Sri Lanka

Focusing on the historical events of post-independence Sri Lanka, S. J. Tambiah analyzes the causes of the violent conflict between the majority Sinhalese Buddhists and the minority Tamils. He demonstrates that the crisis is primarily a result of recent societal stresses--educational expansions, linguistic policy, unemployment, uneven income distribution, population movements, contemporary uses of the past as religious and national ideology, and trends toward authoritarianism--rather than age-old racial and religious differences.

About the author

S. J. Tambiah is professor of anthropology at Harvard University.

Product details

• Authors: Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah, Stanley Jeyaraje Tambiah
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 08.09.1991
• EAN: 9780226789521
• ISBN: 978-0-226-78952-1
• No. of pages: 210
• Dimensions: 140 mm x 215 mm x 10 mm
• Series: Ethnic Fratricide and the Dism
• Subject: Education and learning > Teaching preparation > Vocational needs