ISAS Working Papers

Having won the three decade-long war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the Sri Lankan government faces a historic opportunity and challenge ÔÇô to win the peace in Sri Lanka. The LTTE was a symptom of a problem that had roots in the history of post-colonial state-building on the island. The rise of Sinhala Buddhist majoritarianism was accompanied by the marginalisation of the Tamil, Muslim and Eurasian (or Burgher) minorities, and it was hence that the LTTE began the struggle for a separate state for the Tamils. However, it morphed into a war machine. The issue of marginalisation of the minorities remains to be addressed.