The fragmentation of Muslim politics in eastern province of Sri Lanka

Abstract

In the six decades since independence (1948), Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict has evolved from a multiparty parliamentary struggle into a stark military confrontation between two entrenched ethnic blocks, the Sinhala majority (who are primarily Buddhists) and the Tamil minority (who are largely Hindus). Conspicuously ignored are the concerns of Sri Lanka's third-largest ethnic group, the Muslims. After independence, the discriminated policies of Sinhalese dominated governments further fueled the need of Muslims to take the political platform. Muslims (8%) have since Sri Lanka's independence been represented mainly through the two largest sinhala-lead parties in the country (UNP and SLFP). However, as the quest for Tamil secessionism in the north-east, where many Muslims live, turned violent, a Muslim party gained force claiming to represent the north-eastern Muslims. MHM.Ashraff a young Muslim lawyer from the Eastern province, considered that under these circumstances the Muslims' best option was to form their own political party. The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) was formed. At a meeting of a small study group of local Eastern Province political leaders in 1981, that party, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), saw the light of day. MHM.Ashraff became its popular leader and remained fairly strong until the death of its leader in year 2000. After this, SLMC has split into four or more separate parties pursuing slightly different policies and alliances with the two larger ethnic groups. Have the splits been caused by leadership conflict, or do the splits reveal deeper political divides within the community? The aim of this study is to analyze why Muslim parliamentary politics at present is as fragmented in Eastern Province as it is by use of theories on ethnic conflicts and ethnic political mobilization. This study also endeavors to highlight what measures have been taken to integrate the fragmentation and why it is failed in the area. A qualitative methodology has been used in this study and the analysis has been of a critical descriptive nature. The method of data collection is structured and unstructured interviews, informal discussions and a review of existing literature.