SRI LANKA

officially Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Sinhalese Sri Lanka Prajathanthrika Samajavadi Janarajaya, formerly Ceylon island country lying in the Indian Ocean and separated from peninsular India by the Palk Strait. It has an area of 25,332 square miles (65,610 square kilometres), is located between latitudes 555 and 951 N and longitudes 7941 and 8153 E, and has a maximum length of 268 miles (432 kilometres) and a maximum width of 139 miles (224 kilometres). Proximity to the Indian subcontinent has facilitated close cultural interaction between Sri Lanka and India from ancient times. At a crossroads of maritime routes traversing the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka has also been exposed to cultural influences from other Asian civilizations. Ancient Greek geographers called it Taprobane. Arabs referred to it as Serendib. Later European mapmakers called it Ceylon, a name still used occasionally for trade purposes. It officially became Sri Lanka in 1972. The distinctive civilization of Sri Lanka, with roots that can be traced back to the 6th century BC, is characterized by two factors: the preservation of Theravada Buddhism (the orthodox school of Buddhism having its literary traditions in the Pali language) and the development over two millennia of a sophisticated system of irrigation in the drier parts of the country. This civilization was further enriched by the influences of Hinduism and Islam. In 1948, after nearly 150 years of British rule, Sri Lanka became an independent country, and it was admitted to the United Nations seven years later. The country is a member of the Commonwealth and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Colombo, which emerged as the main urban centre during British rule, remains the capital of Sri Lanka. For administrative purposes, the country has been divided into nine provinces and subdivided into 25 districts. Sri Lanka is densely populated. The majority of its people are poor, live in rural areas, and depend on agriculture for their livelihood. A physical environment of wide-ranging diversity makes Sri Lanka one of the world's most scenic countries. As the home of several ethnic groups, each with its own cultural heritage, Sri Lanka also has a highly varied cultural landscape. officially Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Sinhalese Sri Lanka Prajatantrika Samajavadi Janarajaya, formerly Ceylon, island country in the Indian Ocean, separated from the southeastern coast of peninsular India by Palk Strait. This pear-shaped island extends about 268 miles (432 km) from north to south and about 139 miles (224 km) from east to west. Its capital is Colombo. Area 25,332 square miles (65,610 square km). Pop. (1997 est.) 18,663,000. Additional reading General works Coverage of the geographic, economic, demographic, social, cultural, and historical aspects of the country is found in K.M. De Silva (ed.), Sri Lanka: A Survey (1977), a collection of studies; The National Atlas of Sri Lanka (1988), containing 59 maps accompanied by authoritative texts covering the same range of subjects; and Russell R. Ross and Andrea Matles Savada (eds.), Sri Lanka, a Country Study, 2nd ed. (1990). H.A.I. Goonetileke, A Bibliography of Ceylon, 5 vol. (197083), is a comprehensive annotated bibliography of writings on Sri Lanka in the Western languages from the 16th century onward. Geography As a basic geographic text on the country, Elsie Kathleen Cook, Ceylon: Its Geography, Its Resources, and Its People, 2nd ed., rev. by K. Kularatnam (1951), remains unsurpassed in detail and depth. B.H. Farmer, Ceylon, chapter 26 in O.H.K. Spate, A.T.A. Learmonth, and A.M. Learmonth, India and Pakistan, 3rd ed. rev. (1967); and B.L.C. Johnson and M.LeM. Scrivenor, Sri Lanka: Land, People, and Economy (1981), are other outstanding works of this genre. An elegant interpretation of the evolution of Sri Lanka's modern economy is presented in Donald R. Snodgrass, Ceylon: An Export Economy in Transition (1966). A. Jeyaratnam Wilson, Politics in Sri Lanka, 19471979, 2nd ed. (1979), provides a useful introduction to the subject. Further insights into the ethnic dimensions of the country's politics can be gained from K.M. De Silva, Managing Ethnic Tensions in Multi-Ethnic Societies: Sri Lanka, 18801985 (1986); and S.J. Tambiah, Sri Lanka: Ethnic Fratricide and the Dismantling of Democracy (1986). Gerald Hubert Peiris History Surveys of historical development include Sydney D. Bailey, Ceylon (1952), stronger on the period of Western impact than on early history; S. Arasaratnam, Ceylon (1964); S.A. Pakeman, Ceylon (1964); E.F.C. Ludowyk, The Story of Ceylon, 2nd ed. (1967); and K.M. De Silva, A History of Sri Lanka (1981), a comprehensive survey.Early history to 1500 is explored in G.C. Mendis, The Early History of Ceylon and Its Relations with India and Other Foreign Countries (1932, reprinted 1985), the first critical treatment of the pre-European period; C.W. Nicholas and S. Paranavitana, A Concise History of Ceylon (1961); Wilhelm Geiger, Culture of Ceylon in Mediaeval Times, ed. by Heinz Bechert (1960), a social history of the Sinhalese from the 5th century BC to the 15th century AD; Amaradasa Liyanagamage, The Decline of Polonnaruwa and the Rise of Dambadeniya, Circa 11801270 AD (1968), an authoritative study of a hitherto neglected period; and R.A.L.H. Gunawardana, Robe and Plough: Monasticism and Economic Interest in Early Medieval Sri Lanka (1979), an intensely analytical study of the development of Buddhist institutions in their economic context.Histories of the periods of Western impact, bringing the developments into the 20th century, include Tikiri Abeyasinghe, Portuguese Rule in Ceylon, 15941612 (1966); Chandra R. DeSilva, The Portuguese in Ceylon, 16171638 (1972), a detailed study; Sinnappah Arasaratnam, Dutch Power in Ceylon, 16581687 (1958, reprinted 1988), a study of political, economic, and social effects; Ralph Pieris, Sinhalese Social Organization: The Kandyan Period (1956), covering Kandyan society from the 16th to the 18th centuries; Lorna S. Dewaraja, A Study of the Political, Administrative, and Social Structure of the Kandyan Kingdom of Ceylon, 17071760 (1972), a pioneer study of the last independent Sinhalese kingdom; Kitsiri Malalgoda, Buddhism in Sinhalese Society, 17501900 (1976), a study of religious revival and change under the impact of colonialism; Lennox A. Mills, Ceylon Under British Rule, 17951932 (1933, reissued 1965); E.F.C. Ludowyk, The Modern History of Ceylon (1966), on the 19th and 20th centuries; and Michael Roberts, Caste Conflict and Elite Formation (1982), a study of the rise of Sri Lankan elites and intercaste relationships in the context of modernization, 15001931.The contemporary period is studied in W. Howard Wriggins, Ceylon: Dilemmas of a New Nation (1960, reissued 1980), an analysis of developments after independence; Robert N. Kearney, Communalism and Language in the Politics of Ceylon (1967); Calvin A. Woodward, The Growth of a Party System in Ceylon (1969); James Jupp, Sri Lanka: Third World Democracy (1978); Satchi Ponnambalam, Sri Lanka: National Conflict and the Tamil Liberation Struggle (1983), an explanation of the rise of Tamil militancy from a stridently Tamil point of view; Sri Lanka: Racism and the Authoritarian State, special issue no. 1 of Race & Class, vol. 26 (Summer 1984); James Manor (ed.), Sri Lanka in Change and Crisis (1984), a collection of essays on the 1983 communal riots, their causes and consequences; Chelvadurai Manogaran, Ethnic Conflict and Reconciliation in Sri Lanka (1987), a study of the conflict's geographic and economic roots; and A. Jeyaratnam Wilson, The Break-Up of Sri Lanka: The Sinhalese-Tamil Conflict (1988), a political and constitutional discussion. Sinnappah Arasaratnam Administration and social conditions Government A representative, democratic system of government has existed in Sri Lanka since the termination of British rule in 1948. Elections are regularly held, and citizens over 18 years of age may vote. Fairly contested elections have resulted in several orderly changes of government since independence. As provided for by the constitution of 1978, the government is headed by an executive president elected directly by popular vote from a national electorate. The president selects a cabinet of ministers and other noncabinet ministers from the parliament. The president is also the commander in chief of the armed forcesarmy, navy, and air force. The national parliament consists of more than 200 members. The system of proportional representation that operates at these elections ensures that the number of parliamentary seats secured by each party is roughly proportional to the number of votes received by the party at the polls. Among the political parties in Sri Lanka, the conservative United National Party and the more liberal Sri Lanka Freedom Party have dominated the political arena since independence. Successive governments have been led by one or the other of these two parties, which, at times, formed coalitions with the smaller parties. Sri Lanka's constitution provides for certain functions of government to be devolved to provincial councils (palath sabha). In addition, the country has a system of local government comprising municipal councils and urban councils. The independence of Sri Lanka's judiciary is protected by the constitution. The Supreme Court is the highest appellate court and the final arbiter in constitutional disputes. The Court of Appeal, High Court, district courts, magistrate's courts, and primary courts occupy, successively, the lower levels of the hierarchy. The common law of Sri Lanka is based largely on Roman-Dutch law. Principles drawn from indigenous legal traditions are applied to aspects of civil law concerning certain communities. Education The government controls the educational system and offers free education from primary schools through university levels and in certain professional and technical fields. The country has a relatively well-developed system of primary and secondary education with high rates of student enrollment in most parts of the country. More than 85 percent of the population is literate, giving Sir Lanka one of the highest literacy rates among developing countries. Tertiary education (including universities), however, caters to only the small proportion that completed secondary education. Formal higher education in the country has a strong academic bias, making the large majority of university graduates suitable for only a limited number of white-collar jobs; this has caused widespread frustration, especially among the educated unemployed youth. Major universities include the University of Ruhuna (1978); the University of Jaffna (1974); and the University of Kelaniya and the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, both of which were centres of Buddhist learning until they were elevated to university status in 1959. Cultural life Sri Lanka is a land of great cultural diversity. Religion pervades many aspects of life and constitutes a basic element of this diversity. Buddhist and Hindu temples, as well as mosques and churches, with their own colourful rituals, are the most readily visible features of the cultural landscape. Varying degrees of colonial impact, modernizing influences, and wealth and income add other shades to the cultural mosaic. The arts In architecture, sculpture, and painting, Sri Lanka's traditions extend far back into antiquity. The remnants of ancient works restored and preserved at archaeological sites, while reflecting Indian influences, also bear testimony to the inspiration derived from Buddhism. Classical literature, too, presents a blend of stylistic influences from India with Buddhist themes. Since the beginning of the 20th century, with the literati being exposed to European literature, local creative writing has acquired greater diversity in style and has become more secular in content. In the performing arts there are several Sinhalese and Tamil folk traditions and a host of recent imports and imitations. Among the folk dance forms, for example, one finds the highly refined Kandyan dancing, which has been associated over several centuries with state ceremony and religious ritual in and around the historic hill capital of Kandy. The more improvised devil dancing is performed at healing rites and exorcisms. In drama, modernized versions of folk theatre share the limelight with modern original works and adaptations from Western dramatists. Both Indian and Western influences are strongly apparent in the popular forms of music.