The Sinhala Only Act was a law passed in the Sri Lankan parliament in 1956. The law mandated Sinhala as the sole official language of Sri Lanka, effectively blocking the Tamil minority from positions in the state administration. The passage of the law is by most Tamils seen as a watershed in the minority`s struggle for its rights. The law was gradually reversed over the years until 1988. Tamil may refer to: The Tamil language, which is one of the Dravidian languages spoken in the Indian subcontinent. ...

Sri Lanka after independence

Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948 without any armed liberation struggle; the passage to sovereignty was a peaceful one. For the first years of independence there was a careful balance of the main communities; the Sinhalese and the Tamils by the PM D S Senanayake. Most Sinhalese did however harbour the view that the Tamils had enjoyed a priviledged position under the British. This article needs to be wikified. ...

During the British rule English had been the administrative language; and remained so for the first years after independence. Before the 1956 parliamentary election the ambitious Solomon Bandaranaike had broken with his party, the UNP and created a new party; SLFP. The SLFP decided to break ranks with the general consensus that was to have Sinhalese and Tamil as joint official language and campaign on the slogan "Sinhala Only". The result was a landslide victory, and the law was quickly enacted after the election. Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike (1899-September 26, 1959) was Prime Minister (1956-59) of Ceylon (later Sri Lanka). ... The United National Party (UNP, Sinhalese:(pronounced Eksath Jathika Pakshaya), Tamil: ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி) is a political party in Sri Lanka. ... The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (Sri Lanka Nidahas Pakshaya) is a political party in Sri Lanka, led by Chandrika Kumaratunga. ...

The passage of the law was met with demonstrations from the Tamils, which was forcefully repressed, the most prominent by Tamil MP's on "Galle Face Green" in the center of Colombo. By most Tamils the "Sinhala Only Act" was and is seen as a watershed and the foundation of the current civil war in the country. Parts of the law was reversed already in 1958, and then gradually watered out until 1988. Towers of downtown Colombo Colombo is the largest city and commercial capital of Sri Lanka. ... The Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka describes the ongoing conflict between the majority Sinhaleseand minority Tamils on the island-nation of Sri Lanka. ...

External links

• official Sri Lankan government peace secretariat about the Sinhala Only Act
• LTTE Peace Secretariat about the Sinhala Only Act