Communalization of Minorities’ Demands in Sri Lanka: The Case of Kalmunai Administrative District Demand

Abstract

In Sri Lanka, minorities have been facing a number of issues and challenges relating to public administration. When they put forward their reasonable demands, those demands are over-communalized by the ethnic majorities, resulting in them to be continuously sidetracked. The Kalmunai administrative district demand is an example of such a demand which has been highly communalized by recent politics, even though it merely advocates the establishment of an administrative district-an intermediate decentralized administrative institution-in order to improve delivery of public service, enhance regional and economic development, and facilitate linguistic functions in district administration for those living on the coastal belt of the Amparai district. This study examines the extent of the ethnicization and communalization of the Kalmunai administrative district demand, by examining in detail the viewpoints taken by the major ethnic groups and their political parties on the subject. The findings of this study reveal that although the demand advocated a mere form of decentralization initiative-also known as de-concentration-the demand was over-communalized and opposed by other ethnic groups and the political forces representing them. They misunderstood the demand to be one calling for political autonomy and separation. This study finds that rationalist views of the demand taken by ethnic majorities and major political parties would help to resolve the administrative grievances of minorities and achieve the accommodation of the Kalmunai administrative district demand within the larger political system in Sri Lanka.