Sri Lanka

I

INTRODUCTION

Sri Lanka, in full, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, island republic in the Indian Ocean, lying off the southeastern tip of the Indian subcontinent. The Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannār separate Sri Lanka from India. The Arabian Sea lies to the west, the Bay of Bengal to the northeast, and the Indian Ocean to the south. Colombo, situated on the western coast, is the largest city and the commercial capital of Sri Lanka. The administrative capital is Sri Jayawardenepura (Kotte), located about 16 km (about 10 mi) east of Colombo.

The population of Sri Lanka is about 20 million. Ethnic groups include the Sinhalese, who form the majority of the population, and the Tamils, who form the largest minority group. Agriculture is the largest sector of the economy in terms of employment, but manufacturing generates the majority of export earnings. Sri Lanka has a democratic political system, with a directly elected president as head of state.

Sinhalese and Tamil kingdoms ruled the island now known as Sri Lanka from ancient times until the 1500s, when Europeans established colonial rule. First the Portuguese, then the Dutch, and finally the British colonized the island. The island was a Portuguese colony from 1517 to 1658, a Dutch colony from 1658 to 1796, and a British colony from 1796 to 1948. The British colony, called Ceylon, gained independence in 1948. The newly independent nation retained the name Ceylon until the 1972 constitution renamed it Sri Lanka. Since independence Sri Lanka has maintained a democratic, multiparty system of government. A civil war that erupted in 1983 between the Sinhalese-dominated government and Tamil separatists, who demand the creation of an independent Tamil nation, remains unresolved.

II

THE PEOPLE OF SRI LANKA

The population of Sri Lanka is about 21.1 million (2008 estimate), yielding an overall population density of 326 persons per sq km (845 per sq mi). However, the population density is much greater in the southwestern and northern areas, where the majority of Sri Lankans live. The population grew nearly 13 percent from 1990 to 2000, with an increase of about 0.9 percent in 2008. About 79 percent of the population lives in rural areas.

A

Ethnic Groups

           

The principal ethnic groups in Sri Lanka are the Sinhalese, who form the majority, and the Tamils, who form the largest minority. These two groups tend to be concentrated in different areas of the country, depending on where they settled historically. Their different languages and religions are additional sources of isolation and ethnic tensions, which have existed for centuries. In 1983 these ethnic tensions escalated into a civil war between the Sinhalese-dominated government and Tamil separatists, who demanded that the Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka be made an independent Tamil nation.

The Sinhalese constitute more than 70 percent of the population. They form an even greater majority in southwestern Sri Lanka, where their population is concentrated. They are descended from people who began to migrate to the island from northern India about 500 bc. They speak a distinct language, Sinhala, and traditionally practice Buddhism.

Tamils made up about 18 percent of the population at the 1991 census. Their proportion of the population has since declined, mostly as a result of immigration to India. Tamils speak a language called Tamil. They traditionally practice Hinduism, although small percentages are Christians. Tamils originally immigrated to Sri Lanka from southern India. Those known as Sri Lankan Tamils trace their origins to ancient migrations, whereas the so-called Indian Tamils came as migrant workers during the 19th century.

Muslims are considered both an ethnic and religious group in Sri Lanka. They constitute about 8 percent of the population. The great majority are descendants of Arab traders known as Moors who settled in coastal areas from the 700s to the 1400s. They speak a modified version of Tamil that includes many Arabic words. Malayan peoples, whose ancestors came from what is now Indonesia in the 1600s, constitute a small proportion of Sri Lanka’s Muslim population. Other ethnic groups in Sri Lanka include Burghers, a term used in Sri Lanka for people of mostly European (Dutch and Portuguese) descent, and the indigenous people of the island, commonly known as Veddas. Together, these two groups account for less than 1 percent of the population.

B

Languages

Sinhala and Tamil are the official languages of Sri Lanka. Sinhala, also known as Sinhalese, is an Indo-Aryan language that originated from a mixture of Sanskrit dialects. Tamil is a Dravidian language that originated in southern India. A modified version of Tamil is spoken in some Muslim communities. English, the official language from 1833 to 1958, continues to be widely used and serves as the “link” language between Sinhala and Tamil. In 1958 a law was passed to make Sinhala the only official language, thereby requiring its use in all government matters. Tamils strongly objected to the law on the grounds that it excluded them from fully participating in civil service. The 1978 constitution made Tamil a national language, while Sinhala remained the higher-status official language. A constitutional amendment in 1987 elevated the status of Tamil to an official language.

C

Religion

Buddhism and Hinduism were introduced from India as early as the 3rd century bc. The Sinhalese established Buddhism as the official religion of their kingdoms in Sri Lanka. The Tamils were already Hindus by the time they migrated to the island in significant numbers. The long coexistence of Buddhism and Hinduism led to some fusion of religious elements. One of the most distinctive traits of religion in Sri Lanka is that Buddhists and Hindus share a common devotion to many of the same sacred sites and entities. All of Sri Lanka’s Buddhist temples, for example, have sections for Hindu deities.

Buddhism is the predominant religion in Sri Lanka. Its adherents, who are mostly Sinhalese, make up about 70 percent of the population. Buddhists in Sri Lanka follow the Theravada tradition, in which the Buddha is revered but not worshiped as a god (in contrast to the Mahayana tradition).

The proportion of Hindus in Sri Lanka declined from about 15 percent in 1980 to about 11 percent in 2000, due to the immigration of many Tamils to India. Muslims and Christians each constitute about 8 percent of the population. During the colonial period, Europeans introduced various Christian denominations, with Roman Catholicism winning the most conversions.

D

Education

Schooling is compulsory for children from 5 to 13 years of age. Education is state funded and offered free of charge at all levels, including the university level. The government also provides free textbooks to schoolchildren. Literacy rates and educational attainment levels rose steadily after Sri Lanka became an independent nation in 1948. The government gave high priority to improving the national education system and access to education. The adult literacy rate now stands at 93 percent. The language of instruction is either Sinhala or Tamil. English is taught as a second language.

Sri Lanka has 13 universities, all of which are public institutions. The largest universities are the University of Colombo (founded in 1921; renamed in 1979), in Colombo; the University of Peradeniya (1942), in Peradeniya, a suburb of Kandy; and the University of Sri Jayewardenepura (1958; renamed in 1978) in Sri Jayewardenepura, just outside Colombo. Other institutions of higher education include medical schools, engineering schools, schools of law, and technical and vocational training schools.

III

ECONOMY

           

Sri Lanka has experienced modest economic growth since independence in 1948. The economy relied on agricultural exports until the 1980s, when export-oriented manufacturing grew in importance. The civil war in Sri Lanka has discouraged foreign investment and constrained economic progress since the early 1980s. The gross domestic product (GDP), the total value of all goods and services produced, has grown at an annual rate of about 3 percent since 1948. The relatively slow growth of the population helped create a greater per capita gain despite the modest growth of the economy. In 2006 annual per capita income was $1,355.90.

In 1977 the government of Sri Lanka launched an economic liberalization program designed to boost the manufacturing sector. The program established special economic zones that attracted foreign investment and promoted export-oriented manufacturing. The program increased exports of manufactured goods such as garments and electronics, while also providing a new source of employment.

In terms of GDP and export earnings, the significance of agriculture relative to manufactured goods declined substantially after 1977. The contribution of agriculture to the country’s GDP declined from 40 percent in 1977 to 16.5 percent in 2006. The contribution of manufacturing rose from 12 percent in 1977 to 16 percent in the late 1980s, where it remained through the 1990s; in 2006 it stood at 13.9 percent. In 2004 manufactured goods generated about 74 percent of export earnings, while food product exports generated about 21 percent.  

A

Labor

The total labor force in Sri Lanka increased from 5.8 million in 1991 to 8.4 million in 2006. During the same period, employment in the agricultural sector declined from 43 percent to 34 percent, while employment in the industrial sector increased from 15 percent to 23 percent. Other sectors, including services, accounted for the remainder of employment. The unemployment rate stood at 14.7 percent in 1991. In 2004 8.5 percent of the workforce was unemployed.

Labor unions were first established in Sri Lanka in the late 1800s. After the end of World War II in 1945, a large proportion of the labor force was unionized. Since the economic liberalization of the late 1970s, however, labor unions have lost membership and bargaining power. Most trade unions in Sri Lanka are affiliated with political parties. There are nearly 1,500 registered trade unions with a combined membership of about 250,000.

B

Agriculture

Tea, rubber, and coconut are the chief export-oriented commercial crops. Rice and a variety of tropical vegetable and fruits are grown primarily for domestic consumption. A variety of spices also are cultivated, including chilies, cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, cloves, and nutmeg.

Commercial crops are cultivated both in large plantations with hired labor and in owner-operated smallholdings. In the 1990s most government-owned plantations were put under the management of private companies. Among the commercial crops, the largest production of tea comes from the central highland regions. Rubber cultivation is concentrated mainly in the southwestern and western wet zone of the island. While the coconut palm grows in most of the coastal regions, its highest concentration is in the lowlands of northwestern Sri Lanka.

About 30 percent of the country’s total land area is cultivated, and at least half of the cultivated area is dedicated to the growing of rice. Rice is the staple food and primary subsistence crop in Sri Lanka. The majority of Sri Lanka’s rice is grown in relatively small plots of land. Beginning in the late 1970s, the construction of dams on the Mahaweli River created a reliable supply of water for rice irrigation in the north central dry zone. The amount of land under rice cultivation increased substantially, and Sri Lanka nearly achieved self-sufficiency in the grain. The annual output of rice increased from about 450,000 metric tons in the early 1950s to 3.3 million metric tons in 2006.

C

Manufacturing

In the 1960s and 1970s the government of Sri Lanka pursued an economic policy in accordance with a model called import substitution industrialization. Under this model, the government bought controlling interests in many manufacturing industries. Policies such as import controls favored domestic products.

In 1977 the government embarked on an economic liberalization program to draw foreign investment in export-oriented industries. The program encouraged the private sector to play a dominant role. Free-trade zones, also known as investment promotion zones, were set up to give generous tax concessions to foreign companies. Garments, textiles, and electronics dominate manufacturing in the free-trade zones. About 70 percent of the factory employees are women.

In 1990 the government launched an ambitious privatization program to transfer state-owned industries to the private sector. Privately owned industries now manufacture such products as steel, fertilizers, rubber, and cement.

IV

HISTORY

The first large-scale migrations from the Indian subcontinent to the island now known as Sri Lanka began around 500 bc. Indo-Aryan people migrated from the northern areas of the Indian subcontinent. Over time they became known as the Sinhalese and developed a distinct language, Sinhala, based on the Sanskrit language. Early migrations to the island also took place from south India among Dravidian peoples, who spoke the Tamil language.

The principal source for the early history of Sri Lanka is the Mahavamsa (Great Chronicle), written by Buddhist monks in the 500s ad. It provides a legendary account of the first Sinhalese ruler in the 5th century bc and documents the rise and fall of successive Buddhist kingdoms. Later Sinhalese history is chronicled in the Dipavamsa (Lesser Chronicle), completed in the late 1700s ad. Because the chronicles were written to glorify Buddhism and its royal patrons, they present a relatively one-sided narrative of events.

According to the Mahavamsa, the first ruler of the island was Vijaya, a banished prince from northern India, whose arrival coincided with the parinibbana (passing away) of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, in 483 bc. This legend helped establish the powerful belief among the Sinhalese that they were the chosen guardians of Buddhism.

A

Ancient Kingdoms

In 377 bc the Sinhalese established Anuradhapura as the capital of their kingdom. In 250 bc Sinhalese King Devanampiya Tissa converted to Buddhism during a missionary visit by Mahinda, son of Indian emperor Ashoka. The Sinhalese monarch became a powerful patron of Buddhism, firmly establishing it as the official religion of his kingdom. The art and architecture of Anuradhapura flourished under Buddhist influence and state patronage.

The kingdom prospered under a system of settled agriculture. By the 1st century ad, the Sinhalese had built several large-scale irrigation works that included a complex system of dams, reservoirs, and canals. The irrigation works allowed them to cultivate rice and other crops on a grand scale in the dry north central plains, where Anuradhapura was centered.

Despite recurring invasions from south India, Sinhalese kings held sway over Anuradhapura for several centuries. In the late 900s, however, the Cholas (a Tamil-speaking people from south India) conquered the capital and annexed Rajarata, the agricultural center of the Sinhalese kingdom.

In 1070 Sinhalese king Vijayabahu I drove the Cholas out of Sri Lanka and established a new capital at Polonnaruwa, about 80 km (about 50 mi) southeast of Anuradhapura. The kingdom prospered until about 1200, when it entered a period of decline marked by dynastic succession disputes, social and economic instability, and repeated invasions from south India. When the kingdom finally collapsed in the late 1200s, the Sinhalese abandoned their settlements in the north central plains and migrated to the southwest. In the north, meanwhile, a Tamil kingdom centered at Nallur (near present-day Jaffna) in the Jaffna Peninsula expanded its influence during the 1200s and 1300s.

B

Foreign Contacts

Sri Lanka was known to seafarers since ancient times. Maps that the Greek astronomer Ptolemy compiled in the 2nd century labeled the island Tabrobane. Arab seafarers called it Serendip. From as early as the 700s, Muslim traders called Moors established coastal trading communities in the island. Muslim communities began to claim a significant share of maritime trade in the Indian Ocean in the 1100s.

From about the 1400s, European maps identified the island as Seylan, which was later anglicized to Ceylon. In the 1500s Portugal and Spain established their dominance in the maritime trade of South and Southeast Asia. In the 1600s the Dutch emerged as the dominant colonial power in the region, followed in the 1700s by the British.

C

Developments since Independence

The constitution of independent Ceylon was modeled on that of Britain. The nominal head of state was a governor general, who represented the British monarch, but executive authority was exercised by a prime minister and cabinet of ministers who were responsible to the legislature.

C1

First UNP Government

Elections for the first government of independent Ceylon were held in 1947. Upon independence in 1948, Don Stephen Senanayake took office as the country’s first prime minister. Prior to Ceylon’s independence, he brought together leaders of various communities and interests to form the United National Party (UNP). The UNP easily won the 1947 elections. Its general ideology was liberal, pro-Western, and secular (nonreligious). It favored economic progress through private enterprise. Economic power remained in the hands of a small elite of mercantile entrepreneurs and landowners. When Senanayake died in an accident in 1952, his son Dudley Senanayake succeeded him. A massive civil disobedience movement to protest the reduction of the country’s rice subsidy compelled Senanayake to resign in 1953. His cousin John Kotelawela replaced him as prime minister.

Political opposition was initially provided by two Marxist parties, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) and the Communist Party of Sri Lanka (CPSL). In 1951 Solomon Bandaranaike, minister of local government, resigned from the cabinet and formed his own party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). The party was strongly nationalist and socialist. Most importantly, it represented the interests of Sinhalese Buddhists, who formed the majority of the country’s population.

C2

First SLFP Government

The elections of 1956 swept the SLFP to power, and Bandaranaike headed a coalition government called the People’s United Front (Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, or MEP), comprising the SLFP and a section of the LSSP. The new SLFP-led government enacted a number of fundamental reforms in line with its nationalist and socialist platform. Ceylon assumed a neutral and nonaligned position in international affairs, and some industries were nationalized. However, the government’s policies that strongly supported Buddhist and Sinhalese cultural activity also created hostile ethnic relations.

In 1958 the new SLFP-led government passed the Official Language Act, which declared Sinhala the sole official language. The law provoked widespread Tamil opposition. Represented by the Federal Party, the Tamils began a struggle to secure official recognition of their language, Tamil. The struggle inflamed communal dissension, and riots were widespread in 1958. The country was plunged into ethnic turmoil and civil strife, with widespread riots, trade union strikes, and conflicts among Buddhist factions.

In this atmosphere of political unrest, Bandaranaike was assassinated by an extremist Buddhist monk in September 1959. Bandaranaike’s widow, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, replaced him as leader of the SLFP. The July 1960 elections returned the SLFP to power. Bandaranaike became prime minister of Sri Lanka, making her the first female prime minister in the world.

C3

Second SLFP Government

The second SLFP government continued to implement socialist reforms while promoting an even stronger pro-Buddhist policy. To satisfy the Buddhists, all denominational schools, a majority of which were Christian, were nationalized. The use of Sinhalese as the language of government and the courts of law was speedily implemented in 1960. Representatives of the Tamil-speaking minority led mass demonstrations against the government’s language policy. To cope with the situation, the government declared a state of emergency and curtailed Tamil political activity.

Faced with dwindling support, Bandaranaike formed a coalition with the leftist LSSP in 1964. The SLFP’s right wing defected to the opposition, forcing a general election in May 1965. The UNP won a decisive victory, and Dudley Senanayake became prime minister a second time.

C4

Second UNP Government

The new UNP government enjoyed a full five-year term in office. Senanayake pursued a policy of ethnic and religious reconciliation. Tamils were included in the government, and their language was given some official recognition. The government encouraged private enterprise and eliminated restrictions on imports, resulting in some economic growth.

Leading up to the 1970 elections, the SLFP formed the United Left Front (ULF) coalition with the Communist Party of Sri Lanka (CPSL) and the LSSP. The ULF exploited the government’s conciliatory policy toward the Tamils to win Sinhalese allegiance. It also attacked the UNP government’s concessions to domestic and foreign capitalist interests.

C5

Third SLFP-Led Government

In May 1970 the ULF gained a majority in parliament, and Bandaranaike again became prime minister. Claiming a mandate for radical change, the ULF government greatly expanded state control of trade and industry. However, it faced a severe economic crisis caused by balance of payments deficits, rising foreign debts, and an expensive social welfare and food subsidy program.

In April 1971 a radical-left Sinhalese youth movement, the Janatha Vimukhti Peramuna (JVP), staged an insurrection to take over the government. The movement was quickly and ruthlessly suppressed by government forces. After the attempted insurrection, the government moved further left politically. In 1972 the government initiated land reforms with a law that limited the size of privately owned land and nationalized acreage in excess of the limit. In 1975 it amended the law to nationalize foreign-owned plantations. The government maintained a state of emergency until 1977.