Sinhalese Buddhist extremists define legitimate Sri Lankan identity as exclusively Sinhalese Buddhist

Evidence

Extremist Buddhist organizations—ably assisted by the nationalist Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka—have long tried to introduce a nineteenth amendment to the constitution and thereby make Buddhism the official state religion. They want to prohibit all those born Buddhist from converting to any other religion while, it seems, allowing those from other religions to convert to Buddhism. These organizations insist that only a Sinhalese Buddhist culture exists (or ought to exist) in Sri Lanka, which suggests that the only valid ethnic identity for a Sri Lankan is a Sinhalese Buddhist identity. Their leaders argue that Sri Lanka is a Buddhist state, and accommodating other religions on an equal footing would make the country a secular state, which they claim they would fight to their deaths to prevent. Ironically, although they all laud Sri Lanka’s democratic status (which is understandable given that the island’s illiberal democracy has consistently enabled their preferences), they insist on a democracy devoid of secularism. — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 145

Categorization

• XREF: Core evidence for the manufactured-identity thesis, parallels nationalist identity-exclusivity claims in other post-colonial conflict literatures. — connects to: Extremist Sinhalese parties weaponized Buddhism against Tamil devolution — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 157; Sinhalese nationalist identity is constructed as inseparable from Buddhism — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 193

Broader Connections

• Sinhalese nationalist identity is constructed as inseparable from Buddhism #expands (0.95) — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 193
• Extremist Sinhalese parties weaponized Buddhism against Tamil devolution #exemplifies (0.92) — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 157