Buddhist Monks And The Politics Of Lankas Civil War PDF Download
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Author | : Suren Raghavan |
Publisher | : Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies Monographs |
Total Pages | : 294 |
Release | : 2018-08-06 |
Genre | : |
ISBN | : 9781781795743 |
Download Buddhist Monks and the Politics of Lanka's Civil War Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
The war in Sri Lanka was violent and costly in human and material terms. This was one of the longest wars in modern South Asia. Often referred to as an 'ethnic' conflict between the majority Sinhalas and the minority Tamils, the war had a profound religious dimension. The majority of Sinhala Buddhist monks (the Sangha) not only opposed any meaningful powersharing but latterly advocated an all-out military solution. Such a nexus between Buddhism and violence is paradoxical; nevertheless it has a historical continuity. In 2009 when the war ended amid serious questions of war crimes and crimes against humanity, monks defended the military and its Buddhist leadership. Taking the lives of three key Sangha activists as the modern framework of a Sinhala Buddhist worldview, this book examines the limitations of Western theories of peacebuilding and such solutions as federalism and multinationalism. It analyzes Sinhala Buddhist ethnoreligious nationalism and argues for the urgent need to engage Buddhist politics - in Lanka and elsewhere - with approaches and mechanisms that accommodate the Sangha as key actors in political reform. Sinhala Buddhism is often studied from a sociological or anthropological standpoint. This book fills a gap by examining the faith and practice of the Sinhala Sangha and their followers from a political science perspective.
Author | : Neil DeVotta |
Publisher | : East-West Center |
Total Pages | : 112 |
Release | : 2007 |
Genre | : Political Science |
ISBN | : |
Download Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
This study argues that political Buddhism and Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism have contributed to a nationalist ideology that has been used to expand and perpetuate Sinhalese Buddhist supremacy within a unitary Sri Lankan state; create laws, rules, and structures that institutionalize such supremacy; and attack those who disagree with this agenda as enemies of the state. The nationalist ideology is influenced by Sinhalese Buddhist mytho-history that was deployed by monks and politics in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries to assert that Sri Lanka is the designated sanctuary for Theravada Buddhism, belongs to Sinhalese Buddhists, and Tamils and others live there only due to Sinhalese Buddhist sufferance. This ideology has enabled majority superordination, minority subordination, and a separatist war waged by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The study suggests both LTTE terrorism and the ethnocentric nature of the Sri Lankan state, which resorts to its own forms of terrorism when fighting the civil war, need to be overcome if the island is to become a liberal democracy.The present government of President Mahinda Rajapakse is the first to fully embrace the Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist ideology, suggesting that a political solution to Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict is unlikely. Meaningful devolution of power, whereby Tamils could coalesce with their ethnic counterparts amidst equality and self-respect, is not in the offing. A solution along federal lines is especially unlikely. Instead, continued war and even attacks on Christians and Muslims seem to be in store for Sri Lanka as the Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist ideology is further consolidated. The study recommends that the international community adopt a more proactive stance in promoting a plural state and society in Sri Lanka. In addition to countering the terrorist methods employed by the LTTE, the international community should initiate and support measures to protect fundamental civil liberties and human rights of Sri Lanka's ethnic and religious minority communities.
Author | : Patrick Grant |
Publisher | : State University of New York Press |
Total Pages | : 163 |
Release | : 2009-01-05 |
Genre | : Religion |
ISBN | : 0791493679 |
Download Buddhism and Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
Patrick Grant explores the relationship between Buddhism and violent ethnic conflict in modern Sri Lanka using the concept of "regressive inversion." Regressive inversion occurs when universal teaching, such as that of the Buddha, is redeployed to supercharge passions associated with the kinds of group loyalty that the universal teaching itself intends to transcend. The book begins with an account of the main teachings of Theravada Buddhism and looks at how these inform, or fail to inform, modern interpreters. Grant considers the writings of three key figures—Anagarika Dharmapala, Walpola Rahula, and J. R. Jayewardene—who addressed Buddhism and politics in the years leading up to Sri Lanka's political independence from Britain, and subsequently, in postcolonial Sri Lanka. This book makes the Sri Lankan conflict accessible to readers interested in the modern global phenomenon of ethnic violence involving religion and also illuminates similar conflicts around the world.
Author | : Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah |
Publisher | : University of Chicago Press |
Total Pages | : 232 |
Release | : 1992-07-15 |
Genre | : Religion |
ISBN | : 0226789500 |
Download Buddhism Betrayed? Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
This volume seeks to answer the question of how the Buddhist monks in today's Sri Lanka—given Buddhism's traditionally nonviolent philosophy—are able to participate in the fierce political violence of the Sinhalese against the Tamils.
Author | : Mahinda Deegalle |
Publisher | : Routledge |
Total Pages | : 302 |
Release | : 2006-09-27 |
Genre | : Religion |
ISBN | : 1134241895 |
Download Buddhism, Conflict and Violence in Modern Sri Lanka Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
Interdisciplinary in its approach, this book explores the dilemmas that Buddhism faces in relation to the continuing ethnic conflict and violence in modern Sri Lanka. Prominent scholars in the fields of anthropology, history, Buddhist studies and Pali examine multiple dimensions of the problem. Buddhist responses to the crisis are discussed in detail, along with how Buddhism can help to create peace in Sri Lanka. Evaluating the role of Buddhists and their institutions in bringing about an end to war and violence as well as possibly heightening the problem, this collection puts forward a critical analysis of the religious conditions contributing to continuing hostilities.
Author | : Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah |
Publisher | : University of Chicago Press |
Total Pages | : 238 |
Release | : 1992-07-15 |
Genre | : Political Science |
ISBN | : 9780226789491 |
Download Buddhism Betrayed? Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
This volume seeks to answer the question of how the Buddhist monks in today's Sri Lanka—given Buddhism's traditionally nonviolent philosophy—are able to participate in the fierce political violence of the Sinhalese against the Tamils.
Author | : John Holt |
Publisher | : Oxford University Press |
Total Pages | : 257 |
Release | : 2016 |
Genre | : History |
ISBN | : 0190624388 |
Download Buddhist Extremists and Muslim Minorities Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
This collection of essays investigate the history and current conditions of Buddhist-Muslim relations in Sri Lanka in an attempt to ascertain the causes of the present conflict. It is a much-needed, timely commentary that can potentially shift the standard narrative on Muslims and religious violence.
Author | : Rachel Seoighe |
Publisher | : Springer |
Total Pages | : 387 |
Release | : 2017-12-05 |
Genre | : Social Science |
ISBN | : 3319563246 |
Download War, Denial and Nation-Building in Sri Lanka Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
This book begins from a critical account of the final months of the Sri Lankan civil war, tracing themes of nationalism, discourse and conflict memory through this period of immense violence and into its aftermath. Using these themes to explore state crime, atrocity and its denial and representation, Seoighe offers an analysis of how stories of conflict are authored and constructed. This book examines the political discourse of the former Rajapaksa government, highlighting how fluency in international discourses of counter-terrorism, humanitarianism and the ‘reconciliation’ expected of states transitioning from conflict can be used to conceal and deny state violence. Drawing on extensive interviews with activists, academics, politicians, state representatives and international agency staff, and three months of observation in Sri Lanka in 2012, Seoighe demonstrates how the Rajapaksa government re-narrativised violence through orchestrated techniques of denial and mass ritual discourse. It drew on and perpetuated a heightened majoritarian Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism which consolidated power under Sinhalese political elites, generated minority grievances and, in turn, sustained the repression and dispossession of the Tamil community of the Northeast. A detailed and evocative study, this book will be of special interest to scholars of conflict studies, political violence and critical criminology.
Author | : Robert I. Rotberg |
Publisher | : Brookings Institution Press |
Total Pages | : 236 |
Release | : 2010-12-01 |
Genre | : Political Science |
ISBN | : 9780815713494 |
Download Creating Peace in Sri Lanka Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
Sri Lanka, one of the most promising states in Asia following independence in 1948, has been torn apart for the past fifteen years by a vicious civil war. The majority Sinhala and minority Tamils have killed each other with increasing ferocity. The Tamils, who are primarily Hindu, fear losing their identity and being overwhelmed by the majority, who are Buddhist. The Sinhala, in turn, fear that the Tamils, with the backing of their ethnic kin in the Indian province of Tamil Nadu, will destabilize and take over control of the Sri Lankan government. Colonial-era rivalries and deep-rooted distrust fuel the tensions. What will bring about an end to this destructive conflict, and how will the island nation heal its physical and psychic wounds following a peace? How will a sustainable peace be arranged? Can mediation help? This book of essays by Sri Lankan and Western authors examines the causes of war and the possibilities for peace. Contributors are Chandra R. de Silva, Old Dominion University; Rohan Edrisinha, University of Colombo; Saman Kelegama, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka; David Little, United States Institute of Peace; Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake, Columbia University; Teresita C. Schaffer, former U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka; David Scott, Johns Hopkins University; Donald R. Snodgrass, Harvard Institute for International Development; Jayadeva Uyangoda, Sri Lanka Foundation; William Weisberg and Donna Hicks, Harvard University. A World Peace Foundation Book
Author | : R. B. Herath |
Publisher | : Trafford Publishing |
Total Pages | : 248 |
Release | : 2002 |
Genre | : History |
ISBN | : 1553697936 |
Download Sri Lankan Ethnic Crisis Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
This book is a result of years of research on the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis. It gives a vivid description of the crisis, analyses the numerous factors that influence it, and explains a way to end it by democratic means. Sri Lankan Ethnic Crisis: Towards a Resolution is a unique book among those written on the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis for a number of reasons. It is the only book on the market that looks at the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis in a comprehensive manner. Every other book written on the subject focuses only on some selected aspects of the crisis. At the same time those written before do not help the reader understand the present intricacies of the crisis. A close look at all the books so far written on the subject reveals that Sri Lankan Ethnic Crisis: Towards a Resolution is the first book to: reach readers in both the academic and non-academic environments; help the reader fully understand the historic context of the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka; discover and discuss in a co-ordinated manner the hidden factors that influence the crisis; expose the disguise of the elite and dynastic-type post-colonial rule as democracy, and the unbuddhist influence of some Buddhist monks on the ethnic crisis; remind the British, the last colonial power of Sri Lanka, of their responsibility for the present predicament of the Sinhalese peasantry and "stateless" Indian Tamils; suggest a complete solution to the crisis with a new democratic model of governance, which is equally applicable in principle to other countries suffering from ethnic strife; and Outline a way to implement the solution in the present political climate. This is the first time a person outside social science academia and the journalistic world has written a book on the subject, giving the citizen's point of view on the ethnic crisis combined with a democratic solution. In his solution, the author suggests a new, bottom-up approach to the crisis, with the people at the centre of the decision making process, instead of the top-down approach that has so far failed. The Sri Lankan Ethnic Crisis: Towards a Resolution is a book of 85,000 words. It also includes a number of explanatory maps, tables, and charts. It is an easy-to-read, concise and up-to-date book that has the answers to the burning questions raised by those committed to finding a lasting solution to the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis. It is a book of interest to everyone everywhere interested in the phenomenon of identity politics, and in matters of democratic processes to ensure the civil, human and political rights of the entire citizenry. Sri Lankan Ethnic Crisis: Towards a Resolution has five chapters. The first chapter introduces the reader to the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis and the objectives and organisation of the book. The second chapter gives a historical background to the crisis. It takes the reader through three phases of Sri Lankan history: pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial. It is useful for the reader to know the historical background of the crisis to fully understand its present complexities. The third chapter identifies the root cause of the crisis and explains 10 main factors that have contributed to its escalation into a separatist war since independence in 1948. The fourth chapter stresses the importance of a new political beginning for Sri Lanka as a multiethnic independent nation, and explains eight basic factors that should constitute the foundation for such a new beginning. Then it discusses the varied governing systems developed in other democracies in the world, and proposes a new democratic governing model for Sri Lanka. The model addresses the ethnic issues in Sri Lanka and formulates a way to establish genuine democracy in the country, giving the power of self-determination to all its peoples. This chapter also explains how the country would be able to implement such a new mo