

The British colonial administration, which took control of the entire island by 1815, disrupted this harmony through a calculated strategy of divide and rule. The 1833 Colebrooke-Cameron Commission was a turning point, introducing administrative reforms that centralized governance but institutionalized ethnic divisions. The Commission established a Legislative Council with representation allocated along ethnic lines-Sinhalese, Tamils, and Burghers-thus embedding communal identities into the political system.

Beyond this, the British disproportionately favored the Tamil minority, especially the native Sri Lankan Tamils concentrated in the Northern and Eastern provinces. This favoritism was evident in education and civil service employment. The British placed more Christian missionaries in ethnic Tamil areas, providing ethnic Tamils with greater access to English education, which was the gateway to government jobs. Consequently, by the mid-20th century, Tamils held a disproportionate share of civil service positions despite being a minority.

This policy marginalized the Sinhalese majority, who faced discrimination and lost opportunities in administration and governance due to their ethnicity. The British deliberately used the Tamil minority as a counterbalance to Sinhalese aspirations, fostering resentment and mistrust between the communities. The colonial administration’s unification of the island under a centralized system was less about national integration and more about controlling the population by pitting groups against each other.

Subsequent reforms deepened these divisions. The 1910 Crewe-McCallum reforms expanded communal representation, and the 1921 Manning Constitution reserved civil service positions disproportionately for English-educated Tamils. Land settlement policies further disadvantaged Sinhalese peasants by reallocating lands to ethnic Tamil plantation workers brought from India under harsh conditions, known as Malaiyaha Tamils, who were often stateless and marginalized.

Post-Independence Governance and the Ethnic Power Struggle

After gaining independence in 1948, Sri Lanka sought to move beyond colonial legacies. The introduction of proportional representation aimed to provide a fairer political system by allocating parliamentary seats in line with vote shares, encouraging multi-ethnic cooperation. However, the deep-seated ethnic divisions inherited from colonial rule persisted.

Tamil political leaders, notably S.J.V. Chelvanayakam, founder of the Federal Party (ITAK), exploited ethnic identity to pursue political power. Chelvanayakam and his followers demanded federalism and greater autonomy for Tamil-majority regions, culminating in the 1976 Vaddukoddai Resolution which called for a separate mono-ethnic Tamil state through peaceful means. These demands, while framed as rights-based, entrenched ethnic divisions and undermined national unity.

Tamil politicians’ focus on ethnic-based power politics exacerbated tensions and alienated the Sinhalese majority. Their insistence on federalism and ethnic exclusivity laid the groundwork for militant nationalism, as peaceful political avenues failed to deliver their goals. The Tamil political leadership’s unwillingness to engage in inclusive governance contributed to the rise of armed groups.

The Formation of LTTE and Other Militant Organizations

The rise of Tamil terrorist organizations was a direct consequence of the failure of political efforts to resolve ethnic grievances and the growing polarization in Sri Lankan society. Among these groups, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), founded by Velupillai Prabhakaran in 1976, emerged as the most powerful and ruthless.

Before receiving substantial support from India, the LTTE engaged in various criminal and violent activities to assert Tamil nationalist claims and destabilize the government. One of their early notorious acts was the assassination of Alfred Duraiappah, the Mayor of Jaffna, in 1975, which was intended to "punish" Tamil politicians seen as collaborators with the Sri Lankan government.

The LTTE also carried out burglaries, robberies, and attacks on police stations and government officials. These criminal acts helped finance their operations and spread terror. Their violent methods included targeted killings, extortion, and intimidation, which created an atmosphere of fear in Tamil-majority areas. Other militant groups such as TELO, EROS, and PLOTE also formed during this period, but the LTTE quickly outpaced them, often eliminating rivals through assassinations and violent confrontations to consolidate control over the Tamil insurgency.

India’s Role: Catalyst and Complicator of Conflict

India’s involvement in Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict was profound and controversial. Beginning in the early 1980s, India’s intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), began supporting Tamil militant groups, including the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). India viewed these groups as strategic proxies to exert influence over Sri Lanka and counterbalance regional rivals.

RAW established over 30 training camps across Tamil Nadu, providing arms, military training, and funding to Tamil insurgents. Thousands of militants, including LTTE members, received training in guerrilla warfare, explosives, and assassination techniques. This support transformed loosely organized militant factions into a formidable terror outfits capable of challenging the Sri Lankan state.

India’s backing was not altruistic. It sought to use the Tamil insurgency to pressure Colombo into political concessions favorable to Indian interests. However, this intervention had devastating consequences. The LTTE, initially one of several groups, quickly eliminated rival Tamil factions using Indian-supplied weapons, consolidating a monopoly on Tamil militancy.

The Indian government’s duplicity became starkly evident when the LTTE assassinated former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, a former patron turned enemy. The terrorists trained and armed by India had turned against their benefactor, illustrating the perils of meddling in complex ethnic conflicts.

The Indian Peace Keeping Force: Occupation, Not Peacekeeping

In 1987, under the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord, India deployed the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) ostensibly to enforce peace. However, the IPKF’s presence quickly morphed into an occupation marked by violations of Sri Lankan sovereignty and human rights abuses.

India posted its military in Sri Lanka by threatening the Sri Lankan President J.R. Jayewardene with invasion if he did not comply with Indian demands. This coercive diplomacy forced Sri Lanka to accept Indian troops on its soil.

Prior to the IPKF deployment, India violated Sri Lanka’s sovereignty by illegally dropping supplies to the LTTE in the Jaffna Peninsula. On June 4, 1987, Indian Air Force cargo planes, escorted by fighter jets, airdropped food and aid directly to LTTE without Sri Lankan government consent. This blatant infringement of sovereignty was a clear indication of India’s partiality and interventionist agenda.

Initially, the LTTE was considered a friend of India, receiving training, arms, and support from Indian intelligence. However, as the LTTE refused to disarm after the Indo-Lanka Accord and began opposing Indian influence, it became an enemy of India. The LTTE’s rejection of the accord and refusal to surrender weapons led to open conflict with the IPKF.

The Sri Lankan government astutely used this situation to its advantage by covertly supplying arms and intelligence to the LTTE to counter the Indian military presence. This strategic alliance allowed the LTTE to effectively resist the IPKF, prolonging the conflict and complicating India’s mission.

The IPKF’s 32-month presence cost thousands of lives and failed to bring peace, instead deepening divisions and mistrust. The force conducted military operations against the LTTE but also committed atrocities against Tamil civilians, including massacres, sexual violence, and looting. The IPKF imposed Hindi language signage and attempted to integrate the Tamil economy with India’s, fueling resentment among all Sri Lankans.

Sri Lanka’s government was forced to halt its successful military campaign against the LTTE due to Indian pressure, illustrating India’s coercive influence. The IPKF withdrew in 1990, leaving behind a fractured nation and a strengthened LTTE.

India’s actions throughout the conflict have been widely criticized as imperialistic interference that prolonged violence and undermined Sri Lanka’s sovereignty. The use of militant proxies and military occupation destabilized the region and inflicted immense suffering.

LTTE Terrorism: A Reign of Terror and Atrocity

The LTTE, under Velupillai Prabhakaran, evolved into a ruthless terrorist organization responsible for widespread atrocities and war crimes. Their terror campaign was vast and brutal, encompassing hundreds of attacks across Sri Lanka over decades.

One of the most egregious aspects of the LTTE’s operations was their systematic recruitment and use of child soldiers. Thousands of children, some as young as nine, were forcibly conscripted to fight in their ranks or carry out suicide missions. This exploitation of children violated international humanitarian laws and inflicted lifelong trauma on countless young lives.

The LTTE pioneered the use of suicide bombings as a terror tactic, developing the infamous suicide vest and carrying out hundreds of attacks targeting civilians, government officials, and military personnel. Their elite “Black Tigers” unit specialized in these deadly missions, which caused massive casualties and widespread fear.

Ethnic cleansing was another brutal hallmark of LTTE rule. In 1990, they forcibly expelled approximately 75,000 Muslims from the Northern Province, destroying homes and mosques to create a Tamil-only territory. The LTTE also targeted Sinhalese civilians in numerous massacres, including the Kent Farm Massacre where over 200 ethnic Sinhalese villagers were slaughtered.

The LTTE committed numerous political assassinations to eliminate rivals and intimidate opponents. They assassinated former Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993, Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, and many other political figures. These killings destabilized the region and drew international condemnation.

The LTTE also engaged in economic terrorism, extorting money from the Tamil diaspora worldwide and controlling illicit trades, including arms smuggling and drug trafficking, to fund their operations. Their reign of terror devastated Sri Lanka’s social fabric and economy.

A Hard-Won Peace and the Path Forward

The Sri Lankan Civil War was a tragic consequence of colonial manipulation, ethnic politicization, foreign interference, and militant extremism. The British colonial policy of divide and rule sowed seeds of discord that post-independence leaders struggled to overcome. Tamil politicians’ ethnic-based power struggles and India’s intervention further inflamed tensions. The LTTE’s terrorism brought unprecedented violence and suffering.

The Sri Lankan government and security forces deserve recognition for their eventual defeat of the LTTE in 2009, ending a brutal chapter in the nation’s history. However, lasting peace requires addressing the root causes: healing ethnic divisions, promoting inclusive governance, and safeguarding sovereignty against external meddling.