CBSE Class 10 Answered

Majoritarianism means a belief that a majority of community in a nation should be able to rule in whichever way it wants, even if includes disregarding the wishes and needs of the minority.

After Sri Lanka became independent of the colonial rule in 1948, it had two major communities, the Sinhalese (74 per cent) and the Tamilians (18 per cent). As the Sinhalese were in majority they elected themselves to power, introduced a series of majoritarian policies to ascertain the supremacy of their community. They appointed Sinhalese people to preferential positions in government and also made Sinhala as the only official language of the nation. Various government measures gradually increased the feeling of alienation among the Tamils in Sri Lanka. This led to dissent among the Tamilian community which with time strained the relations between the Sinhala and Tamil communities. The distrust between both the communities finally culminated into a civil war, with Tamilians demanding the formation of independent Tamil state in northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka. This led to thousands of people being killed in the civil war.

Thus, the assertive policies of the majority community threatened the unity and integrity of the country.