The socio- economic statuses of Tamil speaking Muslims in Sri Lanka: a comparative study with developing world

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to investigate whether the Muslims live as minority communities in many developing countries have higher level of capacity of peace building and economic development. This study intends to compare the Sri Lankan case with many developing countries where Muslims live as minority communities, using the data of Muslim dominant Ampara district. For this purpose this study uses both quantitative and qualitative techniques to concrete the results. Empirical study of 70 selected developing countries during 2000-2004 shows that Muslim population as a percentage of total population is negatively correlated with peace building capacity, democratic freedom, economic freedom, foreign direct investment, secondary education, tertiary education, per capita income, information and communication technology, infrastructure and inflation. It is only positively correlated with literacy rate and economic growth. Conflict, violence and war (less peace building capacity) is not a case of minority status of Muslim people live in developing countries. Arguably, when developing countries have low percentage of Muslim population they enjoy stable peace and economic development as compared to countries have higher percentage of Muslim population. These socio-economic issues of the international phenomenon are comparable to the Sri Lankan context. Even though the Tamil speaking Muslim people (TSMP) live throughout Sri Lanka as a minority, their presence in the North and East provinces is significant and they are majority community in Ampara district of the Eastern province. In deed, Muslim people have been living more peacefully as compared to other minorities in Sri Lanka. Contribution of Tamil speaking Muslim people to violence and war has been less in Sri Lanka. As a minority within Tamil speaking people in Sri Lanka, TSMP have avoided violence to get their political rights and united with ruling governments. As a result, as far as economic development is concerned TSMP have achieved significant benefits since 1948 until today. This non-anti government politics for peace building in their regions led them to enhance their socio-political and economic status. This cross sectional study based on secondary data statistically demonstrates that percentage of Muslim population among 19 Divisional Secretariats Divisions(DSDs) in Ampara district of Sri Lanka is positively correlated with status of secondary education, university education, permanent houses, cement floored houses, electricity for lighting, using gas for cooking, protected drinking water from private wells, land ownership, average land for agricultural activities, small scale agricultural activities, industrial establishments and persons employed in industrial sector. All these socio-economic status are better in Muslim dominated divisional secretariats divisions in Ampara. Nonetheless, some goods and services are mostly delivered by the government such as primary education, literacy, pipe line water supply, public wells and public jobs, are negatively correlated with percentage of Tamil speaking Muslim population in this district.