Identity Crisis of Sri Lankan Muslims (An Old and Rare Book)

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Muslims are one of the important constituents of the plural society of Sri Lanka, inhabiting the island with the majority Sinhalese and the minority ethnic-Tamils for centuries, while maintaining a religious identity of their own.

However, when the Tamils tried to prove that the Muslims, whose mother-tongue is also Tamil, were Tamil-converts to Islam, the Muslims feared being merged in the Tamil- stream. Consequently, and for political reasons, they broke away from the Tamils and as Independence approached, threw their lot with the Sinhalese.

Such a decision did not, however, make things easy for the Muslims. They could neither erase the Tamil culture ingrained in them over the centuries nor could adopt Sinhala as the mother-tongue. To set themselves apart, the Muslims chose to build up a distinct identity for themselves, based on their claim of Arab-descent.

This work deals with the dynamics of Muslim ethos in the multi-racial society of Sri Lanka and is the first of its kind on the subject.

Dr. (Mrs.) V. Mohan (born 1947) a Post- Graduate in History from Manasa Gangotri, Mysore (Karnataka), joined the South Asia Studies Centre of the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur as a Fellow in 1979. During the period 1979-1983, she did a project on the Muslims of Sri Lanka. She was awarded Ph.D. for her work on 'Integration of a Minority in Sri Lanka: A Case study of the Muslims in Post-independent Sri Lanka', in September, 1984. Currently she is working as Asst. Professor in the Centre of Soviet Studies, University of Bombay, Bombay. Her present interests are 'Soviet Foreign Policy in South Asia' and 'Soviet Nationalities Policy'.

Following Independence in 1948, Sri Lanka began to be governed by the majority group, the Sinhalese. Independence also saw the growth of sub-Nationalisms in the Island, parti- cularly on the eve of the general elections in 1956, involving, mainly, the Official Language issue. The strong voice of Sinhalese Nationalism found protest from the Tamils, a section of whom started demanding a separate Tamil State. The Tamil-Sinhalese conflict thus born, has, over the years, assumed serious proportions.

The Muslims, who form the second largest minority in the Island after the Tamils, also speak Tamil as their mother- tongue. Tamil forms the medium of Muslim education, society and even religion. But, unlike the Tamils, the Muslims have been less vociferous, have maintained good relations with the majority group and have enjoyed dividends in the process. Does it mean that the Muslims have integrated or assimilated with the mainstream ? How are they disposed towards the Tamils, with whom they share the language and the minority status, vis-a-vis the Sinhalese? These are the questions this study proposes to examine.

This work is mainly based on the source material in Sri Lanka and my personal discussions with the members of the Muslim community there in June-August, 1981. Although my visit to Sri Lanka was in connection with a Project on the Muslims of Sri Lanka, sponsored by the South Asia Studies Centre of the Rajasthan University, Jaipur, I availed the opportunity to collect material for this work too. I am, therefore, grateful to the University Grants Commission, New Delhi and the Rajasthan University which had financed my visit to Sri Lanka.

The information gathered by me during my field trip was entirely due to the cooperation of the Muslim community. The warmth and affection with which they treated me and the hospitality that they extended towards me were touching. 1 shall ever remain indebted to them.

The minorities are a little too much with us these days especially in South Asia. Dr. Vasundhara Mohan therefore selected a problem touching on the Muslim minority in Sri Lanka for her doctoral dissertation.

She has brought out vividly how the muslims have assimilated Tamil culture and language, yet have kept their identity as a religious group. They have not aligned themselves with the Tamils in the current confrontation. They seek no integration or assimilation with the core society. They are happy maintaining their distinctness even as citizens of Sri Lanka. Which they have not sought a separate political platform recognising they form only seven per cent of the population. However they have some political leverage in that every post- independent government has had Muslim representatives.

This is to my knowledge a pioneering work on Sri Lanka's Muslims and Dr. Mohan needs to be congratulated on exploring new dimensions of a minority.

To complete the picture of minority exclusiveness she has added a chapter on the Tamils and the on going ethnic conflict. This adds to the value of the book.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages