Editorial

Majoritarian threat to peace in Sri Lanka

Ethnic(जातीय /संजातीय) and communal(सांप्रदायिक) riots(दंगों/अव्यवस्था) in Sri Lanka targeting the country’s Muslims, who account for 7% of the population, threaten(धमकाना/डांटना) post-civil war peace and stability(स्थिरता/मज़बूती) in the country. If the government does not crush(दबाना/कुचलना) the Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinism that has led to the attacks on Muslims, it will turn against the Tamil minority sooner rather than later, resurrecting(पुनर्जीवित) ghouls from the civil war. The violence, though concentrated in and around the city of Kandy in the

country’s Central Province(प्रदेश/कार्यक्षेत्र), is serious enough to warrant the imposition of emergency in Sri Lanka. The government has also suspended social media services, as these have been used as vehicles for propagating(प्रचार/वंश बढ़ाना) hate messages.

At 7% of the population, Muslims are the third-largest community in the country. Following the end of the civil war in 2009, Muslims emerged as the targets of hardline Sinhala resentment(नाराज़गी/अप्रसन्नता), replacing the predominantly Hindu Tamils. The provocation(उकसावा/उत्तेजना) for the current round of violence was the death of a Sinhalese-Buddhist youth allegedly(कथित तौर पर) at the hands of a group of Muslim men in an incident of road rage(यातायात में सड़क पर चालकों द्वारा हिंसक रोष व्यक्त करना). This opportunity was seized(पहरे में डालना/पकड़ लेना) on by hardline Sinhala groups to incite(उत्तेजित करना/भड़काना) violence, targeting Muslim-owned businesses and homes, and mosques. The convincing(ठोस/विश्वासप्रद) victory by Mahinda Rajapaksa’s party in the local council elections in February, and a trickle of Rohingya immigrants(आप्रवासियों/परदेशवासी), have given fresh impetus(प्रेरणा) to the hardliners. President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have responded by increasing the deployment of forces in the area for 10 days. The majoritarian ideology of Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinism(देशाहंकार/अंधराष्ट्रीयता) must be combated(लड़ा) and eliminated from the island-nation’s Constitution. Majoritarianism can lead only to violence and strife in a multicultural society. Sri Lanka’s leadership must rise to the challenge.

Important Vocabulary

1.Riots(दंगों)
Synonyms: anarchy, brawl, disturbance, lawlessness, protest
Antonyms: calm, order, peace, tranquility, agreement

2.Resurrecting(पुनर्जीवित)
Synonyms: energize, recover, rejuvenate, rekindle, renew
Antonyms: destroy, kill, ruin, agitate, annoy

3.Propagating(प्रचार
Synonyms: inseminate, multiply, proliferate, bear, beget
Antonyms: decrease, deplete, destroy, diminish, finish

4.Provocation(उकसावा/उत्तेजना)
Synonyms: affront, harassment, indignity, insult, annoyance,
Antonyms: compliment, discouragement, happiness, hindrance, pleasure

5.Seized(पहरे में डालना)
Synonyms: captured, annexed, clutched, snatched

6.Impetus(प्रेरणा)
Synonyms: catalyst, impulse, incentive, momentum, motivation
Antonyms: block, discouragement, check, hindrance

7.Chauvinism(देशाहंकार
Synonyms: fanaticism, jingoism, nationalism, narrowness, zealotry
Antonyms: unbiased

8.Combated(लड़ा)
Synonyms: cope, fight, oppose, repel, resist
Antonyms: support, surrender, yield, agree, give in

9.Crush(दबाना/कुचलना)
Synonyms: horde, multitude, throng, drove, gathering
Antonyms: peace, dislike, hate, hatred