History of Sri Lanka - History of Sri Lanka Note: The arrival of Sinhalese and Tamils on the island is a matter of great debate, as the history is often used to justify one or another position in Sri Lanka's on-going civil war. Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Early inhabitants 2 Outside influences 3 Post-independence Early inhabitants The earliest inhabitants with any living descendants on the island are the Wanniyala-Aetto (more commonly known as Veddahs, although it is a derogatory term). Most Wanniyala-Aetto have lived as villagers for some time. A few tribes have until recently continued to live the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, but although attitudes are in flux, the government has made this increasingly difficult. Most historians believe that the Sinhalese came to Sri Lanka from northern India, near Bengal, during the.
Geography of Sri Lanka - Geography of Sri Lanka Location: Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India Geographic coordinates: 7 00 N, 81 00 E Map references: Asia Area: total: 65,610 sq km land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km Area - comparative: slightly larger than West Virginia Land boundaries: 0 km Coastline: 1,340 km Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm Climate: tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) Terrain: mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m Natural resources: limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay,.
Foreign relations of Sri Lanka - Foreign relations of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka traditionally follows a nonaligned foreign policy but has been seeking closer relations with the United States since December 2001. It participates in multilateral diplomacy, particularly at the United Nations, where it seeks to promote sovereignty, independence, and development in the developing world. Sri Lanka was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). It also is a member of the Commonwealth, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank, and the Colombo Plan. Sri Lanka continues its active participation in the NAM, while also stressing the importance it places on regionalism by playing a strong role in SAARC..
Economy of Sri Lanka - Economy of Sri Lanka Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Overview 2 Trade and Foreign Assistance 3 Labor 4 Miscellaneous data Overview With an economy of $16.6 billion, and a per capita GDP of about $872, Sri Lanka has mostly enjoyed strong growth rates in recent years. Sri Lanka began to shift away from a socialist orientation in 1977. Since then, the government has been deregulating, privatizing, and opening the economy to international competition. The ethnic disputes of 1983 precipitated a slowdown in economic diversification and liberalization. The JVP uprising in the late 1980s caused extensive upheavals and economic uncertainty. Following the quelling of the JVP, increased privatization, reform, and a stress on export-oriented growth helped revive the economy's performance, taking GDP growth to 7% in 1993. Economic.
Ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka - Ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Overview 2 Background and origins 3 India's Vietnam 4 The 1990s 5 Tentative peace 6 See also 7.
Demographics of Sri Lanka - Demographics of Sri Lanka The Sri Lanka is an island in the Indian Ocean about 28 kilometers (18 mi.) off the southeastern coast of India with a population of about 19 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 1.3%. Sri Lanka is ethnically, linguistically, and religiously diverse. Sinhalese make up 74% of the population and are concentrated in the densely populated southwest. Ceylon Tamils, citizens whose South Indian ancestors have lived on the island for centuries, total about 12% and live predominantly in the north and east. Indian Tamils, a distinct ethnic group, represent about 5% of the population. The British brought them to Sri Lanka in the 19th century.
Communications in Sri Lanka - Communications in Sri Lanka Telephones - main lines in use: 494,509 (1998) Telephones - mobile cellular: 228,604 (1999) Telephone system: very inadequate domestic service, particularly in rural areas; some hope for improvement with privatization of national telephone company and encouragement to private investment; good international service (1999) domestic: national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and two fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is strong in mobile cellular systems; telephone density remains low at 2.6 main lines per 100 persons (1999) international: submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (1999) Radio broadcast stations: AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998) Radios: 3.85 million (1997) Television broadcast stations:.
Transportation in Sri Lanka - Transportation in Sri Lanka Railways: total: 1,463 km broad gauge: 1,404 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (1996) Highways: total: 11,285 km paved: 10,721 km unpaved: 564 km (1998 est.) Waterways: 430 km; navigable by shallow-draft craft Pipelines: crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987) Ports and harbors: Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee Merchant marine: total: 24 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 192,190 GRT/293,832 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 16, container 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 5 (1999 est.) Airports: 14 (1999 est.) Airports - with paved runways: total: 12 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 6 (1999 est.) Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914.
Kandula - a famous elephant mentioned in the Mahanvamsa (the Great Chronicle of Lanka) by Mahanaman. When King Duttagamani (101 - 77 BC) was born, many gifts were said to have appeared spontaneously, among them a fine elephant who was found by a fisherman named Kandula. The elephant was named for its finder and became the companion of Duttagamani, serving as his mount during the wars that led to the unification of Sri Lanka..
Kandy - Sacred City of Kandy) is a city in the centre of southern Sri Lanka. It lies in the midst of hills of rare vegetal species. The Kandy Valley crosses an area of tropical plantations. Historical Function : Administration and religion. Administrative Status: Chief city of the Province of Kandy. Foundation: 14th century Population : 1,272,463 (2001 census) History In the 6th century BC, Indo-Europeans from the Ganges Valley invaded Sri Lanka. Ancestors of the Sinhalese, they ruled the island for more than 2,000 years. Beginning in the 3rd century BC, the country was converted to a pure form of Indian Buddhism that would continue to be practised in the future. The famous tooth of Buddha, a relic symbolising a 4th-century tradition that is often linked to royalty, was brought to Sri.
Vesak - the most holy time in the Buddhist calendar. Vesak is also known as Visakah Puja in India, Wesak in Sri Lanka, and as Buddha Purnima in Thailand. It commemorates the birth, Enlightenment and passing of Gautama Buddha on the one historical day, the first full moon day in May, except in a leap year when the festival is held in June. It is celebrated throughout Southeast Asia where Theravada Buddhism is prevalent. In Thailand, Buddhists celebrate Vesak with mass releases of caged birds, sacred chants, fasting and other religious observances..
King Cobra - 10 kilograms. In colour the skin is black, greenish or brown, often with white or yellow bars. It is a native of South-east Asia, inhabiting the forests of India, Malaysia and the Philippines, though not Sri Lanka. It hunts many small vertebrates, notably other snakes, hunting during the day by sight. As it lacks cutting teeth, captured prey is swallowed whole. Unlike most other snakes the King Cobra builds a nest, laying between 20 and 40 eggs in the spring, two months after breeding, with the eggs hatching within 60 to 80 days. The hatchlings are between 45-50 cm in length and marked with black and white banding. The scientific name is derived from the Greek ophis (a snake) and phagein (to eat); it feeds almost entirely on other snakes, even.
Kuranari Tadashi - Foreign Affairs in the late 1980s. In 1987, as Foreign Minister, he visited Sri Lanka and Fiji and other countries. See also:List of Japanese politicians, Politics of Japan, Japan.
January 31 - - The first successful American satellite, Explorer I, is launched into orbit. 1958 - James Van Allen discovers the Van Allen radiation belt. 1968 - Viet Cong attack the United States embassy in Saigon. 1968 - Nauru declares independence from Australia. 1971 - Apollo program: Astronauts aboard Apollo 14 lift off for a mission to the moon. 1990 - The first McDonald's opens in Moscow, Russia. 1995 - President Bill Clinton authorizes a $20 billion loan to Mexico to stabilize its economy. 1996 - An explosives-filled truck rams into the gates of the Central Bank in Colombo, Sri Lanka killing at least 86 and injuring 1,400. 2000 - An Alaska Airlines MD-83 crashes in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Malibu, California killing 131 2001 - In the Netherlands a.
Jaffna - Jaffna Jaffna is a town in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It had been the second largest town in the country for several decades, till recent times. In the current unsettled situation in the northern part of Sri Lanka, many have moved out of the town, and it is presumed that the population of this town has been reduced considerably. The town also functions as the capital of Northern Province and the cultural capital of Sri Lankan Tamils..
Jason Gillespie - Indies at his home ground Sydney in 1996 and ODI debut against Sri Lanka at Colombo in the Singer World Series, 1996. He was named by Wisden as one of the cricketers of the year 2002..
John IV of Portugal - her only contribution in the Thirty Years War were in the field against Spain and against Dutch encroachments on the Portuguese colonial empire. In Iberia, a Spanish invasion was defeated at Montijo (1650). Abroad, the Dutch took Malacca (Jan 1641) and the Sultan of Oman captured Muscat (1648). However by 1654 most of Brazil was back in Portuguese hands and had effectiveley ceased to be a vable Dutch colony. This was countered by the loss of Sri Lanka to the Dutch who took Colombo in 1656. King John IV died on November 6, 1656, and was succeeded by his son Afonso VI. Preceded by: D. Felipe III (also ruled Spain as Philip IV of Spain List of Portuguese monarchs Succeeded by: D. Afonso VI This entry was originally from the 1911.
John Eyton Bickersteth Mayor - was an English classical scholar. He was born at Baddegama, Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), and returned to England to be educated at Shrewsbury School and St John's College, Cambridge. From 1863 to 1867 he was librarian of the University of Cambridge, and in 1872 succeeded HAJ Munro in the professorship of Latin. His best-known work, an edition of the thirteen satires of Juvenal, is notable for an extraordinary wealth of illustrative quotations. His Bibliographical Clue to Latin Literature (1873), based on Emil Hübner's Grundriss zu Vorlesungen über die römische Litteraturgeschichte, was a valuable aid to the student, and his edition of Cicero's Second Philippic became widely used. He also edited the English works of John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester (1876); Thomas Baker's History of St John's College, Cambridge (1869); Richard of.
John Arbuthnot Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher of Kilverstone - a navy of wooden sailing ships armed with muzzle loading cannon and ending in one of battlecruisers, submarines and the first aircraft carriers. Fisher was born in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) to an English family, the eldest of eleven children. He father was Captain William Fisher, an army officer and aide-de-camp to the governor of Ceylon. Fisher was sent to England to join the navy in 1854. After completing his training at HMS Britannia he was assigned as a cadet to HMS Calcutta, an old ship-of-the-line which was sent to assist in blockading Russian ports in the Gulf of Finland during the Crimean War. A few months later the ship returned to the UK where he was assigned to HMS Agamemnon, which arrived at Constantinople (now Istanbul) just as the war.
Johan Galtung - first of its kind in Europe. He developed the Transcend Method. In over 40 conflicts all over the world he participated as mediator, such as in Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, the Caucasian area or Ecuador. http://www.transcend.org/.
