Importance Of Preserving Language Rights In Sri Lanka
by Lionel Guruge- Sunday, March 27, 2016
Tamil version of the National Anthem of Sri Lanka was sung at the country’s 68th Independence day celebrations
Sri Lanka’s Constitution has undoubtedly undergone many revisions because of its Amendments. Of all these Amendments, perhaps one that carries a most significant weight is the 13th Amendment, which not only established a new form of sub-national governance, but also introduced a crucial legislation that respected minority rights and validated their identity. The Amendment reads as follows:
“(2) Tamil shall also be an official language.
(3) English shall be the link language.
(4) Parliament shall by law provide for the implementation of the provisions of this Chapter.”
This Amendment, introduced in 1987, was widely recognized as the pivotal point for language equality in Sri Lanka and soon paved the way for the establishment of the Official Languages Commission (OLC) in 1991, tasked with the mandate of protecting and promoting the needs of a bilingual Sri Lankan population. Building on this Amendment, the former regime also established a Ministry for Official Languages and Reconciliation, which was consolidated and re-named as the Ministry of National Co-existence Dialogue and Official Languages by the current regime.
Article 23(1) of the Constitution mentions the language of administration with regards to legislation:
“[23. (1) All laws and subordinate legislation shall be enacted or made and published in Sinhala and Tamil, together with a translation thereof in English”
