July 2013 marks the 30th anniversary of Black July – the anti-Tamil riots of 1983 that killed thousands. Today, four years after the Sri Lankan government’s military victory over the LTTE in 2009, little progress has been made in the direction of minority rights and ethnic reconciliation. In fact, the situation appears to have worsened – with minority communities experiencing a sense of heightened insecurity and diminished dignity.

In 1915, what is considered modern Ceylon’s first ethno-religious riot was perpetrated by the majority Sinhalese, and targeted Muslims, not Tamils. From1976 to 2002, about 30, mostly localized, Sinhala-Muslim ‘disturbances’ took place in various parts of the country. In more recent years, a provocative hate campaign has been carried out by groups of Sinhala Buddhists, fanning animosity against the Muslim community among the wider Sinhalese public. The government’s reaction to the situation has been dangerously slow and inadequate.

This series highlights “Sri Lanka’s moral-intellectual vacuum, the absence of sanity and decency, the negative stereotyping and scapegoating and the deliberate dissolution of individual identities” from a Muslim perspective.

It focuses on 1983 as a decisive point in time for the Muslims of the country.

For details around the videos, including how they were produced, please click here.