NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhalese:

, Tamil: இலங்கை; known as Ceylon before 1972) is an island nation in South Asia, located about 31 kilometers (18½ mi) off the southern coast of India. Popularly referred to as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean,^[2] it is home to around twenty million people. Ceylon is the former name of Sri Lanka, an island nation in Asia. ... Image File history File links Example. ... The Brahmic family is a family of abugidas (writing systems) used in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Tibet, Mongolia, Manchuria. ... Image File history File links SrilankaFont. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sri_Lanka. ... Image File history File links COA_of_Sri_Lanka. ... Flag ratio: 1:2 Flag of Ceylon from 1948-1951 Flag of Ceylon between 1951 and 1972 The Flag of Sri Lanka, also called the Lion Flag, consists of gold lion passant, holding a sword in its right fore paw, in front of a crimson background with four golden bo... This page may meet Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ... A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that is evoking and eulogising the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognised either by a countrys government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people. ... Sri Lanka Matha is the national anthem of Sri Lanka. ... Image File history File links Sri_Lanka_Matha. ... Image File history File links Sri_Lanka_Matha_in_Sinhala. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Not to be confused with capitol. ... Flag Seal Government District Kotte Division, Colombo District Mayor Swarnalatha Silva (United Peoples Freedom Alliance) Geographical characteristics Area City {{{area_total}}} kmÂ² Population City (2001) 115,826 ( 2001 census ) Metro 2,234,289 (Colombo metropolitan area) Time zone Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone (UTC+5:30) Sri Jayewardenapura-Kotte, (à·à·Šâ€à¶»à·“ à¶¢à¶ºà·€à¶»à·Šà¶°à¶±à¶´à·”à¶» à¶šà·à¶§à·Šà¶§à·š in... Map of Colombo with its administrative districts Coordinates: , District Colombo District Government - Mayor Uvaiz Mohammad Imitiyaz (Sri Lanka Freedom Party) Area - City 37. ... An official language is a language that is given a unique legal status in the countries, states, and other territories. ... a resource to look at current viewpoints Categories: Indo-Aryan languages | Languages of Sri Lanka | Wikipedia cleanup | Language stubs ... Tamil ( ; IPA ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. ... Democratic socialism is a political, economic and social ideal, which advocates socialism as a basis for the economy and democracy as a governing principle. ... Look up republic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The President of Sri Lanka is the head of state and dominant political figure in Sri Lanka. ... Percy Mahendra Mahinda Rajapaksa () (born November 18, 1945) is the current President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. ... The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka is the functional head of the Cabinet of Sri Lanka. ... Ratnasiri Wickremanayake (born on May 5, 1933) is the 14th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and a veteran politician. ... The recorded History of Sri Lanka boasts of 25 chronicled centuries. ... is the 35th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Look up republic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... is the 142nd day of the year (143rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the physical quantity. ... To help compare orders of magnitude of different geographical regions, we list here areas between 10,000 kmÂ² and 100,000 kmÂ². See also areas of other orders of magnitude. ... This is a list of the countries of the world sorted by area. ... A square mile is an English unit of area equal to that of a square with sides each 1 statute mile (â‰ˆ1,609 m) in length. ... Impact from a water drop causes an upward rebound jet surrounded by circular capillary waves. ... A percentage is a way of expressing a proportion, a ratio or a fraction as a whole number, by using 100 as the denominator. ... This is a list of countries ordered according to population. ... Population density per square kilometre by country, 2006 Population density map of the world in 1994. ... Population density by country, 2006 List of countries and dependencies by population density in inhabitants/kmÂ². The list includes sovereign states and self-governing dependent territories that are recognized by the United Nations. ... Gross domestic product (by purchasing power parity) in 2006 The purchasing power parity (PPP) theory was developed by Gustav Cassel in 1920. ... There are three lists of countries of the world sorted by their gross domestic product (GDP) (the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year). ... Per capita is a Latin phrase meaning for each head. ... Map of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita for the year 2006. ... Countries by nominal GDP. Source: IMF (2005) This article includes a list of countries of the world sorted by their gross domestic product (GDP), the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year. ... Per capita is a Latin phrase meaning for each head. ... Map of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita for the year 2006. ... Graphical representation of the Gini coefficient The Gini coefficient is a measure of inequality of income distribution or inequality of wealth distribution. ... World map indicating Human Development Index (2006). ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Coloured world map indicating Human Development Index (2006) (colour-blind compliant map) This is a list of countries by Human Development Index as included in the United Nations Development Programmes Human Development Report 2006, compiled on the basis of 2004 data. ... ISO 4217 Code LKR User(s) Sri Lanka Inflation rate 11. ... ISO 4217 is the international standard describing three letter codes (also known as the currency code) to define the names of currencies established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ... Timezone and TimeZone redirect here. ... â€œUTCâ€ redirects here. ... A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is a top-level domain used and reserved for a country or a dependent territory. ... .lk is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Sri Lanka. ... A telephone number is a sequence of decimal digits (0-9) that is used for identifying a destination telephone line in a telephone network. ... Country code: 94 // 0 aa o nnnnnn aa represents the area code. ... a resource to look at current viewpoints Categories: Indo-Aryan languages | Languages of Sri Lanka | Wikipedia cleanup | Language stubs ... Image File history File links Sri_lankava. ... Tamil ( ; IPA ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... An island nation is a country that is wholly confined to an island or islands. ... Map of South Asia (see note on Kashmir). ... â€œMilesâ€ redirects here. ...

Due to its location in the path of major sea routes, Sri Lanka is a strategic naval link between West Asia and South East Asia, and has been a center of Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times. Today, the country is a multi-religious and multi-ethnic nation, with a quarter of the population following faiths other than Buddhism, notably Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. The Sinhalese community forms the majority of the population, with Tamils, who are mostly concentrated in the north and east of the island, forming the largest ethnic minority. Other communities include the Muslim Moors and Malays as well as Burghers. A map showing Southwest Asia - The term Middle East is more often used to refer to both Southwest Asia and some North African countries Southwest Asia, or West Asia, is the southwestern part of Asia. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... A silhouette of a Buddha statue at Ayutthaya, Thailand. ... â€œAncientâ€ redirects here. ... Hinduism (known as in modern Indian languages[1]) is a religious tradition[2] that originated in the Indian subcontinent. ... Topics in Christianity Movements Â· Denominations Â· Other religions Ecumenism Â· Preaching Â· Prayer Music Â· Liturgy Â· Calendar Symbols Â· Art Â· Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul Â· Church Fathers Constantine Â· Athanasius Â· Augustine Anselm Â· Aquinas Â· Palamas Â· Luther Calvin Â· Wesley Arius Â· Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury Â· Catholic Pope Coptic Pope Â· Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box: Christianity is... For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ... Languages Sinhala Religions Theravada Buddhism, Christianity, small groups of atheists, agnostics, Muslims, others Related ethnic groups Indo-Aryans, Dravidians, Veddahs, Bengalis The Sinhalese are the main ethnic group of Sri Lanka. ... Tamil New Year Ethnic problems In India After independence, Tamilians felt they and their dravidian race were ignored by the North Indians. ... â€œMinorityâ€ redirects here. ... Islam in Sri Lanka is practiced entirely by Sri Lankan Muslims, who make up approximately 8% of the population, comprise a group of minorities practicing the religion of Islam in Sri Lanka. ... The concept of a Malay race was proposed by the German scientist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752-1840). ... The Burghers are a Eurasian ethnic group, historically from Sri Lanka, consisting for the most part of male-line descendants of European colonists from the 16th to 20th centuries (mostly Portuguese, Dutch and British) with local Sinhalese ancestry. ...

Famous for the production and export of tea, coffee, rubber and coconuts, Sri Lanka boasts a progressive and modern industrial economy. The natural beauty of Sri Lanka's tropical forests, beaches and landscape, as well as its rich cultural heritage, make it a world famous tourist destination. For other uses, see Tea (disambiguation). ... For the several U.S. counties named Coffee, see Coffee County. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... Binomial name Cocos nucifera L.. The Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera L.), is a member of the Family Arecaceae (palm family). ... The tropics are the geographic region of the Earth centered on the equator and limited in latitude by the two tropics: the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere. ... Cultural heritage (national heritage or just heritage) is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations. ... â€œTouristâ€ redirects here. ...

After over two thousand years of rule by local kingdoms, parts of Sri Lanka were colonized by Portugal and the Netherlands beginning in the 16th century, before the control of the entire country was ceded to the British Empire in 1815. During World War II Sri Lanka served as an important base for Allied forces in the fight against the Japanese Empire.^[3] A nationalist political movement arose in the country in the early 20th century, with the aim of obtaining political independence, which was eventually granted by the British after peaceful negotiations in 1948. Since then Sri Lanka has enjoyed a stable democracy^[4] and continuous economic progress,^[5]^[6] despite the ongoing conflict with a separatist militant group known as the Tamil Tigers in northeastern parts of the country. The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Look up ally in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Anthem Kimi ga Yo Imperial Reign Capital Tokyo Government Constitutional monarchy Emperor - 1868â€“1912 Emperor Meiji - 1912â€“1926 Emperor TaishÅ - 1926â€“1989 Emperor ShÅwa Prime Minister (many other Prime Ministers preceded the below list) - 1916â€“1918 Count Masatake Terauchi - 1937-1939, 1940-1941 Prince Fumimaro Konoe - 1941â€“1944 Hideki... The Sri Lanka independence struggle against British imperial rule was often dormant, but eventually succeeded in winning a form of independence for Sri Lanka in 1948. ... Almost every adult living today is aware of the phenomenon of economic progress. ... Combatants Military of Sri Lanka Indian Peace Keeping Force Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Commanders Junius Richard Jayawardene (1983-89) Ranasinghe Premadasa (1989-93) Dingiri Banda Wijetunge (1993-94) Chandrika Kumaratunga (1994-2005) Mahinda Rajapaksa (2005-present) Velupillai Prabhakaran (1983-present) Strength 111,000[1] 11,000[1] The Sri... LTTE is an acronym or initialism for: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Known for their guerilla warfare forcibly killing every other independent groups aiming for seperate state. ...

Name

In ancient times, Sri Lanka was known by a variety of names: ancient Greek geographers called it Taprobane^[7] and Arabs referred to it as Serendib (the origin of the word "serendipity").^[8] Ceilão was the name given to Sri Lanka by the Portuguese when they arrived on the island in 1505,^[9] which was transliterated into English as Ceylon.^[10] 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, iˈlaŋgai). In 1978 it was changed to "Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka".^[11] Sri Lanka is a country that has been known by many names. ... Geographical renaming is the act of changing the name of a geographical feature or area. ... Languages Arabic other minority languages Religions Predominantly Sunni Islam, as well as Shia Islam, Greek Orthodoxy, Greek Catholicism, Roman Catholicism, Alawite Islam, Druzism, Ibadi Islam, and Judaism Footnotes a Mainly in Antakya. ... Look up Serendipity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Name (disambiguation). ... Mohandas K. Gandhi - Freedom can be achieved through inner sovereignty. ... â€œSovereignâ€ redirects here. ... Look up republic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... a resource to look at current viewpoints Categories: Indo-Aryan languages | Languages of Sri Lanka | Wikipedia cleanup | Language stubs ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 104 Ã— 27 pixelsFull resolution (104 Ã— 27 pixel, file size: 4 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) The name Sri Lanka rendered in Sinhalese script. ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the â€œInternational Phonetic Alphabetâ€. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the â€œInternational Phonetic Alphabetâ€. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... Tamil ( ; IPA ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. ... Democratic socialism is a political, economic and social ideal, which advocates socialism as a basis for the economy and democracy as a governing principle. ...

The current name is derived from Sanskrit word laṃkā, meaning "resplendent land",^[12] which was also the name of the island as described in the ancient Indian epics Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Sanskrit ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... For the film by Peter Brook, see The Mahabharata (1989 film). ... For the television series by Ramanand Sagar, see Ramayan (TV series). ...

History

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.^[13] 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. The recorded History of Sri Lanka boasts of 25 chronicled centuries. ... Image File history File links Vijay_landing. ... Image File history File links Vijay_landing. ... This article cites its sources but does not provide page references. ... The recorded History of Sri Lanka boasts of 25 chronicled centuries. ... // Palaeolithic During the last one million years, when humans are known to have existed in various parts of India (v. ... The recorded History of Sri Lanka boasts of 25 chronicled centuries. ... The following is a list of rulers of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) since 505 BC. The main source for many of these monarchs are the chronicles of the Panduvasdeva c. ... The recorded History of Sri Lanka boasts of 25 chronicled centuries. ... The Sri Lanka independence struggle against British imperial rule was often dormant, but eventually succeeded in winning a form of independence for Sri Lanka in 1948. ... The recorded History of Sri Lanka boasts of 25 chronicled centuries. ... Combatants Military of Sri Lanka Indian Peace Keeping Force Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Commanders Junius Richard Jayawardene (1983-89) Ranasinghe Premadasa (1989-93) Dingiri Banda Wijetunge (1993-94) Chandrika Kumaratunga (1994-2005) Mahinda Rajapaksa (2005-present) Velupillai Prabhakaran (1983-present) Strength 111,000[1] 11,000[1] The Sri... // The Paleolithic is a prehistoric era distinguished by the development of stone tools. ... Anthropology (from Greek: á¼€Î½Î¸ÏÏ‰Ï€Î¿Ï‚, anthropos, human being; and Î»ÏŒÎ³Î¿Ï‚, logos, knowledge) is the study of humanity. ... South India is a linguistic-cultural region of India that comprises the four states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and the two Union Territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry, whose inhabitants are collectively referred to as South Indians. ... For the television series by Ramanand Sagar, see Ramayan (TV series). ... A depiction of Ravana, Hindu rakshasa King of Lanka In Hinduism, Ravana; sometimes transliterated as Raavana or Ravan or Revana) is the principal antagonist of Rama in the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. ... Lanka is the name given in Hindu mythology to the island fortress capital of the evil king Ravana in the epic Ramayana. ... Vishwakarma is the presiding deity of all craftsmen and architects. ... Kubera (also Kuvera or Kuber) is the god of wealth and the lord of Uttaradisha in Hindu mythology. ... Sir James Emerson Tennent, 1st Baronet (7 April 1804â€“6 March 1869), born James Emerson, was an English politician and traveller. ... Galle (à¶œà·à¶½à·Šà¶½ in Sinhala; à®•à®¾à®²à®¿ in Tamil) (pronounced as one syllable, rhyming with Gaul in English, in Sinhalese, IPA /gaËlËÉ™/) is a town situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. ... Tarshish occurs in the Hebrew Bible with these meanings: One of the sons of Javan. ... It has been suggested that Sulayman be merged into this article or section. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Peacock re-directs here; for alternate uses see Peacock (disambiguation). ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, SiddhÄrtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... Mahavansa The Mahavansa (or Mahavamsa - Great Chronicle) was written in the 5th century CE and records the history of Sri Lanka after it became a Buddhist country in the 3rd century BCE. External links Online text of the Mahavansa ... The Dipavamsa (Island Chronicle in Pali) is the oldest historical record of Sri Lanka, believed to be compiled in the 4th century. ...

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. Dravidian people may have begun migrating to the island from the pre-historic period. 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) The Wanniyala-Aetto, or forest beings, perhaps more commonly known as Veddas or Veddahs (transliteration of à·€à·à¶¯à·Šà¶¯à· in Sinhalese, IPA vÃ¦Ã°Ã°É‘Ë) are an indigenous people of Sri Lanka, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. ... Sinhalese or Sinhala (à·ƒà·’à¶‚à·„à¶½, ISO 15919: , IPA: [], earlier referred to as Singhalese) is the mother tongue of the Sinhalese, the largest ethnic group of Sri Lanka. ... Sindh (SindhÄ«: Ø³Ù†ÚŒ, UrdÅ«: Ø³Ù†Ø¯Ú¾) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhis. ... This article is for the Indian state. ... For other uses, see Dravidian (disambiguation). ... Stonehenge, England, erected by Neolithic peoples ca. ... An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been investigated using the discipline of archaeology. ... Sigiriya is an archeological site in Central Sri Lanka. ... Look up Public works in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Ashokan Reservoir, located in Ulster County, New York, USA. It is one of 19 that supplies New York City with drinking water. ... For other uses, see Aqueduct (disambiguation). ... Category: ... The 4th century BC started the first day of 400 BC and ended the last day of 301 BC. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period. ... Binomial name J.Presl Cassia (Chinese cinnamon) is also commonly called (and sometimes sold as) cinnamon. ... â€œBCEâ€ redirects here. ... Queen Anula (47 - 42 BCE) of Sri Lanka is believed to have been the earliest known female monarch in Asia. ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC - 40s BC - 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC 0s Years: 52 BC 51 BC 50 BC 49 BC 48 BC 47 BC 46 BC 45 BC 44 BC... Events October 3 - First Battle of Philippi: The Triumvirs Mark Antony and Octavian fight an indecisive battle with Caesars assassins Marcus Junius Brutus and Cassius. ...

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. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 594 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (1141 Ã— 1151 pixel, file size: 462 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 594 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (1141 Ã— 1151 pixel, file size: 462 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... The Chola Dynasty (Tamil: , IPA: ) was a Tamil dynasty that ruled primarily in southern India until the 13th century. ... The Pandyan kingdom was an ancient state at the tip of South India, founded around the 6th century BCE. It was part of the Dravidian cultural area, which also comprised other kingdoms such as that of the Pallava, the Chera, the Chola, the Chalukya and the Vijayanagara. ... The Chera dynasty (Tamil: à®šà¯‡à®°à®°à¯) was one of the ancient Tamil dynasties that ruled southern India from ancient times until around the fifteenth century CE. The Early Cheras ruled over the Malabar Coast, Coimbatore, Karur and Salem Districts in South India, which now forms part of the modern day Kerala and... Pallava Dynasty (300s-early 900s) were the rulers of the northern part of what is now the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India. ... Kalinga in 265 B.C. Kalinga was an ancient Indo-Aryan kingdom of central-eastern India, in the province of Orissa. ... , Orissa (Oriya: à¬“à¬¡à¬¼à¬¿à¬¶à¬¾), is a state situated on the east coast of India. ... The Malay Peninsula (Malay: Semenanjung Tanah Melayu) is a major peninsula located in Southeast Asia. ... A silhouette of a Buddha statue at Ayutthaya, Thailand. ... (4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events The first two Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome over dominance in western Mediterranean Rome conquers Spain Great Wall of China begun Indian traders regularly visited Arabia Scythians occupy... A Buddhist Monk in Sri Lanka In PÄli, a bhikkhu (male) or bhikkhuni (female) is a fully ordained Buddhist monk. ... Mahinda was the son of Emperor Ashoka. ... The Mauryan empire (321 to 185 BCE), at its largest extent around 230 BCE. The Mauryan empire was Indias first great unified empire. ... Allegiance: Magadhan Empire Rank: Emperor Succeeded by: Dasaratha Maurya Reign: 273 BC-232 BC Place of birth: Pataliputra, India Battles/Wars Kalinga War Emperor Ashoka the Great (Devanagari: à¤…à¤¶à¥‹à¤•(:); IAST transliteration: , pronunciation: ) (304 BCâ€“232 BC) (Imperial Title:Devanampiya Piyadassi ie He who is the beloved of the Gods who, in... Tissa, later Devanampiyatissa, c. ... Category: ... There are many divisions and subdivisions of the schools of Buddhism. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ...

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 the 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. Hapag-Lloyd Container ship Container ship A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... For other uses of this term see: Persia (disambiguation) The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ... Map of South Asia (see note on Kashmir). ... LourenÃ§o de Almeida (died 1508[1]), son of Francisco de Almeida, acting under him, distinguished himself in the Indian seas, and made Ceylon tributary to Portugal. ... A portrait of Francisco de Almeida in the National Museum of Ancient Art. ... The Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy Kandy (à¶¸à·„à¶±à·”à·€à¶»/ à·ƒà·™à¶‚à¶šà¶©à¶œà¶½ in Sinhala, à®•à®£à¯à®Ÿà®¿ in Tamil) is the name used by British invaders for the city of Senkadagala (Mahanuwara) in the centre of Sri Lanka. ... , District Government - Mayor Swarnalatha Silva (Sri Lanka Freedom Party) Area - City 17 kmÂ² (6. ... Jaffna District. ... The Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy Kandy (à¶¸à·„à¶±à·”à·€à¶»/ à·ƒà·™à¶‚à¶šà¶©à¶œà¶½ in Sinhala, à®•à®£à¯à®Ÿà®¿ in Tamil) is the name used by British invaders for the city of Senkadagala (Mahanuwara) in the centre of Sri Lanka. ... The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was the first joint-stock company (the Dutch East India Company was the first to issue public stock). ... A United Kingdom overseas territory (formerly known as a dependent territory or earlier as a crown colony) is a territory that is under the sovereignty and formal control of the United Kingdom but is not part of the United Kingdom proper (Great Britain and Northern Ireland). ... Anthem God Save The Queen/King British India, circa 1860 Capital Calcutta (1858-1912), New Delhi (1912-1947) Language(s) Hindi, Urdu, English and many others Government Monarchy Emperor of India - 1877-1901 Victoria - 1901-1910 Edward VII - 1910-1936 George V - January-December 1936 Edward VIII - 1936-1947 George...

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. 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. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Tea (disambiguation). ... Binomial name J.Presl Cassia (Chinese cinnamon) is also commonly called (and sometimes sold as) cinnamon. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about sugar as food and as an important and widely-traded commodity. ... For the several U.S. counties named Coffee, see Coffee County. ... Indigo is the color on the spectrum between about 450 and 420 nm in wavelength, placing it between blue and violet. ... An Indentured servant is an unfree labourer under contract to work (for a specified amount of time) for another person, often without any pay, but in exchange for accommodation, food, other essentials and/or free passage to a new country. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... Map of Colombo with its administrative districts Coordinates: , District Colombo District Government - Mayor Uvaiz Mohammad Imitiyaz (Sri Lanka Freedom Party) Area - City 37. ... The term indigenous people has no universal, standard or fixed definition, but can be used about any ethnic group who inhabit the geographic region with which they have the earliest historical connection. ... Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ... The Sri Lanka independence struggle against British imperial rule was often dormant, but eventually succeeded in winning a form of independence for Sri Lanka in 1948. ... The Youth Leagues were societies of young people, mainly intellectuals, who wanted independence for Sri Lanka. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by and/or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. ...

Following the war, popular pressure for independence intensified. On February 4, 1948 the country won its independence as the Commonwealth of Ceylon. Don Stephen Senanayake became the first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. In 1972, the country became a republic within the Commonwealth, and the name was changed to Sri Lanka. On July 21, 1960 Sirimavo Bandaranaike took office as prime minister, and became the first female head of government in post-colonial Asia and the first female prime minister in the world. The island enjoyed good relations with the United Kingdom and had the British Royal Navy stationed at Trincomalee. is the 35th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... D.S. Senanayake Don Stephen Senanayake (October 20, 1884â€“22 March 1952) was an independence activist who formed the Sri Lankan United National Party. ... The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka is the functional head of the Cabinet of Sri Lanka. ... The Commonwealth republics, shown in pink A Commonwealth republic is any one of the 31 sovereign states of the Commonwealth of Nations that have a republican form of government. ... is the 202nd day of the year (203rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike (April 17, 1916 - October 10, 2000) was a politician from Sri Lanka. ... The head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. ... This article is about the navy of the United Kingdom. ...

Since 1983, there has been on-and-off civil war, predominantly between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers), a separatist militant organization who fight to create an independent state named Tamil Eelam in the North and East of the island. Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ... Combatants Military of Sri Lanka Indian Peace Keeping Force Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Commanders Junius Richard Jayawardene (1983-89) Ranasinghe Premadasa (1989-93) Dingiri Banda Wijetunge (1993-94) Chandrika Kumaratunga (1994-2005) Mahinda Rajapaksa (2005-present) Velupillai Prabhakaran (1983-present) Strength 111,000[1] 11,000[1] The Sri... The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), commonly known as the Tamil Tigers, is a militant Tamil nationalist organization that has wage a violent secessionist campaign against the Sri Lankan government since the 1970s in order to create a separate Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka... â€œSeparatistsâ€ redirects here. ... Area of Sri Lanka claimed for Tamil Eelam Political status Unrecognized state Languages Tamil (de facto official) English Capital Trincomalee[1][2] Time zone UTC +5:30 Tamil Eelam (Tamil: à®¤à®®à®¿à®´à¯ à®ˆà®´à®®à¯, tamiá¸» Ä«á¸»am) is the name given by Tamil separatists to the independent state to which they aspire in the Northern... Northern Province is a province of Sri Lanka. ... Eastern Province is a province of Sri Lanka. ...

Geography and climate

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.^[14] 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.^[14] According to colonial British reports, this is a natural causeway which was formerly complete, but was breached by a violent storm in 1480.^[15] 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 pear-shaped island consists mostly of flat-to-rolling coastal plains, with mountains rising only in the south-central part. Amongst these are Sri Pada (Adams Peak) and the highest point Pidurutalagala, at 2,524 meters (8,281 ft). The Mahaweli ganga (Mahaweli river) and other major rivers provide fresh water to the population.^[16] This article needs to be updated. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Look up Bay of Bengal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Arabian Sea (Arabic: Ø¨ØØ± Ø§Ù„Ø¹Ø±Ø¨; transliterated: Bahr al-Arab) is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui, the north-east point of Somalia... Map of South Asia (see note) This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia. ... The Gulf of Mannar is an arm of the Indian Ocean, lying between the southern tip of India and the west coast of Sri Lanka at a width of between 160 and 200 km (100 to 125 mi). ... The Palk Strait is a 40-85 mi (64-137 km) wide strait that lies between Indias Tamil Nadu state and the island nation of Sri Lanka. ... Hindu mythology is a term used by modern scholarship for a large body of Indian literature that details the lives and times of legendary personalities, deities and divine incarnations on earth interspersed with often large sections of philosophical and ethical discourse. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Ramas Bridge, also called Nalas Bridge and Adams Bridge is a chain of limestone shoals, between the islands of Mannar, near northwestern Sri Lanka, and Rameswaram, off the southeastern coast of India. ... Rama ( in IAST, in DevanÄgarÄ«) or Ramachandra is a legendary or historical king of ancient India. ... Vanara is a Sanskrit word literally meaning monkey or inhabitants of forests=like the primitive tribes (probably vaanar as pronounced in hindi). ... Nala is a character in Hindu mythology. ... Map of Adams Bridge and environs Landsat 5 image of Adams Bridge Adams Bridge also known as Ram Setu (from Sanskrit:)[1] meaning Ramas Bridge, is a chain of limestone shoals, between the islands of Mannar, near northwestern Sri Lanka, and Rameswaram, off the southeastern coast... For considerations of sea level change, in particular rise associated with possible global warming, see sea level rise. ... The Hindenburgdamm rail causeway across the Wadden Sea to the island of Sylt in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany In modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway elevated by a bank, usually across a broad body of water or wetland. ... Violent Storm is an arcade beat em up game by Konami. ... This article is about temple town. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Sri Pada, also known as Adams Peak or Adams Mount, is a 2,243 metre (7,360 feet) tall, conical, mountain located in central Sri Lanka. ... Pidurutalagala (IPA ËŒpidurutaËˆlaËgÉ™lÉ™ literally straw plateau rock, also known as Mount Pedro) is a mountain in the central hill-country of Sri Lanka, close to the city of Nuwara Eliya. ... The metre, or meter (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... Mahaweli Ganga is the longest river in Sri Lanka. ...

Sri Lanka's climate can be described as tropical, and quite hot. Its position between 5 and 10 north latitude endows the country with a warm climate, moderated by ocean winds and considerable moisture.^[17] The mean temperature ranges from a low of 16 °C (61 °F) in Nuwara Eliya in the Central Highlands (where frost may occur for several days in the winter) to a high of 32 °C (90 °F) in Trincomalee on the northeast coast (where temperatures may reach 38 /Expression error: Unexpected round operator °C). The average yearly temperature for the country as a whole ranges from 28° to 30 °C (82–86°F). Day and night temperatures may vary by 4 to 7°C (7–13°F). In January, the coolest month, 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 the monsoon winds of the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, which encounter the slopes of the Central Highlands, they unload heavy rains on the mountain slopes and the southwestern sector of the island. Some of the windward slopes receive up to 2,500 millimetres (98 in) of rain per 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. At Colombo, for example, daytime humidity stays above 70% all year, rising to almost 90 percent 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%. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (3000x5200, 3344 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Sri Lanka ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (3000x5200, 3344 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Sri Lanka ... Nuwara Eliya Town Square A temple to Hanuman near Nuwara Eliya A tea plantation near Nuwara Eliya A waterfall located in the surroundings of Nuwara Eliya Nuwara Eliya (Sinhala à¶±à·”à·€à¶»à¶‘à·…à·’à¶º Tamil à®¨à¯à®µà®°à¯‡à®²à®¿à®¯à®¾)(pronounced approximately ), meaning the city in the open plain (table land)in the hills, is a town in Sri Lanka. ... Municipality of Central Highlands The Municipality of Central Highlands is a local government area of Tasmania. ... A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, â€³ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... Cyclone Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004 Hurricane and Typhoon redirect here. ... Bold text[[ // [[Image:Media:Example. ...

Flora and fauna

The mountains and the southwestern part of the country, known as the "wet zone," receive ample rainfall (an annual average of 2500 millimetres). Most of the southeast, east, and northern parts of the country comprise the "dry zone," which receives between 1200 and 1900 mm (47–75 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, and all living creatures must conserve precious moisture. The arid northwest and southeast coasts receive the least amount of rain — 600 to 1200 mm (24–47 in) per year — However, though many say that there are no really dry areas in Sri Lanka, there are many pockets of very dry and abandoned areas where there is little to no rainwater. 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, and mahogany. 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. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 232 KB)[edit] Summary mountain forest srilanka. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 232 KB)[edit] Summary mountain forest srilanka. ... The Ecology of Sri Lanka is unique, caused by its geographical position and by its geological and climatic history. ... For other uses, see Acacia (disambiguation). ... The Jaffna Peninsula is an area in Northern Sri Lanka , where the underground water is used for purpose such as Drinking, Agricultural and Industries. ... Satinwood is a tropical wood from the tree species Chloroxylon swietenia. ... Binomial name Diospyros ebenum Koenig ex Retz. ... Ironwood may refer to the following: Any particular wood that has a reputation for hardness. ... This article is about the timber. ... Evergreen forest are the forest with trees that retain green foliage all year round. ...

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 one-third of the land.^[18] As the area covered by forests declined, thereby threatening various species of wildlife, Sri Lanka became the first country in the world to establish a wildlife sanctuary.^[19] Among them, the Ruhunu 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 km² (730 sq mi) as national parks. The island has three biosphere reserves, Hurulu, Sinharaja, and the Kanneliya-Dediyagala-Nakiyadeniya. For the usage in virology, see temperate (virology). ... An animal sanctuary is a place where animals can come to live and be protected for the rest of their lives. ... Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada A national park is a reserve of land, usually, but not always (see National Parks of England and Wales), declared and owned by a national government, protected from most human development and pollution. ... A biosphere reserve is an international conservation designation given by UNESCO under its Programme on Man and the Biosphere (MAB). ... ...

The national flower of Sri Lanka is Nil Manel (Nymphaea stelleta),^[20] the national tree is Na (Mesua nagassarium)^[21] and the national bird is the Sri Lanka Junglefowl, which is endemic to the country.^[22] Binomial name Mesua ferrea L. Synonyms Mesua coromandelina Wight Mesua nagassarium (Burm. ... Binomial name Gallus lafayetii Lesson, 1831 The Sri Lanka Junglefowl, Gallus lafayetii, is a member of the pheasant family which is endemic to Sri Lanka. ... Endemic, in a broad sense, can mean belonging or native to, characteristic of, or prevalent in a particular geography, race, field, area, or environment; Native to an area or scope. ...

Government and politics

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. Image File history File linksMetadata Supreme_Court_Colombo. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Supreme_Court_Colombo. ... Politics of Sri Lanka takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Sri Lanka is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ... The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the official document that outlines the fundamental laws and the structure of government in the island nation of Sri Lanka. ... Democracy is a form of government under which the power to alter the laws and structures of government lies, ultimately, with the citizenry. ... Socialism is a social and economic system (or the political philosophy advocating such a system) in which the economic means of production are owned and controlled collectively by the people. ... Look up republic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A map showing the unitary states. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The President of Sri Lanka is the head of state and dominant political figure in Sri Lanka. ... For the comedy film of the same name, see Head of State (film). ... A Commander-in-Chief is the commander of a nations military forces or significant element of those forces. ... The Military of Sri Lanka consists of Three Branches which are the Army, Navy, Air Force which comes under the Ministry of Defence. ... The head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. ... The Parliament of Sri Lanka is a Unicameral 225-member legislature elected by universal suffrage and proportional representation for a six-year term. ... Unicameralism is the practice of having only one legislative or parliamentary chamber. ... A legislature is a type of representative deliberative assembly with the power to adopt laws. ... A cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. ... A minister or a secretary is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka is the functional head of the Cabinet of Sri Lanka. ... The ruling party in a parliamentary system is the party or coalition of the majority in parliament. ...

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 multiple terms as prime minister and as president from 1999 to 2005. The current president and prime minister, both of whom took office on November 21, 2005, are Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ratnasiri Wickremanayake respectively. Proportional representation (sometimes referred to as full representation, or PR), is a category of electoral formula aiming at a close match between the percentage of votes that groups of candidates (grouped by a certain measure) obtain in elections and the percentage of seats they receive (usually in legislative assemblies). ... is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike (April 17, 1916 - October 10, 2000) was a politician from Sri Lanka. ... Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (born 29 June 1945) was the fifth President (and fourth to hold the office as Executive president) of Sri Lanka (12 November 1994 - 19 November 2005). ... is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Percy Mahendra Mahinda Rajapaksa () (born November 18, 1945) is the current President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. ... Ratnasiri Wickremanayake (born on May 5, 1933) is the 14th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and a veteran politician. ...

Sri Lanka has enjoyed the longest period of continuous multi-party democracy with universal suffrage in a non-western country (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 Marxist 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. Since the 1980s, the army has led the government response against the Marxist militants of the JVP and now the LTTE militant forces. Sri Lanka receives considerable military assistance from Pakistan and China ^[23]. Elections Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box: Universal suffrage (also general suffrage or common suffrage) consists of the extension of the right to vote to all adults, without distinction as to race, sex, belief, intelligence, or economic or social status. ... Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... In politics, left-wing, political left, leftism, or simply the left, are terms which refer (with no particular precision) to the segment of the political spectrum typically associated with any of several strains of socialism, social democracy, or liberalism (especially in the American sense of the word), or with opposition... The Sri Lanka Freedom Party is one of the major political parties in Sri Lanka. ... In politics, right-wing, the political right, or simply the right, are terms which refer, with no particular precision, to the segment of the political spectrum in opposition to left-wing politics. ... The United National Party, often referred to as the UNP Sinhalese: à¶‘à¶šà·Šà·ƒà¶à·Š à¶¢à·à¶à·’à¶š à¶´à¶šà·Šà·‚à¶º (pronounced Eksath Jathika Pakshaya), Tamil: à®à®•à¯à®•à®¿à®¯ à®¤à¯‡à®šà®¿à®¯à®•à¯ à®•à®Ÿà¯à®šà®¿), is a leading political party in Sri Lanka. ... Ranil Wickremesinghe was Prime Minister of Sri Lanka during 1993-1994, and 2001-2004 Ranil Shriyan Wickremasinghe (born March 24, 1949) is a popular Sri Lankan politician. ... Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ... The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (Sinhala janatÄ vimukti peramuá¹‡a, Peoples Liberation Front) is a nationalist Marxist political party in Sri Lanka. ... â€œSeparatistsâ€ redirects here. ... LTTE is an acronym or initialism for: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Known for their guerilla warfare forcibly killing every other independent groups aiming for seperate state. ... Regional autonomy is the term for the de-centralisation of governance to outlying regions. ... The Commonwealth of Nations as of 2006 Headquarters Marlborough House, London, UK Official languages English Membership 53 sovereign states Leaders - Queen Elizabeth II - Secretary-General Don McKinnon (since 1 April 2000) Establishment - Balfour Declaration 18 November 1926 - Statute of Westminster 11 December 1931 - London Declaration 28 April 1949 Area - Total... UN and U.N. redirect here. ... Member states of the Non-Aligned Movement (2005). ... The Colombo Plan began in 1951, and is a regional organisation focused on social development. ... â€œAPECâ€ redirects here. ... Afghanistan Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka Headquarters Kathmandu, Nepal Statistics Area - Total 7th if ranked 5,130,746 kmÂ² Population - Total (2004) - Density 1st if ranked 1,467,255,669 285. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... The Non-Aligned Movement, or NAM is an international organization of over 100 states which consider themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. ... A current understanding of Western Europe. ... The Military of Sri Lanka consists of Three Branches which are the Army, Navy, Air Force which comes under the Ministry of Defence. ... Sri Lankan Army Flag The Sri Lankan Army is a branch of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces with the responsbility of overseeing land-based operations. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Sri Lanka Air Force is the Airborne Wing of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces, and its key role is to provide tacical support to naval and land divisions. ... Ministry of Defence (Sri Lanka) The President of Sri Lanka and Minister of Defence, Public Security, Law & Order Hon. ... Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ... The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (Sinhala janatÄ vimukti peramuá¹‡a, Peoples Liberation Front) is a nationalist Marxist political party in Sri Lanka. ...

Sri Lanka traditionally follows a nonaligned foreign policy but has been seeking closer relations with the United States since December 1977. ... The Military of Sri Lanka consists of Three Branches which are the Army, Navy, Air Force which comes under the Ministry of Defence. ...

Administrative divisions

Sri Lanka is divided into 9 provinces^[24] and 25 districts.^[25] Each province is administered by a directly-elected provincial council: Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1281x880, 22 KB) en: Provinces of Sri Lanka. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1281x880, 22 KB) en: Provinces of Sri Lanka. ... Sri Lanka is divided into eight provinces for the purposes of local governance. ... Below the provinces Sri Lanka is divided into 25 administrative districts. ... Sri Lanka is divided into eight provinces for the purposes of local governance. ... Below the provinces Sri Lanka is divided into 25 administrative districts. ...

The districts are further subdivided into Divisional Secretariats, and these in turn to Grama Sevaka divisions. The Central Province of Sri Lanka consists primarily of mountainous terrain. ... The Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy Kandy (à¶¸à·„à¶±à·”à·€à¶»/ à·ƒà·™à¶‚à¶šà¶©à¶œà¶½ in Sinhala, à®•à®£à¯à®Ÿà®¿ in Tamil) is the name used by British invaders for the city of Senkadagala (Mahanuwara) in the centre of Sri Lanka. ... Kandy is a district of Sri Lanka. ... This article is about the district in Sri Lanka. ... This article is about the district in Sri Lanka. ... North Central Province is a province of Sri Lanka. ... Anuradhapura, ( in Sinhala), is one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, world famous for its well preserved ruins of the Great Sri Lankan Civilization. ... This article is about the district in Sri Lanka. ... This article is about the district in Sri Lanka. ... Northern Province is a province of Sri Lanka. ... Jaffna District. ... Jaffna is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka and is located in the Northern tip of Sri Lanka. ... This article is about the district in Sri Lanka. ... Mannar District. ... This article is about the district in Sri Lanka. ... This article is about the district in Sri Lanka. ... Eastern Province is a province of Sri Lanka. ... Trincomalee District Map Trincomalee (Tamil: (Thirukonamalai, hist: Sirigonakanda); Sinhala: (Thirikunamalaya)) is a port city on the northeast coast of Sri Lanka, about 110 miles northeast of Kandy. ... This article is about the district in Sri Lanka. ... This article is about the district in Sri Lanka. ... This article is about the district in Sri Lanka. ... Wayamba Province in Sri Lanka North Western Province, or Wayamba as it is known in Sri Lanka is a province of Sri Lanka. ... The 88 feet giant Buddha Statue on top of the Ethagala. ... Kurunegala is a district of Sri Lanka. ... Puttalam is a district of Sri Lanka. ... The Southern Province of Sri Lanka is a small geographic area consisting of the districts of Galle, Matara and Hambantota. ... Galle (à¶œà·à¶½à·Šà¶½ in Sinhala; à®•à®¾à®²à®¿ in Tamil) (pronounced as one syllable, rhyming with Gaul in English, in Sinhalese, IPA /gaËlËÉ™/) is a town situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. ... Galle is a district of Sri Lanka. ... This article is about the district in Sri Lanka. ... This article is about the district in Sri Lanka. ... Uva Province, Sri Lanka Uva is Sri Lankas second least populated province, with 1,187,335 people, created in 1896. ... Badulla (?? in Sinhala; à®ªà®¤à¯à®³à¯ˆ in Tamil) is the capital of Uva Province, Sri Lanka. ... This article is about the district in Sri Lanka. ... Moneragala District Moneragala is a district in Uva Province, Sri Lanka. ... Sabaragamuwa is a province of Sri Lanka, and contains two main cities: Ratnapura and Kegalle. ... Ratnapura (à¶»à¶à·Šà¶±à¶´à·”à¶» in Sinhala; à®‡à®°à®¤à¯à®¤à®¿à®©à®ªà¯à®°à®¿ in Tamil) (City of Gems in Sinhala & Tamil) is the name of the provincial capital of Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka and the district in which the town is situated. ... This article is about the district in Sri Lanka. ... This article is about the district in Sri Lanka. ... The western province is the most densely populated part of Sri Lanka. ... Map of Colombo with its administrative districts Coordinates: , District Colombo District Government - Mayor Uvaiz Mohammad Imitiyaz (Sri Lanka Freedom Party) Area - City 37. ... Colombo is a district of Sri Lanka. ... This article is about the district in Sri Lanka. ... Kalutara is a district of Sri Lanka. ...

Economy

In the nineteenth and twentieth 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. Image File history File linksMetadata Wtccolombo. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Wtccolombo. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2592x1944, 1190 KB) Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2592x1944, 1190 KB) Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This article is about Black tea from Sri Lanka. ... With an economy of $27. ... A plantation economy is an economy which is based on agricultural mass production, usually of a few staple products grown on large farms called plantations. ... Binomial name J.Presl Cassia (Chinese cinnamon) is also commonly called (and sometimes sold as) cinnamon. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about Black tea from Sri Lanka. ... A military installation is a facility directly owned and operated by and/or for the military or one of its branches. ... Differences in national income equality around the world as measured by the national Gini coefficient. ... Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subjfuck grapesect to control by the community[1] for the purposes of increasing social and economic equality and cooperation. ... The Welfare State of the United Kingdom was prefigured in the William Beveridge Report in 1942, which identified five Giant Evils in society: squalor, ignorance, want, idleness and disease. ... Smart growth is a concept and term used by those who seek to identify a set of policies governing transportation and land use planning policy for urban areas that benefits communities and preserves the natural environment. ...

From 1977 the UNP government began incorporating privatisation, deregulation and 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. 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. Privatization (sometimes privatisation, denationalization, or — especially in India — disinvestment) is the process of transferring property, from public ownership to private ownership. ... Capitalism generally refers to a combination of economic practices that became institutionalized in Europe between the 16th and 19th centuries, especially involving the right of individuals and groups of individuals acting as legal persons (or corporations) to buy and sell capital goods such as land, labor, and money (see finance... Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food for consumption by humans or animals. ... This article is about the type of fabric. ... Telecommunication involves the transmission of signals over a distance for the purpose of communication. ... Finance studies and addresses the ways in which individuals, businesses, and organizations raise, allocate, and use monetary resources over time, taking into account the risks entailed in their projects. ... In macroeconomics, the definition of recession is a decline in any countrys Gross Domestic Product (GDP), or negative real economic growth, for two or more successive quarters of a year. ... The ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka is an ongoing conflict between the Government of Sri Lanka and a minority terrorist group consisting of Ethnic Sri Lankan Tamils on the island-nation of Sri Lanka. ... Colombo Stock Exchange [1] is located in the World Trade Center [2] complex. ... The per capita income for a group of people may be defined as their total personal income, divided by the total population. ...

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 privatization 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. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 582 pixelsFull resolution (2202 Ã— 1602 pixel, file size: 794 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photo by Kanoa Withington. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 582 pixelsFull resolution (2202 Ã— 1602 pixel, file size: 794 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photo by Kanoa Withington. ... Children on a back street of Arugam Bay The point of Arugam Bay seen from the south along the beach by Crocodile Rock Main Street of Arugam bay shortly after the 2004 tsunami. ... The United National Party, often referred to as the UNP Sinhalese: à¶‘à¶šà·Šà·ƒà¶à·Š à¶¢à·à¶à·’à¶š à¶´à¶šà·Šà·‚à¶º (pronounced Eksath Jathika Pakshaya), Tamil: à®à®•à¯à®•à®¿à®¯ à®¤à¯‡à®šà®¿à®¯à®•à¯ à®•à®Ÿà¯à®šà®¿), is a leading political party in Sri Lanka. ... The Sri Lanka Freedom Party is one of the major political parties in Sri Lanka. ... The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (Sinhala janatÄ vimukti peramuá¹‡a, Peoples Liberation Front) is a nationalist Marxist political party in Sri Lanka. ... UPFA election symbol The United Peoples Freedom Alliance is a political alliance in Sri Lanka. ... A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is an enterprise, often a corporation, owned by a government. ... A public utility is a company that maintains the infrastructure for a public service. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas Ignacy Åukasiewicz - inventor of the refining of kerosene from crude oil. ... The World Bank (the Bank), a part of the World Bank Group (WBG), was formally established on December 27, 1945, following the ratification of the Bretton Woods agreement. ... â€œIMFâ€ redirects here. ...

The tea industry is one of the major foreign exchange gaining industry in Sri Lanka. ... Kitulgala the Academy Award-winning The Bridge on the River Kwai was filmed, rare oppertunity for tourists. ...

Transport

Most Sri Lankan cities and towns are connected by the Sri Lanka Railways, the state-run national railway operator. The first railway line was inaugurated on April 26, 1867, linking Colombo with Kandy. The total length of Sri Lankan roads exceeds 11,000 kilometres (6,840 mi), with a vast majority of them being paved. 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. <Sri Lanka Railways: total: 1,463 km broad gauge: 1,404 km 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x766, 239 KB) [edit] Summary [edit] Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Sri Lanka Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x766, 239 KB) [edit] Summary [edit] Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Sri Lanka Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera... The National Railway or National Air Line Railroad was a planned railroad between New York City and Washington, DC in the United States around 1870. ... Rail tracks. ... is the 116th day of the year (117th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... A transport network, or transportation network in American English, is typically a network roads, streets, pipes, aqueducts, power lines, or nearly any structure which permits either vehicular movement or flow of some commodity. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... Jaffna District. ... , â€œMadrasâ€ redirects here. ...

The Ceylon Transport Board is the state-run agency responsible for operating public bus services across the island. Sri Lanka also maintains 430 kilometres (270 mi) 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. 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 is the country's only international airport, located in Katunayaka, 22 kilometres (14 mi) north of Colombo. The Ceylon Transport Board (CTB) was the nationalised enterprise which handled all public omnibus transport in Sri Lanka between 1958 and 1978. ... Trincomalee District Map Trincomalee (Tamil: (Thirukonamalai, hist: Sirigonakanda); Sinhala: (Thirikunamalaya)) is a port city on the northeast coast of Sri Lanka, about 110 miles northeast of Kandy. ... Galle (à¶œà·à¶½à·Šà¶½ in Sinhala; à®•à®¾à®²à®¿ in Tamil) (pronounced as one syllable, rhyming with Gaul in English, in Sinhalese, IPA /gaËlËÉ™/) is a town situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. ... SriLankan Airlines Limited (previously known as Air Lanka) is the national carrier of Sri Lanka. ... For other uses, see Flag carrier (disambiguation). ... Emirates (Arabic: Ø§Ù„Ø¥Ù…Ø§Ø±Ø§Øª al-ImÄrÄt) is an airline based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. ... Skytrax is a United Kingdom-based researching company for commercial airlines. ... Expo Aviation is an airline based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. ... Lankair is an airline based in Sri Lanka. ... An Airbus A380 of Emirates Airline An airline provides air transport services for passengers or freight. ... Bandaranaike International Airport (IATA: CMB, ICAO: VCBI) is Sri Lankas only international airport. ... An International airport is an airport where flights from other countries land and/or take off. ...

Military

Sri Lankan soldiers have taken part in many wars throughout its history, including the Boer War and both World Wars (under the command of the British at the time). In the course of the civil war, the military has been transformed from a ceremonial force to a modern army. Since 2004, Sri Lankan troops have been a part of the UN peacekeeping force in Haiti, which is the country's first major overseas mission. The Military of Sri Lanka consists of Three Branches which are the Army, Navy, Air Force which comes under the Ministry of Defence. ... Combatants British Empire Orange Free State South African Republic Commanders Sir Redvers Buller Lord Kitchener Lord Roberts Paul Kruger Louis Botha Koos de la Rey Martinus Steyn Christiaan de Wet Casualties 6,000 - 7,000 (A further ~14,000 from disease) 6,000 - 8,000 (Unknown number from disease) Civilians... There have been two World Wars, now more commonly known as World War I or First World War (from 1914 to 1918), and World War II or Second World War (from 1939 to 1945). ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ...

The military of Sri Lanka is organized into three branches: Army, Navy, and Air Force. Since independence, its primary mission has been the targeting of armed groups within the country, most notably engaging in a 25 year long war with the LTTE. The LTTE is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by 32 countries (see list). Sri Lankan Army Flag The Sri Lankan Army is a branch of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces with the responsbility of overseeing land-based operations. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Sri Lanka Air Force is the Airborne Wing of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces, and its key role is to provide tacical support to naval and land divisions. ... LTTE is an acronym or initialism for: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Known for their guerilla warfare forcibly killing every other independent groups aiming for seperate state. ... LTTE is an acronym or initialism for: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Known for their guerilla warfare forcibly killing every other independent groups aiming for seperate state. ...

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 the greatest in western Sri Lanka, especially in and around Colombo. There is a small population on the island of the Wanniyala-Aetto people, also known as Veddahs. These are believed to be the oldest and indigenous ethnic group to inhabit the island. The Sinhalese people form the largest ethnic group in the nation, composing approximately 81.9% of the total population. Tamils are concentrated in the North, East, Central and Western provinces of the country. 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,^[26]^{[page # needed]} 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%. Though this figure only accounted for Sri Lankan Tamils in government-controlled areas, not accounting for those in rebel-held territories. 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 Malays from Southeast Asia. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 777 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (781 Ã— 603 pixel, file size: 30 KB, MIME type: image/png) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Sri Lanka ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 777 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (781 Ã— 603 pixel, file size: 30 KB, MIME type: image/png) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Sri Lanka ... Sri Lanka is an island in the Indian Ocean about 28 kilometers (18 mi. ... The Wanniyala-Aetto, or forest beings, perhaps more commonly known as Veddas or Veddahs (transliteration of à·€à·à¶¯à·Šà¶¯à· in Sinhalese, IPA vÃ¦Ã°Ã°É‘Ë) are an indigenous people of Sri Lanka, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. ... Languages Sinhala Religions Theravada Buddhism, Christianity, small groups of atheists, agnostics, Muslims, others Related ethnic groups Indo-Aryans, Dravidians, Veddahs, Bengalis The Sinhalese are the main ethnic group of Sri Lanka. ... The western province is the most densely populated part of Sri Lanka. ... Repatriation (from late Latin repatriare - to restore someone to his homeland) is a term used to describe the process of return of refugees or soldiers to their homes, most notably following a war. ... Islam in Sri Lanka is practiced entirely by Sri Lankan Muslims, who make up approximately 8% of the population, comprise a group of minorities practicing the religion of Islam in Sri Lanka. ... Languages Arabic and other minority languages Religions Islam, Christianity, Druzism and Judaism Arab woman from Ramallah wearing traditional dress in 1915. ... The Burghers are a Eurasian ethnic group, historically from Sri Lanka, consisting for the most part of male-line descendants of European colonists from the 16th to 20th centuries (mostly Portuguese, Dutch and British) with local Sinhalese ancestry. ... The concept of a Malay race was proposed by the German scientist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752-1840). ...

Sinhalese and Tamil are the two official languages of Sri Lanka. English is 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. Sri Lanka also enjoys significant religious diversity. Approximately 69% of Sri Lankans are adherents of Buddhism.^[27]^[28] Theravada Buddhism is the predominant school, with distinctive sects such as Ramanna Nikaya, Amarapura Nikaya and Siam Nikaya being widely followed. Buddhism in Sri Lanka has been deeply influenced by indigenous faiths and traditions, as well as the influences of prevailing Buddhist schools in South East Asia. The ancient and famous Sri Dalada Maligawa or "Temple of the Tooth" is the principal Buddhist Temple in Sri Lanka, and by tradition houses the Tooth of Buddha. It is visited every year by millions of pilgrims. There are many other famous religious institutions in Sri Lanka that attract many visitors daily. Hinduism is practiced by 7.9% of the population, mainly from the Tamil community. Christianity is practiced by 7% of the population, especially by Burgher people though most Christians are Sinhalese or Tamils. While most Sri Lankan Christians are Catholics, there are also significant numbers who adhere to Dutch Reformed Church and the Anglican Communion. Islam in Sri Lanka is practiced by 8.5% of the population and its adherents are almost entirely Moors and Malays. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 1016 KB) Statue of The Buddha at Mihintale, Sri Lanka I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 1016 KB) Statue of The Buddha at Mihintale, Sri Lanka I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Category: ... Sinhalese or Sinhala (à·ƒà·’à¶‚à·„à¶½, ISO 15919: , IPA: [], earlier referred to as Singhalese) is the mother tongue of the Sinhalese, the largest ethnic group of Sri Lanka. ... Tamil ( ; IPA ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. ... An official language is a language that is given a unique legal status in the countries, states, and other territories. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Portuguese creoles are creole languages which have been significantly influenced by Portuguese. ... The Sri Lankan Creole Malay language is a unique mixture of the Sinhalese language and the Tamil language with Malay. ... Theravada (Pali; Sanskrit: Sthaviravada) is one of the eighteen (or twenty) Nikāya schools that formed early in the history of Buddhism. ... Ramanna Nikaya (or Ramanya Nikaya) is one of the most orthodox Buddhist orders in Sri Lanka. ... The Amarapura Nikaya is a Sri Lankan monastic fraternity (a lineage of ordained monks) founded in 1800. ... The Siam Nikaya is a monastic order within Sri Lanka, located most predominantly around the city of Kandy. ... An ancient Buddha statue from Aukana Sri Lanka // Buddhism in Sri Lanka is primarily of the Theravada school, and constitutes the religious faith of about 70% of the population[1] According to traditional Sri Lankan chronicles (such as the Dipavamsa), Buddhism was introduced into Sri Lanka in the 2nd century... Outside view of the Temple The Sri Dalada Maligawa or The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a temple in the city of Kandy in Sri Lanka. ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, SiddhÄrtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... Media:Example. ... Hinduism (known as in modern Indian languages[1]) is a religious tradition[2] that originated in the Indian subcontinent. ... Topics in Christianity Movements Â· Denominations Â· Other religions Ecumenism Â· Preaching Â· Prayer Music Â· Liturgy Â· Calendar Symbols Â· Art Â· Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul Â· Church Fathers Constantine Â· Athanasius Â· Augustine Anselm Â· Aquinas Â· Palamas Â· Luther Calvin Â· Wesley Arius Â· Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury Â· Catholic Pope Coptic Pope Â· Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box: Christianity is... The Burghers are a Eurasian ethnic group, historically from Sri Lanka, consisting for the most part of male-line descendants of European colonists from the 16th to 20th centuries (mostly Portuguese, Dutch and British) with local Sinhalese ancestry. ... The Dutch Reformed village church of St. ... Main article: Anglicanism The Anglican Communion is a world-wide affiliation of Anglican Churches. ... Islam in Sri Lanka is practiced entirely by Sri Lankan Muslims, who make up approximately 8% of the population, comprise a group of minorities practicing the religion of Islam in Sri Lanka. ... Islam in Sri Lanka is practiced entirely by Sri Lankan Muslims, who make up approximately 8% of the population, comprise a group of minorities practicing the religion of Islam in Sri Lanka. ... The concept of a Malay race was proposed by the German scientist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752-1840). ...

This article does not cite any references or sources. ... An ancient Buddha statue from Aukana Sri Lanka // Buddhism in Sri Lanka is primarily of the Theravada school, and constitutes the religious faith of about 70% of the population[1] According to traditional Sri Lankan chronicles (such as the Dipavamsa), Buddhism was introduced into Sri Lanka in the 2nd century... Hindus currently make up approximately 15% of the Sri Lankan population, and are almost exclusively Tamil speaking apart from immigrants from India and Pakistan such as the Sindhis, Telugus and Malayalees. ... Islam in Sri Lanka is practiced entirely by Sri Lankan Muslims, who make up approximately 8% of the population, comprise a group of minorities practicing the religion of Islam in Sri Lanka. ...

Culture and arts

The island is the home of two main traditional cultures: the Sinhalese (centered in the ancient cities of Kandy and Anuradhapura) and the Tamil (centered 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 mold. 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. Image File history File links Hoppers. ... Image File history File links Hoppers. ... Throughout the, past centuries Sri. ... Cities with at least a million inhabitants in 2006 An urban area is an area with an increased density of human-created structures in comparison to the areas surrounding it. ... World GDP/capita changed very little for most of human history before the industrial revolution. ... World map indicating Human Development Index (as of 2004). ...

Traditional food

Sri Lankans have added western influences to the customary diet such as rice and curry, pittu (mixture of fresh rice meal, very lightly roasted and mixed with fresh grated coconut, then steamed in a bamboo mould). Kiribath (cooked in thick coconut cream for this unsweetened rice-pudding which is accompanied by a sharp chili relish called "lunumiris"), wattalapam (rich pudding of Malay origin made of coconut milk, jaggery, cashew nuts, eggs, and various spices including cinnamon cloves and nutmeg), kottu, and hoppers ("appa"), batter cooked rapidly in a hot curved pan, accompanied by eggs, milk or savouries. Sri Lankan food also has Dutch and Portuguese influences, with the island's Burgher community preserving this 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). ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (531x800, 222 KB) Summary Elephants at the Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (531x800, 222 KB) Summary Elephants at the Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... For other uses, see Rice (disambiguation). ... Coconut cream is an infusion of shredded coconut and water. ... Coconut milk is a sweet, milky white cooking base derived from the meat of a mature coconut. ... Binomial name L. The Cashew (Anacardium occidentale; syn. ... It has been suggested that Legal drugs#Nutmeg be merged into this article or section. ... Kottu, or Kottu Roti is a Sri Lankan dish, made from a Sri Lankan pancake called Godhamba Roti and Vegetables, Egg, and/or Meat, and various spices. ... In Sri Lankan cuisine a hopper is a food, used most frequently for breakfast. ... A heavily iced Christmas cake Christmas cake is a type of fruitcake served at Christmas time in the UK, Ireland and many Commonwealth countries. ...

Festivals

Sinhala and Tamil New Year Festival Every year on April 13th Sinhala and Tamil people celebrate, and Muslims celebrate Ramasan. 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. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Media:Example. ...

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 Indian cinema. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Kadawunu Poronduwa (Sinhala, The Broken Promise) was the first film to be made in the Sinhala language; it is considered to be the beginning of Sri Lankan cinema. ... The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, pronounced L-T-T), also known as the Tamil Tigers, is the main Tamil anti-government organization operating in Sri Lanka. ... Sinhalese or Sinhala (à·ƒà·’à¶‚à·„à¶½, ISO 15919: , IPA: [], earlier referred to as Singhalese) is the mother tongue of the Sinhalese, the largest ethnic group of Sri Lanka. ...

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 Ran Muthu Doova. Kadawunu Poronduwa (Sinhala, The Broken Promise) was the first film to be made in the Sinhala language; it is considered to be the beginning of Sri Lankan cinema. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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, 'Wekanda Walawwa' (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 currently raging in the country. 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 not part of Kollywood which is Indian Tamil cinema. However some Kollywood films are based in Sri Lanka as well. Nidhanaya (English: The Treasure) is a 1972 Sinhalese language film directed by Lester James Peries, starring Gamini Fonseka and Malini Fonseka. ... Sir Lester James Peiris (born April 05, 1919), one of the pioneers of Sri Lankan cinema, is the director of the globally acclaimed Rekhava and also sometimes known as the Father of Sinhalese Cinema. // Lester James Peiris was born as the second child of Dr. James Francis Peiris, a medical... Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ... Vimukthi Jayasundara was born in Ratnapura in southern Sri Lanka. ... The Cannes Film Festival (French: le Festival de Cannes), founded in 1939, is one of the worlds oldest, most influential and prestigious film festivals. ... Prasanna Vithanage (born in 1962) is one of Sri Lankas most notable filmmakers. ... Tamil ( ; IPA ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. ... Kollywood (Tamil : à®•à¯‹à®²à®¿à®µà¯‚à®Ÿà¯ ) is a name often applied to the home of the Tamil-language film industry based in India, and to the industry as a whole. ...

Music

The earliest music came from the theater 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. For other usages see Theatre (disambiguation) Theater (American English) or Theatre (British English and widespread usage among theatre professionals in the US) is that branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle &#8212... Sinhalese or Sinhala (à·ƒà·’à¶‚à·„à¶½, ISO 15919: , IPA: [], earlier referred to as Singhalese) is the mother tongue of the Sinhalese, the largest ethnic group of Sri Lanka. ... Kolam outside a house in Tamil Nadu Kolam (Tamil: à®•à¯‹à®²à®®à¯) is a decorative design drawn using rice powder by female members of the family in front of their home, especially near the threshold. ... 1900 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Radio Ceylon is the oldest radio station in Asia. ... Vernon Corea; radio broadcaster Corea was a pioneer broadcaster with 45 years of public service broadcasting both in Sri Lanka and the UK. He joined Radio Ceylon, South Asias oldest radio station, in 1957 and later the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. ...

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. The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... Sunil Santha (1915â€“1981) was a renown and influential Sri Lankan singer. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion, because: not notable; stub If you disagree with its speedy deletion, please explain why on its talk page or at Wikipedia:Speedy deletions. ... Ananda Samarakone (b. ... Wannakulawattawaduge Don Albert Perera (born December 5, 1927 in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka), better known by his adopted name Amaradeva, is a renowned Sri Lankan vocalist and musical composer, whose trademark musical style incoporates Sinhala folk music with Indian ragas. ... Annesley Malewana is an influential Sri Lankan musician. ... Clarence Wijewardene Clarence Wijewardene (b. ...

This article is about black tea from Sri Lanka. ... The cuisine of Sri Lanka draws influence from that of India, as well as colonists and foreign traders. ... The city of Colombo known as commercial capital of Sri Lanka is one of the popular fashion centers in South East Aisa. ... // Kandyan Dance The dance form which originated in the area called Kandy of the Centrall hills region in Sri Lanka is commonly known as Kandyan Dance. ... Sri Lankan cinema is highly acclaimed abroad - its films have won dozens of awards at international festivals. ... The music of Sri Lanka originates in cultural traditions deriving from three influences: the religious practices of Buddhism, the aftereffects of Portuguese colonization, and the commercial and historical influence of Indian culture - specifically, Bollywood cinema. ...

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,^[29] most of whom follow the Theravada school of Buddhism.^[30] According to traditional Sri Lankan chronicles, Buddhism was introduced into Sri Lanka in the 2nd century BCE by Venerable Mahinda, the son of the Emperor Ashoka, during the reign of Sri Lanka's King Devanampiyatissa.^[30] During this time, a sapling of the Bodhi Tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment was brought to Sri Lanka and the first monasteries were established under the sponsorship of the Sri Lankan king. The Pali Canon (Thripitakaya), having previously been preserved as an oral tradition, was first committed to writing in Sri Lanka around 30 BC.^[31] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 450 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (480 Ã— 640 pixel, file size: 39 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) AtulaSiriwardane 19:26, 11 April 2007 (UTC)[1] I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 450 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (480 Ã— 640 pixel, file size: 39 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) AtulaSiriwardane 19:26, 11 April 2007 (UTC)[1] I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (989x648, 144 KB) Summary Its a famous Hindu temple in Jaffna city. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (989x648, 144 KB) Summary Its a famous Hindu temple in Jaffna city. ... Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil, Jaffna Nallur Kandaswamy kovil is one of the most significant hindu temples in the jaffna district. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Theravada (PÄli: theravÄda; Sanskrit: à¤¸à¥à¤¥à¤µà¤¿à¤°à¤µà¤¾à¤¦ sthaviravÄda; literally, the Way of the Elders) is the oldest surviving Buddhist school, and for many centuries has been the predominant religion of Sri Lanka (about 70% of the population[1]) and most of continental Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand). ... (3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events BC 168 Battle of Pydna -- Macedonian phalanx defeated by Romans BC 148 Rome conquers Macedonia BC 146 Rome destroys Carthage in the Third Punic War BC 146 Rome conquers... Mahinda was the son of Emperor Ashoka. ... Allegiance: Magadhan Empire Rank: Emperor Succeeded by: Dasaratha Maurya Reign: 273 BC-232 BC Place of birth: Pataliputra, India Battles/Wars Kalinga War Emperor Ashoka the Great (Devanagari: à¤…à¤¶à¥‹à¤•(:); IAST transliteration: , pronunciation: ) (304 BCâ€“232 BC) (Imperial Title:Devanampiya Piyadassi ie He who is the beloved of the Gods who, in... Tissa, later Devanampiyatissa, c. ... The Bodhi Tree at the Mahabodhi Temple. ... Standing Buddha, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE. Gautama Buddha was a South Asian spiritual leader who lived between approximately 563 BCE and 483 BCE. Born Siddhartha Gautama in Sanskrit, a name meaning descendant of Gotama whose aims are achieved/who is efficacious in achieving aims, he... Standard edition of the Thai Pali Canon The Pali Canon is the standard scripture collection of the Theravada Buddhist tradition. ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC - 30s BC - 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC 0s 10s Years: 39 BC 38 BC 37 BC 36 BC 35 BC 34 BC 33 BC 32 BC 31 BC 30...

Sri Lanka has the longest continuous history of Buddhism of any Buddhist nation,^[30] 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.^[31] Periods of Mahayana influence, as well as official neglect under colonial rule, created great challenges for Theravada Buddhist institutions in Sri Lanka, but repeated revivals and resurgences — most recently in the 19th century — have kept the Theravada tradition alive for over 2000 years. Sangha (à¤¸à¤‚à¤˜ saá¹ƒgha) is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as association or assembly or community. It is commonly used in several senses to refer to Buddhist or Jain groups. ... Relief image of the bodhisattva Kuan Yin from Mt. ...

Followers of Islam comprise approximately eight percent of the population,^[29] having been brought to the island by Arab traders over the course of many centuries.^[32] Hinduism was primarily established in Sri Lanka by migrants and often invaders from southern India,^[33] and Hindus now constitute seven percent of the population, mostly of the Shaivite school.^[29] European colonists introduced Christianity to the country in the 16th century,^[34] and the religion has been adopted by around six percent of the population.^[29] Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (400x602, 111 KB) Summary Created by me Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (400x602, 111 KB) Summary Created by me Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ... Languages Arabic and other minority languages Religions Islam, Christianity, Druzism and Judaism Arab woman from Ramallah wearing traditional dress in 1915. ... Hinduism (known as in modern Indian languages[1]) is a religious tradition[2] that originated in the Indian subcontinent. ... Shaivism, also Saivism, is a branch of Hinduism that worships Siva as the Supreme God. ... Topics in Christianity Movements Â· Denominations Â· Other religions Ecumenism Â· Preaching Â· Prayer Music Â· Liturgy Â· Calendar Symbols Â· Art Â· Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul Â· Church Fathers Constantine Â· Athanasius Â· Augustine Anselm Â· Aquinas Â· Palamas Â· Luther Calvin Â· Wesley Arius Â· Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury Â· Catholic Pope Coptic Pope Â· Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box: Christianity is... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ...

Religion plays an important part in the life and culture of Sri Lankans. The Buddhist majority observe Poya Days, once per month according to the Lunar calendar. The Hindus and Muslims also observe their own holidays. There are many Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka and many mosques, Hindu temples and churches across the island, especially in areas where respective communities are concentrated. Buddhists are distributed across most parts of the island except in the north. Hindus are concentrated in north, east, and central high lands. Christians, particularly Roman Catholics are mainly concentrated along the western coastal belt. Muslims are concentrated in several pockets along the coast and in interior. All religious communities are represented in western province and in other urban centers in sizable numbers. A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, SiddhÄrtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... A lunar calendar is a calendar oriented at the moon phase. ... This article is about the Hindu religion; for other meanings of the word, see Hindu (disambiguation). ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, SiddhÄrtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. ... This article discusses the adherents of Hinduism. ... This article is about the Christian buildings of worship. ... Statues of Buddha such as this, the Tian Tan Buddha statue in Hong Kong, remind followers to practice right living. ... This article is about the Hindu religion; for other meanings of the word, see Hindu (disambiguation). ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ...

Media

The national radio station, Radio Ceylon is the oldest-running radio station in Asia.^[35]^[36] It was established in 1923 by Edward Harper just three years after broadcasting was launched in Europe.^[37] It remains one of the most popular stations in Asia, with its programming reaching neighboring Asian nations. The station is managed by the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation and broadcasts services in Sinhalese, Tamil, English and Hindi. 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.^[38] 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 Lankas media outlets are generally divided along linguistic and ethnic lines, with state and private media operators providing services in the main languages. ... List of newspapers in Sri Lanka is as follows: // Many papers in circulation, categorized as state-owned below, are owned by the government through Lakehouse Press[]. Private news papers are operated by various companines, of which The Standard Newspapers Pvt. ... The first Television network in Sri Lanka, named Independent Television Network (ITN) was launched on April 14, 1979 as a private broadcaster[1]. On June 5, 1979 ITN was converted to a government owned business[1] and it was later brought under the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Act of 1982 along... A radio station is an audio (sound) broadcasting service, traditionally broadcast through the air as radio waves (a form of electromagnetic radiation) from a transmitter to an antenna and a thus to a receiving device. ... Radio Ceylon is the oldest radio station in Asia. ... // Edward Harper was an engineer who travelled to Colombo in 1921 to work in the Ceylon Telegraph Department. ... The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) (Tamil:à®‡à®²à®™à¯à®•à¯ˆ à®’à®³à®¿à®ªà®°à®ªà¯à®ªà¯ à®¸à¯à®¤à®¾à®ªà®©à®®à¯) came into existence on January 5th 1967 when Radio Ceylon became a public corporation. ... Hindi (à¤¹à¤¿à¤¨à¥à¤¦à¥€) is a language spoken mainly in North and Central India. ... Independent Television Network is Sri Lankas first terrestrial television channel and the first colour television channel in South Asia. ... A television network is a distribution network for television content whereby a central operation provides programming for many television stations. ... Satellite television is television delivered by way of communications satellites, as compared to conventional terrestrial television and cable television. ... The middle class (or middle classes) comprises a social group once defined by exception as an intermediate social class between the nobility and the peasantry. ... Popular Publications was the largest publisher of pulp magazines during its existence. ...

Education

With a literacy rate of 92%, and 83% of the total population having had Secondary Education,^[39] Sri Lanka has one of the most literate populations amongst developing nations.^[40] An education system which dictates 9 years of Compulsory Schooling for every child is in place, with 99% of the children entering the first grade.^[39] A free education system initiated in 1945^[41] by Dr. C. W. W. Kannangara, a former minister of education, has greatly contributed to this. Mr. Kannangara led the establishment of the Madhya Maha Vidyalayas (Great 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. In recent decades, a large number of private and international schools have been established across the nation. The International Baccalaureate and General Certificate of Secondary Education are popular education programmes. Educational oversight Minister of Education Ministry of Education Susil Premajayantha National education budget Rs. ... Literacy is the ability to use text to communicate across space and time. ... Secondary education - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... High human development Medium human development Low human development Unavailable (colour-blind compliant map) Developing countries not listed as least developed countries or as newly industrialized countries, in their respective articles. ... Compulsory education is education which children are required by law to receive and governments to provide. ... Free education is a policy stance in politics that ensures education for its citizens up to a certain level. ... Dr. C.W.W. Kannangara is the founder of free school education in Sri Lanka. ... Educational oversight Minister of Education Ministry of Education Susil Premajayantha National education budget Rs. ... Special education is instruction that is modified or particularized for those students with special needs, such as learning differences, mental health problems, specific disabilities (physical or developmental) [1] , and giftedness [2]. // Children with special needs have always been part of society. ... This article is about institutionalized education. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into International Baccalaureate Organization. ... The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an international qualification for school students. ... It has been suggested that Folk high school be merged into this article or section. ...

Most secondary 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. These schools are modelled on British colleges and universities. A majority of them are public, but a number of elite private schools do exist. While most reputed schools centered around large cities are usually single-sex institutions, rural schools tend to be coeducational.

Sri Lanka has a number of large public universities. They include the University of Colombo, the University of Kelaniya, the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, the University of Moratuwa, the University of Peradeniya, the University of Jaffna, the University of Ruhuna, the Eastern University of Sri Lanka, the Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, the Wayamba University of Sri Lanka and the Uva Wellassa 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 a result, a number of private institutions have emerged, which provide specialised education in a variety of fields, such as computer science, business administration and arts. These include the government owned Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology and the Institute of Technological Studies. This does not cite its references or sources. ... The University of Colombo (also known as UoC), Sri Lankas oldest university, is located in the urban centre of Colombo. ... University of Kelaniya The University of Kelaniya is one of the main State Universities of Sri Lanka. ... The University of Sri Jayewardenepura is one of the leading universities of Sri Lanka. ... The University of Moratuwa, located on the banks of the Bolgoda Lake in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, is one of the top technical universities in Sri Lanka. ... University of Peradeniya is the second oldest university of Sri Lanka and is a renowned state university, funded by the University Grants Commission of Sri Lanka . ... University of Jaffna // Jaffna University has two campuses. ... The University of Ruhuna is a university located in Matara, Sri Lanka. ... The Eastern University of Sri Lanka is a university situated in the eastern province of Sri Lanka, Batticaloa. ... The Sabaragamuwa University located in Belihuloya, Balangoda , Sri Lanka. ... == WAYAMBA UNIVERSITY OF SRI LANKA == The wayamba Universitys Excelence [1] // The Wayamba Campus of the Rajarata University of Sri Lanka was established on the recommendation of a Committee consisting of Hon. ... A private university is a university that is run without the control of any government entity. ... Computer science, or computing science, is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their implementation and application in computer systems. ... For other uses, see Management (disambiguation). ... The Arts is a broad subdivision of culture, comprised of many expressive disciplines. ... An eye catching view of SLIITs Malabe campus. ...

Sports

While the national sport in Sri Lanka is volleyball [2], by far the most popular sport in the country is cricket while aquatic sports, athletics, football, tennis and rugby also enjoy extensive popularity. There are a large number of public and private sports, athletics and aquatic clubs in Colombo. Sri Lanka's schools and colleges regularly organise sports and athletics teams, competing on provincial and national levels. 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. Sri Lanka has a large number of sports stadiums, including the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, the R. Premadasa Stadium and the Rangiri Dumbulla Stadium in Dambulla as well as the Galle International Stadium in Galle. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1795x1024, 307 KB)Sinhalese Sports Club Ground Colombo Sri Lanka. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1795x1024, 307 KB)Sinhalese Sports Club Ground Colombo Sri Lanka. ... Map of the World showing the most popular sports by nation. ... For the ball used in this sport, see Volleyball (ball). ... Bowler Shaun Pollock bowls to batsman Michael Hussey. ... A water sport is a form of recreation where water (other than drinking water) is an essential aspect of the activity. ... A womens 400m hurdles race on a typical outdoor red rubber track. ... A player (wearing the red kit) has penetrated the defence (in the white kit) and is taking a shot at goal. ... For other uses, see Tennis (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Rugby (disambiguation). ... Scuba diving is swimming underwater while using self-contained breathing equipment. ... SCC ground, Colombo March 2001 (Test match between Sri Lanka and England) The Sinhalese Sports Club SSC is the home of Sri Lanka cricket housing the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) as well as being an important ground for major domestic and international matches. ... R. Premadasa Stadium is a cricket stadium situated in Khettarama, Colombo, Sri Lanka. ... Rangiri Dumbulla Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Dumbulla, Sri Lanka. ... Galle International Stadium is a cricket stadium in Galle, Sri Lanka, situated near the Galle Fort and fringed on two sides by the Indian Ocean. ...

Sri Lanka has hosted the Asia Cup tournament on numerous occasions. It co-hosted the 1996 Cricket World Cup with India and Pakistan, and will co-host the 2011 Cricket World Cup. The Sri Lankan cricket team has achieved considerable success in the 1990s, rising from underdog status to winning the 1996 World Cup and the Asia Cup in 1996 and 2004. Sri Lanka's cricket team have been described by many as "world class". Sri Lanka were also finalists in the Cricket World Cup 2007, but lost to Australia. The Asia Cup is an international cricket tournament. ... The 1996 Cricket World Cup was won by Sri Lanka who beat Australia by 7 wickets at the final in Lahore. ... The 2011 Cricket World Cup will be the tenth time this tournament has been held, and will be held in the four Asian Test cricket playing countries Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. ... The Sri Lankan cricket team is a national cricket team representing Sri Lanka. ... Underdog Underdog was an American animated television series that debuted on October 3, 1964, on the NBC network and continued in sydnication until 1973 for a run of approximately 120 episodes over NBC, and occasionally, CBS. // In 1960, handling the General Mills account as an account executive with the Dancer... The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup is currently taking place in the West Indies from March 13 to April 28, 2007. ...

The Sri Lankan cricket team is a national cricket team representing Sri Lanka. ...

Contents

Name

History

Geography and climate

Flora and fauna

Government and politics

Administrative divisions

Economy

Transport

Military

Demographics

Culture and arts

Traditional food

Festivals

Cinema

Music

Religions

Media

Education

Sports

See also

References

Further reading

External links

Contents

Name GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

History

Geography and climate

Flora and fauna

Government and politics

Administrative divisions

Economy

Transport

Military

Demographics

Culture and arts

Traditional food

Festivals

Cinema

Music

Religions

Media

Education

Sports

See also

References

Further reading

External links

Name