(d) The issue of Rice Ration books.
(e) Inclusion of names in the Electoral Registers.
(f) The registration of transfers of property or shares.
(g) The registration of a person as a Ceylonese Trader.
(h) Other spheres reserved partly or fully for Ceylonese.
In the following year the Ceylon (Parliamentary) Elections Amendment Act. No. 48 of
1949 was passed which again deprived the same group of Tamils of the right to vote.
At no time did the Board of Ministers (all Sinhalese) of the State Council of Ceylon,
who negotiated the Independence with British
Government ever give even an inkling of their intention to deprive half the Tamil
population of Ceylon of their Franchise rights. On the other hand, in the memorandum
they submitted to Whitehall on constitutional reforms they devised a scheme of
representation under which they expected the Sinhalese to have 58 seats, Ceylon
Tamils 15 seats, Indian Tamils 14 seats.
The deteriorating position can be seen in the following table:
COMMUNITY
Sinhalese
Ceylon Tamils
Indian Tamils
Muslims
1947
% of seats
63
13
7
6
1952
% of seats
73
12
Nil
8
1956
% of seats
73
12
Nil
7
1960
% of seats
78
11
Nil
6
1960
% of seats
77
11
Nil
7
The above figures will show that a constitution devised and fashioned to give
weightage in representation to minorities was in fact perverted to give weightage to
the majority2. INROADS INTO TAMIL TERRITORY
The Government implemented schemes of State-aided colonization of traditional
Tamils areas by colonizing Sinhalese and thereby increased the Sinhalese voting
strength in the legislature. Within the first few years of Independence, colonization of
the Eastern Province, a Tamil area, by the Sinhalese had proceeded at such rapid rate
that before the end of the 1950s there were enough Sinhalese to return a Sinhalese
member to Parliament. Apart from such colonization, special licenses were giv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