What were the reasons for alienation …

Srilanka has a population of about two crore among whom 74% are Sinhala speakers, mostly Buddhists. Then came the Tamil speakers with a share of 18% to the population who are both of Srilankan (13%) and Indian (5%) origin. The remaining 7 - 8% are Christians who speak both Sinhala and Tamil. After Independence in 1948, the Sinhala leaders took virtue of their majority and established control over the government. As a result, the govt introduced several majoritarian measures like the 1956 act, policy and a Buddhism - fostering constitution. Thus, the Srilankan Tamils started demanding recognition of Tamil as the official language of Srilanka, regional autonomy and policy favouring Tamil applicants for govt offices and universities. On refusal of the demands, the Srilankan Tamils formed several political groups and organizations and even demanded for independent Tamil state or EELAM. On refusal of conditions, clashes became regular between Sinhala speakers and Tamil speakers.