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61-573: The minority Sri Lankan Tamil -dominated Jaffna Peninsula ruled by the Jaffna Kingdom , which is hardly 15 by 40 mi (24 by 64 km), came under the direct jurisdiction of colonial power from Europe after the 1591 demise of Puviraja Pandaram , a local king, at the hands of the Portuguese . He had led a rebellion against Portuguese influence and was defeated. After establishing their rule through kings who were nominally Catholic ,

122-671: A College in New England . The pioneering missionary at the Batticotta Seminary was Rev. Dr. Daniel Poor. Under him the American congregational missionaries became the pioneers of formal English and Tamil education in northern Sri Lanka. Although the initial aim was to convert Hindus to Christianity , it came to impart Biblical , English and European sciences on par with New England community colleges . The seminary undertook to research and published pioneering books in

183-444: A European standard education without converting to Christianity. Thus, a missionary by the name of Rufus Anderson decided that the seminary should be shut down and it was closed in 1855. This led to a seventeen-year struggle by local Christians to reopen the seminary. It eventually opened as Jaffna College . Although American involvement continues to the current day in missionary activities, the critical age of transformation ended with

244-603: A Thousand Daughters" for her many alumnae, and was the first unmarried American woman missionary in Ceylon. Eliza Agnew was born in New York City in 1807, the daughter of James and Jane Agnew. As a girl, she was inspired by an 1823 revival meeting at the Orange Street Presbyterian Church to dedicate her life to church work. She began her service in the home, to the "Sabbath-school", and in

305-588: A disability at all. Rather, they are disadvantaged by technologies and social institutions designed to cater to the dominant group. ( See the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities .) People belonging to religious minorities have a faith that is different from that held by the majority. Most countries of the world have religious minorities. It is now widely accepted in the West that people should have

366-622: A great-great-grandmother of the late Secretary of State John Foster Dulles , founded the Uduvil Girls' School in 1824, the first Girls’ boarding school in Asia. Eliza Agnew from Pennsylvania was a teacher there for 42 years. Missionaries also made efforts to provide collegiate level education by founding the Batticota Seminary at Vaddukoddai in 1823 with Rev. Dr. Daniel Poor as its first principal. The American Mission started

427-486: A minority group as "a group of people who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from the others in the society in which they live for differential and unequal treatment, and who therefore regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination". The definition includes both objective and subjective criteria: membership of a minority group is objectively ascribed by society, based on an individual's physical or behavioral characteristics; it

488-504: A minority of the country's population. Sinhalese leaders saw this imbalance as a problem that needed rectifying, and introduced discriminatory laws such as the 1956 Sinhala Only Act and the policy of standardization . These measures deteriorated the already frail political relationship between the communities and many experts believe it as one of the main causes of the Sri Lankan Civil War . The primary responsibility of

549-427: A minority, the status of women, as a subordinate group, has led to many social scientists to refer to them as a disadvantaged group. Though women's legal rights and status vary widely across countries, women often experience social inequalities, relative to men, in various societies. Women are sometimes denied access to education and access to the same opportunities as men, especially in under-developed countries. In

610-620: A new nation, pulsating with life" With the amalgamation of North Ceylon Missions into the Church of South India (CSI), most properties and existing educational institutions are managed by the CSI. Their intrusion into Jaffna also had other unintended consequences . The concentration of efficient Protestant mission schools in Jaffna produced a revival movement among local Hindus led by Arumuga Navalar , who responded by building many more schools within

671-875: A racial and religious minority). Likewise, individuals may also be part of a minority group in regard to some characteristics, but part of a dominant group in regard to others. The term "minority group" often occurs within the discourse of civil rights and collective rights , as members of minority groups are prone to differential treatment in the countries and societies in which they live. Minority group members often face discrimination in multiple areas of social life, including housing, employment, healthcare, and education, among others. While discrimination may be committed by individuals, it may also occur through structural inequalities , in which rights and opportunities are not equally accessible to all. Those in favour of minority rights often pursue laws designed to protect minority groups from discrimination and afford members of

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732-436: A section that stated if authorities did not protect people with learning disabilities from others' actions, such as harm or neglect, then they could be prosecuted. The disability rights movement has contributed to an understanding of disabled people as a minority or a coalition of minorities who are disadvantaged by society, not just as people who are disadvantaged by their impairments. Advocates of disability rights emphasize

793-514: A very different culture and language makes difficulties in the early stages of life in the new country. Voluntary immigrants do not experience a sense of divided identity as much as involuntary minorities and are often rich in social capital because of their educational ambitions. Major immigrant groups in the United States include Mexicans, Central and South Americans, Cubans, Africans, East Asians, and South Asians. The term sexual minority

854-418: Is a social group within a state that differs from the majority and/or dominant population in terms of ethnicity, language, culture, or religion, but also it also tends to have a close link with a specific territory from which the minority social group originates. Also known as "castelike minorities", involuntary minorities are a term for people who were originally brought into any society against their will. In

915-570: Is also subjectively applied by its members, who may use their status as the basis of group identity or solidarity . Thus, minority group status is categorical: an individual who exhibits the physical or behavioral characteristics of a given minority group is accorded the status of that group and is subject to the same treatment as other members of that group. Joe Feagin , states that a minority group has five characteristics: (1) suffering discrimination and subordination, (2) physical and/or cultural traits that set them apart, and which are disapproved by

976-435: Is based on the idea that a group can be considered a minority even if it includes such a large number of people that it is numerically not a minority in society. Some sociologists have criticized the concept of "minority/majority", arguing this language excludes or neglects changing or unstable cultural identities, as well as cultural affiliations across national boundaries. As such, the term historically excluded groups (HEGs)

1037-495: Is frequently used by public health researchers to recognize a wide variety of individuals who engage in same-sex sexual behavior, including those who do not identify under the LGBTQ+ umbrella. For example, men who have sex with men (MSM), but do not identify as gay. In addition, the term gender minorities can include many types of gender variant people, such as intersex people, transgender people , or non-binary individuals. However,

1098-584: Is largely determined hereditarily . However, it can also be influenced by factors such as adoption , cultural assimilation , religious conversion , and language shift . As race and ethnicity often overlap, many ethnic minorities are also racial minorities. However, this is not always the case, and some people are ethnic minorities while also being classified as white, such as some Jews , Roma , and Sámi . In some cases, their ethnic identities have been seen as negating their whiteness, in both inter- and intra-group identification. In some countries, such as

1159-579: Is often similarly used to highlight the role of historical oppression and domination, and how this results in the under-representation of particular groups in various areas of social life. The term national minority is often used to discuss minority groups in international and national politics. All countries contain some degree of racial, ethnic, or linguistic diversity. In addition, minorities may also be immigrant, indigenous or landless nomadic communities. This often results in variations in language, culture, beliefs, practices, that set some groups apart from

1220-791: Is one of the criteria for to determine a national minority, upon the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities . Some especially significant or powerful minorities receive comprehensive protection and political representation. For example, the former Yugoslav Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina recognizes the three constitutive nations, none of which constitutes a numerical majority (see nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina ). However, other minorities such as Roma and Jews , are officially labelled "foreign" and are excluded from many of these protections. For example, they may be excluded from political positions, including

1281-686: Is perceived as an unassimilated ethnic group (on a linguistic, religious, physical, or ideological basis) by the ruling political elite of a country" and reserves the term 'minority' only for groups that have been granted minority rights by their state of residence. Minority group membership is typically based on differences in observable characteristics or practices, such as: ethnicity (ethnic minority), race (racial minority), religion ( religious minority ), sexual orientation ( sexual minority ), or disability . The framework of intersectionality can be used to recognize that an individual may simultaneously hold membership in multiple minority groups (e.g. both

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1342-411: The Church of South India (JDCSI) observed that the "seminary brought about a tremendous upsurge the like of which has never been seen in the country before or after." Eventually, due to financial reasons, the seminary began to collect an entrance fee; thus, only wealthy families were able to send their children for education. The primary purpose of these families was to assure that their children received

1403-495: The United Kingdom . The various minority groups in a country are often not given equal treatment. Some groups are too small or indistinct to obtain minority protections. For example, a member of a particularly small ethnic group might be forced to check "Other" on a checklist of different backgrounds and so might receive fewer privileges than a member of a more defined group. Many contemporary governments prefer to assume

1464-578: The United States , for example, non-Hispanic Whites constitute the majority (58.4%) and all other racial and ethnic groups ( Mexican , African Americans , Asian Americans , American Indian , and Native Hawaiians ) are classified as "minorities". If the non-Hispanic White population falls below 50% the group will only be the plurality , not the majority. Racial minorities, sometimes referred to synonymously as people of color or non-white people, are minority groups that are discriminated against on

1525-647: The majority , and that characteristic lends itself to different applications of the term minority. In terms of sociology, economics, and politics, a demographic that takes up the smallest fraction of the population is not necessarily labelled the "minority" if it wields dominant power. In the academic context, the terms "minority" and "majority" are used in terms of hierarchical power structures . For example, in South Africa, during Apartheid , white Europeans held virtually all social, economic, and political power over black Africans. For this reason, black Africans are

1586-446: The "minority group", despite the fact that they outnumber white Europeans in South Africa. This is why academics more frequently use the term "minority group" to refer to a category of people that experience relative disadvantage, as compared to members of a dominant social group. To address this ambiguity, Harris Mylonas has proposed the term "non-core group", instead of "minority group", to refer to any aggregation of individuals that

1647-896: The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission in India in 1813. As it was just after the Anglo-American war of 1812 , the suspicious British authorities in Calcutta asked them to leave. The Newells were then asked to go to Mauritius but Samuel Newell lost his only child and wife in Mauritius. From there he left for British-held Ceylon , now known as Sri Lanka. He landed in Galle and ended up in Jaffna city. Although he spent most of his career in India, particularly Bombay he

1708-635: The British missionaries of the Methodist , Baptist and Anglican sects were present in the rest of the island. Even when this restriction was removed, the initial divisions between North Ceylon and South Ceylon missions were maintained.(see Wesleyan Methodist Mission, North Ceylon ) By the early 19th century there were nine mission stations within the small peninsula. The seeds for the American involvement in Jaffna were laid by The Rev. Samuel Newell in 1813. He and his wife Harriet Newell were sent out by

1769-532: The Christians in Sri Lanka. Minority group The term " minority group " has different usages, depending on the context. According to its common usage, the term minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half, is a "minority". Usually a minority group is disempowered relative to

1830-516: The Jaffna peninsula. Local Catholics too started their own schools as a countermeasure. The state also had its share of primary and secondary schools. Thus saturated with educational opportunities, many Tamils became literate. This was used by the British colonial government to hire Tamils as government servants in British-held Ceylon, India, Malaysia and Singapore . By 1956, 50% of clerical jobs were held by Tamils, although they were

1891-540: The Maritime Provinces except in the interior erstwhile Kandyan kingdom , where they had agreed to maintain the local Buddhist religion as part of the 1815 takeover of the kingdom. For geopolitical reasons, the British saw fit to restrict the American missionaries to the Jaffna Peninsula. There were many denominations present such as the Methodist , Presbyterians , and Episcopalians whereas

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1952-668: The Portuguese encouraged and coerced conversion of the locals to the Catholic faith . After the defeat and death of the last king Cankili II in 1619, most prominent Hindu temples were razed to the ground and restrictions on observance of native religious rituals were instituted. The Portuguese were ousted by the Dutch East India Company in 1658. During the Dutch colonial period the popular Nallur Kandaswamy temple

2013-639: The Tamil language in local literature, logic, algebra, astronomy and general science. One of the prominent alumni was C. W. Thamotharampillai , who was also the first graduate (1857) of the University of Madras in India . Sir Emerson Tennent judged the Batticotta Seminary equal in rank with many a European university. The late Rev. Dr. Sabapathy Kulendran , the first bishop of the Jaffna Diocese of

2074-582: The United Kingdom, there is a preference to categorise people by ethnicity instead of race. Ethnicity encompasses a mix of "long shared cultural experiences, religious practices, traditions, ancestry, language, dialect or national origins". The United Kingdom considers everyone but white British people to be an ethnic minority, including other white Europeans such as White Irish people (excluding in Northern Ireland). A national minority

2135-431: The United States' one-drop rule and blood quantum laws , South Africa's apartheid , and Nazi Germany Nuremberg race laws . Other times, race has been a matter of self-identification, with de facto racist policies implemented. In addition to governmental policy, racism may persist as social prejudice and discrimination. There are also social groups that are usually identified through ethnicity . Like race, ethnicity

2196-486: The United States, for instance, it includes but is not limited to Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, Puerto Ricans, African Americans, and in the 1800s, native-born Hispanics . Immigrants take on minority status in their new country, usually in hopes of a better future economically, educationally, and politically than in their homeland. Because of their focus on success, voluntary minorities are more likely to do better in school than other migrating minorities. Adapting to

2257-673: The basis of race . Though definitions vary cross-culturally, modern racism is primarily based on the European and American classifications of race that developed during the Age of Exploration , as European countries sought to categorize the nations they colonized into pseudo-scientific phenotypical groups. In the United States's system, whiteness is at the top of a hierarchy that automatically classifies mixed-race individuals as their subordinate race . Sometimes, racist policies explicitly codified pseudo-scientific definitions of race: such as

2318-410: The concept of minority rights and bringing prominence to it. The League of Nations Minorities Commission defined minority in 1919 as "nationals belonging to racial, religious, or linguistic minorities". Protection of minority groups, such as through careful drawing of boundaries of states and proportional representation , was seen as integral in preventing causes of future wars. Louis Wirth defined

2379-401: The difference in physical or psychological functioning rather than inferiority. For example, some autistic people argue for acceptance of neurodiversity , much as opponents of racism argue for acceptance of ethnic diversity. The deaf community is often regarded as a linguistic and cultural minority rather than a group with disabilities, and some deaf people do not see themselves as having

2440-719: The distribution of Scripture and tracts . After her parents died, Agnew secured appointment to the Ceylon Mission of the American Board of Boston in 1839. She sailed from Boston, Massachusetts to Jaffna , Ceylon , aboard the Black Warrior . She served as teacher for 42 years without furlough in the Female Boarding School in Uduvil, just north of Jaffna, Ceylon. "I gave it all up when I left America," she said of her unbroken tenure at Uduvil. She

2501-516: The dominant group, (3) a shared sense of collective identity and common burdens, (4) socially shared rules about who belongs and who does not determine minority status, and (5) tendency to marry within the group. There is a controversy with the use of the word minority, as it has a generic and an academic usage. Common usage of the term indicates a statistical minority; however, academics refer to power differences among groups rather than differences in population size among groups. The above criticism

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2562-535: The dominant group. As these differences are usually perceived negatively, this results in loss of social and political power for members of minority groups. There is no legal definition of national minorities in international law, though protection of minority groups is outlined by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities . International criminal law can protect

2623-425: The failure of the dominant English -speaking majority to integrate French Canadians has provoked Quebec separatism . Others assert that minorities require specific protections to ensure that they are not marginalized: for example, bilingual education may be needed to allow linguistic minorities to fully integrate into the school system and compete equally in society. In this view, rights for minorities strengthen

2684-663: The first Western Medical Mission in Asia at Panditeripo in Jaffna District . He served there for nineteen years in the dual capacity of clergyman and physician. His most important service was the establishment of a large hospital, of which he was physician in chief. He was especially successful in the treatment of cholera and yellow fever . He also founded several native schools and churches. He and his wife Harriet had 6 surviving sons and 2 daughters who all became medical missionaries and worked in South India . Dr. Scudder

2745-409: The first batch of 10 students only two by the name of Evarts and Ira Gould passed successfully. It was Sri Lanka’s first medical school as well as the only school until the present day to teach medicine in a local language. Batticotta Seminary was founded as a seminary for the best students from all other seminaries across the peninsula. It was intended to provide a tertiary level education equivalent

2806-410: The first printing press in Jaffna in 1820 and, in 1841, the island's second oldest newspaper.– Morning Star – and the first Tamil-language newspaper, Utayatarakai . In 1862, Rev. Miron Winslow published a Comprehensive Tamil-English Dictionary . ACM also provided medical missionaries starting in 1820. The first medical center was managed by Dr. John Scudder . He founded what is considered to be

2867-526: The freedom to choose their religion, including the right to convert from one religion to another, or not to have any religion ( atheism and/or agnosticism ). However, in many countries, this freedom is constricted. In Egypt , a new system of identity cards requires all citizens to state their religion—and the only choices are Islam , Christianity , or Judaism (See Egyptian identification card controversy ). In most societies, numbers of men and women are roughly equal . Though women are not considered to be

2928-519: The minority group equal social status and legal protections as held by members of the dominant group. Prior to the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920) , the term "minority" primarily referred to political parties in national legislatures, not ethnic, national, linguistic or religious groups. Such minority parties were powerless relative to the majority (or plurality) political group. The Paris Conference has been attributed with coining

2989-599: The missionaries was to convert as many people as possible. They used education and medical missionary work to assist them. But they also published ridiculing and insulting material on native religion and practices. The popular deity Murugan was specifically targeted. This started the backlash against Christian missionaries. Many early converts like C. W. Thamotharampillai and Carol Visvanathapillai came back to Hinduism . This also resulted in formation of many Hindu Schools and more political awareness for native Tamils. Today around 10% are Christians with Catholics forming 90% of

3050-457: The nation-building project, as members of minorities see their interests well served, and willingly accept the legitimacy of the nation and their integration (not assimilation) within it. Eliza Agnew Eliza Agnew (February 2, 1807 –June 14, 1883) was an American Presbyterian missionary who taught for over forty years in Uduvil , Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). She was known as the "Mother of

3111-436: The people they rule all belong to the same nationality rather than separate ones based on ethnicity. The United States asks for race and ethnicity on its official census forms, which thus breaks up and organizes its population into sub-groups, primarily racial rather than national. Spain does not divide its nationals by ethnic group or national minorities, although it does maintain an official notion of minority languages, that

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3172-509: The politics of some countries, a "minority" is an ethnic group recognized by law, and having specified rights. Speakers of a legally recognized minority language , for instance, might have the right to education or communication with the government in their mother tongue. Countries with special provisions for minorities include Canada , China , Ethiopia , Germany , India , the Netherlands , Poland , Romania , Russia , Croatia , and

3233-675: The presidency. There is debate over recognizing minority groups and their privileges. One view is that the application of special rights to minority groups may harm some countries, such as new states in Africa or Latin America not founded on the European nation-state model, since minority recognition may interfere with establishing a national identity. It may hamper the integration of the minority into mainstream society, perhaps leading to separatism or supremacism . In Canada , some feel that

3294-609: The recognition of LGBTQ+ people as members of a minority group. These inequalities include social discrimination and isolation, unequal access to healthcare , employment, and housing, and experience negative mental and physical health outcomes due to these experiences. Leading up to the Human Rights Act 1998 in the UK, a rise in the awareness relating to how disabled people were being treated began. Many started to believe that they were being denied basic human rights. This act had

3355-555: The rights of racial or ethnic minorities in several ways. The right to self-determination is a key issue. The Council of Europe regulates minority rights in the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities . In some places, subordinate ethnic groups may constitute a numerical majority, such as Blacks in South Africa under apartheid . In

3416-482: The terms sexual and gender minority are often not preferred by LGBTQ+ people, as they represent clinical categories rather than individual identity. Though lesbian , gay , bisexual , transgender , and queer (LGBTQ+) people have existed throughout human history, they represent a numerical and social minority. They experience numerous social inequalities stemming from their group membership as LGBTQ+ people. LGBTQ+ rights movements across many western countries led to

3477-479: The turn of the 20th century. Although the missionaries came primarily to convert the locals, in the process they bequeathed all the modern intellectual necessities for a nation. According to N. Sabaratnam a prominent editor of Eelanadu newspaper, "At the dawn of the 19th century the American Missionaries came to Jaffna to preach Christian Gospel, but in actual fact they propagated the ideals of

3538-477: Was followed by Dr. Nathan Ward in 1836, who was replaced in 1846 by Dr. Samuel Fisk Green , who began a thirty-year medical practice and training program. By the 1850s, he had translated more than 1,000 pages of medical texts into Tamil. He founded in Manipai what later became Green Memorial Hospital . This fledgling hospital was also used to train more than 60 locals in western medicine as fully fledged doctors. Of

3599-714: Was instrumental in starting up the American missionary involvement in Jaffna. He was followed by other missionary families such as Rev. Edward Warren , who arrived in July 1816. He took special interest in educating the people of the area in both English and their native Tamil language . He started the first American missionary school in Tellipalai in 1816. By 1848, 105 Tamil schools and sixteen English schools were founded. Mission centers were soon opened in nine locations. Other New Englanders also took important steps to provide educational opportunities for women. Harriet Winslow ,

3660-421: Was known as "Mother of a thousand daughters," and was the first unmarried American woman missionary in Ceylon. Agnew oversaw the building of new dormitories at Uduvil as the school grew in size and prestige. She visited and assisted graduates and ex-pupils with home economics and spiritual affairs. She resigned as principal of the school in 1879 and moved to Manipay , just west of the school. She resided in

3721-449: Was rebuilt during the 1750s. This was also a period of revival of local literary activity. Local laws such as Thesavalamai were codified during this period, and the history of the previous Jaffna Kingdom under the name of Yalpana Vaipava Malai was put to print. The Dutch were replaced by the British in 1796. Although the British did not officially espouse any policy regarding religious conversions, they encouraged missionary activities in

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