Linguistic identity unified Sinhalese across religious lines while dividing them from Tamils

Evidence

The very first riot in modern Sri Lankan history was not between Sinhalese and Tamils but between Buddhists and Catholics. The so-called Kotahena riot of 1883 was quickly put down by the British authorities, but it highlighted the growing religious divide between the two communities, especially at a time when Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism was on the upswing. This burgeoning Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism, however, was subsumed by Sinhala linguistic nationalism, which enabled all Sinhalese, irrespective of their religious beliefs, to mobilize to make their language the island’s sole national language. It also has enabled Sinhalese Christians to oppose the LTTE as passionately as do Sinhalese Buddhists. Indeed, some of the most prominent generals in the Sri Lankan military have been Christians. The Sinhala language has succeeded so well in unifying Sinhalese Buddhists and Christians that the predominantly Sinhalese Catholic clergy in the south often refuse to speak out against military atrocities perpetrated on Tamil Catholics in the northeast; and the Sinhalese Catholic leadership in Colombo is known to treat complaints and grievances against the state by their northeast Tamil counterpart with indifference. — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 241

Categorization

• XREF: The primacy of language over religion as a solidarity base speaks to the reader’s question about whether enmity is based on identity categories that are themselves constructed rather than primordial. — connects to: Language offered Sinhalese a unifying identity that overrode internal religious division — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 125; Sinhala language conflates nation, race, and people so deeply that multiethnic polity seems incomprehensible — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 190; Sinhalese nationalist identity is constructed as inseparable from Buddhism — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 193 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Language loyalty overrides religious division to unify Sinhalese against Tamils. #corroborates (0.95) — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 241
• Sinhalese nationalist identity is constructed as inseparable from Buddhism #qualifies (0.85) — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 193
• Sinhalese-Tamil enmity is legitimized by myth rather than primordial fact #expands (0.80) — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 78