After decades of independence movements, Sri Lanka won independence from the British Empire in 1948, establishing itself as Ceylon, the British name for the island.
However, centuries of colonization left severe economic and social scars on the nation, particularly inequality and animosity between the Tamil-speaking minority, concentrated in the country's north, and the Sinhala-speaking majority.
In 1956, Ceylon underwent significant changes to its governmental and social structure. The government abolished the Senate, nationalized plantations, and declared Sinhala the official language of Ceylon through the Sinhala Only Act. Supporters claimed the act helped distance the nation from its colonial past, whereas opposers claimed it attempted to oppress the Tamil-speaking minority. The act stoked tension between the groups, which resulted in violent riots that killed and displaced many. As tensions increased, many disenfranchised Hindu Tamils called for an independent Tamil state, later called Tamil Eelam.
In 1972, the country was renamed Sri Lanka, and Tamil nationalist V. Prabhakaran founded The Tamil New Movement to advocate for educational equality. However, the group merged with a radical militant group, creating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. In 1976, the group claimed responsibility for the assassination of Mayor Alfred Duraiappah and began executing several high-profile attacks, notoriously employing "suicide bombing" as a terror tactic.
In 1977, the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) won most parliamentary seats in Tamil-majority regions of Sri Lanka but was prohibited from proposing a Tamil state.
In 1983, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) killed thirteen soldiers, inciting anti-Tamil riots in Colombo, which began the Sri Lankan Civil War. For years, peace talks failed, even after the Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accords recognized Tamil as a national language. Indian troops withdrew in 1988. In 1991, suspected LTTE bombers assassinated former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, and, in 1993, assassinated Sri Lankan president Ranasinghe Premadasa.
Throughout the 1990s, the Sri Lankan government used troops to fight separatists, who used acts of terror, such as destroying sacred Buddhist sites. Hundreds of thousands of civilians were displaced, and thousands were killed.
The conflict continued long after Reef's publication in 1994. From 2000-2004, peace talks, mediated by Norway, yielded no reconciliation, except for a temporary ceasefire in 2002. In the following years, internationally notorious terror attacks by the LTTE increased until 2009, when the Sri Lankan government declared victory.
