Sri Lanka (officially, The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka) (, , or ; , ) is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. The South Asian Island nation was known as Ceylon (, , or ) until 1972. Sri Lanka is surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the Maldives.

As a result of its location in the path of major sea routes, Sri Lanka is a strategic naval link between West Asia and South East Asia. It was an important stop on the ancient Silk Road. Sri Lanka has also been a center of the Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times and is one of the few remaining abodes of Buddhism in South Asia along with Ladakh, Bhutan and the Chittagong hill tracts. The Sinhalese community forms the majority of the population; Tamils, who are concentrated in the north and east of the island, form the largest ethnic minority. Other communities include Moors, Burghers, Kaffirs, Malays and the aboriginal Vedda people.

Sri Lanka is a republic and a unitary state which is governed by a semi-presidential system with its official seat of government in Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte, the capital. The country is famous for the production and export of tea, coffee, coconuts, rubber and cinnamon, the last of which is native to the country. The natural beauty of Sri Lanka has led to the title ''The Pearl of the Indian Ocean''. The island is laden with lush tropical forests, white beaches and diverse landscapes with rich biodiversity. The country lays claim to a long and colorful history of over three thousand years, having one of the longest documented histories in the world. Sri Lanka's rich culture can be attributed to the many different communities on the island.

Sri Lanka is a founding member state of SAARC and a member United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, G77 and Non-Aligned Movement. As of 2010, Sri Lanka was one of the fastest growing economies of the world. Its stock exchange was Asia's best performing stock market during 2009 and 2010.

Etymology

In ancient times, Sri Lanka was known by a variety of names: Known in India as Lanka or Singhala, ancient Greek geographers called it ''Taprobane'' () and Arabs referred to it as '''' (the origin of the word "serendipity"). '''' was the name given to Sri Lanka by the Portuguese when they arrived in 1505, which was transliterated into English as ''Ceylon''. As a British crown colony, the island was known as Ceylon, and achieved independence under the name Dominion of Ceylon in 1948.

In Sinhala the country is known as ශ්‍රී ලංකා '''', , and the island itself as ලංකාව ''laṃkāva'', . In Tamil they are both இலங்கை ''ilaṅkai'', . The name derives from the Sanskrit श्री लंका ''śrī'' (venerable) and ''lankā'' (island), the name of the island in the ancient Indian epics Mahabharata and the Ramayana. In 1972, the official name of the country was changed to "Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka". In 1978 it was changed to the "Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka". The name Ceylon is still in use in the names of a number of organisations; in 2011, the Sri Lankan government announced a plan to rename all of those for which it is responsible.

History

Pre-historic Sri Lanka

One of the first written references to the island is found in the Indian epic Ramayana, which describes the kingdom of ''Lanka'' had been created by the divine sculptor named Vishwakarma, for Kubera, the lord of wealth and the god-king of the semi-divine Yakshas. Later, Kubera was overthrown by his demon stepbrother Ravana, the powerful Emperor who built a mythical flying machiene named Dandu Monara. The modern city of Wariyapola is described as Ravana's airport.

Historical records show that the earliest settlements were formed by the combination of four ''Hela'' tribes named Naga, Yaksha, Deva and Gandhabba. They all were related to the Maha Rishi Pulasthi’s family, described in Ramayana. These earliest-known inhabitants of Sri Lanka were probably the ancestors of the Vedda people people, an indigenous community living in present-day Sri Lanka, that numbers approximately 3,000. Irish historian James Emerson Tennent theorised Galle, a southern city in Sri Lanka, was the ancient seaport of Tarshish from which King Solomon is said to have drawn ivory, peacocks and other valuables. Early inhabitats of Sri Lanka spoke the Elu language, which was the early form of modern Sinhala language.

Ancient Sri Lanka

The Kingdom of Sri Lanka moved to Anuradhapura in 380 BC, during the reign of King Pandukabhaya. From that day, Anuradhapura served as the Capital of the country for nearly 1400 years. The same king built the first Irrigation scheme in ancient Sri Lanka, the ''Abhaya tank''. They excelled in various constructions since then. Sri Lankan society was revolutionized during the reign of King Devanampiya Tissa as Buddhism arrived from India. Around 3rd century BCE, Bhikkhu Mahinda, who is believed to have been the son of the great Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, arrived in Mihintale, Sri Lanka, with Buddhism. Mahinda's mission won over the monarch, who embraced the faith and propagated it throughout the Sinhalese population. The Buddhist kingdoms of Sri Lanka would maintain a large number of Buddhist schools and monasteries, and support the propagation of Buddhism into other countries in Southeast Asia. In 288 BC, Bhikkhuni Sangamitta brought the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree, which is considered to be a sapling from the historical Bodhi tree under which Gautama Buddha became enlightened. It is existing upto now, and considered as the oldest tree in the world, with a historical record.

Sri Lanka underwent the first foreign invasion during the reign of King Suratissa, who was defeated by Sena and Guttika from South India. First major invasion came in 205 BC by a Chola King named Elara. Dutugemunu (161-137 BC) – eldest son of King Kavan Tissa, the regional sub-king of Ruhuna defeated Elara in the Battle of Vijithapura and came into power. King Dutugemunu created the second stupa in Sri Lanka, Ruwanwelisaya. (first one was Thuparamaya).

During its existence, Kingdom of Sri Lanka was invaded at least 17 times by neighbouring South Asian dynastys such as Chola dynasty, Pandya dynasty, Chera dynasty and Pallava dynasty. There had been incursions by the kingdoms of Kalinga (modern Orissa) and from Malay Peninsula as well. Major invasion by 5 Dravidian kings named Pulahatta, Bahiya, Panaya Mara, Pilaya Mara and Dathiya was overcome by Valagambahu in 88 BC and from another 6 Dravidian kings in the 5th century AD, by Dhatusena. King Dhatusena built the massive reservoir Kala Wewa and Avukana Buddha statue.

Sri Lanka was the first Asian country to have a female ruler. Queen Anula reigned from 47–42 BC. From the ancient period, Sri Lankan monarchs have attained some remarkable construction achievements like Sigiriya, the so-called "Fortress in the Sky". It was created by King Kashyapa. Sigiriya is a rock fortress surrounded by an extensive network of gardens, reservoirs, and other structures. The fifth century construction is also renowned for marvellous paintings (frescos) that it contains. It's also declared by the UNESCO as the 8th Wonder of the world. Among other constructions are large reservoirs, important for conserving water in a climate that alternates rainy seasons with dry times, and elaborate aqueducts, some with a slope as finely calibrated as one inch to the mile. Biso Kotuwa, a peculiar construction inside a dam, is a technologically superior creation based on precise mathematics, allowing water to flow outside the dam keeping the pressure to a minimum. Ancient Sri Lanka was also the first in the world to have established a dedicated hospital in Mihintale in the 4th century BCE. It was also the world's leading exporter of cinnamon, which was exported to Egypt as early as 1400 BCE. Sri Lanka also maintained close ties with European civilizations including Roman Empire. For example, King Bhatika Abhaya (BC 22 - 7 AD) had sent an embassy to Rome and got down coral for a net to be cast over the Ruwanwelisaya. There were close trade relations between Sri Lanka and China too. There are records of Sri Lankan ships in China in the 8th century. Chinese coins belonging to every emperor from 976 AD to 1265 AD have been found in Sri Lanka.

Medieval Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka's irrigation system was extensively expanded during the reign of king Parākramabāhu the Great (1153–1186 AD). This period is considered as a time when Sri Lanka was at the height of its power. He built 1470 reservoirs - highest number by a single ruler in the Lankan history, repaired 165 dams, 3910 canals, 163 major reservoirs, and 2376 mini reservoirs. His famous construction is the Parakrama Samudra, the largest irrigation project of medieval Sri Lanka. Parākramabāhu's reign is memorable for two major campaigns—in the south of India as part of a Pandyan war of succession, and a punitive strike against the kings of Ramanna (Myanmar) for various perceived insults to Sri Lanka.

After his demise, Sri Lanka gradually decayed in power. In the early 13th century, Sri Lanka came under the invasion of Parakrama Pandyan II, a Pandyan king. But the real threat came from Kalinga Magha, a South Indian with uncertain origins, who invaded and captured the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa with an army of 24,000 from Kalinga, in 1215 AD. Unlike the previous invaders, he looted, ransacked and destroyed everything in the ancient Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa Kingdoms beyond recovery. His priorities in ruling were to extract as much as possible from the land and overturn as many of the traditions of Rajarata as possible. His reign saw the massive migration of native Sinhalese people to the south and west of Sri Lanka, and into the mountainous interior, in a bid to escape his power. Sri Lanka never really recovered from the impact of Kalinga Magha's invasion. King Vijayabâhu III, who led the resistance, brought the kingdom to Dambadeniya. The north, in the meanwhile, eventually evolved into the Jaffna kingdom. Jaffna kingdom never came under the rule of the kingdom of south except one occasion, in 1450, due to a conquest led by king Parâkramabâhu VI's adopted son, Prince Sapumal. He ruled the North from 1450 to 1467 AD. The next three centuries stating from 1215 were marked by kaleidoscopically shifting collection of kingdoms in south and central Sri Lanka, including Dambadeniya, Yapahuwa, Gampola, Raigama, Kotte, Sitawaka and finally, Kandy. However, this period is known for some groundbreaking Sinhala Literature feats like ''Sandesha Kaavya''.

Early modern Sri Lanka

During the reign of the King Rajasinghe II, Dutch explorers arrived in the island. In 1638, the king signed a treaty with the Dutch East India Company to get rid of Portuguese who ruled most of the coastal area of the island by then. According to the treaty, Dutch should capture and handover the coastal areas to the Kandyan king and the king should grant the Dutch a monopoly over trade on the entire island. The Dutch–Portuguese War resulted in the victory of Dutch. In 1656, Colombo fell into the hands of Dutch, resulting in the entire coastal area governed by Portugese in the Dutch control. However, the treaty signed, was disrespected by both parties. Dutch remained in the areas they captured. An ethnic group named Burgher people integrated into the Sri Lankan society as a result of Dutch rule.

The Kingdom of Kandy was the last independent monarchy of Sri Lanka. In 1595, King Vimaladharmasurya brought the sacred Tooth Relic - the traditional symbol of royal and religious authority amongst the Sinhalese - to Kandy, and built the Temple of the Tooth. Even with intermittent warfare with Europeans, the kingdom was able to survive. A succession crisis emerged in Kandy, upon the King Vira Narendrasinha's death in 1739. He was married to a Telugu-speaking Nayakkar princess from South India and was childless by them. Eventually, with the support of bhikku Weliwita Sarankara, the crown passed to the brother of one of Narendrasinha's princess, overlooking the right of "Unambuwe Bandara", Narendrasinha's own son by a Sinhalese concubine.. The new king was crowned as Sri Vijaya Rajasinha later that year. Kings of Nayakkar dynasty, launched several attacks on Dutch controlled areas, which proved to be unsuccessful.

During the Napoleonic Wars Great Britain, fearing that French control of the Netherlands might deliver Sri Lanka to the French, occupied the coastal areas of the island (which they called Ceylon) with little difficulty in 1796. Two years later, in 1798, King Rajadhi Rajasinha, 3rd of the four Nayakkar kings of Sri Lanka died of a fever. Following the death, a nephew of Rajadhi Rajasinha, 18-year-old ''Konnasami'' came into power. The new king, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha faced a British invasion in 1803, but was able to retaliate successfully. By then, the entire coastal area was under the British East India Company, following the Treaty of Amiens. But on 14 February 1815, Kandy was occupied by British, in the second Kandyan War, finally ending Sri Lankan independence. Sri Vikrama Rajasinha, the last native monarch of Sri Lanka was exiled to India. Kandyan convention, formally ceded the entire country to the British Empire. Attempts of Sri Lankan noblemen to undermine the British power in 1818 during the Uva Rebellion were thwarted by Governor Robert Brownrigg. Another rebellion in 1848 was defeated by Governor Lord Torrington.

European colonists established a series of cinnamon, sugar, coffee, indigo cultivation followed by tea and rubber plantations and graphite mining. The British also brought a large number of indentured workers from Tamil Nadu to work in the plantation economy. The city of Colombo was developed as the administrative centre and commercial heart with its harbor, and the British established modern schools, colleges, roads and churches that brought Western-style education and culture to the native people. Increasing grievances over civil rights, reports of mistreatment and abuse of natives by colonial authorities gave rise to a struggle for independence in the 1930s, when the youth leagues opposed the "Ministers' Memorandum," which asked the colonial authority to increase the powers of the board of ministers without granting popular representation or civil freedoms. During World War II, the Ceylon served as an important Allied military base. A large segment of the British and American fleet were deployed on the island, as were tens of thousands of soldiers committed to the war against Japan in Southeast Asia. Many Ceylonese fought as part of British Commonwealth Forces, and some Ceylonese expatriates in the Far east joined to form a ''Lanka Regiment'' in the Indian National Army.

Modern Sri Lanka

On 21 July 1960 Sirimavo Bandaranaike took office as prime minister, and became the world's first female prime minister and the first female head of government in post-colonial Asia, however she faced an attempted military coup in 1962. During her second term as prime minister, her government instituted socialist economic polices and strengthened ties with the Soviet Union and later China, while promoting a policy of non-alignment. However in 1971, Ceylon experienced a Marxist insurrection, which was quickly suppressed with international support. In 1972, with the adoption of a new constitution, the country became a republic, repudating the previous Dominion status and changing its name to Sri Lanka. It remained a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

There were continuous political rancor between majoity Sinhalese and the minority Tamil communities during the post-independece era. Vital steps to resolve the issue, like Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam Pact and Senanayake-Chelvanayakam Pact failed to materialize. Tensions between Tamil groups and the government mounted in the early 1970s with raise of the Tamil nationalism. Taking the introduction of Policy of standardization to the University entrance, as the catalyst, Tamil militancy grew steadily in the country's north during this period. Assassination of Jaffna Mayor Alfred Duraiyappah in 1975 marked an important turn of these events. Meanwhile, the government of J. R. Jayawardene in 1978 introduced a new constitution, together with Executive presidency and Free market economy. Sri Lanka became the first South Asian country to Liberalize its economy. From the 1983, tensions between ethnic groups blew into an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (the LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers). In 1987, JVP launched its second insurrection in Southern Sri Lanka. Same year, the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord was signed and Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was deployed in Northern Sri Lanka to find a lasting solution to the ethnic problem. Efforts did not become successful and in 1990, IPKF left the country. From 1985 to 2006, Sri Lankan government and insurgents held 4 rounds of peacetalks, but none of them helped to resolve the conflict. In 2009, Sri Lanka Armed Forces led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa defeated the LTTE, and brought the entire country under the control of Sri Lankan government. Following the LTTE's defeat, Tamil National Alliance, the largest political party in Sri Lanka dropped its demand for a separate state, in favour of a federal solution. Sri Lanka, emerging after a 26 year war, has become one of the fastest growing economies of the world.

Civil War

Equally important, the act led to ethnic out bidding and it legitimated Sinhalese jingoism, which only radicalized an otherwise culturally and politically conservative Tamil Community. Although other factors—such as the government's internal colonisation policies—played a significant role in Sri Lanka's ethnic relations, the language issue was the most important item on the agenda for both Sinhalese and Tamils. Indeed, the Federal Party's crucial contribution to Tamil politics was its emphasis on the role of language as the determinant of nationhood. This determination to attain Tamil nationhood was exemplified by a Tamil parliamentarian who prophetically claimed that "if the Sinhalese will not agree to federation the Tamils will have a fully autonomous Tamil linguistic state by whatever means they can get it, by all the methods of history: rebellion, guerrilla war fare or anything you please.

From 1983 to 2009, there was an on-and-off civil war between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist militant organisation who fought to create an independent state named Tamil Eelam in the North and East of the island. On 19 May 2009, however, the President of Sri Lanka officially claimed an end to the insurgency and the defeat of the LTTE, following the death of Velupillai Prabhakaran and much of the LTTE's other senior leadership.

There were credible allegations and evidence that actions of war crime were committed by both parties, the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Tamil Tigers), during the Sri Lankan Civil War, particularly during the final months of the conflict in 2009. The war crimes included attacks on civilians and civilian buildings by both sides; executions of combatants and prisoners by both sides; enforced disappearances by the Sri Lankan military and paramilitary groups backed by them; acute shortages of food, medicine, and clean water for civilians trapped in the war zone; and child recruitment by the Tamil Tigers.

With the end of the war, the government of Sri Lanka called for redevelopment of the nation. The final stages of the war left some 294,000 people displaced. On May 24, 2009, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, visited the Menik farm camp which was one of the IDP camps for Tamil civilians. He said "I have traveled around the world and visited similar places, but this is by far the most ''appalling scenes'' I have seen." Regarding the access to that camps that was denied to the NGOs and International aid agencies, Ban said "They should be given unimpeded access and ''freedom of movement'' within the camp. That is what I have asked the foreign minister and the president (for), and I was assured that the leaders of the Sri Lankan government will make sure (of this)." By August 2011, most of the displaced persons had been released or returned to their places of origin, and 7,440 remained in the camps.

Geography and climate

The island of Sri Lanka lies in the Indian Ocean, to the southwest of the Bay of Bengal. It lies between latitudes 5° and 10°N, and longitudes 79° and 82°E. Sri Lanka is separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. According to Hindu mythology, a land bridge to the Indian mainland, known as Rama's Bridge, was constructed during the time of Rama by the vanara architect Nala. Often referred to as Adam's Bridge, it now amounts to only a chain of limestone shoals remaining above sea level. According to colonial British reports, this is a natural causeway which was formerly complete, but was breached by a violent storm in 1480.

The island consists mostly of flat-to-rolling coastal plains, with mountains rising only in the south-central part. Amongst these is the highest point Pidurutalagala, reaching above sea level. The climate of Sri Lanka can be described as tropical and warm. Its position between 5 and 10 north latitude endows the country with a warm climate moderated by ocean winds and considerable moisture. The mean temperature ranges from about in the Central Highlands, where frost may occur for several days in the winter, to a maximum of approximately in other low-altitude areas. The average yearly temperature ranges from to nearly . Day and night temperatures may vary by to . During the coldest days of January, many people wear coats and sweaters in the highlands and elsewhere.

May, the hottest period, precedes the summer monsoon rains. The rainfall pattern is influenced by monsoon winds from the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal: as the winds encounter the mountain slopes of the Central Highlands, they unload heavy rains on the slopes and the southwestern areas of the island.The "wet zone" and some of the windward slopes receive up to of rain each month, but the leeward slopes in the east and northeast receive little rain. Most of the east, southeast, and northern parts of the country comprise the "dry zone", which receives between and of rain annually. Much of the rain in these areas falls from October to January; during the rest of the year there is very little precipitation. The arid northwest and southeast coasts receive the least amount of rain at to per year. Periodic squalls occur and sometimes tropical cyclones bring overcast skies and rains to the southwest, northeast, and eastern parts of the island. Between December and March, monsoon winds come from the northeast, bringing moisture from the Bay of Bengal. Humidity is typically higher in the southwest and mountainous areas and depends on the seasonal patterns of rainfall, and places like Colombo experience daytime humidity above 79% all year round, rising to almost 90% during the monsoon season in June. Anuradhapura experiences a daytime low of 60% during the monsoon month of March, but a high of 79% during the November and December rains. In the highlands, Kandy's daytime humidity usually ranges between 75% and 83%.

Sri Lanka's coastline is 1,585 km long. It also claims to an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extending 200 nautical miles. This is 6.7 times the country’s land area. The coastline and adjacent waters support highly productive marine ecosystems such as fringing coral reefs, shallow beds of coastal and estuarine seagrasses. Sri Lanka inherits 45 estuaries and 40 lagoons too.

Flora and fauna

Lying within the Indomalaya ecozone, Sri Lanka is one of the 25 biodiversity hotspots in the world. Although the country is relatively small in size, it has the highest biodiversity per 10,000 square km in Asia. Remarkably high proportion of the species among its flora and fauna, 27% of the 3,210 flowering plants and 22% of the mammals (''see List''), are endemic. Sri Lanka has a wide range of topographic and climatic variation and this contributes to the special features of its biodiversity. Most of the fish are river or marsh dwelling. The trout, introduced by the British are found in the cool streams of the Horton plains.

Varieties of flowering acacias are well adapted to the arid conditions and flourish on the Jaffna Peninsula. Among the trees of the dry-land forests, are some valuable species such as satinwood, ebony, ironwood, mahogany and teak. In the wet zone, the dominant vegetation of the lowlands is a tropical evergreen forest, with tall trees, broad foliage, and a dense undergrowth of vines and creepers. Subtropical evergreen forests resembling those of temperate climates flourish in the higher altitudes. Forests at one time covered nearly the entire island, but by the late 20th century lands classified as forests and forest reserves covered around ⅓ of the land.

The Yala National Park in the southeast protects herds of elephant, deer, and peacocks, and the Wilpattu National Park, the largest national park in Sri Lanka, in the northwest preserves the habitats of many water birds, such as storks, pelicans, ibis, and spoonbills. The island has four biosphere reserves, Bundala, Hurulu Forest Reserve, the Kanneliya-Dediyagala-Nakiyadeniya, and Sinharaja. Out of these, Sinharaja forest reserve is home to 26 endemic birds and 20 rainforest species, including the elusive Red-faced Malkoha, Green-billed Coucal and Sri Lanka Blue Magpie. The untapped genetic potential of Sinharaja flora is enormous. Out of the 211 woody trees and lianas so far identified within the reserve, 139 (66%) are endemic. The Total vegetation density, including trees, shrubs, herbs and seedlings has been estimated to be around 240,000 individuals per hectare.

In addition, Sri Lanka is home to over 250 types of resident birds (''see List''). It contains several bird sanctuaries including Kumana. During the Mahaweli Program of the 1970s and 1980s in northern Sri Lanka, the government set aside four areas of land totalling as national parks. However the country's forest cover, which was around 49% in 1920, had been fallen to approximately 24% by 2009. The national flower of Sri Lanka is the ''Nymphaea stellata'' (Sinhalese ''Nil Mahanel''), the national tree is the ''Ironwood'' (Sinhalese ''Na''), and the national bird is the Sri Lanka Junglefowl, which is endemic to the country.

Politics

Sri Lanka is the oldest democracy in South Asia. The Donoughmore Constitution, created by the Donoughmore Commission in 1931 enabled general elections with adult universal suffrage (universal adult franchise) in the country. It was the first time, a non-caucasian country within the empires of Western Europe was given one man, one vote and the power to control domestic affairs. The first election under the universal adult franchise held in June 1931, for the Ceylon State Council. Sir D. B. Jayatilaka was elected as the Leader of the House. In 1944, the Soulbury Commission was appointed to draft a new constitution. During this time, struggle for Independence was fought on "constitutionalist" lines under the leadership of D. S. Senanayake. The draft constitution was enacted in the same year and Senanayake was appointed as the Prime Minister from the parliamentary election in 1947. The Soulbury constitution ushered in Dominion status and Independence to Sri Lanka in 1948.

Current politics in Sri Lanka is led by rival coalitions led by the centre-leftist, progressivist United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), an offspring of Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), and the comparatively right-wing, pro-capitalist United National Party (UNP). Sri Lanka is essentially a multi-party democracy with many smaller Buddhist, socialist and Tamil nationalist political parties. As of July 2011, Sri Lanka had 67 registered political parties. Out of these, Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), established in 1935 is the oldest political party in Sri Lanka. UNP, established by D. S. Senanayake in 1946, was considered to be the largest single political party in Sri Lanka until recently. It is the only political group which had a representation in all parliaments since the independence. SLFP was founded by S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, who was the Cabinet minister of Local Administration when he left the UNP in July 1951. SLFP recorded its first victory in 1956, defeating the ruling UNP in 1956 Parliamentary election.

The Tamil nationalist counterpart of Bandaranaike, G. G. Ponnambalam, founded the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) in 1944. Due to Ponnambalam's cooperation with D. S. Senanayake, a group led by S.J.V. Chelvanayakam broke away in 1949 and formed the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) ''aka'' Federal Party. It was the main Tamil political party in Sri Lanka for next 3 decades. Tamil National Alliance, formed in October 2001 is the current successor of these Tamil political parties which had undergone much turbulences as Tamil militancy grew in early 1970s. Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, a Marxist-Leninist, Communist political party founded by Rohana Wijeweera in 1965, serves the 3rd force in the current political context of country.

Government

Members of parliament are elected by universal (adult) suffrage based on a modified proportional representation system by district to a six-year term. The primary modification is that, the party that receives the largest number of valid votes in each constituency gains a unique "bonus seat." The president may summon, suspend, or end a legislative session and dissolve Parliament any time after it has served for one year. The parliament reserves the power to make all laws. On 1 July 1960 the people of Sri Lanka appointed the first-ever female head of government in Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Her daughter Chandrika Kumaratunga served for a short period as the prime minister between August and December 1994 before being elected as the first female president of the country from 1994 to 2005 for 2 consecutive terms. The current president, who took office on 21 November 2005, and has been elected for two consecutive terms, is Mahinda Rajapaksa. The current prime minister, D. M. Jayaratne, took office on 21 April 2010.

Since 1948, Sri Lanka has been a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations. It is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Colombo Plan, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Through the Cold War-era, Sri Lanka followed a foreign policy of non-alignment but has remained closer to the United States and Western Europe.

The military of Sri Lanka comprises the Sri Lankan Army, the Sri Lankan Navy and the Sri Lankan Air Force. These are administered by the Ministry of Defence. During 1971 and 1989 the army assisted the police in government response against the Marxist militants of the JVP and fought the LTTE from 1983 to 2009. Sri Lanka receives considerable military assistance from Pakistan and China.

Administrative divisions

;Provinces

Provinces () have existed in Sri Lanka since the 19th century. But they didn't have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils following several decades of increasing demand for a decentralisation of the Government of Sri Lanka. Between 1988 and 2006 the Northern and Eastern provinces were temporarily merged to form the North-East Province. Prior to 1987, all administration was handled by a district-based civil service which had been in place since colonial times.

Sri Lanka is divided into 9 provinces and 25 districts. Each province is administered by a directly elected provincial council:

;Districts

The provinces of Sri Lanka are divided into 25 districts (). Each district is administered under a District Secretariat. The districts are further subdivided into divisional secretariats, and these in turn to Grama Niladharis. The Districts are known in Sinhala as ''Disa'' and in Tamil as ''Maawaddam''. Originally a Disa (usually rendered into English as Dissavony) was a duchy, notably Matale and Uva. The Government Agent, who is known as District Secretary, administers a district.

These were originally based on the feudal counties, the ''korale''s and ''rata''s. They were formerly known as 'D.R.O. Divisions' after the 'Divisional Revenue Officer'. Later the D.R.O.s became 'Assistant Government Agents' and the Divisions were known as 'A.G.A. Divisions'. Currently, the Divisions are administered by a 'Divisional Secretary', and are known as a 'D.S. Divisions'. Rural D.S. Divisions are also administered by a 'Pradeshiya Sabha' and 'Pradesha Sabhai' (Sinhala and Tamil for 'Regional Council'), which is elected.

Foreign relations and military

Foreign relations

Sri Lanka traditionally follows a nonaligned foreign policy but has been seeking closer relations with the United States since December 1977. It participates in multilateral diplomacy, particularly at the United Nations, where it seeks to promote sovereignty, independence, and development in the developing world. Sri Lanka was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). It also is a member of the Commonwealth, the SAARC, the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank, and the Colombo Plan. Sri Lanka continues its active participation in the NAM, while also stressing the importance it places on regionalism by playing a strong role in SAARC.

Military

In support of the armed forces there are three paramilitary units functioning under purview of the Ministry of Defence, which are the Special Task Force, the Civil Security Force and the Sri Lanka Coast Guard

Since independence from Britain in 1948, the primary focus of the armed forces has been on internal security, due to three major insurgencies, including a 30 year long conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which was proscribed as a terrorist organisation by 32 countries. Due to this conflict the armed forces had expanded to its current size and where in a continuous mobilized state for the last 30 years. Unique in modern military history, this was a low intensity conflict which progressed into a bloody conflict which included elements of conventional warfare as well as classic guerrilla and asymmetric warfare, with pitch battles taking place in land and at sea, later briefly moving to the air and unprecedented use of suicide attacks by a violent non-state actor. Although it drew in other regional countries into the conflict directly (India) or indirectly (Pakistan, China); the conflict itself did not result in any territorial or constitutional changes, however it resulted in the deaths of 80,000–100,000 Sri Lankan and foreigners.

In a rare occurrence in modern history the conflict that had 30 years of constant fighting, halted several times briefly by failed peace overtures, ended by a military outcome with a comprehensively defeat of the LTTE May 2009.

;Peace keeping Sri Lankan Armed Forces have engaged in UN peacekeeping operations since the early 1960s. Even though its armed forces were then engaged in an internal conflict, Sri Lanka, since 2002, contributed with forces as permanent contingents deployed in several UN peacekeeping missions in Haiti, Chad and Lebanon organised by the United Nations, notably the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti and continue to contribute their forces to the United Nations.

Economy

In the 19th and 20th centuries, Sri Lanka became a plantation economy, famous for its production and export of cinnamon, rubber and Ceylon tea, which remains a trademark national export. The development of modern ports under British rule raised the strategic importance of the island as a centre of trade. During World War II, the island hosted important military installations and Allied forces. However, the plantation economy aggravated poverty and economic inequality.

From 1948 to 1977 socialism strongly influenced the government's economic policies. Colonial plantations were dismantled, industries were nationalised and a welfare state established. While the standard of living and literacy improved significantly, the nation's economy suffered from inefficiency, slow growth and lack of foreign investment. From 1977 the UNP government began incorporating privatisation, deregulation and the promotion of private enterprise. While the production and export of tea, rubber, coffee, sugar and other agricultural commodities remains important, the nation has moved steadily towards an industrialised economy with the development of food processing, textiles, telecommunications and finance. By 1996 plantation crops made up only 20% of export, and further declined to 16.8% in 2005 (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments have reached 63%.

The GDP grew at an average annual rate of 5.5% during the early 1990s, until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997–2000, with average growth of 5.3%. The year of 2001 saw the first recession in the country's history, as a result of power shortages, budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife. Signs of recovery appeared after the 2002 ceasefire which died away following the beginning of war. Since the separatist war ended in May 2009 the Sri Lankan stock market has shown marked gains to be among the 3 best performing markets in the world. The Colombo Stock Exchange reported the highest growth in the world for 2003, and today Sri Lanka has the highest per capita income in South Asia. About 14% of the population live on less than US$ 1.25 per day.

In April 2004, there was a sharp reversal in economic policy after the government headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party was defeated by a coalition made up of Sri Lanka Freedom Party and the leftist-nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna called the United People's Freedom Alliance. The new government stopped the privatisation of state enterprises and reforms of state utilities such as power and petroleum, and embarked on a subsidy program called the Rata Perata economic program. Its main theme to support the rural and suburban SMEs and protect the domestic economy from external influences, such as oil prices, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Sri Lanka, with an income per head of US$1,972, still lags behind some of its neighbours including Maldives but is ahead of its giant neighbour India. Its economy grew by an average of 5% during the 1990s during the 'War for Peace' era. According to the Sri Lankan central bank statistics, the economy was estimated to have grown by 7% last year, while inflation reached 20%. Parts of Sri Lanka, particularly the South and East coast, were devastated by the 2004 Asian Tsunami. The economy was briefly buoyed by an influx of foreign aid and tourists, but this was disrupted with the reemergence of the civil war resulting in increased lawlessness in the country and a sharp decline in tourism. But following the end of the 3 decade long separatist war in May 2009 tourism has seen a steep uptick. Also the end of war has ensured the rule of law in the whole of the island.

Recently, New York Times has placed Sri Lanka Number 1 in 31 places to go in 2010. After Dow Jones classified Sri Lanka as Emerging markets at 2010, Citigroup classified Sri Lanka as 3G (countries) at February 2011.

Demographics

Sri Lanka is the 53rd most populated nation in the world, with an annual population growth rate of 0.79%. Sri Lanka has a birth rate of 15.63 births per 1,000 people and a death rate of 6.49 deaths per 1,000 people. Population density is highest in western Sri Lanka, especially in and around the capital. There is a small population on the island of the Vedda people. They are believed to be the original indigenous group to inhabit the island. The Sinhalese people form the largest ethnic group in the nation, composing approximately 74% of the total population.

Tamils are concentrated in the North, East, Central and Western provinces of the country. Sri Lankan Tamils are the second major ethnic group on the island and have called it home for generations. Indian Tamils who were brought as indentured labourers from India by British colonists to work on estate plantations, nearly 50% of whom were repatriated following independence in 1948, are called "Indian Origin" Tamils. They are distinguished from the native Tamil population that has resided in Sri Lanka since ancient times.

According to 2001 census data Indian Tamils makeup 5.1% of the Sri Lankan population and, Sri Lankan Tamils 4.3% but this figure only accounted for Sri Lankan Tamils in government-controlled areas, not accounting for those in rebel-held territories. The World Factbook states that Sri Lankan Tamils make up 14% of the population. There is a significant population (8.0%) of Moors, who trace their lineage to Arab traders and immigrants from the Middle East. Their presence is concentrated in the cities and the central and eastern provinces. There are also small ethnic groups such as the Burghers (of mixed European descent) and Austronesian peoples from Southeast Asia.

Language

Sinhalese and Tamil are the two official languages of Sri Lanka. English is fluently spoken by approximately 10% of the population, and is widely used for education, scientific and commercial purposes. Members of the Burgher community speak variant forms of Portuguese Creole and Dutch with varying proficiency, while members of the Malay community speak a form of creole Malay that is unique to the island.

Religions

Sri Lanka has a multi-ethnic and multi-religious population. Buddhism constitutes the religious faith of about 70% of the population of the island, most of whom follow the Theravada school of Buddhism.

Sri Lanka has the longest continuous history of Buddhism of any predominately Buddhist nation, with the Sangha having existed in a largely unbroken lineage since its introduction in the 2nd century BCE. During periods of decline, the Sri Lankan monastic lineage was revived through contact with Thailand and Burma. }} Religions which today exist in Sri Lanka, in addition to Buddhism and Hinduism include Islam as well as different churches of Christianity. Followers of Islam comprise nearly eight percent of the population,

Hinduism was primarily established in Sri Lanka by migrants and often invaders from southern India, Hindus constitute just over 7 percent of the population, mostly of the Shaivite school. European colonists introduced Christianity to the country in the 16th century, and the religion has been adopted by around six percent of the population.

Health

Education

Dr. Kannangara led the establishment of the Madhya Maha Vidyalayas (Central Schools) in different parts of the country in order to provide education to Sri Lanka's rural population. In 1942 a special education committee proposed extensive reforms to establish an efficient and quality education system for the people. However in the 1980s changers to this system saw the separation the of administration of schools between the central government and the provincial government. Thus the elite National Schools are controlled directly by the Ministry of Education and the provincial schools by the provincial government.

Most schools in Sri Lanka provide education from grades 1 to 13 in the same institution. Students sit for the GCE Ordinary Level Examination (O/Levels) in grade 11 and the GCE Advanced Level Examination (A/levels) in grade 13, conducted by the Department of Examinations. These schools are modelled on British colleges. A majority of them are public, but a number of private schools do exist. While most reputed National and Private Schools centred around large cities are usually single-sex institutions, rural provincial schools tend to be coeducational.

In recent decades, a large number of international schools have been established across the nation. In these schools General Certificate of Secondary Education, International Baccalaureate and Cambridge International Examinations are popular education programs. Many of the schools offer subjects in Sinhala and Tamil languages with regionally leading schools offering subjects in English medium also.

Sri Lanka has around 16 public universities. They include the University of Colombo, the University of Peradeniya, the University of Kelaniya, the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, the University of Moratuwa, the University of Jaffna, the University of Ruhuna, the Eastern University of Sri Lanka, the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka and the Wayamba University of Sri Lanka.

However the lack of space in these institutions and the unwillingness to establish private universities has led to a large number of students been denied entry into formal universities as well as high undergraduate unemployment. As a result, a number of public and private institutions have emerged, which provide specialised education in a variety of fields, such as computer science, business administration and law. These include the government owned Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology and the Institute of Technological Studies. The free education system ensures that primary to tertiary education is provided free of charge to its citizens.

Transport

The government has launched several highway projects to bolster the economy and national transport system, including the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway, the Colombo-Kandy (Kadugannawa) Expressway, the Colombo-Padeniya Expressway and the Outer Circular Highway to ease Colombo's traffic congestion. There are also plans to build a major bridge connecting Jaffna to the Indian city of Chennai.

The Ceylon Transport Board is the state-run agency responsible for operating public bus services across the island. Sri Lanka also maintains of inland waterways. It has three deep-water ports at Colombo, Trincomalee and Galle. There is also a smaller, shallower harbour at Kankesanturai, north of Jaffna.

There are twelve paved airports and two unpaved airstrips in the country. SriLankan Airlines is the official national carrier, partly owned and operated by Emirates Airline. It was voted the best airline in South Asia by Skytrax. SriLankan Air Taxi is the smaller, domestic arm of the national carrier, while Expo Aviation and Lankair are private airline companies. The Bandaranaike International Airport, currently the country's only international airport, is located in Katunayaka, north of Colombo. A second international airport is under construction in Mattala, in the south of the island.

The Port of Colombo is the largest port in Sri Lanka, handling over 4.1 million TEUs annually. The new Port of Hambantota is currently under construction, and due to begin operations in November 2010.

Human rights

In its 2007 report, however, Amnesty International stated that "escalating political killings, child recruitment, abductions and armed clashes created a climate of fear in the east, spreading to the north by the end of the year", whilst also outlining concerns with violence against women, the death penalty and "numerous reports of torture in police custody". However, the report also stated that the ceasefire between government and LTTE remained in place despite numerous violations.

However, the Sri Lankan minister for HR said "We regret one or two statements made here, that fly in the face of all concrete evidence, that the situation in Sri Lanka is deteriorating, when we have dealt more firmly with terrorism, with far-less damage to civilians, than in any comparative situation." Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said, the report presents a distorted view of the actual situation in Sri Lanka during the year 2007 and is a litany of unsubstantiated allegations, innuendo and vituperative exaggerations.

Culture and arts

The island is the home of two main traditional cultures: the Sinhalese (centred in the ancient cities of Kandy and Anuradhapura) and the Tamil (centred in the city of Jaffna). In more recent times a British colonial culture was added, and lately Sri Lanka, particularly in the urban areas, has experienced a dramatic makeover in the western mould.

Until recently, for example, most Sri Lankans, certainly those in the villages, have eaten traditional food, engaged in traditional crafts and expressed themselves through traditional arts. But economic growth and intense economic competition in developed countries has spilled over to most of Sri Lanka, producing changes that might variously be identified as progress, westernisation or a loss of identity and assimilation.

Traditional food

Middle Eastern influences and practices are found in traditional Moor dishes. While Dutch and Portuguese influences are found with the island's Burgher community preserving their culture through traditional favourites such as Lamprais (rice cooked in stock and baked in a banana leaf), Breudher (Dutch Christmas cake) and Bolo Fiado (Portuguese-style layer cake).

Festivals

Every year on or about 13 April Sinhala and Tamil people celebrate Sinhalese and Tamil New Year Festival, and Muslims celebrate Ramadan. Esala Perahera (A-suh-luh peh-ruh-ha-ruh) is the grand festival of Esala held in Sri Lanka. It is very grand with elegant costumes. Happening in July or August in Kandy, it has become a unique symbol of Sri Lanka. It is a Buddhist festival consisting of dances and richly decorated elephants.

There are fire-dances, whip-dances, Kandian dances and various other cultural dances. The elephants are usually adorned with lavish garments. The festival ends with the traditional 'diya-kepeema'. The elephant is paraded around the city bearing the tooth of Buddha. However the new year for tamils have been established as being on 14 January from this year.

Cinema

Sri Lankan cinema in past years has featured subjects such as family relationships, love stories and the years of conflict between the military and Tamil Tiger rebels. Many films are in the Sinhalese language and the Sri Lankan cinematic style is similar to bollywood, kollywood of Indian cinema.

The first film to be produced and shown in Sri Lanka was Kadawunu Poronduwa (The Broken Promise) which was released in 1947. The first colour film of Sri Lanka was Ranmuthu Duwa.

Afterwards there were many Sinhalese movies produced in Sri Lanka and some of them, such as Nidhanaya, received several international film awards. The most influential filmmaker in the history of Sri Lankan cinema is Lester James Peiris who has directed many movies of excellent quality which led to global acclaim. His latest film, ''Wekande Walauwa'' ("Mansion by the Lake") became the first movie to be submitted from Sri Lanka for the Best Foreign Language film award at the Academy Awards.

In 2005 the director Vimukthi Jayasundara became the first Sri Lankan to win the prestigious Camera d’Or award for Best First Film, or any award for that matter, at the Cannes Film Festival for his Sinhalese language film ''Sulanga Enu Pinisa'' (The Forsaken Land). Controversial filmmaker Asoka Handagama's films are considered by many in the Sri Lankan film world to be the best films of honest response to the ethnic conflict raged in the country for many years.

Prasanna Vithanage is one of Sri Lanka's most notable filmmakers. His films have won many awards, both local and international. Recent releases like 'Sooriya Arana', 'Samanala thatu', and 'Hiripoda wessa' have attracted Sri Lankans to cinemas. Sri Lankan films are usually in the Sinhalese language. Tamil language movies are also filmed in Sri Lanka but they are part of Kollywood which is Indian Tamil cinema. It is also known as Sri Lankan Tamil cinema in Sri Lanka. However some Kollywood films are based in Sri Lanka as well.

Music

The earliest music came from the theatre at a time when the traditional open-air drama (referred to in Sinhala as ''Kolam'', ''Sokari'' and ''Nadagam''). In 1903 the first music album, Nurthi, was released through Radio Ceylon. Also Vernon Corea introduced Sri Lankan music in the English Service of Radio Ceylon.

In the early 1960s, Indian music in films greatly influenced Sri Lankan music and later Sri Lankan stars like Sunil Shantha found greater popularity among Indian people. By 1963, Radio Ceylon had more Indian listeners than Sri Lankan ones. The notable songwriters Mahagama Sekara and Ananda Samarakoon made a Sri Lankan music revolution. At the peak of this revolution, musicians such as W. D. Amaradeva, H.R. Jothipala, Milton Mallawarachchi, M.S. Fernando, Annesley Malewana and Clarence Wijewardene did great work.

A very popular type of music is the so-called Baila, a kind of dance music that originated from Portuguese music introduced to the island in colonial times.

Sri Lanka has a significant underground metal and hard rock community which is growing in popularity among upper middle class teenagers and young adults. Some internationally known Sri Lankan metal bands include Stigmata, Chitral Somapala, Whirlwind, Fallen Grace, Funeral In Heaven, Paranoid Earthling.

Media

Since the 1980s, a large number of private radio stations have also being introduced, and they have gained commercial popularity and success. Broadcast television was introduced to the country in 1979 when the Independent Television Network was launched. Initially all Television stations were state controlled, but private television networks began broadcasts in 1992.

Global television networks from India, Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States are also widely popular, and cable and satellite television is gaining in popularity with Sri Lanka's middle-class. Popular publications include the English language ''Daily Mirror'' and ''The Sunday Observer'' and ''The Sunday Times'', ''Divayina'', ''Lankadeepa'' and ''Lakbima'' in Sinhalese and the Tamil publications ''Dinakaran'' and ''Uthayan''.

Sri Lankan Literature

Sports

While the national sport in Sri Lanka is volleyball, by far the most popular sport in the country is cricket. Sri Lankan cricket team reached the finals of the 2007 Cricket World Cup, where they lost to Australia at the Kensington Oval, in Bridgetown, Barbados. After qualifying to play in the finals of the 2011 Cricket World Cup, Sri Lanka was beaten by India. The legendary Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan also ended his incredible career at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai which hosted the 2011 World Cup finals. The national cricket team of Sri Lanka has won the Asia Cup in 1986, 1997, 2004 and 2008.

Sri Lanka has a large number of sports stadiums, including the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium, the R. Premadasa Stadium and the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla as well as the Galle International Stadium. The country co-hosted the 1996 Cricket World Cup with India and Pakistan, 2011 Cricket World Cup with India and Bangladesh and has hosted the Asia Cup tournament on numerous occasions. Aquatic sports such as boating, surfing, swimming and scuba diving on the coast, the beaches and backwaters attract a large number of Sri Lankans and foreign tourists. There are two styles of martial arts native to Sri Lanka, Cheena di and Angampora.

See also

References

Further reading

External links

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