Living on the Margins. Minorities in South Asia - EURAC

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ii Clause 12 (2) of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, 1978. The Constitution further elaborates discrimination as follows: “No person shall, on the grounds of race, religion, language, caste, sex or any such grounds, be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to access to shops, public restaurants, hotels, places of public entertainment and places of public worship of his own religion.”- Clause 12 (30) of the 1978 Constitution. It is important to mention here that this particular provision is meant to protect the rights of social minorities (the marginal caste communities) from the discrimination practiced by hegemonic castes within the Tamil ethnic community. It does not refer to the protection of Tamil rights as an ethnic minority. In other words, it seeks to prevent internal discrimination within Tamil society. iii Clauses 18 and 19 respectively. iv The inaction of the Sri Lankan state to properly implement even the existing legislation on minority language rights is quite disturbing. The Official Languages Commission as well as human rights organizations have repeatedly pointed out to successive governments that strengthening institutional capacity, supported by a clear public commitment of the government, is crucial to the proper implementation of constitutionally guaranteed language rights of the minorities. All successive governments have not done much beyond providing lip service to the language rights issue. v No government since has thought it necessary to hold fresh provincial council elections for this Province, although elections have been held for other provincial councils many times. vi This point is elaborated in Uyangoda, Jayadeva, 2007, “Power-Sharing and Autonomy Rights of ‘Minority’ Communities in Sri Lanka,” in Amal Jayawardane (ed.), Perspectives on National Integration in Sri Lanka, Colombo: National Integration Programme Unit. vii This tension between the liberal and nationalist approaches to human rights developed into a minor controversy in 2003 during the peace negotiations between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE. The Sri Lankan government, backed by the international community and local human rights groups, brought the issue of human rights to the negotiation agenda, with the intention of persuading the LTTE to commit itself to a regime of civil and political rights in the areas under its administration. Ian Martin, the former head of the Amnesty International was invited to prepare a ‘road map’ to human rights. Although the LTTE accepted this move, they were not enthusiastic about what they called the ‘individual rights’ approach. As the LTTE leaders pointed out in personal conversations as well as their propaganda literature, the ‘selfdetermination rights’ of the Tamil people should take precedence over individual rights. viii It is necessary to make a distinction between ‘collective’ rights and ‘group’ rights in this discussion. Collective rights are cultural, language and religious etc. rights that individual members of any ethnic community should enjoy by way constitutional or legal guarantees. They are individually enjoyed rights of a community. The concept of group rights refers to specific political rights of community enjoyed on the recognition that that community is the agency and the holder of those rights. Collective rights are usually ‘granted’ by the state whereas group rights are ‘earned’ through political struggle. ix Section 29 (2) of the Soulbury Constitution stipulated that no law passed by parliament shall (i) prohibit or restrict the free exercise of any religion, (ii) subject persons of any community or religion liable to special disabilities or restrictions, (iii) confer on persons of any community or religion special privileges or advantages. x For the ‘deficiency thesis’, see James W. Nickel, 1997, “Group Agency and Group Rights,” in Ian Shapiro and Will Kymlicka, (Eds.), Ethnicity and Group Rights, NOMOS XXXIX, New York and London: New York University Press, pp.235-256. xi Rajan Hoole records and comments on these aspects in his, 2001, Sri Lanka, The Arrogance of Power: Myths, Decadence and Murder, Colombo: University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna), particularly, Chapter 20, pp. 308-348. xii For background details of the emergence of the SLMC see, Shari Knoerzer, 1998, “Transformation of Muslim Political Identity [in Sri Lanka], in Mithran Tiruchelvam and Dattathreya, C. S. (Eds.), Culture and Politics of Identity in Sri Lanka, Colombo: International Centre for Ethnic Studies. xiii Clauses 1.4 and 2.2 respectively of the India-Sri Lanka Accord of July 1987. xiv For an extensive account of this debate, see Loganathan, K. 1996, Sri Lanka, Lost Opportunities: Past Attempts at Resolving Ethnic Conflict, Colombo: University of Colombo, pp. 168-183. xv R. Sahadevan, 1995, India and Overseas Indians: The Case of Sri Lanka, Delhi: Kalinga Publishers, p. 144. xvi Cited in Sahadevan, 1995, p. 189. 119
xvii Cited in Loganathan, 1996, p. 105. xviii This account is based on the author’s dialogues and discussions with political and social activists in the Up Country plantation Tamil society. xix P. P. Devaraj, 2004, ‘Introduction,” Rights and Power Sharing Mechanism for Non-Territorial Minority Communities in Sri Lanka, Colombo: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. This book contains the papers presented at a seminar held in Colombo in May 2003 in an atmosphere of some optimism generated by the government- LTTE commitment to explore a federal solution to the ethnic conflict. This is also the first time that the thinking on power sharing mechanisms for smaller minorities was publicly articulated. xx Rajasingham - Senanayake, Darini, 1999, “The Dangers of Devolution: The Hidden Economies of Armed Conflict,” in Robert Rotberg (ed.), Creating Peace in Sri Lanka, Civil War and Reconciliation, Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press. xxi Uyangoda, Jayadeva, 2004, “Minorities, Federalism and Non-Territorial Power Sharing,” in P. P. Devaraj (Ed.), 2004, Rights and Power Sharing Mechanism for Non-Territorial Minority Communities in Sri Lanka, Colombo: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, pp. 18-29; Uyangoda, Jayadeva, 2007, “Power-Sharing and Autonomy Rights of ‘Minority’ Communities in Sri Lanka,” in Amal Jayawardane (ed.), Perspectives on National Integration in Sri Lanka, Colombo: National Integration Programme Unit. xxii For extensive discussions on the progress as well as breakdown of the 2002 peace process, Uyangoda, Jayadeva, 2007, Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka: Changing Dynamics, Washington DC: East-West Center; Uyangoda, Jayadeva and Perera, Morina, 2004, Sri Lanka’s Peace Process 2002: Critical Perspectives, Colombo: Social Scientists’ Association; Liyanage, Sumanasiri, 2008, ‘One Step at a Time,’ Reflections on the Peace Process in Sri Lanka, Colombo: South Asia Peace Institute; Goodhand, Jonathan and Bart Klem, 2005, Aid, Conflict and Peacebuilding in Sri Lanka 2000-2005, Colombo: The Asia Foundation. xxiii The ISGA was to establish “separate institutions for the administration of justice” and “powers to borrow internally and externally”. Also, the ISGA “shall have control over the marine and offshore resources of the adjacent seas and the power to regulate the access” to the sea. See also Balasingham, Anton, 2004, War and Peace in Sri Lanka: Armed Struggle and Peace Efforts of Liberation Tigers, Mitcham, England: Fairmax Publishing Ltd., pp. 503-514. xxiv A press statement on ISGA (Nov 4, 2003), said, “The SLFP views with grave concern the proposals released by the LTTE for the establishment of an ISGA which lays the legal foundation for a future, separate, sovereign state. The proposals clearly affect the sovereignty of the Republic of Sri Lanka and violates its Constitution”. xxv See Uyangoda, Jayadeva, 2008, The Way We Are: Politics of Sri Lanka 2007-2008, Colombo: Social Scientists’ Association, pp. 55-57. xxvi There is a wide body of literature on India’s engagement with Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict. Some notable examples are Ganguly, Rajat, 1998, Kin State Intervention in Ethnic Conflicts: Lessons from South Asia, New Delhi: SAGE Publications; Jayatilleka, Dayan, 1995, Sri Lanka: The Travails of a Democracy, Unfinished War, Protracted Crisis, New Delhi: Vikas; Kodikara, Shelton U, 1989, Indo-Sri Lanka Accord of July 1987, Colombo: University of Colombo; Krishna, Sankaran, 1999, Postcolonial Insecurities: India, Sri Lanka and the Question of Nationhood, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press; Loganathan, Keteshwaran 1996, Sri Lanka, Lost Opportunities: Past Attempts at Resolving Ethnic Conflict, Colombo: University of Colombo; Muni, S. D. 1993, Prangs of Proximity: India and Sri Lanka’s Ethnic Crisis, New Delhi: SAGE. 120
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Prepared in the frame of EURASIAN
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I - Introduction Rita Manchanda II
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‘powerlessness’. The history of
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theory of the ‘clash of civilizat
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unitary ideology, centralized struc
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Pakistan: Constitution based discri
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their construction process, since t
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Chowdhury explores the dilemma of a
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such a collusion and has systematic
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viii The rights of ‘people’ and
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these make for an egalitarian socie
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Muslims. There are three kinds of w
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Nonetheless, this alignment with se
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the oppressed even while we recogni
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The result was the impoverishment o
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negligence or failure has its roots
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Muslims, in other words have joined
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xviii Indicators of development her
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social identity of the ruling class
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Since Bengalis in general were in c
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As long as separate electorate exis
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their significance as a group and h
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it would seem that Bangladeshi Hind
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However, the image of Hindus as vot
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Trends Production of communalism or
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Religious Minorities in Pakistan: M
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In the 1981 census, out of a total
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the 1998 Census, caste Hindus const
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elationship with Sikhs in Afghanist
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Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Excerpts of In
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many regimes would use the Islamic
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The 1956 Constitution largely refle
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Christian & Hindu Votes Impact 50 N
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across the country. Now, Pakistan
Page 69 and 70: that takes Pakistan’s plural trad
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Page 73 and 74: Wolpert, S., Zulfi Bhutto of Pakist
Page 75 and 76: ensures that it is fully absorbed a
Page 77 and 78: aggressiveness and Hindus are aggre
Page 79 and 80: community, is subject to the most i
Page 81 and 82: frenzy”. The major absence in thi
Page 83 and 84: After the death of emperor Aurangze
Page 85 and 86: speech is used to create silences,
Page 87 and 88: Muslims in Sri Lanka: Political Cho
Page 89 and 90: They rarely highlighted their ‘Mu
Page 91 and 92: generation of the Muslim intelligen
Page 93 and 94: Athaullah, Rishard Bathiuddeen, and
Page 95 and 96: forces hoped that the Rajapaksa reg
Page 97 and 98: won 15 seats while the UPFA won 18.
Page 99 and 100: xvii After the general elections of
Page 101 and 102: an equal opportunity law in 1996-19
Page 103 and 104: administration headed by the Eelam
Page 105 and 106: nationalism was that the nationhood
Page 107 and 108: Rights Claims in Muslim Politics Mu
Page 109 and 110: councils for the two provinces. Bot
Page 111 and 112: A subsequent agreement signed betwe
Page 113 and 114: areas where the local majority popu
Page 115 and 116: a scheme for an interim administrat
Page 117 and 118: months later. The de-merger occurre
Page 119: Meanwhile, the strategies of minori
Page 123 and 124: I will just briefly summarize it he
Page 125 and 126: Table 1: Parliament Seats under FPT
Page 127 and 128: under the district governments, the
Page 129 and 130: However, there are other groups whi
Page 131 and 132: The threshold for PR election shoul
Page 133 and 134: controlled by local elite (Harper a
Page 135 and 136: Likewise, the parliament could deci
Page 137 and 138: Binswanger, Hans P., and Miranda El
Page 139 and 140: Stash, Sharon, and Emily Hannum. 20
Page 141 and 142: The in-migration of labor force fro
Page 143 and 144: India was divided into two sovereig
Page 145 and 146: culturally. In the last five thousa
Page 147 and 148: Meanwhile, the non-Muslim minoritie
Page 149 and 150: The Current Nationalist Movement in
Page 151 and 152: leave Karachi. Outward migration re
Page 153 and 154: are for and against lobbies in Isla
Page 155 and 156: It is questionable whether the nati
Page 157 and 158: 17 Aitizaz Ahsan, The Indus Saga, A
Page 159 and 160: wars between the tribes and the Bri
Page 161 and 162: and ethnocide of indigenous populat
Page 163 and 164: governments did not allow their NG0
Page 165 and 166: But even these additional criteria
Page 167 and 168: the ‘outsiders’ who have strang
Page 169 and 170: date. In India, despite the protect
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Tribal Land Alienation in Maharasht
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Bhamragad 18 14.76 35.26 13.94 13.1
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name of projects using the colonial
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hands of landlords. (25) The fourth
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means that those who have been depr
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Examination of the case records sho
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While the table appears to be recen
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5. Tribal Research and Training Ins
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Legality and Pragmatism Usha Ramana
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to resolve this problem that, other
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means of livelihood”. 15 The “o
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leasehold rights but only a licence
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public lands was being addressed in
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was in the eighties and the early n
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obligations have devolved upon them
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There is a direct relationship betw
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