DefinePK

Abstract

The rise of Buddhist nationalism in Sri Lanka and Myanmar after independence certainly caused major troubles in the post-colonial state- building process in both countries. From one side it hindered the efforts of the constitutional frame- works as the constitutional process became malleable to the influence of growing Buddhist nationalism. On the other hand, it continued to be the crucial factor in deciding the political leadership of both countries. This paper argues that the conflict emerged from Sri Lanka and Myanmar in its twisted identity, weighing between modern statehood and Buddhist nationalism as rooted in the historiography of both states, which was completely driven by Buddhist cosmological narratives. The paper shows the influence of Buddhist cosmology in carving a ruler who stood above the mundane polity and was not withered away even after the British colonial experience in Sri Lanka and Myanmar. The troubled constitutional practices that brought some ill effects on the minorities have risen from the effects of Buddhist cosmological notions on the public consciousness of both Sri Lanka and Myanmar.