A leftist party adopted anti-Tamil nationalism purely for political advantage.

Evidence

[Sinhalese] governments were more preoccupied with securing their own base among the Sinhalese … at virtually any cost-or rather, in the political auction, preventing themselves being pushed out by their rivals. If the Tamils had not existed, Colombo would have had to invent them. And, in an important sense, it did. It was Colombo that forced the inhabitants of the north to become different, to cease to be Sri Lankan and become exclusively Tamil (Harris 1990: 221). — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 228 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Sinhalese governments invented Tamil separateness for political self-preservation — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 228; British colonial rule manufactured the Sinhala-Tamil fissure that later elites exploited. — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 605; A leftist party adopted anti-Tamil nationalism opportunistically when politically expedient — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 159 (+1 more)

Related

• Sinhalese governments invented Tamil separateness for political self-preservation (similarity 0.88)
• A leftist party adopted anti-Tamil nationalism opportunistically when politically expedient (similarity 0.88)
• Sinhalese governments manufactured Tamil separatism through base-securing ethnocentric competition. (similarity 0.83)
• Tamil nationalism and the LTTE were manufactured by Sinhalese ethnocentric government policies. (similarity 0.81)
• Grievances over colonial-era Tamil advantage fueled the Sinhala-only demand. (similarity 0.80)
• Sinhalese nationalists co-opt Tamils who subordinate Tamil grievances to the nationalist order (similarity 0.80)
• Sinhalese politicians frame both protection and violence toward Tamils as majority prerogative (similarity 0.79)
• Extremist Sinhalese parties weaponized Buddhism against Tamil devolution (similarity 0.79)
• Bandaranaike abandoned bilingualism for tactical electoral advantage. (similarity 0.79)
• Electoral majoritarianism in 1956 gave rise to anti-Tamil violence and empowered extremists. (similarity 0.79)
• A nationalist Sinhalese party has infiltrated the armed forces and may stage a coup (similarity 0.79)
• Some Sinhalese nationalist writers publicly endorse genocide against Tamils (similarity 0.79)
• Sri Lanka’s 1956 election introduced ethnic outbidding as a political tactic (similarity 0.78)
• Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist ideology commands broad popular support in Sri Lanka (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Sinhalese governments invented Tamil separateness for political self-preservation #expands (0.82) — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 228