Acknowledgments; Introduction: Abiding by Sri Lanka; 1 Better Things to Do: (Dis)Placing Sri Lanka, (Re)Conceptualizing Postcoloniality; 2 Majority Rules: Reading a Sinhalese Nationalist History; 3 Minority Matters: Reading a Tamil Nationalist History; 4 What, to the Leftist, Is a Good Story? Two Fictional Critiques of Nationalism; Conclusion: Does Democracy Inhibit Peace?; Notes; Bibliography; Index
Summary
Abiding by Sri Lanka examines how the disciplines of anthropology, history, and literature treat the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict. With close readings of texts that "abide" by Sri Lanka, texts that have a commitment to it, Ismail demonstrates that the problems in Sri Lanka raise fundamental concerns for us all regarding the relationship between democracies and minorities
