The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka or Sri Lanka is an island in the Indian Ocean, lying off the southeastern tip of the Indian subcontinent. The Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar 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 Jayewardenepura (Kotte), located about 16 km (about 10 miles) east of Colombo. The total area of Sri Lanka is 65, 610 sq km (25,332 sq.mi). The greatest length, from north to south, is 440 km (270 mi). The greatest width from east to west across the island’s broad southern portion is 220 km (140 mi). Sri Lanka’s coastline extends a length of about 1,300 km (about 830 mi) The elevation of the surrounded plains ranges from sea level to90m (300 ft). The plains are broadest in the north and north central areas. The coastal belt rises about 30 m (about 100 ft) above sea level. Lagoons, sand beaches, sand dunes, and marshes predominate along the coast, although steep rocky cliffs are found in the northeast and southwest. There are mountains in the central hill country that rise up to 6000 feet. The population of Sri Lanka is nearly 20 million ). Ethnic groups are the Sinhalese, who form the majority (74%) of the population the Sri Lankan Tamils (12.6%), Tamils of recent Indian Origin (5.5%),Sri Lanka Moors(7.7), and other groups like Malays, and Burghers forming the rest. Agriculture is the largest sector of the economy in terms of employment, but manufacturing, especially in the garment industry generates the majority of export earnings. Remittances from Sri Lankan expatriates particularly in the Middle and Gulf have recently become an important foreign exchange contributor. Sri Lanka has a democratic political system, with a directly elected President as head of state as well as a directly elected Parliament, a Prime Minister and a Cabinet of Ministers. Sri Lanka was inhabited as early as 125,000 years before the Common Era. Sri Lanka has a long recorded history and a rich cultural heritage. History, as recorded in ancient chronicles, goes back to the 6th century before the Common Era, when a group of migrants from India established settlements in the northern plain, also known as dry zone. These settlements, in course of time, evolved into a kingdom. The most notable event in the early history of the island was the introduction of Buddhism from India in the 3rd century BCE. Buddhism has shaped the history of the country and its cultural heritage. The ancient civilization of Sri Lanka reached its apogee during the Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa periods – that is from early historical times to about 13th century-when an intricate irrigation system was established for agricultural purposes and construction of religious monuments such as pagodas was undertaken. The irrigation technology that developed during this period has few parallels in the ancient world and ancient Sri Lanka is described as a hydraulic society or civilization. After that, due to foreign invasions and ecological problems capitals were shifted from city to city and when the first western power, the Portuguese, arrived in the island in the early 16th century, the capital was located at Kotte, close to Colombo. The western powers were attracted to the island mainly due to its valuable spices particularly, cinnamon and its strategic location. The Portuguese were in occupation of the coastal areas until 1658 when they were replaced by the Dutch. The Dutch were in turn replaced by the British in 1796 but the kingdom in the highlands retained its independence until 1815 when the entire country came under the British rule. Ceylon as it was named by the new rulers, was considered a model colony by the British who initiated constitutional development in the island as early as 1833 when executive and legislative councils were set up. In 1931 Ceylon achieved internal self government with the introduction of universal adult franchise, the first non white British colony to gain that status. Ceylon became a fully independent nation in1948 and became a member of the Commonwealth. Ceylon joined the United Nations in 1955. Ceylon retained links with the British monarchy until 1972 when a Republican constitution was adopted and the country restored its old name, Sri Lanka. The Constitution of 1978 introduced an executive Presidential form of government with proportional representation. The simmering ethnic tensions in the country took a turn for the worse in 1983 with a terrorist attack in the North and subsequent riots in all parts of the island. The Indo-Lanka accord of 1987 introduced the Provincial Council system for devolution of powers to the outlying areas after which many separatist groups except LTTE joined the mainstream of democratic life. The LTTE, the largest separatist group remained intransigent and many attempts to reach a political settlement failed due to its recalcitrant attitude. In 2002 a ceasefire agreement was signed with Norwegian facilitation and six rounds of talks were held with the LTTE to reach a settlement. The LTEE did not change its attitude and continued it‘s terrorist attacks on civil and military targets Despite many challenges faced by the country since independence Sri Lanka maintained a democratic and multi party system of government and governments have changed many times through the ballot. The island has also maintained a high level of human development. The election in 2005 brought President Mahinda Rajapaksa to power and an all Party Representative Committee (APRC) was set up to find a solution to an ethnic problem. The recommendations of the APRC were announced in January 2008. Sri Lanka is a member of the Commonwealth, United Nations, Non Aligned Movement, Group of 77, and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMTEC) Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-RAC) Asian Regional Forum (ARE) and Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD). |
