Sri Lanka
The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (formerly known as
Ceylon) is an island in the Indian Ocean about 28 kilometers (18
mi.) off the southeastern coast of India with a population of about
20 million. Density is highest in the southwest where Colombo, the
country's main port and industrial center, is located. The net
population growth is about 1.1%. Sri Lanka is ethnically,
linguistically, and religiously diverse.
Sinhalese make up 74% of the population and are concentrated in the
densely populated southwest. Sri Lankan Tamils, citizens whose South
Indian ancestors have lived on the island for centuries, total about
12%, live throughout the country, and predominate in the Northern
Province.
Indian Tamils, a distinct ethnic group, represent about 5% of the
population. The British brought them to Sri Lanka in the 19th
century as tea and rubber plantation workers, and they remain
concentrated in the "tea country" of south-central Sri Lanka. In
accordance with a 1964 agreement with India, Sri Lanka granted
citizenship to 230,000 "stateless" Indian Tamils in 1988. Under the
pact, India granted citizenship to the remainder, some 200,000 of
whom now live in India. Another 75,000 Indian Tamils, who themselves
or whose parents once applied for Indian citizenship, chose to
remain in Sri Lanka and have since been granted Sri Lankan
citizenship.
Other minorities include Muslims (both Moors and Malays), at about
7% of the population; Burghers, who are descendants of European
colonists, principally from the Netherlands and the United Kingdom
(U.K.); and aboriginal Veddahs. Most Sinhalese are Buddhist; most
Tamils are Hindu. The majority of Sri Lanka's Muslims practice Sunni
Islam. Sizable minorities of both Sinhalese and Tamils are
Christians, most of whom are Roman Catholic. The 1978 constitution,
while assuring freedom of religion, grants primacy to Buddhism.
Sinhala, an Indo-European language, is the native tongue of the
Sinhalese. Tamils and most Muslims speak Tamil, part of the South
Indian Dravidian linguistic group. Use of English has declined since
independence, but it continues to be spoken by many in the middle
and upper middle classes, particularly in Colombo. The government is
seeking to reverse the decline in the use of English, mainly for
economic but also for political reasons. Both Sinhala and Tamil are
official languages. |
|
The actual origins of the Sinhalese are shrouded in myth. Most
believe they came to Sri Lanka from northern India during the 6th
century BC. Buddhism arrived from the subcontinent 300 years later
and spread rapidly. Buddhism and a sophisticated system of
irrigation became the pillars of classical Sinhalese civilization
(200 BC-1200 AD) that flourished in the north-central part of the
island. Invasions from southern India, combined with internecine
strife, pushed Sinhalese kingdoms southward.
The island's contact with the outside world began early. Roman
sailors called the island Taprobane. Arab traders knew it as "Serendip,"
the root of the word "serendipity." Beginning in 1505, Portuguese
traders, in search of cinnamon and other spices, seized the island's
coastal areas and spread Catholicism. The Dutch supplanted the
Portuguese in 1658. Although the British ejected the Dutch in 1796,
Dutch law remains an important part of Sri Lankan jurisprudence. In
1815, the British defeated the king of Kandy, last of the native
rulers, and created the Crown Colony of Ceylon. They established a
plantation economy based on tea, rubber, and coconuts. In 1931, the
British granted Ceylon limited self-rule and a universal franchise.
Ceylon became independent on February 4, 1948. |
|
