Sri Lanka appeared to have the capacity to make a successful transition to modern statehood. It, however, squandered that promise and has become a reference point for ethno-religious carnage. The ethnocracy that Sinhalese Buddhist nationalists promoted not only led to a civil war with the Tamil minority that lasted nearly three decades; the resultant triumphalism has promoted anti-Muslim agitprop and violence. The success of Sinhalese nationalism has ensured a majoritarian milieu in which the dominant Buddhist community holds sway, but the resultant militarization amidst pluralism and democracy being compromised could well lead to an autocratic ethnocracy down the road.