Groundviews

70 Years of Independence | Dr Farzana Haniffa

What does it mean to be Sri Lankan?

70 years after independence, our identity is defined mostly along majoritarian lines, which can be traced back to the divisions created under British rule. These divisions have contributed to violence and war, in the years since 1948.

To this day, there are communities who feel that what is commonly projected and defined as the Sri Lankan identity does not reflect their reality, or themselves.

Looking at this, Groundviews produced a series of videos exploring identity and belonging in a country emerging from war, but not yet out of conflict.

Senior lecturer and academic at the University of Colombo, Dr Farzana Haniffa talks about the emergence of a well-organized, anti-Muslim movement, post-war. She goes on to outline how this has translated to violence, under successive Governments.

Editor’s Note: To view the next video from the series, click here. Click here for the previous video. For more content around Independence Day, click here.

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