Question

The term ethnic implies ______________.
A. People living in harmony
B. A social division based on shared culture
C. People fighting for their community
D. People fighting for power

Answer 1

Hint: The major social groups are the Tamil-speakers (18 percent) and the Sinhala-speakers (74 percent). Among Tamils, there are two subgroups which are ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’ and ‘Indian Tamils’. ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’ (13 percent) are Tamil natives of the country. ‘Indian Tamils’ comprise the rest, whose forefathers came from India during the colonial period. In the north and east of the country, Sri Lankan Tamils are concentrated. Buddhists are most of the Sinhala speaking people, while most of the Tamils are Muslims or Hindus. There are about 7 percent Christians, who are both Sinhala and Tamil.

Complete answer:
A social division based on shared culture is known as an ethnic group. These people belonging to the same ethnic group believe in their common descent due to similarities of culture or of physical type or both. They need not always have the same nationality or religion.
In 1948, Sri Lanka became an independent country. To achieve dominance over the government, the democratically elected government adopted a number of majoritarian measures. To recognize Sinhala as the only official language, an Act was passed in 1956, thus disregarding Tamil. The governments followed policies that favored Sinhala applicants for government jobs and university positions. A new constitution stated that the state shall foster and protect Buddhism. The feeling of alienation thus grew among the Sri Lankan Tamils through all these government measures. They felt that major political parties led by the Buddhist Sinhala leaders were not sensitive to their culture and language. They felt that the government policies and constitution discriminated against them in obtaining jobs, denied them equal political rights and other opportunities, and ignored their interests. This resulted in strained relations between the Tamil and Sinhala communities over time. The Sri Lankan Tamils launched struggles and parties for the recognition of Tamil as an official language, for equality of opportunity in securing education and jobs, and regional autonomy. But their demands for more regional autonomy were repeatedly denied. In northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka, several political organizations were formed demanding an independent Tamil Eelam (state) by the 1980s. A civil war emerged as a result of the distrust that emerged between the two communities soon turned into. Thousands of people of both communities have been killed as a result.

Thus, option (B) is correct.

Note: The situation in Sri Lanka shows that how an ethnic community took advantage of the other and thus led to conflicts.