Sinhala Quotes

But we could no longer bear the discrimination of a government dominated by the majority Sinhalese, the Tamil politicians declared: no more second-class status for our language, double standards and quotas for Tamil students, government-run Sinhala colonization schemes in traditionally Tamil areas, no more government-fomented anti-Tamil violence. The 1958 riots had taken place ten

The girls were screaming in Tamil, except for one, who was repeating the word "epa" like a loud and shrill chant. That was not how the Sinhala word was usually used, but it was an expression Mugil had ofen heard Sinhalese policeman and the army lob at civilians. Epa! when they didn't want you to sell apples by the road in Jaffna. Epa! when you tried to drive on at the checkpoint at Vavuniya. Epa! Don't! The girl's voice seemed to ring through all of Kilinochchi.

The failure of every one of these long line of “Pacts” is always attributable to the many divisions among the Sinhalese. When one party agrees to condescend towards some solution on the Tamil problem , the others will rise in unison to object and obstruct. They will never compromise or agree on any decision when it comes to solving the Tamil problem by consensus. It is not in the ethos or in the political character of the Sinhala leaders and governments to honour and abide by agreeements and pacts conceding rights to the Tamils as a people.

..We were born in 1948. Do you believe in nakath?’ Any musician or sportsperson worth their sweat will tell you that timing is all. Aside from believing in yakas and curses, Lankans also believe in nakath, in the auspiciousness of time, extending Feng Shui to the passing of moments. On Sinhala and Tamil New Year, if you face west and light a lamp at 6.48 a.m., you will receive joy; if you face north and spark up at 7.03 a.m., the sky will fall. ‘I don’t believe in nakath.’ ‘How does 1948 sound to you? Auspicious or suspicious?’ ... ‘You watch your mouth. Do you know which countries were born in 1948?’ The Benz halts in traffic, but there are winds in every direction. ‘If this land is cursed, it is because of men like Wijeratne and Solomon Dias. And because of those who protect them,’ you call out, emboldened by the distance between the creature and you. The creature yells out the names of five countries. And the Benz disappears with the gargoyle on its hood. ‘I’ll be watching you,’ it snarls and you see it no more. But the five names that it called out echo in your ears. ‘Burma. Israel. North Korea. Apartheid South Africa. Sri Lanka. All born in ’48.’ It doesn’t matter if Maali Almeida believes in nakath or not. Because it appears that the universe most certainly does.

We are educated Colombo Tamils. We must be careful and not attract attention. You understand, no?’ You think of the lottery of birth and how everything else is mythology, stories the ego tells itself to justify fortune or explain away injustice. You wonder if you should hold your tongue. ‘Uncle, this country was inherited by arrack-swillers who sent their children to British schools. Mostly Sinhala – but not all. What they all were was Colombians. And being an English-speaking Colombian exempts us from the rest of this country’s sufferings.’ ‘I didn’t know there were Marxists left in this country,’ says Stanley, giving you the fakest of smiles as he rises to leave.

The Sinhalese language is very famous all over the world. More than 9 million people speak the Sinhalese language for their regular use. Sinhalese language, also called Sinhala, Indo-Aryan language, is one of the two official languages of Sri Lanka.

Interestingly, the lion plays an important role in the Mahavamsa, a Pali epic, that is the foundation myth of the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka. According to the Mahavamsa, the Sinhalese people are the descendants of Prince Vijaya and his followers who sailed down to Sri Lanka in the sixth century BC from what is now Orissa and West Bengal. The story tells us that Prince Vijaya was the son of a lion and a human princess, which is why the majority population of Sri Lanka call themselves the Sinhala—or the lion people—and the country’s national flag features a stylized lion holding a sword. Equally significant is the fact that the Tamil rebels of northern Sri Lanka chose to call themselves the ‘Tigers’. The ancient rivalry between the two big cats remains embedded in cultural memory even as the animals themselves face extinction. Excerpt From: Sanjeev Sanyal. “Land of the Seven Rivers A Brief History of India's Geography”. Apple Books.

Sinhala Sri was painted on her back.’ The Sri agitations segued smoothly, tragically into the ethnic riots of 1958.