The sun dipped behind the hills of Ceylon, casting long shadows over the tea plantations and the villages that lived in the landscape.
But the beauty of the evening did little to soothe the rising tension that if not checked carefully upon will soon swallow the whole country.
The news of the Rohan–Senanayake Pact had spread fast and wide and while some had hoped it would bring clarity, it had only deepened the divide.
People expectation both Sinhalese and Tamilians there were not met. For once both of them agreed that this pact was not right though for different reasons.
For the Indian Tamils who had worked these lands for generations, the pact felt like a betrayal.
But for the Sinhalese nationalists, it wasn't enough. They needed a pact which removed even the last traces of Tamilian out of this country.
