Imagine being involved in a terrifying road accident, and finding yourself being questioned by the police in a language you didn’t know, although this is your homeland and you have lived in this country all your life, and your own language is an official language of this country? Then imagine going to the clinic and the doctor trying to treat you, speaking in a language which you don’t understand, although this is a health service that is supposed to be for everyone in your country. Incidents like these can be avoided if there is language equality.

“Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”

Language Rights are therefore fundamental human rights included in the Constitution, in particular in its 13th Amendment, and upheld by other laws and legal instruments of Sri Lanka such as the Official Languages Act 1956, Extra ordinary Gazzette 1620/27, Public Administration Circulars, and there was even a Ministry set up named the Ministry of National Languages and Social Integration, to uphold these values. This Ministry was in charge of the Official Languages Department, the Official Languages Commission and the National Languages Education and Training Institute. The mandate of all these important institutions recognize that language barriers need to be overcome if Sri Lanka is to progress without conflict, towards social harmony.