The Egalitarianism and Muslim Minorities Grievances in Sri Lanka: Until the third wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak

Sri Lanka is a country with a multi-cultural social structure. The majority living in Sri Lanka is Sinhalese who follow the Buddhist culture, Tamils who follow the Hindu culture, Muslims who follow the Islamic culture, also some Sinhalese and Tamils follow the Christian culture (Catholic and non-Catholic). Until now, Muslims, Christians, and some Hindus have been buried according to the cultural system, following their demise. However, the government ordered the burning of all bodies who died of the disease from the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak from March 2020 to March 2021. This study relates the relationship between the burning of dead bodies and the violation of the cultural rights of Muslims, the reasons for the burning of the bodies of Muslims who died of the Covid-19 epidemic, and the reasons behind the government’s subsequent permission to bury the dead bodies of Muslims, the World Health Organization (WHO) for burying the bodies of those who died of the COVID-19 epidemic and explores issues such as the reflection of the policy of the international community. In this research, the most common qualitative methods, include individual interviews, focus group discussions, and behavioral observations by means of thoughts, beliefs, customs, ideas, words, and phrases. Further, the Constitution of Sri Lanka and Al-Quran is used for this research. Based on the formula, ten samples were selected based on the purpose of sample selection. Of the ten chosen, four were males, and six were females. Seven of them are from Islam, and the other three are from different religions. Accordingly, information obtained through interviews with two families who had been directly affected and died of the COVID-19 pandemic, a public health officer, a former urban council member, a former mayor and teacher of Political Science, an Islamic religion leader (Moulavi), and four ordinary peoples. Secondary data were also used in this research. Data are obtained from texts, journals, research articles, websites, and the conclusion is obtained through the deductive method. Although the Sri Lankan government has consistently refused to listen to violations of the fundamental rights of Sri Lankan Muslims, it has allowed the burial of bodies after March 2021. However, the government has cremated the bodies of more than three hundred Muslim loved ones. By doing so, the government is violating the cultural and fundamental rights of Muslims. It has broken their minds and hurt and upset them.