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C.V. Wigneswaran at World Hindu Conference Photo courtesy ‘Tamilnet’
In Post war Sri Lanka there has been a virulent rise of religious intolerance
particularly towards minority religions by groups that enjoy the protection of the
Government. Such has been their activities that His Holiness the Dalai Lama
issued a public plea to stop religious persecution in the name of Buddhism. The
power of political impulses are such that despite Sri Lanka having a very large
population of Buddhists, we dare not invite the Dalai Lama for fear of angering
China.
In Sri Lanka, as in many other parts of the globe, both in Asia and beyond, Hindus
thus have a situation not too far off from what was faced under colonial rule –
religion being used as a tool for oppression and control.