Discuss the causes of the civil war in Sri Lanka.

The question requires that candidates offer a considered and balanced review of the causes of civil war in Sri Lanka. Candidates may refer to the continuous political rancour between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Sri Lankan Tamils before and during the early part of colonial rule by Europeans. Christian missionary activity led to Hindu Tamils building their own schools and temples and publishing literature to counter the missionaries. This prepared the way for a cultural, religious and linguistic community of Tamils by the mid-19th century. After independence in 1948 the Sinhala-only language policy was introduced, which was discriminatory towards the Tamils. Indian Tamils were denied jobs and citizenship. The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) began demanding a separate state. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) pushed this demand further through militancy and guerrilla warfare, leading to ethnic riots and insurgency. Indian and UN intervention to disarm the Tamil Tigers annoyed the Tamils and led to increased conflict.