Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question

The statement means that when a majority community imposes its will on minorities, it ultimately harms the whole nation, including the majority itself.

In Sri Lanka, the Sinhala-dominated government made Sinhala the only official language, favoured Sinhalese in jobs and universities, and gave Buddhism a special status. This alienated Sri Lankan Tamils, leading to demands for a separate state (Tamil Eelam) and eventually a violent civil war. As a result, thousands from both communities were killed, families lost their livelihoods, and the social, cultural and economic life of the entire country suffered a terrible setback — harming the Sinhala majority as much as the Tamil minority.

Source: Power Sharing, Chapter 1

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• The examiner wants you to link the cause (majoritarianism) → effect on minority → blowback on majority in a logical chain.
• Key evidence to use: the 1956 language act, preferential policies, civil war consequences (deaths, refugees, economic damage to the whole country).
• The phrase "tyranny of the majority" implies the majority is the agent of oppression, but the civil war's devastation shows it eventually destroyed the majority's own peace and prosperity — that's the point you must make explicit.
• Don't just describe Sri Lanka's policies; you must explain how the majority also suffered.