Sri Lanka

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
National anthem	Sri Lanka Matha
Capital	Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte
Largest city	Colombo
Official language	Sinhala, Tamil
Government type	Republic
President	Mahinda Rajapaksa
Prime Minister	Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
Area	~65,610 km² ~25,332 mi²
Population	20,926,315 (52nd) (2007 estimate)
Population density	310/km² (35th) 818 mi²
HDI	Template:Decrease0.743 (medium) (99th) (2007)
Currency	Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Country codes	Internet TLD : .lk Calling code : +94

Sri Lanka, officially named the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island nation in South Asia, located about 31 km off the southern coast of India. It was known as Ceylon before 1972. It is also known as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean.

The official language is Sinhalese, and Tamil enjoys national language status.

Names of Sri Lanka

The local names of Sri Lanka are: Shri Lamka Prajatantrika Samajaya di Janarajaya and Ilankai Jananayaka Choshalichak Kutiyarachu. In short form, they are Shri Lamka and Ilankai. Prior to 1972, along with Ceylon, it was also known as Serendib. The present name is derived from the Sanskrit laṃkā meaning "resplendent land". The word Lamka was used in the Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana.

History

The first Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C. probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced in about the mid-third century B.C., and a great civilization developed at the cities of Anuradhapura (kingdom from circa 200 B.C. to circa A.D. 1000) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty established a Tamil kingdom in northern Sri Lanka. The coastal areas of the island were controlled by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch in the 17th century. The island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crown colony in 1802, and was united under British rule by 1815. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; its name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted into war in 1983. Tens of thousands have died in the ethnic conflict that continues to fester. After two decades of fighting, the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) formalized a cease-fire in February 2002 with Norway brokering peace negotiations. Violence between the LTTE and government forces intensified in 2006 and the government regained control of the Eastern Province in 2007, but neither side has formally withdrawn from the cease-fire.

Politics and violence

In Sri Lanka, the civil society sphere is shaped by colonial heritage, postcolonial structures of political patronage, and the growth of an NGO sector dependent on foreign funding. Civil society is geographically and ethnically divided and comprises struggles both in favor of and against a negotiated settlement to the violent conflict. While popular mobilization in the war zone is largely controlled by the guerrilla organization, limited spaces for dissent also exist.

A widespread belief among Sinhalese is that minority northeastern Tamils are better off economically than the majority Sinhalese. This is a major cause of the ethnic violence that has gripped the country since the 1980s. However, evidence shows that any Tamil advantages after independence in 1948 were small and have been shrinking. There is significantly more socioeconomic inequality within the respective ethnic groups than between them.

Sri Lanka has been in the grips of civil war since 1983. In 2002 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which set the terms and conditions of an indefinite ceasefire. During the peace process, 2002-05, violence continued, both along the same lines and in new forms. Three types of violence have been prominent during the peace process: 1) violence between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the government; 2) violence within the LTTE; and 3) violence between the LTTE and other Tamil groups. The 2002 ceasefire agreement by 2005 was in complete disarray. The civil war has restarted; at least 3,500 were killed in 2006 and "disappearances" are also increasing. This is a particularly difficult time for the civilian population trapped between the two sides. Analysts are uncertain whether or not either side has taken clear-cut strategic decisions or know what they hope to achieve during this unfortunate chapter in the civil war. Does the LTTE regard this phase as a prelude to something bigger, seeking to demoralize and weaken the government security forces prior to a major offensive? Or is this a frustrated reaction to a failed peace process and a major split in the LTTE ranks? What aims are the government seeking to achieve by paying so little attention to the impact of their assaultson innocent civilians in the north and east? Moreover, where does the international community turnnext? If there is to be a significant victory by either side, the major obstacle and challenge in the future will be legitimacy on the one hand and governance on the other.

The Liberation Tigers (LTTE) are not overwhelmingly secular in their practices. While their successes as a liberation movement have been built on organizational skills and techno-military prowess, they mobilize both the Hindu majority and a significant Christian minority within the Sri Lankan Tamil population via modalities that are deeply rooted in the lifestyles and religious practices of Tamils in India and Sri Lanka. Roberts (2005) argues that to grasp these capacities, a reading of the history of Tamil civilization "writ large" as well as the anthropological literature on religious cross-fertilization in Sri Lanka is essential. Propitiatory rituals in Tamil culture inform the LTTE's burial of the dead and the building up of a sacred topography centered on their fallen (the mavirar). Just as heroic humans were deified in southern India's past, regenerative divine power is conceivably invested in today's Tiger mavirar. These facets of Tamil Tiger practice suggest that "enchantment" can nestle amid secularized rationality in the structures of a modern political movement.

Geography and climate

Sri Lanka is located in Southern Asia, South of India. Its geographic coordinations are 7 00 N, 81 00 E. The total area of Sri Lanka is 65,610 sq km, out of which 64,740 sq km is land and 870 sq km is water. Sri Lanka has 1,340 km of coastline.

The northeast monsoon takes place from December to March, and the southwest monsoon takes place from June to October.

The terrain of Sri Lanka is mostly low, flat to rolling plain, and mountainous in the south-central interior. The highest point of Sri Lanka is at Mt Pidurutalagala, at 2,524 m. The natural resources of Sri Lanka are limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, and hydropower.

13.96% of Sri Lanka's land is arable, 15.24% consists of permanent crops. As of 2003, 7,430 sq km of Sri Lanka is irrigated.

Sri Lanka has occasional cyclones and tornadoes. The enviromental issues threatening Sri Lanka are deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by poaching and urbanization; coastal degradation from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff; waste disposal; air pollution in Colombo.

Government and politics

Sri Lanka is established as a democratic, socialist republic according to its constitution. It is a unitary state. The government is a mixture of the presidential and parliamentary forms of government. The head of state, commander in chief of the armed forces, as well as head of government is the president. The president is popularly elected to a 6 year term. The president appoints members of parliament into the cabinet of ministers.

The parliament of Sri Lanka is unicameral (one house) with 225 seats. Members of parliament are elected to a 6 year term by universal suffrage by district using a system of proportional representation. The president reserves the right to summon, suspend, or end a legislative session and dissolve Parliament any time after it has served for one year. The parliament reserves the right to make all laws.

Sri Lanka has had a multi-party democracy since 1931.

Provinces

Sri Lanka is divided into 8 provinces: Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western

Economy of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is mainly an agrarian country. The chief crop is rice with which the country is almost self-sufficient. Tea, rubber and coconut are also important crops, with tea being a major foreign exchange earner. Other crops of importance are cocoa and spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, pepper and cloves. Fruit and vegetables, native to both tropical and temperate regions, grow well in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is also a major exporter of precious and semi-precious stones. Within the last few years, remittances from Sri Lankans employed abroad have contributed a large share towards foreign exchange.

The last three decades have seen tourism emerge as an important industry. There has also been a rapid growth in manufacturing industries, which offer a wide range of export goods such as petroleum products, leather goods, ready-made garments and electronic equipment.

Communications

As of 2007, the country has 2.742 million telephone (land line) users and 7.983 million cellular users. Telephone services have improved significantly and are available in most parts of the country. The national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay. Fiber-optic links are now in use in around Colombo and 2 fixed wireless local loops have been installed. The combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular telephone density is about 50 per 100 inhabitants.

There are three radio broadcast stations: AM 15, FM 52, and shortwave 4.

As of 2006, there are 14 television broadcast stations.

There are 6,198 internet hosts (2007 est) and 428,000 internet users (2006 est).

Transport

As of 2007 there are 18 airports in the country, out of which 14 have paved runways.

Sri Lanka has 1,449 km of railway.

There are 97,287 km of roadways present in the country out of which 78,802 km is paved.

The waterways total 160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest).

Demography

The population of Sri Lanka is 20,926,315. Since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and armed Tamil separatist in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand Tamil civilians have fled the island and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West (July 2007 est.)

The languages spoken are Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%. English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population. 90.7% of the population is literate, 92.3% of males are literate, and 89.15 of females are literate (2003 census).

The ethnic composition of the nation is as follows: Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data).

The religious composition of Sri Lanka is: Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data).

The age structure of Sri Lanka is as follows:

0-14 years: 24.3% (male 2,596,295/female 2,495,949) 15-64 years: 67.9% (male 6,947,310/female 7,259,271) 65 years and over: 7.8% (male 765,507/female 861,983) (2007 est.)

The population growth rate of Sri Lanka is 0.982% (2007 est). The birth rate is 17 births per 1,000 of the population. The death rate is 6.01 deaths per 1,000 of the population. The net migration rate is -1.16 migrant(s) per 1,000 of the population.

The sex ratio of Sri Lanka is 0.971 male(s) per female. At birth it is 1.04 male(s) per female. Under 15 years it is 1.04 male(s) per female. Between the ages of 15-64 it is 0.957 male(s) per female. At 65 years of age and over it is 0.888 male(s) per female.

The infant mortality rate of Sri Lanka is 19.45 deaths per 1,000 live births. The male infant mortality rate is 21.2 deaths per 1,000 live births, and the female infant mortality rate is 17.63 deaths/1,000 live births.

The life expectancy at birth for the total population is 74.8 years of age, For males it is 72.81 years of age, and for females it is 76.88 years of age.

The fertility rate is 2.05 children born per woman. There are 3,500 adults living with HIV in Sri Lanka. As of 2003, there have been around 200 HIV-related deaths in the country.

Famous Sri Lankans and residents

Perhaps the most famous resident of Sri Lanka is the British science-fiction and science-fact writer Sir Arthur C. Clarke, who has lived there since the 1950s. His 1979 novel The Fountains of Paradise is set in a fictional island country called Taprobane that closely resembles Sri Lanka, on which a space elevator is constructed.

External links

• World news about Sri Lanka, including breaking news and archival articles published in the New York Times.

Bibliography

Guides

• Cummings, Joe et al., Lonely Planet Sri Lanka (2006) excerpt and text search

Economy

• Kelegama, Saman. Development under Stress: Sri Lankan Enonomy in Transition. (2006). 305 pp.

Politics and violence

• Orjuela, Camilla. "Civil Society in Civil War: the Case of Sri Lanka." Civil Wars 2005 7(2): 120-137. ISSN: 1369-8249

Fulltext: Ebsco

• Smith, Chris. "The Eelam Endgame?" International Affairs 2007 83(1): 69-86. Issn: 0020-5850 Fulltext: Ebsco

Society and culture

• Daswatte, Channa, and Dominic Sansoni.Sri Lanka Style: Tropical Design And Architecture (2006) excerpt and text search
• Kemper, Steven. Buying and Believing: Sri Lankan Advertising and Consumers in a Transnational World (2nd ed 2001) Drawing upon fieldwork conducted over thirty years, Kemper examines the Sri Lankan advertising industry to show how executives draw on their skills as folk ethnographers to "Sri Lankanize" commodities and practices to make them locally desirable, essentially producing new forms of Sri Lankan culture. excerpt and text search
• Roberts, Michael. "Tamil Tiger 'Martyrs': Regenerating Divine Potency? Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 2005 28(6): 493-514. Issn: 1057-610x
• Sriskandarajah, Dhananjayan. "Socio-economic Inequality and Ethno-political Conflict: Some Observations from Sri Lanka." Contemporary South Asia 2005 14(3): 341-356. Issn: 0958-4935 Fulltext: Ebsco