Independence Day celebrations in one part of Sri Lanka: Black Day struggles in another part!
Sri Lanka celebrates its 73rd Independence Day today. However, the Tamil people, the first inhabitants of the island of Sri Lanka and the second largest population, today declared Independence Day as Black Day and engaged in protests throughout the North and Eastern homeland.
Sri Lankans gained independence from British rule on February 4, 1948, after 133 years in the grip of the Western occupiers. After that, however, there was no racial unity within Sri Lanka. Immediately after independence, the majority Sinhalese began a vicious racist campaign against the Tamil people.
The successive Sinhala Buddhist governments have carried out various racist activities, including the expropriation of Tamil lands, the establishment of Sinhala settlements, discrimination in education and employment, and the Sinhala only legislation.
From then until today, today is celebrated as Independence Day in in the southern Sri Lanka, and as Black Day in the North and East where the Tamil people live.
Independence Day celebrations were held at Independence Square under the patronage of President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. The national anthem was sung only in Sinhala. The government has declared that Tamil, the first language of Sri Lanka and one of the oldest languages in the world, has no place.
