Sri lanka Introduction

Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, is in Southern Asia. It is an island country in the Indian Ocean, south of India.

Sri lanka Weather

Summer monsoons (May - October) and the winter monsoon (December - March) cover the south and southwestern parts of the island with rain, while conditions are dryer central and north.

Based on its tropical latitude, Sri Lanka is hot and humid throughout the year, with daily high temperatures averaging near 84º F.

From (December - February) overall conditions do moderate, with average highs in the low 70s.

Sri lanka Attractions

Colombo

Kandy

Parakarma

Sigriya

Anuradhapuram

Sri lanka History

Prehistory

Archaeological evidence suggests that the island now known as Sri Lanka might have been inhabited up to 125,000 years ago. Paleolithic human settlements by 125,000 year-old people using chert and quartz tools have been discovered at excavations in several cave sites in the Western Plains region and the South-western face of the Central Hills region. Paleo-anthropologists have shown that burial rites and certain decorative artifacts show similarities between the first inhabitants of the island and the early inhabitants of southern India. One of the first written references to the island is found in the Indian epic Ramayana. The main written accounts of the country's history are the Buddhist chronicles of Mahavansa and Dipavansa.

Ancient history

According to legend, the written history of the Sinhala people of the island begins with the arrival of an Indian prince named Vijaya and his followers. However at that time there were indigeneous people living in the country. Vijaya made a relationship with Kuwani who was the queen of the indegenous people. Kuwani accepted Vijaya because she realized that her people can not fight with him. She gave birth to a son and daughter. There are two primary opinions about Vijaya's origins. Some historians believe that he set sail from what is now Orissa, while linguists point out that ancient Sinhala is closer to Sanskrit which is the base for most Indian languages.There is at present no clear date for the arrival of Dravidian people on the island, but it is thought to have occurred soon after the arrival of the Dravidian people in South India. Some chronicles of the island mention the presence of the Tamil speaking people. But the country's history is dominated by Sinhalese presence.

Buddhism arrived from the Indian subcontinent in the 3rd century BC thanks to Arahath Mahinda Thero, missionary of Buddhist Indian Emperor Ashoka, and spread rapidly. Asoka requested his son Mahinda (Mahinda Thero) to spread Buddhism in Sri Lanka as a favour for his best friend King Devanampiyatissa, king of Sri Lanka. South Indian kingdoms invaded Sri Lanka on several occasions due to the prosperity of the country and parts of the island especially areas closer to India were ruled for very limited periods by Dravidian dynasties such as the Cholas, Pandyas, Cheras and Pallavas. It was also invaded and ruled by Kings of Kalinga (present-day Indian state Orissa) and Malay Straights. Each time Sinhalese kings aware of Tamil presence in the country they were able to fight them away to India.

From this 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 (1:60,000).

Colonial rule

In 1505 the Portuguese arrived on the island, and the colonial period began. At that point the island consisted of several autonomous kingdoms, such as those of Yarlpanam (Anglicised Jaffna) in the north and Kandy in the central hills. The Dutch followed in the 17th century. During Portuguese and Dutch rule of coastal areas, the interior, hilly region of the island remained independent, with its capital in Kandy. Great Britain replaced the Dutch in 1796, and the coastal areas became a crown colony in 1802. After the fall of Kandy kingdom in 1815, the British unified it with the 'low country' Kingdoms on the island under one rule for administrative purposes in 1818. The struggle for independence started 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, rather than seeking independence.

Independence

As Ceylon [1], it became a dominion in the British Commonwealth in 1948. The first prime minister was Don Stephen Senanayake. In 1972, the country became a republic, and the name was changed to Sri Lanka.

Sri lanka Politics

The President of the Republic is directly elected for a six-year term and serves as Head of State, Head of Government and Commander in Chief of the armed forces. The President is responsible to Parliament for the exercise of duties in accordance with the Constitution and laws. The incumbent may be removed from office by a two-thirds vote of Parliament, with the agreement by the Supreme Court. The President appoints and heads a Cabinet of Ministers responsible to Parliament. The President's deputy is the Prime Minister, who leads the ruling party in Parliament.

The Sri Lankan Parliament is a unicameral 225-member legislature. Members 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" (see Hickman, 1999). The president may summon, suspend, or end a legislative session and dissolve Parliament any time after it has served for one year. Parliament reserves the power to make all laws. Since its independence in 1948, Sri Lanka has remained a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Parliament was dissolved on February 07, 2004 by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. Elections were held on April 04 and the new Parliament convened on April 23 and elected Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Prime Minister.

In August 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that Presidential Elections would be held in November 2005, resolving a long-running dispute on the length of President Kumaratunga's term. Mahinda Rajapaksa was nominated the SLFP candidate and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe UNP candidate. The Election was held on November 17, 2005, and Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected the fifth Executive President of Sri Lanka with a 50.29% of valid votes, compared to Ranil Wickremesinghe's 48.43%. Rajapaksa took oath as President on November 19, 2005. Ratnasiri Wickremanayake was appointed the 22nd Prime Minister on November 21, 2005, to fill the post vacated by Rajapaksa. He was previously Prime Minister in 2000.

Rajapaksa offers less autonomy than Wickremasinghe to the northeast, home to most of Sri Lanka's 3.2 million ethnic Tamils. His narrow victory was arguably engineered by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who want Tamil Eelam to be an independent country. The LTTE boycotted the election, thereby preventing thousands of Tamils from voting, and so Wickremasinghe, whose election promises included a Federal state to the North and East, from taking power.

Foreign relations of Sri Lanka

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

Military of Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan Military comprises of Sri Lankan Army, Sri Lankan Navy and Sri Lankan Air Force. They are under the control of the Ministry of Defence, which is currently controlled by President Mahinda Rajapaksa who also acts as Minster of Defence. The Sri Lankan Armed Forces are primarily focused on land warfare, with the Army being the oldest and largest of all the services. However, as the nation is surrounded by sea, the Navy is considered the most vital defence force. The Air Force is seen primarily a support force for both land and naval services. The military has taken part in many wars throughout its history including the Boer Wars and both World Wars (under the command of the British at the time). Since independence, however, its primary missions have been counter-insurgency, targeting armed groups within the country, most notably the LTTE and at one point the Sinhalese insurgent group the JVP. The Sri Lankan military has apparently received training assistance from other nations such as Australia, Britain, Israel, United States, India, Pakistan even South Africa. There have even been claims that soldiers from some of those countries have taken part in operations, but this has not been confirmed or proven. Recently, the Sri Lankan Army was chosen by the United Nations to take part in peacekeeping operations in Haiti.