In the years leading up to 1983, tensions had been building between Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority. These tensions stemmed from discriminatory policies, including language laws that made Sinhala the only official language, and university admission policies that made it harder for Jaffna Tamil students to access higher education.
https://newsroom.ap.org/editorial-photos-videos/search?query=riots%20of%20black%20july%20sri%20lanka&mediaType=photo&st=keyword – $35 to get a license to use image
Image of Damage from Black July Riots in Colombo – AP News
Ruins of Regal Theater, destroyed in the Black July Riots, still not rebuilt in 2002, image courtesy of Mythri Jegathesan, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Santa Clara University
…one Saturday in late July, the phone rang. It was Seelan and Amma, ringing from Saras Aunty’s house. They were calling with news, and a warning: some Tamil militants in Jaffna had attacked and killed thirteen soldiers, and the bodies were, they had heard, coming back to Colombo for burial. There was sure to be–
“–trouble,” Amma said, her voice bristling with static and uncertainty” (p. 61)
The violence erupted on July 23, 1983, after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ambushed and killed 13 Sri Lankan Army soldiers in northern Sri Lanka. In retaliation, organized mobs attacked Tamil civilians and properties across Colombo and other regions for several days. Mobs systematically destroyed Tamil homes and businesses while targeting civilians in their homes and on streets, forcing many Tamils to seek sanctuary in schools and temples. The novel allows us to observe this event by having Sashi visiting her grandmother in Colombo at the time. The neighborhood of her grandmother’s house is called Wellawatta, which remains a predominantly Tamil neighborhood today. Official estimates reported hundreds of deaths, though it is likely that the number was much higher, closer to three thousand casualties, with approximately 150,000 people displaced. Black July’s far-reaching consequences included a mass Tamil exodus from Sri Lanka that established significant diaspora communities (in India, Canada, the UK, and elsewhere in Europe), intensification of a civil conflict that would continue for 26 years, and a critical turning point in Tamil-Sinhalese relations. The violence drew increased international attention to Sri Lanka’s ethnic tensions and caused substantial economic damage from the widespread destruction of businesses and properties.
Possible discussion questions for students:
- How does Brotherless Night depict the buildup to the Black July riots? What emotions or fears do characters express before and during the violence?
- Black July is often marked as a turning point. How do we see this ‘turn’ in the novel? Are there moments in the characters lives or perspective that change because of what they see, hear, and or experience during that time?
- How do the events of Black July continue to influence the characters as the story progresses?
