Examining relationships between religious and linguistic nationalism in a recent controversy surrounding the Sri Lankan national anthem

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the relationship between religious and linguistic nationalism in Sri Lanka in the context of the controversy on singing the national anthem in Tamil during National Independence Day celebrations. It illuminates how language and religious policy work together to maintain Sinhala–Buddhist hegemony and exclude Tamil speakers as second-class citizens in postcolonial Sri Lanka.Design/methodology/approachThe examination of the anthem controversy includes language and religious policy documents, newspaper articles and YouTube videos.FindingsThe national anthem as a site of struggle is a powerful case to explore how nation-states’ actors mobilize affect, intertwining ideologies on language, religion, ethnicity, geography, and so on to maintain and reinforce dominance over minoritized groups. Therefore, the authors believe that (singing) the national anthem can be a site of study for language policy.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors acknowledge that the data used in this study are only in Sinhala and English and identify the need for further research using data sources in Tamil.Originality/valueWhile this paper generally contributes to the scholarly dialogues on religion and language, it also sheds light on understanding politics in Sri Lanka. Finally, the authors propose that any meaningful policy implementation efforts toward achieving linguistic justice in Sri Lanka need to include parallel policy changes that promote equality among religions.