Sri Lanka in major language controversy as Mandarin replaces Tamil on signages

It would not be surprising that with this rate China, which is replacing Tamil with Mandarin would take full control over Sri Lanka soon.

Colombo (Sri Lanka) – Sri Lankans are holding a major debate in the country after two back-to-back incidents in which Chineses was included in sign boards omitting out Tamil from Government projects. Now people are debating if China is beginning to impose its cultural hegemony on the island nation.

Sri Lanka in major language controversy as Mandarin replaces Tamil on signages https://t.co/tgSAqkhXIY

— HinduPost (@hindupost) June 2, 2021

1. This week Sri Lankan Attorney General Dappula de Livera unveiled a plaque written in Sinhala, English and Chinese after China gifted a smart library to the attorney general’s department. It caused a controversy on both counts that Tamil was not included and Chinese was. This goes against the official language trilingual policy in the country wherein Sinhala, Tamil and English are used. Facing criticism, the plaque was removed.
2. In a bid to control the damage, the Chinese embassy tweeted: “We noticed an interim sign in a building site not abiding by trilingual rules. Request raised. We respect all three official languages in Sri Lanka, and urge China companies to follow”.
3. Just last week, the central park being developed in the China-backed Colombo Port City had replaced Tamil with Mandarin. After the news went viral on Tamil groups and in social media circles, the Port City Colombo released a statement saying that the photograph being circulated is that of an old signboard.
4. Batticaloa Member of Parliament from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Shanakiyan Rasamanickam said that it is China which decides what to put on the sign boards in Sri Lanka. He added that Sri Lanka had become “Chi-Lanka”. Even powerful Buddhist monks had opposed Chinese control over the Colombo Port City saying that it would make Sri Lanka a colony of the communist giant.