The Social Impact of Conflict in Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan civil war between the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has stretched over three decades. Based on the research with displaced Sri Lankan Tamils and Muslims in the midst of the Sri Lankan civil war, this book sketches, through individual stories, the transformation of Sri Lankan society.

---

The Sri Lankan civil war between the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has stretched over three decades. The civil war has involved the destruction of infrastructures, the permanent displacement of thousands of people, the pitting of majority against minority ethnic groups, and the evolution of one militant organisation into a repressive quasi-state entity. This book addresses three themes in its exploration of wartime sociality and transformation in Sri Lanka: the relationship of Sri Lankan Tamils and Muslims to 'home' in the midst of a war for homeland; transforming kinship relations; and, the effect of violence, terror, and secrecy on intra- and inter ethnic sociality, senses of intimacy, and political culture. Based on first-hand research with displaced Sri Lankan Tamils and Muslims in the midst of the Sri Lankan civil war, the book sketches, through individual stories, the transformation of Sri Lankan society over the last thirty years.
The author focuses on the consequences of militancy and militarization on communities that take arms to fight oppression, and how dirty wars are fought out on battlefields inside homes and communities - changing the way in which civilians relate to each other. Drawing on this material, the book addresses general issues about wartime sociality, intimacy and political culture which have a resonance far beyond Sri Lanka. It examines memory, movement and violence, as well as ethnicity and place.