Abstract:
The North and East of Sri Lanka, long devastated by civil war, remain at the
center of the country’s fragile recovery process. These regions, home to Tamil,
Muslim, and Christian communities, now face a new challenge: rising inter-
religious fragmentation. While Sinhala - Buddhist dominance defines the national
sphere, localized tensions between Hindu, Muslim, and Christian groups
increasingly obstruct social harmony and economic reconstruction. During the
war, Hindus and Christians shared solidarity in resisting Sinhala monopolization.
Since 2009, however, Hindu revivalist movements such as Siva Sena, Urudhra
Sena, etc., have sought Saivite dominance in the North, often marginalizing other
religious institutions, while Muslim identity politics in the East has intensified
around mosque construction and land disputes. Incidents in Kattankudy,
Trincomalee, and Jaffna illustrate how competition over sacred space fuels
mistrust, sometimes erupting in violence. The 2019 Easter Sunday bombings
further deepened suspicion, exacerbating divisions between Tamil and Muslim
communities. These tensions carry material consequences. Diaspora remittances,
critical for post-war recovery, are increasingly channelled towards religious
construction rather than infrastructure, education, or livelihoods. NGOs report that
inter-religious rivalry undermines cooperative livelihood schemes, particularly
among women, while shared cultural practices and festivals that once fostered
unity are eroding. Such patterns involve in risk of shifting the conflict paradigm
from ethnicity to religion, perpetuating instability. This paper argues that
fragmentation, if left unaddressed, will remain a major obstacle to recovery. Yet,
if engaged constructively through inclusive governance, interfaith dialogue, and
purposeful Diaspora engagement, it may also become a catalyst for building
pluralist solidarity, socio-cultural resilience, and sustainable economic
advancement in the North and East.
