A brutal armed-conflict was fought for over 26 years in the island nation of Sri Lanka. The conflict was fought between LTTE (Liberation of Tamil Tiger Eelam) vs Sri Lankan government. In 2009, LTTE was defeated completely.
There were two major ethnic groups. One was Tamils and the other was Sinhalese. Tamils lived in the North and East of the country. They were Hindus. They spoke the Tamilian language. They were a 15% minority in the population. Sinhalese lived in the South and Central regions of the country. They were Buddhist. They spoke in the Sinhala language. They were a 70-75% majority in the population.
The policies of colonial times included more representation of Tamils in education, government jobs, civil service, both in higher and lower posts. Communal representation was brought in.
After independence in 1948, parliamentary democracy with the majoritarian rule was adopted. Tamils could never gain a majority in this system. Sinhala parties tried to bridge the difference in education and jobs by bringing in policies favouring Sinhalese.
The Sinhala language was made the only official language in 1956 and Tamils were made to resign from government jobs. Tamils entry was restricted in colleges as they had a higher proportion in relation to their population. Tamil media and literature were banned. Confrontational politics began. Multiple riots took place in 1956, 1958,1977 and 1983.