Violent Conflicts In Southeast Asian Regions - Research Paper Example

Violent Conflicts In Southeast Asian Regions Introduction Ethnicity and Religion have recently been a very common issue in the multi-ethnic nations of the world. The influence of ethnicity, in particular, has been felt in the political and economical realms of a nation. The frameworks upon which the political powers and economical changes are established have been designed following the criteria of ethnic majority, in disguise of the so called democracy. The majority ethnic groups have always carried the day and the minority left as subjects of strict loyalty. During the election periods, the citizens of the multi-ethnic nations have always voted in the line of ethnicity. Each ethnic group is always aspiring to have one of their members taking charge of the nation. This situation has made the majority ethnic population retain leadership in many democratic nations. It is all about the numbers. In some nations, as those in the Middle East, religion has penetrated and dominated the political developments and decisions. In fact, the state laws are always based on the religious doctrines and practices. In such a nation, those who belong to a different faith are always treated as the minority, who, must strictly adhere to the set religious laws. In most occasions, the oppressed minority have usually tried to overcome the persecutions by forming groups and political parties through which they can air their grievances. The majority, on the other hand, have taken such moves as insubordinations and threats to their dominance. This is the picture of ethnic and religious conflicts. It is, however, important to mention from the onset that not all multi-ethnic nations will experience violent conflicts from the various ethnic and religious groups; a few nations have been peaceful (Tanya, 12). Ethnic conflict has been described as a battle between groups that differ in cultural, religious and other ideological issues. This paper shall, in general, review the situation and cases of ethnic and religious conflicts in a few Southeast Asian nations to draw the true picture of the region. Thereafter, the states of India and Sri Lanka shall be distinctively discussed in an attempt to describe the genesis and nature of ethnicity and religious dissonance. Southeast Asia In the recent past and presently, ethnic conflict has been the leading cause of collective war in most parts of the world, Southeast Asia included. In the Southeast Asia, ethnicity has been tightly merged with religion, making the situation a very complex puzzle. In this region, ethnicity and religious concepts have played a major role in the legislation of laws and formation of States. The separation of Pakistan from the colonial India was ignited by the ethnic and interfaith conflicts that had emerged in the old India. This separation was not going to be the end of such conflicts. In the year 1971, Bangladesh was born of India, a clear escalation of ethnicity and religious distinctiveness (Rather, 31). The ethnic conflicts in the Southeast Asia have their roots in the colonial governments. These colonial governments constructed borders that separated different groups of people into distinctive locations. The borders created unequal distribution of resources, hence the series of conflicts between different ethnic groups struggling for the scarce resources. It was during the British colonial times that many Muslims migrated from India due to the unequal resource distribution. The Muslims moved to the neighboring Burma, now called Myanmar, and Sri Lanka. The conflict began after the independence of Burma. Today, the Myanmar natives have rebelled against the presence of these intruders in their nation. The ethnic cleansing witnessed in Myanmar is the fight against the Muslims and the Islamic religion. On the fore front are the Buddhist Monks, who incite the public and lead most attacks in the nation, according to a report presented by the Human Rights. That was such a shocking irony; the monks were expected to preach peace as religious leaders. The Muslims had revenged to the attacks by killing some of the monks. Eight monks were beaten to death by a section of Muslims in one of the detention centers in Indonesia. The Muslims persecutions in Myanmar have created tension in the whole region of Southeast Asia (Ananta, 4). In most Southeast Asian nations, ethnic and interfaith conflicts between Buddhist and Muslims have exploded due to harsh economic standings, Myanmar is one of them. In these states, each separate group wants to rule the economy of the nation, as seen in Malaysia and Indonesia. In Thailand, there has been a historic tension between the Muslims and the indigenous Buddhists. When the Muslim state of Pattani was annexed by Thailand a century ago, the Malay Muslims were not fully assimilated and this situation has created rebellion by the angry Muslims, who feel they were double crossed (Ananta, 21). From the above situations already evident that ethnic and religious conflicts still exist these nations because the leaders, both political and religious have not taken a step stop such wars and persecutions witnessed in their states. Instead, they take part in inciting the public to attack one another. Another reason for the persistent conflicts is the scarce resources. The communities have to fight for the ownership these few resources. When the economy worsens, one ethnic group sees the other as a threat to survival. Sri Lanka Sri Lanka is a multi-lingual and multi-racial country. This nation also bears a variety of religions and different beliefs. The main ethnic groups in Sri Lanka include the Sri Lankan Moors, Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Tamils, Indian Tamils and the Veddhas, who are said to be the pioneers of the Sri Lankan Island. However, the culture of the Veddhas had gradually diminished due to frequent interaction with the Tamils and the Sinhalese cultures. Generally, the cultural and ethnic structures of the Island were predesigned by the colonial government and the Indians, who neighbored Sri Lanka on the North. Presently, the Sri Lankan culture is a combination of the Tamils and the Sinhalese cultures. However, a small portion of the culture has been borrowed India, due to its close proximity to the Island. In terms of religion composition, Sri Lanka has Buddhism as the main faith of the majority. Many of the Sinhalese, who form 74% of the country’s population, are Theravada Buddhist. The second largest religious group belongs to Roman Catholic. Others are Muslims and Protestants. The situation of ethnic population and religion in Sri Lanka creates a very interesting phenomenon whereby the largest ethnic group flock in one faith. This has been the key factor in maintaining the unity among the Sinhalese. Ethnic Conflicts The origins of ethnic conflicts were mainly the tough situations in political, social and economical trends in Sri Lanka. During such hard times, a sharp division rose in the Sri Lankan society, following the ethnic, regional and linguistic differences. The issues of authority and legitimacy were of great concern for each of the groups, which by this time had lost trust in each other (Shakil, 2). Controversy and rivalry had been created between the majority community of Sinhalese and the minority Tamils. These two competing ethnic communities had been having a long history of arguments and fights over the Island of Sri Lanka. Each one of them was claiming to be the founder of this piece of land. These two parties seem to be dishonest; it is conventionally known that another small ethnic community called Veddhas founded the island. The island had been taken from them the British rulers. Therefore, the struggle between Tamils and Sinhalese only complicates matters. However, the genesis of this battle between the major ethnic groups of Sri Lanka can be clearly traced. When the British left this country in the year 1948, the Sinhalese being the powerful majority, moved swiftly to take over the governance. The relatively lower population of Tamils had derailed their aggressiveness. The Veddhas could not regain their possession; they had been absorbed in the growing populations the Tamils and the Sinhalese and, their formal socio-cultural structures had been disbanded. The Sinhalese, thus, had all the advantage over these two groups. They took over the island and dominated the cultural and racial scenes in the country. Ethnic discrimination and conflicts began to emerge as the Sinhalese penetrated its roots in the society. The Tamils, who were the leading minority, experienced discrimination and ethnic violence from the majority, Sinhalese. In reaction to these harsh treatments, the Tamils formed advocacy groups and came up with tactics that would enable them survive in such hard conditions. In 1976, the Tamils started a movement, demanding for the creation of their own separate independent state. Currently, there has been a violent conflict between these two communities. Tamil still struggle for independence and autonomy of the northern and eastern provinces but the Sinhalese still cannot let go. This situation has created a deadlock in the country (Shakil, 3). Religious Conflicts The religious conflict that exists in Sri Lanka is mainly between Buddhist and Muslims. The Buddhists are the natives of Sri Lanka while Muslims are immigrants. These Muslims were from India and came to Sri Lanka during the great migration of the colonial period. The increasing population these Muslims in Sri Lanka has been a big threat to the Sinhalese Buddhists. The Buddhists have always wanted the Muslims to be thrown out of the nation. Sinhalese have formed organisations such as the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS). This movement advocates for the removal of the Muslims, who now form about 10% of the population. The Sinhalese Buddhists strongly oppose the Halal food labeling in the country. The BBS also mobilise people to attack Muslim properties and Mosques. However, the Buddhists have defended their actions, terming them as a preservation of their culture and religion. To make matters worse for the Muslims, political leaders in Sri Lanka are seemingly supporting the BBS (Shakil, 5). India India has a very large heterogeneous population. The current population of India has been estimated to be 930 million. This population comprises of several different cultures and forms of civilisation hence a diversity of religion and ethnic stratifications. The reasons for the high population and diversity has been said to be the welcoming and hospitable nature of the nation. This nature encouraged the arrival of more immigrants from various cultural backgrounds. With time, these different cultures were merged to formulate the current homogeneous Indian heritage. The main social groups in India include Proto-Australoid, Mongoloids, Nagritto, Mediterranean, Brachycephalis and Nordic. The religious groups include Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. The minority are the Christians, Jews and Sikhs. The nation also has over fifteen spoken languages. The social structures consist of the Caste or the hierarchical system. In this system, the Brahmins are placed highest while the Shudra are at the lowest level. The Caste system has been established in various parts of the country However, this hierarchy has never been a source of conflict among these communities. Ethnic and Religious Conflicts For a very long time, India has remained unified despite the high population and the cultural differences (Tanya, 33). There is no state religion in India; every individual has the freedom of worship. This situation is quite different from the case in Sri Lanka. Conflicts in India could only be slightly observed in the context of socio-cultural aspects as several communities started to cluster in their various cocoons of ethnicity. Different religious groups could also be seen flocking together to form ethnically-sensitive groups. However, it was merely grouping; no violent conflict was witnessed. However, political leaders have been blamed for the ethnic and religious conflicts that are now finding their way in the society. The people started to feel a bold line being drawn between the majority and the minority groups. In the year 2003, had planned and executed a bombing operation in Both Gaya. This has always been considered as the Buddhist’s holy place where Gautama Buddha received his enlightenment (Rather, 34). Conclusion Ethnic and religious conflicts in the Southeast Asia, which started in the recent past, has led to the persecution and cleansing in most nations. These conflicts do not seem to end soon as religious and political leaders, who should be preaching peace, have taken sides and catalysed the brutal acts of ethnicity in the region. The violent conflicts have now taken the form of terrorism. Nations in the Southeast Asia must take action before the situation gets out of hand. Work cited Ananta, Aris. Migration and Violent Conflicts in some Southeast Asian Region. Population Review, 45.1(2006). Print Debre, Toty. Buddhism and Islam. London: Cambridge University Press. 2013 Rather, Ali. Ethnicity in Kashmir- A study of Watals: Journal of Peace Studies, 3.4(1996). Shakil, Ahmed. Ethnic Conflicts South Asia: Case of India and Sri Lanka. New Delhi. Ajay. 2001 Tanya, White. Contemporary Southeast Asia: A Journal International and Strategic Affairs. 28.1(2006) Read More