Conspiracy theories reconcile Sinhalese superiority claims with humiliating historical defeats

Evidence

Associated with the belief that Sri Lanka is a nation exclusively for Sinhalese Buddhists is the notion that the Sinhalese are superior vis-à-vis Tamils and Westerners and that historically both groups have been responsible for repressing the Sinhalese, to the point even of colluding during the colonial period. Such conspiracy theories partly help the nationalists explain how, the superiority of their ethnic group notwithstanding, predominantly Sinhalese Buddhist Sri Lanka was vandalized by South Indian regimes and thereafter colonized for nearly 450 years by European powers. — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 203

Categorization

• XREF: Illustrates the backfire/cognitive-dissonance logic the reader tracks: an ideology asserting supremacy adopts elaborate conspiracy narratives precisely because reality contradicted it — a threat-hardened belief compensating for failure rather than submitting to correction. — connects to: Repressed historical truths resurface distorted in conspiratorial politics — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror…, 901; Superiority claims generate conspiracy theories to explain past defeats — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 203

Broader Connections

• Repressed historical truths resurface distorted in conspiratorial politics #expands (0.85) — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger, 901