Sri Lanka

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"Ceylon" redirects here. For the time period of 1948–1972, see Dominion of Ceylon. For other uses, see Ceylon (disambiguation).

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ශ්‍රී ලංකා ප්‍රජාතාන්ත්‍රික සමාජවාදී ජනරජය இலங்கை ஜனநாயக சோசலிசக் குடியரசு
Flag Emblem
Anthem: Sri Lanka Matha Mother Sri Lanka
Capital		Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (Administrative) Colombo (Commercial) 6°56′N 79°50′E / 6.933°N 79.833°E / 6.933; 79.833
Largest city		Colombo
Official languages		Sinhala Tamil
Recognized		English
Demonym		Sri Lankan
Government		Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic
-	President	Mahinda Rajapaksa
-	Prime Minister	D. M. Jayaratne
-	Speaker of the Parliament	Chamal Rajapaksa
-	Chief Justice	Mohan Peiris[1]
Legislature		Parliament
Independence from the United Kingdom
-	Dominion	4 February 1948
-	Republic	22 May 1972
-	Current constitution	7 September 1978
Area
-	Total	65,610 km2 (122nd) 25,332 sq mi
-	Water (%)	4.4
Population
-	2012 census	20,277,597[2] (57th)
-	Density	323/km2 (40th) 836.6/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2014 estimate
-	Total	$142.719 billion[3] (64th)
-	Per capita	$7,046[3] (99th)
GDP (nominal)		2014 estimate
-	Total	$70.966 billion[3] (68th)
-	Per capita	$3,385[3] (122nd)
Gini (2010)		36.4[4] medium
HDI (2013)		0.750[5] high · 73rd
Currency		Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)
Time zone		SLST (UTC+5:30)
Date format		dd/mm/yyyy (AD)
Drives on the		left
Calling code		+94
ISO 3166 code		LK
Internet TLD		.lk .ලංකා .இலங்கை

Sri Lanka (/sriːˈlɑːŋkə, -ˈlæŋkə/ or ⁱ/ʃriː-/;^[6][7] Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකාව, śrī laṃkāva, Tamil: இலங்கை, ilaṅkai), officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in the northern Indian Ocean off the southeast coast of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia. Known until 1972 as Ceylon (/sɨˈlɒnˌ seɪ-ˌ siː-/), Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest.
Sri Lanka has a documented history that spans over 3,000 years, but there are theories to suggest that Sri Lanka had pre-historic human settlements dating back to at least 125,000 years.^[8] Its geographic location and deep harbours made it of great strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road^[9] through to World War II.^[10] Sri Lanka is a diverse country, home to many religions, ethnicities and languages.^[11] It is the land of the Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Tamils, Moors, Indian Tamils, Burghers, Malays, Kaffirs and the aboriginal Vedda.^[12] Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage, and the first known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, the Pāli Canon, dates back to the Fourth Buddhist Council in 29 BCE.^[13][14] The country's recent history has been marred by a thirty-year civil war which decisively ended when Sri Lankan military defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009.^[15]
Sri Lanka is a republic and a unitary state governed by a presidential system. The capital, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, is a suburb of the largest city, Colombo. It is also an important producer of tea, coffee, gemstones, coconuts, rubber, and the native cinnamon,^[16] the island contains tropical forests and diverse landscapes with a high amount of biodiversity.
The country has had a long history of international engagement, as a founding member of SAARC and a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the G77, and the Non-Aligned Movement. It is the only country in South Asia that is currently rated "high" on the Human Development Index.^[5]

Etymology

Etymology[edit]

Main article: Names of Sri Lanka

In antiquity, Sri Lanka was known to travellers by a variety of names. Known in India as Lanka or Sinhala , ancient Greek geographers called it Taprobane^[17] /təˈprɒbəniː/ and Arabs referred to it as Serendib (the origin of the word "serendipity").^[18] Ceilão, the name given to Sri Lanka by the Portuguese when they arrived in 1505,^[19] was transliterated into English as Ceylon.^[20] As a British crown colony, the island was known as Ceylon; it achieved independence as the Dominion of Ceylon in 1948.
In Sinhala the country is known as ශ්‍රී ලංකා śrī laṃkā, IPA: [ʃɾiːˈlaŋkaː].In Tamil they are both இலங்கை ilaṅkai, IPA: [iˈlaŋɡai]. In 1972 the name was changed to "Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka".Later in 1978 it was changed to the "Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka".^[21] As the name Ceylon still appears in the names of a number of organisations, the Sri Lankan government had announced a plan to rename all those over which it has authority.^[22]

History

History[edit]

Main article: History of Sri Lanka

Pre-historic[edit]

Main article: Prehistory of Sri Lanka

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The pre-history of Sri Lanka goes back 125,000 years and possibly even as far back as 500,000 years.^[23] The era spans the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and early Iron Ages. Among the Paleolithic human settlements discovered in Sri Lanka, Pahiyangala (named after the Chinese traveller monk Faxian), which dates back to 37,000 BP,^[24] Batadombalena (28,500 BP)^[25] and Belilena (12,000 BP) are the most important. In these caves, archaeologists have found the remains of anatomically modern humans which they have named Balangoda Man, and other evidence^[26] suggesting that they may have engaged in agriculture and kept domestic dogs for driving game.^[27]

Frescoes on the Sigiriya rock fortress in Matale District, 5th century.

One of the first written references to the island is found in the Indian epic Ramayana, which provides details of a kingdom named Lanka that was created by the divine sculptor Vishwakarma for Kubera, the Lord of Wealth.^[28] It is said that Kubera was overthrown by his demon stepbrother Ravana, the powerful emperor who built a mythical flying machine named Dandu Monara.^[29] The modern city of Wariyapola is described as Ravana's airport.^[30]
Early inhabitants of Sri Lanka were probably ancestors of the Vedda people,^[31] an indigenous people numbering approximately 2,500 living in modern-day Sri Lanka. The 19th-century Irish historian James Emerson Tennent theorized that Galle, a city in southern Sri Lanka, was the ancient seaport of Tarshish from which King Solomon is said to have drawn ivory, peacocks, and other valuables.

Ancient

Ancient[edit]

Main article: Ancient history of Sri Lanka

Avukana Buddha statue, a 12m standing Buddha statue belongs to the reign of Dhatusena, 5th century AD

According to the Mahāvamsa, a chronicle written in the Pāli language, the original inhabitants of Sri Lanka are the Yakshas and Nagas. but Sinhalese history traditionally starts in 543 B.C with the landing of Vijaya, a semi-legendary prince who sailed with 700 followers on eight ships 860 nautical miles to Sri Lanka from the southwest coast of what is now the Rarh region of West Bengal.^[32] He established the Kingdom of Tambapanni, near modern day Mannar. Vijaya is the first of the approximately 189 native monarchs of Sri Lanka described in chronicles such as the Dipavamsa, Mahāvamsa, Chulavamsa, and Rājāvaliya (see List of Sri Lankan monarchs). Sri Lankan dynastic history spanned a period of 2,359 years from 543 BC to AD 1815, when the land became part of the British Empire.^[33]

The Sigiriya rock fortress.

The Kingdom of Sri Lanka moved to Anuradhapura in 380 BC, during the reign of Pandukabhaya. Thereafter, Anuradhapura served as the capital of the country for nearly 1,400 years.^[34] Ancient Sri Lankans excelled at building certain types of structures (constructions) such as tanks, dagobas and palaces.^[35] The society underwent a major transformation during the reign of Devanampiya Tissa, with the arrival of Buddhism from India. In 250 BC,^[36] Bhikkhu Mahinda (Sanskrit: महेन्द्र; Mahendra), the son of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka arrived in Mihintale, carrying the message of Buddhism.^[37] His mission won over the monarch, who embraced the faith and propagated it throughout the Sinhalese population.^[38] Succeeding 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. Sri Lankan Bhikkhus studied in India's famous ancient Buddhist University of Nalanda which was destroyed by Mohammed Kilji. It is probable that many of the scriptures from Nalanda are preserved in Sri Lanka's many monasteries.^[39] In 245 BC, bhikkhuni Sangamitta arrived with the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree, which is considered to be a sapling from the historical Bodhi tree under which Gautama Buddha became enlightened.^[40] It is considered the oldest human-planted tree (with a continuous historical record) in the world. (Bodhivamsa)^[41]
Sri Lanka first experienced a foreign invasion during the reign of Suratissa, who was defeated by two horse traders named Sena and Guttika from South India.^[38] The next invasion came immediately in 205 BC by a Chola king named Elara, who overthrew Asela and ruled the country for 44 years. Dutugemunu, the eldest son of the southern regional sub-king, Kavan Tissa, defeated Elara in the Battle of Vijithapura. He built Ruwanwelisaya, the second stupa in ancient Sri Lanka, and the Lovamahapaya.^[42] During its two and a half millennia of existence, the Kingdom of Sri Lanka was invaded at least eight times by neighbouring South Asian dynasties such as the Chola, Pandya, Chera, and Pallava. These invaders were all subsequently driven back.^[43] There also were incursions by the kingdoms of Kalinga (modern Odisha) and from the Malay Peninsula as well. Kala Wewa and the Avukana Buddha statue were built during the reign of Dhatusena.^[44]

Claudius Ptolemy's map of Ceylon, 1st century AD in a 1535 publication.

Sri Lanka was the first Asian country known to have a female ruler: Queen Anula, who reigned during 47–42 BC.^[45] Sri Lankan monarchs undertook some remarkable construction projects such as Sigiriya, the so-called "Fortress in the Sky", built during the reign of Kashyapa I who ruled between 477 and 495AD. The Sigiriya rock fortress is surrounded by an extensive network of ramparts and moats. Inside this protective enclosure were gardens, ponds, pavilions, palaces and other structures. The 1,600-year-old Sigiriya frescoes are an example of ancient Sri Lankan art at its finest.^[46][47] It is one of the best preserved examples of ancient urban planning in the world.^[48] It has been declared by UNESCO as one of the seven World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka.^[49] Among other structures, large reservoirs, important for conserving water in a climate with rainy and dry seasons, and elaborate aqueducts, some with a slope as finely calibrated as one inch to the mile, are most notable. Biso Kotuwa, a peculiar construction inside a dam, is a technological marvel based on precise mathematics that allows water to flow outside the dam, keeping pressure on the dam to a minimum.^[50] Ancient Sri Lanka was the first country in the world to establish a dedicated hospital, in Mihintale in the 4th century.^[51] It was also the leading exporter of cinnamon in the ancient world. It maintained close ties with European civilisations including the Roman Empire. For example, King Bhatikabhaya (22 BC—AD 7) sent an envoy to Rome who brought back red coral which was used to make an elaborate netlike adornment for the Ruwanwelisaya. In addition, Sri Lankan male dancers witnessed the assassination of Caligula. When Queen Cleopatra sent her son Caesarion into hiding, he was headed to Sri Lanka.^[52][53] Bhikkhuni Devasāra and ten other fully ordained bhikkhunis from Sri Lanka went to China and established the bhikkhuni sāsana there in AD 429.^[54]

Medieval

Medieval[edit]

Main article: Medieval history of Sri Lanka

A Buddhist statue in the ancient capital city of Polonnaruwa, 12th century

The medieval period of Sri Lanka begins with the fall of Anuradhapura Kingdom. In AD 993, the invasion of Chola emperor Rajaraja I forced the then Sri Lankan ruler Mahinda V to flee to the southern part of the country.^[55] Taking advantage of this situation, Rajendra I, son of Rajaraja I, launched a large invasion in AD 1017. Mahinda V was captured and taken to India, and the Cholas sacked the city of Anuradhapura.^[55] Subsequently, they moved the capital to Polonnaruwa.^[56] This marked the end of the two great houses of dynasties of ancient Sri Lanka, the Moriya and the Lambakanna. Following a seventeen-year long campaign, Vijayabahu I successfully drove the Chola out of Sri Lanka in 1070, reuniting the country for the first time in over a century.^[57][58] Upon his request, ordained monks were sent from Burma to Sri Lanka to re-establish Buddhism, which had almost disappeared from the country during the Chola reign.^[59] During the medieval period, Sri Lanka was divided to three sub-territories, namely Ruhunu, Pihiti and Maya.^[60]
Sri Lanka's irrigation system was extensively expanded during the reign of Parākramabāhu the Great (AD 1153–1186).^[61] This period is considered as a time when Sri Lanka was at the height of its power.^[62][63] He built 1470 reservoirs – the highest number by any ruler in the history – repaired 165 dams, 3910 canals, 163 major reservoirs, and 2376 mini reservoirs.^[64] His most famous construction is the Parakrama Samudra,^[65] 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.^[66]
After his demise, Sri Lanka gradually decayed in power. In AD 1215, Kalinga Magha, a South Indian with uncertain origins, identified as the founder of the Jaffna kingdom, invaded and captured the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa with a 24,000 strong army sailed 690 nautical miles on 100 large ships from Kalinga.^[64] Unlike the previous invaders, he looted, ransacked, and destroyed everything in the ancient Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa Kingdoms beyond recovery.^[67] 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.^[68][69] The Jaffna kingdom never came under the rule of any kingdom of the south except on one occasion; in 1450, following the conquest led by king Parâkramabâhu VI's adopted son, Prince Sapumal.^[70] He ruled the North from AD 1450 to 1467.^[71] The next three centuries stating from 1215 were marked by kaleidoscopically shifting collections of kingdoms in south and central Sri Lanka, including Dambadeniya, Yapahuwa, Gampola, Raigama, Kotte,^[72] Sitawaka, and finally, Kandy.

Colonisation

Colonisation[edit]

Main articles: Colonial history of Sri Lanka and British Ceylon

A 17th-century painting of Dutch explorer Joris van Spilbergen meeting with King Vimaladharmasuriya in 1602.

The early modern period of Sri Lanka begins with the arrival of Portuguese soldier and explorer Lourenço de Almeida, the son of Francisco de Almeida, in 1505.^[73] In 1517, the Portuguese built a fort at the port city of Colombo and gradually extended their control over the coastal areas. In 1592, after decades of intermittent warfare with the Portuguese, Vimaladharmasuriya I moved his kingdom to the inland city of Kandy, a location he thought more secure from attack.^[74] In 1619, succumbing to attacks by the Portuguese, the independent existence of Jaffna kingdom came to an end.^[75]

Colonial coat of arms of British Ceylon.

During the reign of the Rajasinghe II, Dutch explorers arrived on the island. In 1638, the king signed a treaty with the Dutch East India Company to get rid of the Portuguese who ruled most of the coastal areas.^[76] The following Dutch–Portuguese War resulted in a Dutch victory, with Colombo falling into Dutch hands by 1656. The Dutch remained in the areas they had captured, thereby violating the treaty they had signed in 1638. An ethnic group named Burgher people emerged in Sri Lankan society as a result of Dutch rule.^[77] The Kingdom of Kandy was the last independent monarchy of Sri Lanka.^[78] In 1595, 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.^[78] In spite of on-going intermittent warfare with Europeans, the kingdom survived. Later, a crisis of succession emerged in Kandy upon king Vira Narendrasinha's death in 1739. He was married to a Telugu-speaking Nayakkar princess from South India and was childless by her.^[78] Eventually, with the support of bhikku Weliwita Sarankara, the crown passed to the brother of one of Narendrasinha's princesses, overlooking the right of "Unambuwe Bandara", Narendrasinha's own son by a Sinhalese concubine.^[79] The new king was crowned Sri Vijaya Rajasinha later that year. Kings of the Nayakkar dynasty launched several attacks on Dutch controlled areas, which proved to be unsuccessful.^[80]
During the Napoleonic Wars, fearing that French control of the Netherlands might deliver Sri Lanka to the French, Great Britain occupied the coastal areas of the island (which they called Ceylon) with little difficulty in 1796.^[81] Two years later, in 1798, Rajadhi Rajasinha, third of the four Nayakkar kings of Sri Lanka, died of a fever. Following his death, a nephew of Rajadhi Rajasinha, eighteen-year-old Kannasamy, was crowned.^[82] The young king, now named Sri Vikrama Rajasinha, faced a British invasion in 1803 but successfully retaliated. By then, the entire coastal area was under the British East India Company as a result of the Treaty of Amiens. But on 14 February 1815, Kandy was occupied by the British in the second Kandyan War, finally ending Sri Lanka's independence.^[82] Sri Vikrama Rajasinha, the last native monarch of Sri Lanka, was exiled to India.^[83] The Kandyan Convention formally ceded the entire country to the British Empire. Attempts by Sri Lankan noblemen to undermine British power in 1818 during the Uva Rebellion were thwarted by Governor Robert Brownrigg.^[84]

Planter in ricksha in front of the Maria Watta tea factory near Gampola, ca.1895

A tea factory scene, ca.1895. Tea production in Sri Lanka was introduced by James Taylor, a British planter, in 1867.

The beginning of the modern period of Sri Lanka is marked by the Colebrooke-Cameron reforms of 1833.^[85] They introduced a utilitarian and liberal political culture to the country based on the rule of law and amalgamated the Kandyan and maritime provinces as a single unit of government.^[85] An Executive Council and a Legislative Council were established, later becoming the foundation of a representative legislature. By this time, experiments with coffee plantation were largely successful. Soon coffee became the primary commodity export of the country. Falling coffee prices as a result of the depression of 1847 stalled economic development and prompted the governor to introduce a series of taxes on firearms, dogs, shops, boats, etc., and to reintroduce a form of rajakariya, requiring six days free labour on roads or payment of a cash equivalent.^[86] These harsh measures antagonised the locals, and another rebellion broke out in 1848.^[87] A devastating leaf disease, Hemileia vastatrix, struck the coffee plantations in 1869, destroying the entire industry within fifteen years.^[88] The British quickly found a replacement: abandoning coffee, they began cultivating tea instead. Tea production in Sri Lanka thrived in the following decades. Large-scale rubber plantations began in the early 20th century.
By the end of the 19th century, a new educated social class transcending race and caste arose through British attempts to staff the Ceylon Civil Service and the legal, educational, and medical professions.^[89] New leaders represented the various ethnic groups of the population in the Ceylon Legislative Council on a communal basis. Buddhist and Hindu revivalism reacted against Christian missionary activities.^[90][91] The first two decades in the 20th century are noted by the unique harmony among Sinhalese and Tamil political leadership, which has since been lost.^[92] In 1919, major Sinhalese and Tamil political organisations united to form the Ceylon National Congress, under the leadership of Ponnambalam Arunachalam,^[93] pressing colonial masters for more constitutional reforms. But without massive popular support, and with the governor's encouragement for "communal representation" by creating a "Colombo seat" that dangled between Sinhalese and Tamils, the Congress lost momentum towards the mid-1920s.^[94] The Donoughmore reforms of 1931 repudiated the communal representation and introduced universal adult franchise (the franchise stood at 4% before the reforms). This step was strongly criticised by the Tamil political leadership, who realised that they would be reduced to a minority in the newly created State Council of Ceylon, which succeeded the legislative council.^[95][96] In 1937, Tamil leader G. G. Ponnambalam demanded a 50–50 representation (50% for the Sinhalese and 50% for other ethnic groups) in the State Council. However, this demand was not met by the