1958 anti-Tamil pogrom

1958 anti-Tamil pogrom
Location of Ceylon
Location	Dominion of Ceylon
Date	May 22 – c. June 2, 1958 (+6 GMT)
Target	Primarily Tamils, also Sinhalese
Attack type	Decapitation, burning, stabbing, shooting
Weapons	Knives, sticks, fire, guns
Deaths	158 (official) to 1500[1][2][3]
Injured	1,000+
Perpetrators	Mostly Sinhalese mobs, also Tamil mobs

The 1958 anti-Tamil pogrom and riots in Ceylon, also known as the 58 riots, refer to the first island-wide ethnic riots and pogrom^[3][4][5] to target the minority Tamils in the Dominion of Ceylon after it became an independent dominion from Britain in 1948. The riots lasted from 22 May until 29 May 1958 although sporadic disturbances happened even after the declaration of emergency on 27 May 1958. The estimates of the murders^[6] range, based on recovered bodies, from 158 to 1,500.^[1][3] Although most of the victims were Tamils, Sinhalese and their property were also affected by retaliatory attacks by Tamil mobs throughout the Batticaloa and Jaffna districts.^[7] As the first full-scale race riot in the country in over forty years, the events of 1958 shattered the trust the communities had in one another and led to further polarisation.