Original scientific paper

Ethnicity and Ethnic Conflict in South Asia

Ružica Čičak ; Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies, Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

In the context of modern South Asian countries, which are experiencing major social changes and facing the built-up challenges of participation and integration, ethnic nationalism has especially grown. Although the demands of ethnic groups are often tied to tradition, they first of all openly aspire to the economic and political betterment of these groups. The discrepancy between proclaimed government policies and their implication in those socio-economic domains that are considered “critical” for preserving the autonomy of ethnic minorities, leads to greater inter-ethnic tensions. In cases where the ethnic minority is large, socially mobile, with a firm social base, one cannot exclude that the demand for autonomy turns into a demand for separation and the formation of a distinct state. Proceeding from the above-mentioned assumption, the author, along with some broader comments of a wider regional significance, uses examples from (former) Pakistan and Sri Lanka to examine in more detail the question of ethnicity and ethnic conflict in the South Asian region.

Keywords

ethnicity; ethnic conflict; ethnic minority; South Asia

Hrčak ID:

128051

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/128051

Publication date:

29.9.1989.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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