“Sinhala Only Act” No. 33 of 1956
Tomorrow marks the completion of 70 years since the enactment of the “Sinhala Only Act” No. 33 of 1956.
On 5 June 1956, SWRD Bandaranaike established Sinhala as the sole official language of the country, removing the official status and equal standing that had been accorded to the Tamil language. As a result, a requirement was imposed that those serving in the state administrative service must possess proficiency in Sinhala.
Tamil government employees were denied salary increments and promotions, and it was made a rule that those who did not learn Sinhala would have to resign from their positions. The doors to employment opportunities in the public service were effectively closed to the Tamils, a numerically smaller national community.
In other words, during a period when government employment constituted a major source of work, conditions were created under which Tamil officials who did not know Sinhala could not continue their employment. The opportunities available to Tamils, who at that time constituted 30% of the state administrative cadre, were completely blocked.
In particular, the existing situation in which Tamils accounted for 60% of Sri Lanka’s doctors and engineers was altered. Meanwhile, on the day the “Sinhala Only” Bill was presented in Parliament, the Federal Party, under the leadership of S. J. V. Chelvanayakam, staged a protest in front of the Parliament building against the bill.
Those who expressed their opposition through a peaceful satyagraha at Galle Face Green in front of Parliament were brutally attacked by thugs and hooligans. Although police officers were stationed around the area for security, they did not stop the thugs and hooligans.
The violence against those who expressed their opposition through non-violent means did not stop there. As a continuation of the violence that began at Galle Face Green, Tamils were attacked on the streets of Colombo.
Tamil government employees returning home after work were assaulted. Tamil-owned shops were looted, and Tamil homes and businesses were set on fire. The violence spread to many parts of the country and revealed its most horrific face in Amparai and Gal Oya. There, at a place called Inginiyagala, 150 Tamil people who were employed at a sugar factory were hacked to death by Sinhala mobs.
Many were killed with sharp weapons.
Women and children who were still barely alive were thrown into burning fires. In the history of the Tamil genocide, the Inginiyagala massacre was the first incident in which such a large number of Tamils were massacred. This violence was unleashed in order to compel Tamils, by whatever means necessary, to accept the “Sinhala Only” Act.
The passage of the Sinhala Only Act on the one hand, and the genocide that followed on the other, became an event that completely transformed the course of Tamil political history. It was here that the need for an independent political path for the Tamils began to emerge. This atrocity also contributed to Tamils arriving at the conviction that they could protect their rights only through an arrangement in which they governed themselves.
However, even after 70 years, opportunities continue to be denied to numerically smaller national communities. State language policies continue to fluctuate. The grip of the unitary state has not loosened. Buddhism has become intertwined with politics and continues to guide the country’s policy and administrative directions.
Yet even after Sri Lanka’s breakdown, those in power have failed to realize that the island cannot move forward without abandoning Buddhist religious politics and moving beyond the framework of a unitary state.
Translation by Hari
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