Sri Lanka - The Paradise Island in Indian Ocean.

Sri Lanka is a blend of Tropical Splendour and a rich cultural heritage is known to the world as the "pearl" of the Indian Ocean. SRI LANKA, formerly CEYLON island republic, Located 29 kilometres off the south eastern tip of the Indian subcontinent, Member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Sri Lanka is separated from India by the Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar.

Sri Lanka lies about 400 miles (645 kilometres) north of the equator. The country has a total land area of 65,610 square kilometres. About 74 percent of the population of Sri Lanka is of Sinhala descent.

The largest minority groups are the Sri Lankan Tamils and the Indian Tamils, which together account for about 18 percent of the population. The remaining population includes the descendants of Moors (Arabs), Burghers (Dutch), Malays, and Veddas.

The population of Sri Lanka (1991 estimate) was 17,240,000, yielding an estimated overall population density of 263 people per sq km .

Sri Lanka is divided into nine provinces and 24 administrative districts. Each district is headed by an appointed district minister. Principal Cities Less than one-quarter of Sri Lanka's population lives in urban communities.

Colombo had a population (1990 estimate) of 615,000. Most of the foreign trade of the island is routed through Colombo, and the city has been an important fuelling station for ships that pass through the Suez Canal.

Buddhism, which was introduced into Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BC, is the prevailing faith. As practised in Sri Lanka, Buddhism also exhibits elements of both Hindu and Islamic traditions.

About 69 percent of the population is Buddhist, 15 percent is Hindu, 8 percent is Christian, and 8 percent is Muslim.

Ptolemi's Map of Sri Lanka History of Sri Lanka

This is the first map on Sri Lanka. Ptolemi the Greek Explorer arrived in Sri Lanka has drawn this. The written history of the country begins with the chronicle known as the Mahavansa. This work was started in the 6th century AD and provides a virtually unbroken narrative up to 1815. The Mahavansa was compiled by a succession of Buddhist monks.

Because it often aims to glorify or to degrade certain periods or reigns, it is not a wholly reliable source despite its wealth of historical material. The Mahavansa relates that the island was conquered in 504 BC by Vijaya, North Indian prince after subjugating the Yaksha inhabitants. Vijaya married a native princess, encouraged emigration from the main land, and made himself ruler of the entire island.

However, the realm (called Sinhala after Vijaya's patrimonial name) that was inherited by his successors consisted of the arid region lying to the north of the south central mountain system. Members of the dynasty founded by Vijaya reigned over Sinhalese for several centuries. During this period, and particularly after the adoption in the 3rd century BC of Buddhism as the national religion, the Sinhalese created a highly developed civilisation.

Extant evidence of their engineering skill and architectural achievements includes remnants of vast irrigation projects, many ruined cities, notably the ancient capital Anuradhapura, and numerous ruined shrines called dagabos. Ruins of ancient cities recall the once flourishing civilisations of Sri Lanka.

Two centres of early Sinhala civilisation were Anuradhapura in the northern plain and Polonnaruwa near the Mahaweli River to the south-east. Both in succession became capitals of the Sinhala kingdom. From the late 3rd century AD to the middle of the 12th century, Sinhala Kindom was intermittently dominated by the invaders from southern India.

In 1517 the Portuguese, having established friendly relations with one of the native monarchs, founded a fort and trading post at Colombo . Their sphere of influence expanded steadily thereafter, mainly as a result of successful wars of conquest, and by the end of the 16th century they controlled large sections of the island.

The arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century marked the beginning of European domination, which lasted more than 400 years. The Portuguese, in control of coastal Sri Lanka for 150 years, established a trading settlement at Colombo. In 1658 they we re driven out by the Dutch, and in 1796 the Dutch were supplanted by the British, who controlled the country for the next 152 years.

By the mid-19th century the British had brought about a dramatic transformation of the economy with the introduction of coffee and tea. A British colony from 1802, Sri Lanka became independent on Feb. 4, 1948. It became a member of the United Nations in 1955.

In 1795, following the occupation of the Netherlands by France, the British government dispatched an expeditionary force against Sri Lanka. The Dutch capitulated early in the next year, and in 1798 the British made all the island, except the kingdom of Kandy, a crown colony. The kingdom of Kandy was also occupied in 1803 and annexed to the crown colony in 1815.

The British period of rule was marked by abortive native rebellions in 1817, 1843, and 1848. The Heroic Sinhala Leaders were defeated and beheaded. Kappetipola Nilama was beheaded while Puran Appu was shot dead. Many Sinhala patriots like Ahalepola, Monaravila, Gongale Goda Banda, also were killed.

All the native people struggled continuously for representative government and national freedom. The first substantial victory in the struggle for self-government came after more than one century, w hen, in 1931, Great Britain promulgated a new constitution that granted the indigenous people semiautonomous control over national affairs.