Name
Main article: Names of Sri Lanka
In ancient times, Sri Lanka was known by a variety of names: ancient Greek geographers called it
Taprobane and Arabs referred to it as
Serendib (the origin of the word "serendipity")
Ceilão was the name given to Sri Lanka by the Portuguese when they arrived in 1505, which was transliterated into English as
Ceylon.
In 1972, the official name of the country was changed to "Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka" (in Sinhala:
śrī laṃkā,
IPA: [ˌʃɾiːˈlaŋkaː]; whereas the island itself is referred to as ලංකාව
laṃkāva,
IPA: [laŋˈkaːʋə], in Tamil இலங்கை
ilaṅkai,
iˈlaŋɡai). In 1978 it was changed to "Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka". The current name is derived from the Sanskrit word lanka, meaning "island", which was also the name of the island as described in the ancient Indian epics Mahabharata and the Ramayana. The word "Sri" is a Sanskrit title meaning sacred.
Geography and climate
Topographical map of Sri Lanka.
The island of Sri Lanka lies in the Indian Ocean, to the southwest of the Bay of Bengal and to the southeast of the Arabian Sea. It 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 width of the Palk Strait is small enough for the coast of Sri Lanka to be visible from the furthest point near the Indian town of Rameswaram.
[citation needed] 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 Mount Pedro, reaching 2,524 metres (8,280 ft) 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 16 °C (61 °F) in the Central Highlands, where frost may occur for several days in the winter, to a maximum of approximately 33 °C (91 °F) in other low-altitude areas. The average yearly temperature ranges from 28 °C (82 °F) to nearly 31 °C (88 °F). Day and night temperatures may vary by 4 °C (7 °F) to 7 °C (13 °F). 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. Some of the windward slopes receive up to 2,500 millimetres (98 in) of rain each month, but the leeward slopes in the east and northeast receive little rain. Periodic squalls occur and sometimes tropical cyclones bring overcast skies and rains to the southwest, northeast, and eastern parts of the island. Between December to 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 70% 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 70% and 79%.
Flora and fauna
Main articles: Environment of Sri Lanka and Wildlife of Sri Lanka
Horton Plains National Park represents Sri Lanka montane rain forests
The mountains and the southwestern part of the country, known as the "wet zone", receive ample rainfall at an average of 2,500 mm (98 in). Most of the east, southeast, and northern parts of the country comprise the "dry zone", which receives between 1,200 mm (47 in) and 1,900 mm (75 in) 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 600 mm (24 in) to 1,200 mm (47 in) per year. 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 in the northwest preserves the habitats of many water birds, such as storks, pelicans, ibis, and spoonbills. During the Mahaweli Ganga Program of the 1970s and 1980s in northern Sri Lanka, the government set aside four areas of land totaling 1,900 km
2 (730 sq mi) as national parks. The island has four biosphere reserves, Bundala, Hurulu Forest Reserve, the Kanneliya-Dediyagala-Nakiyadeniya, and Sinharaja.
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.
Early periods
Paleolithic human settlements have been discovered at excavations in several cave sites in the Western Plains region and the South-western face of the Central Hills region. Anthropologists believe that some discovered burial rites and certain decorative artifacts exhibit similarities between the first inhabitants of the island and the early inhabitants of Southern India. Recent bioanthropological studies have however dismissed these links, and have placed the origin of the people to the northern parts of
India. One of the first written references to the island is found in the Indian epic Ramayana, which described the emperor Ravana as monarch of the powerful kingdom of
Lanka, which was created by the divine sculptor Vishwakarma for Kubera, the treasurer of the Gods. English historian James Emerson Tennent also theorized 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. The main written accounts of the country's history are the Buddhist chronicles of Mahavansa and Dipavamsa.
Sri Lankan coin, 1st century CE.
The earliest-known inhabitants of the island now known as Sri Lanka were probably the ancestors of the Wanniyala-Aetto people, also known as
Veddahs and numbering roughly 3,000. Linguistic analysis has found a correlation of the Sinhalese language with the languages of the Sindh and Gujarat, although most historians believe that the Sinhala community emerged well after the assimilation of various ethnic groups. From the ancient period date some remarkable archaeological sites including the ruins of Sigiriya, the so-called "Fortress in the Sky", and huge public works. Among the latter are large "tanks" or 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. Ancient Sri Lanka was also the first in the world to have established a dedicated hospital in Mihintale in the 4th century BCE. Ancient Sri Lanka was also the world's leading exporter of cinnamon, which was exported to Egypt as early as 1400 BCE. Sri Lanka was also the first Asian nation to have a female ruler in Queen Anula (47–42 BC).
Ancient Sri Lanka
Sanghamitta arriving in Sri Lanka with the Holy Bodhi Tree.
Since ancient times Sri Lanka was ruled by monarchs, most notably of the Sinha royal dynasty that lasted over 2000 years. The island was also infrequently invaded by South Indian kingdoms and parts of the island were ruled intermittently by the Chola dynasty, the Pandya dynasty, the Chera dynasty and the Pallava dynasty. The island was also invaded by the kingdoms of Kalinga (modern Orissa) and those from the Malay Peninsula. Buddhism arrived from India in the 3rd century BCE, brought by Bhikkhu Mahinda, who is believed to have been the son of Mauryan emperor Ashoka. Mahinda's mission won over the Sinhalese monarch Devanampiyatissa of Mihintale, 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 Southeast Asia.
Colonial era
British colonial Coat of arms of Ceylon
Sri Lanka had always been an important port and trading post in the ancient world, and was increasingly frequented by merchant ships from the Middle East, Persia, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia. The islands were known to the first European explorers of South Asia and settled by many groups of Arab and Malay merchants. A Portuguese colonial mission arrived on the island in 1505 headed by Lourenço de Almeida the son of Francisco de Almeida. At that point the island consisted of three kingdoms, namely Kandy in the central hills, Kotte at the Western coast, and Yarlpanam (Anglicised Jaffna) in the north. The Dutch arrived in the 17th century. Although much of the island came under the domain of European powers, the interior, hilly region of the island remained independent, with its capital in Kandy. The British East India Company established control of the island in 1796, declaring it a crown colony in 1802, although the island would not be officially connected with British India. The fall of the kingdom of Kandy in 1815 unified the island under British rule.
20th Century and the World Wars
European colonists established a series of
tea,
cinnamon,
rubber,
sugar,
coffee and
indigo plantations. The British also brought a large number of
indentured workers from
Tamil Nadu to work in the plantation economy. The city of
Colombo was established as the administrative centre, and the British established modern schools, colleges, roads and churches that brought Western-style education and culture to the
native people. Increasing grievances over the denial of
civil rights, 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. Buddhist scholars and the Teetotalist Movement also played a vital role in this time. During
World War II, the island 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.
Independence
The formal ceremony marking the start of self rule, with the opening of the first parliament at
Independence Square.
Following the war, popular pressure for independence intensified. The office of
Prime Minister of Ceylon was created in advance of independence on 14 October 1947,
Don Stephen Senanayake being the first prime minister. On February 4, 1948 the country won its independence as the Commonwealth of Ceylon. On July 21, 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. In 1972, during Sirimavo Bandaranaike's second term as prime minister, the country became a
republic within the Commonwealth, and the name was changed to Sri Lanka. The island enjoyed good relations with the United Kingdom and had the
British Royal Navy stationed at Trincomalee.
Government and politics
The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, Colombo.
The
Constitution of Sri Lanka establishes a
democratic,
socialist republic in Sri Lanka, which is also a
unitary state. The government is a mixture of the
presidential system and the
parliamentary system. The
President of Sri Lanka is the
head of state, the
commander in chief of the
armed forces, as well as
head of government, and is popularly elected for a six-year term. In the exercise of duties, the President is responsible to the
Parliament of Sri Lanka, which is a
unicameral 225-member
legislature. The President appoints and heads a
cabinet of
ministers composed of elected
members of parliament. The President's deputy is the
Prime Minister, who leads the
ruling party in parliament and shares many executive responsibilities, mainly in domestic affairs.
[25] 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 July 1, 1960 the people of Sri Lanka elected 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 president from 1994 to 2005 for 2 consecutive terms. The current president and prime minister, both of whom took office on November 21, 2005, are
Mahinda Rajapaksa and
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake respectively.
Sri Lanka has enjoyed
democracy with
universal suffrage since 1931. Politics in Sri Lanka are controlled by rival coalitions led by the
left-wing Sri Lanka Freedom Party, headed by President Rajapaksa, the comparatively
right-wing United National Party led by former prime minister
Ranil Wickremesinghe and
JVP. There are also many smaller Buddhist, socialist and Tamil nationalist political parties that oppose the
separatism of the
LTTE but demand
regional autonomy and increased civil rights. 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.
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
The
Sri Lanka Armed Forces, comprising the
Sri Lanka Army, the
Sri Lanka Navy and the
Sri Lanka Air Force, comes under the
purview of the
Ministry of Defence (MoD). The total strength of the three services is around 230,000 active personnel who have voluntary joined, since
military draft have never been imposed in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka Armed Forces are currently in a fully mobilized (including reserves) state due to the ongoing
Sri Lankan Civil War against the
LTTE which is
proscribed as a
terrorist organization by
32 countries. In support of the armed forces there are two paramilitary units functioning under purview of the Ministry of Defence, which are the
Special Task Force and the
Civil Defence Force. Sri Lanka did not had a
Coast Guard service until Aug 10, 2009 and its Navy carried out such duties. Discussions were underway with respect to establishing a coast guard service.
[27] and on Aug 10, 2009 director-general of
Sri Lanka Department of Coast Guard Daya Dharmapriya officially announced the on behalf of the government the launching of the service.
[28]
Since independence from
Britain in 1948, the primary focus of the armed forces has been on internal security, due to three major insurgencies, most notably engaged in the 30-year long war with the
LTTE and finally claimed victory at 19 May 2009 after the death of
LTTE leader
Velupillai Prabhakaran which took place at 18 May 2009 by a Sri Lanka army attack.
Peace keeping
Even though its armed forces were then engaged in an internal conflict, Sri Lanka contributed with forces in international missions organised by the
United Nations, notably the
United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti and continue to contribute their forces to the United Nations
