The Parallel Pain: How the British People’s identity crisis mirrors the Sinhala Buddhists’ fight against neo-colonial divide & rule

 

The recent controversy over a 12-year-old British girl being banned from wearing a Union Jack dress at her school on Culture Day has stirred a deep sense of frustration and alienation among many native Britons. This incident goes far beyond a simple dress code dispute — it symbolizes how native British identity is increasingly being sidelined in the very country where it once formed the cultural bedrock. As Britain grapples with unmonitored asylum seeker inflows and multicultural policies that prioritize diversity over cohesion, a profound identity crisis is unfolding. Yet what is often overlooked is that this very sentiment — of being a stranger in one’s own land — is not new. It mirrors the pain felt for generations by the Sinhala Buddhist majority in Sri Lanka and indeed by many other indigenous populations across the globe during the height of British Empire rule, when the sun never set. The frustration that British citizens now feel in the face of cultural displacement is the very same frustration Sinhala Buddhists continue to endure, as the legacy of divide-and-rule policies and persistent Western geopolitical interference still disrupts Sri Lanka’s sovereignty, unity, and cultural preservation.

What is rarely acknowledged is that Britain’s present-day predicament mirrors — almost exactly — the historical and ongoing experiences of the Sinhala Buddhist majority in Sri Lanka. Since the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom in 1815, British colonial administrators employed systematic tactics to suppress and marginalize the dominant Sinhala Buddhist identity. These included dismantling Buddhist institutions, promoting minority groups to administrative positions, and sowing ethnic and religious divisions to weaken national unity.

Far from ending with independence in 1948, these strategies have endured in new forms. Today, they persist through the actions of the British High Commission and other Western-funded NGOs and diplomatic actors, who continue to meddle in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs — particularly by promoting narratives and interventions that dilute or discredit Sinhala Buddhist heritage. The echoes of colonial divide-and-rule can still be heard, not in the dispatches of imperial governors, but in the polished language of “multiculturalism” “human rights” and “reconciliation” often weaponized to advance geopolitical interests under a humanitarian veil.

The Historical Legacy of Divide & Rule

Between 1788 and 1868, the British forcibly transported nearly 162,000 convicts to Australia, while over 1.75 million Indian indentured laborers were shipped to plantations across the Caribbean, Mauritius, Fiji, Malaya, East Africa, and Sri Lanka. At the same time, millions of Africans were enslaved or relocated within the British Empire. These mass forced migrations laid the foundations for settler colonies, where the British systematically privileged certain ethnic or imported groups over native populations — deliberately engineering divisions to weaken indigenous cultures and tighten imperial control.

This same policy framework, once executed under the banner of empire, has re-emerged in the modern era through unregulated asylum seeker and refugee migration. Today, that model has backfired on Britain itself. The case of the 12-year-old British girl banned from wearing a Union Jack dress is a powerful symbol of how native British people now feel sidelined in their own homeland — victims of a model their own empire once perfected abroad.

Sri Lanka, too, was a target of this colonial design. Under British rule, the Sinhala Buddhist majority was deliberately marginalized through the systematic elevation of minority groups in education, civil administration, employment, and politics. These manipulations deepened communal divisions that have endured far beyond independence. Today, those very groups, empowered by decades of colonial favoritism, demand a separate homeland — even as their asylum seeker/refugee networks are permitted to freely glorify the LTTE, a designated terrorist organization banned in the UK since 2001. These groups organize events, display LTTE flags, and promote separatist ideology in open defiance of British law.

The most damaging of British colonial policies has that fractured the cohesion of Sinhala society is the undermining of the island’s rich Buddhist heritage — a cultural foundation that continues to be a target. The legacy of divide and rule remains not a relic of the past, but a living force continuing to destabilize Sri Lanka today.

Britain’s Present-Day Cultural Crisis

Today, the former imperial center faces a profound cultural reckoning. What baffles many is the stark contrast in immigration policy: while genuine skilled immigrants undergo stringent vetting, large numbers of asylum seekers and refugees are allowed free entry into the UK and become recipients of British taxpayer-funded social benefits. These newcomers are housed in hotels at public expense, provided allowances, and supported by welfare programs—measures that have become a daily source of frustration for ordinary Britons. The native population increasingly feels alienated, sidelined, and culturally disrespected in a land that once defined the British Empire.

The recent banning of a 12-year-old girl from wearing a Union Jack dress at school struck a national nerve. For many, this is not simply about a dress — it symbolizes the suppression of a nation’s identity under the guise of “inclusion.” The backlash has sparked widespread debate, exposing deep anxieties about Britain’s future, demographic changes, and the erosion of pride in national symbols.

In many major urban areas, native Britons have already become minorities. Churches and cultural landmarks that once stood as pillars of British identity are being replaced, repurposed, or overshadowed by institutions representing newly arrived communities — often with little emphasis on assimilation or shared values. These rapid and visible transformations have left many feeling uprooted and estranged in their own country. Today, cities like London no longer feel like they belong to the British people but to foreign communities. As a result, many native Britons have chosen to leave the urban centers altogether, seeking refuge in the countryside where they feel less alienated and more at home. Similarly, in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, the Sinhala Buddhist majority has become a minority, reflecting a comparable sense of displacement in their own historic cultural heartland.

 

Most troubling is the widening gulf between the people and the policies imposed upon them. Both the British public and the Sinhala Buddhist majority in Sri Lanka share a growing frustration: they cannot comprehend why their governments seem more intent on appeasing vocal minorities or foreign interests than on protecting their native heritage, social harmony, and cultural continuity. Both governments now appear unable—or unwilling—to defend the core identities of their own majorities.

 

Divide & Rule in Sri Lanka Now Happening in Britain Too

The very same “divide and rule” mentality that oppressed the Sinhala Buddhists during colonial times remains active today. The British High Commission in Sri Lanka, represented by individuals such as Thomas David, is widely perceived to be engaging in activities that exacerbate ethnic and religious divisions, particularly targeting Sinhala Buddhist heritage sites in the North and East. These actions echo the imperial tactics of old — deliberately undermining the Sinhala majority’s cultural and political heritage to weaken national unity.

Western powers continue to influence Sri Lankan politics under the guise of human rights and cultural protection. Yet, their interventions often serve to embolden separatist agendas, perpetuating the historical trauma of colonial interference and cultural erosion that Sinhala Buddhists have endured for over two centuries.

Ironically, while such “mischief” persists in Sri Lanka, a parallel dynamic unfolds in Britain itself. The empire that once ruled vast lands to keep Britain strong is now seeing its own homeland increasingly influenced and controlled by foreign interests. Britain’s prime national assets have been sold or outsourced to foreign ownership—British Rail, energy companies, water utilities, and even parts of the defense industry have passed into foreign hands.

This erosion of sovereignty at home mirrors the divide-and-rule strategies once imposed abroad. The British people find themselves marginalized within their own country, where cultural landmarks, infrastructure, and even governance are being shaped by outside powers—just as the Sinhala Buddhists’ heritage is undermined by foreign-backed interference in Sri Lanka.

Shared Wounds, Shared Hopes

The feelings of cultural alienation and marginalization experienced by native Britons today and by Sinhala Buddhists—both historically and in the present—are fundamentally the same. Both peoples grapple with the long-lasting legacies of divisive and detrimental policies once imposed on Sri Lanka, which have now, in a cruel twist of fate, backfired on Britain itself. At the heart of their struggles lies the effort to maintain identity, cultural pride, and political sovereignty amid external pressures that seek to divide, dilute, and control their societies.

Recognizing this shared pain and parallel history offers a vital opportunity for mutual understanding and respect. Britain, by honestly confronting the complexities of its colonial past, can pave the way for policies that genuinely protect its native culture while fostering integration rooted in respect and shared values—not enforced fragmentation. Likewise, Sri Lanka can strengthen its resolve to assert cultural sovereignty, safeguarding the Sinhala Buddhist heritage from ongoing foreign interference and geopolitical meddling.

Neither the British public nor the Sinhala Buddhist majority bear blame for these challenges. Instead, it is the legacy of colonial British policies and the continuation of appeasing strategies—both by Britain at home and overseas, and by current Sri Lankan governments—that risk perpetuating division. Unless these mistakes are revisited and new, peaceful coexistence policies are thoughtfully crafted, the status quo of cultural and political tension will continue to challenge both societies.

Toward Balanced Migration and Cultural Respect

It is imperative that Britain reforms its migration policies to prioritize controlled, skill-based immigration and ensure that all newcomers fully respect British cultural norms and heritage. Unregulated asylum flows must be stopped. No one should enter or remain in Britain without accepting the native culture of the land.

Similarly, Sri Lanka must defend its Buddhist heritage sites and national unity against ongoing divisive agendas supported by foreign actors, including the British High Commission.

The banning of a child’s Union Jack dress is far more than a school policy dispute — it symbolizes a profound identity crisis born from centuries of imperialism and unresolved historical injustice that have now come home to roost. The British people’s present-day struggle to reclaim and protect their cultural heritage is a direct reflection of the Sinhala Buddhists’ historic and ongoing fight against neo-colonial divide and rule. It is time for Britain to truly understand what every nation and its native peoples endured under British colonial occupation.

British policymakers must now realize that the tactics which once maintained their empire no longer serve their own nation.

Those they once showered with privileges show no gratitude and are now rising — using the very language and systems designed by the British to erode Britain itself. What an irony and twist of fate.

It is the very natives whom Britain once marginalized across the world who now empathizewith the British people’s current plight. They understand — because they too have suffered — the pain of being made strangers in their own homeland. Today, the British are experiencing what they once imposed on others. In a bitter twist of fate, those whom Britain once privileged during empire-building have shown no loyalty in return. Instead, they have become hidden foxes — a growing nemesis threatening Britain’s sovereignty, culture, and future. This threat will soon become irreversible unless the British people wake up, reject the destructive policies being imposed on them, and remove the policymakers responsible. These are not just domestic policies — they are the continuation of a failed imperial mindset that has not only destabilized Britain, but also much of the world. It is time the British relooked at who their true friends are — and who stands by them now.

 

Shenali D Waduge