Author： Ramanathapillai Rajmohan
Publisher： Routledge Ltd
ISSN： 0085-6401
Source： South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, Vol.35, Iss.4, 2012-12, pp. : 832-857
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Abstract
This paper examines the real and expanded stories of Buddhist trauma in Sri Lanka and how they impair Sinhalese attempts to make a peace settlement with the Tamil minority. Drawing on the crisis that resulted from the installation of a Buddha statue in Trincomalee in 2005, the paper investigates the Buddhist trauma narratives in the stories of Emperor Asoka of India and King Dutthagamini of Sri Lanka to study the impact of such narratives on contemporary conflict. The paper concludes that long-lasting peace in Sri Lanka cannot be achieved simply through political solutions; efforts at peace must also find healing ways of telling Buddhist narratives of collective trauma and reintroducing narratives of history and identity in the light of hope.
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