As I traveled around the island admiring its ancient capitals, notably the ones sacked by Tamil kings, and Buddhist shrines set up to counter the impact of Hinduism, I began to understand the traumas endured by the Sinhalese. Sadly, the Tamils now living in the Jaffna districts in the northern and eastern parts of the island are probably descended from Tamils who were also victims of the same external attacks.
那么为什么多种族政治最终能在马来亚实行并随后在马来西亚和新加坡取得成功，但却在锡兰一败涂地呢？一个关键原因一定是僧迦罗人的历史经历。两千年来，他们不得不抵御来自印度大陆的泰米尔王国的扩张和侵略。当我在这个岛国游历，景仰其被泰米尔国王们遗弃的废都和为对抗印度教的影响而建的佛教寺庙时，才开始了解僧迦罗人所忍受的精神创伤。同样不幸的是现在生活在斯里兰卡岛北部和东部的贾夫纳地区的泰米尔人后裔。他们的祖辈可能也是同样的外来侵略的受害者。