Nationalists tie Buddhist fertility to preserving the unitary state against Tamil claims

Evidence

The preference among nationalists to see Tamils leave the northeast is related to their call for Sinhalese Buddhists to have more children. In nationalists’ minds, Sinhalese Buddhist fertility is connected to the unitary state: the more Buddhists there are, the easier it becomes to colonize non- Buddhist areas and prevent devolution of power to and autonomy for Tamils. One of the leading proponents of this strategy is Prime Minister Wickramanayaka, who has claimed that certain foreign powers are colluding with local groups to ensure the Sinhalese become a minority. He has argued that “the declining population is a serious threat to the country’s unitary status” (Jayasinghe 2006). — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 289

Categorization

• XREF: Fertility anxiety sustained against empirical evidence recalls the Indian Hindu demographic-swamping claim DeVotta flags elsewhere — comparable manufactured demographic threats across contexts. — connects to: Sinhalese nationalist identity is constructed as inseparable from Buddhism — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 193; Extremist Sinhalese parties weaponized Buddhism against Tamil devolution — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 157; Sinhalese nationalists engineered demographic consolidation of Tamil regions through state land seizure. (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Extremist Sinhalese parties weaponized Buddhism against Tamil devolution #expands (0.90) — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 157
• Sinhalese nationalist identity is constructed as inseparable from Buddhism #expands (0.85) — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 193
• Sinhalese nationalists engineered demographic consolidation of Tamil regions through state land seizure. #expands (0.75)
• With the Tamil enemy removed, nationalists manufactured a Muslim threat to sustain group solidarity #complicates (0.75) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 1369