Portal:Sri Lanka

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Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It is located in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, and is separated from India by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. Sri Lanka shares a maritime border with the Maldives to the southwest and India to the northwest, and lies across the Bay of Bengal from Bangladesh and Myanmar to the northeast and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India to the east. Its capital is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, while Colombo is its largest city and the political, financial and cultural centre. Sri Lanka's population is 22 million; with the Sinhalese people, who speak the Sinhala language, forming the vast majority—while Tamil is spoken by the large Tamil minority. Other long-established ethnic groups include the Moors, Indian Tamils, Burghers, Malays, Chinese, and Vedda.

The island has a documented history of over 3,000 years, with evidence of prehistoric human settlement dating back 125,000 years. Sri Lanka has been given various names throughout its long history, with Ceylon most notably being used prior to its independence in 1948. The earliest known Buddhist writings in the island, known collectively as the Pali Canon, date back to 29 BCE. Sri Lanka, owing to its strategic geographical location, played a role as a major trading hub, and was well known to explorers across the world as early as the Anuradhapura period. The Portuguese Empire established a colony in the sixteenth century, during a period of political upheaval in the Kingdom of Kotte where it also faced attacks from neighbouring kingdoms of Kandy and Sitawaka. Following the Sinhalese–Portuguese War, the Dutch colonial empire controlled the coastal areas. By the early 19th century, the British Empire established a colony on the island, which lasted until 1948. The early 20th century saw the rise of nationalist movements and increasing calls for independence. In 1948, Sri Lanka gained independence as the Dominion of Ceylon, eventually becoming a republic in 1972. Sri Lanka's recent history has been marred by a prolonged civil war between the Tamil separatist militant organisation of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Sri Lankan Armed Forces, which lasted from 1983 to 2009, and ended with the defeat of the separatists.

In the 21st century, Sri Lanka has emerged as a developing country, with a strategically important geographical location in the Indian Ocean, with its deep harbours giving it significant geopolitical leverage as a major trading post from the ancient Maritime Silk Road. It has the highest level of human development in South Asia and the second-highest GDP per capita in the region. Sri Lanka has a long history of international engagement and cooperation, and is a member of several international organisations—including SAARC, the G77, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Commonwealth of Nations. (Full article...)

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The Ruwanwelisaya Stupa

The Ruwanweli Maha Seya, also known as the Maha Thupa (lit. 'the Great Thupa'), is a stupa (a hemispherical structure containing relics) in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Two quarts or one Dona of the Buddha's relics are enshrined in the stupa, making it the largest collection of his relics anywhere. It was built by Sinhalese King Dutugemunu in c. 140 B.C., who became king of Sri Lanka after a war in which the Chola King Elāra (Ellalan) was defeated. It is also known as Swarnamali Seya, Svaṇṇamāli Mahaceti (in Pali) and Rathnamali Seya.

This is one of the "Solosmasthana" (the 16 places of veneration) and the "Atamasthana" (the 8 places of veneration). The stupa is one of the world's tallest ancient monuments, standing at 103 m (338 ft) and with a circumference of 290 m (951 ft). The original stupa had been about 55 m (180 ft) in height and was renovated by many kings. The Kaunghmudaw Pagoda in Sagaing, Myanmar is modelled after this stupa The Mahavamsa contains a detailed account on the construction and the opening ceremony of the stupa. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various Sri Lanka-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Ceylon tea (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 2Sri Lankans protesting in front of the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo, 13 April 2022 (from Sri Lanka)
Image 3Kandy women performing the Peacock Dance (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 4Muttiah Muralitharan holds the record for the highest number of wickets in Test cricket.
Image 5Sri Lanka's population, (1871–2001) (from Sri Lanka)
Image 6The Avukana Buddha statue, a 12-metre-tall (39 ft) standing Buddha statue from the reign of Dhatusena of Anuradhapura, 5th century (from Sri Lanka)
Image 7A view of Sripada from Maskeliya (from Sri Lanka)
Image 8Gilded bronze statue of the Bodhisattva Tara, from the Anuradhapura period, 8th century (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 9Sri Vikrama Rajasinha of Kandy, the last ruling native Sri Lankan monarch (from Sri Lanka)
Image 10Ancient Ceremonial Temple or Clan Flag from Sri Lanka. Courtesy of the Wovensouls Collection (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 11The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, Colombo (from Sri Lanka)
Image 12The World Trade Center in Colombo. Presidential Secretariat, Bank of Ceylon and Galadari Hotel are also visible in the image. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 13Topographic map of Sri Lanka (from Sri Lanka)
Image 14Cricket in Sri Lanka (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 15Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka represent a significant community dedicated to the Theravada tradition (from Sri Lanka)
Image 16The old Sri Lankan Parliament building, near the Galle Face Green in Colombo. It now serves as the Presidential Secretariat's headquarters. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 17A royal palace in Polonnaruwa (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 18A 17th-century engraving of Dutch explorer Joris van Spilbergen meeting with King Vimaladharmasuriya in 1602 (from Sri Lanka)
Image 19Colombo Port is the largest and busiest port in Sri Lanka (from Sri Lanka)
Image 20The formal ceremony marking the start of self-rule, with the opening of the first parliament at Independence Square (from Sri Lanka)
Image 21Tea plantation near Kandy (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 22R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo (from Sri Lanka)
Image 23Sri Lanka was the nineteenth most water-stressed country in the world in 2022. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 24Sri Lanka aboriginal Vedda at work (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 25The seated image of Gal Vihara in Polonnaruwa, 12th century, which depicts the dhyana mudra, shows signs of Mahayana influence. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 26Sacred Tooth Temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 27Ptolemy's world map of Ceylon, first century CE, in a 1535 publication (from Sri Lanka)
Image 28Ritigala (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 29The Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) is an endangered subspecies of leopard native to Sri Lanka. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 30Sigiriya (Also called as Sinhagiriya) (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 31Development of real GDP per capita, 1820 to 2018 (from Sri Lanka)
Image 32Polonnaruwa Vatadage Sri Lanka (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 33Hindu devotees engaging in Kavadi at a temple in Vavuniya (from Sri Lanka)
Image 34Development of life expectancy (from Sri Lanka)
Image 35Sri Lankan rice and curry (from Sri Lanka)
Image 36Sri Lanka's most widely known export, Ceylon tea, which ISO considers the cleanest tea in the world in terms of pesticide residues. Sri Lanka is also the world's 3rd largest exporter of tea. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 37Sri Lanka map of Köppen climate classification (from Sri Lanka)
Image 38British appointed Kandyan chief headmen in 1905. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 39The Sigiriya ("Lion Rock"), a rock fortress and city, built by King Kashyapa (477–495 CE) as a new more defensible capital. It was also used as a Buddhist monastery after the capital was moved back to Anuradhapura. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 40President J. R. Jayewardene gifting Jayathu, a baby elephant to US President Ronald Reagan in 1984 (from Sri Lanka)
Image 41The Sri Lankan elephant is one of three recognised subspecies of the Asian elephant. The 2011 elephant census estimated a population of 5,879. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 42Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2020 (from Sri Lanka)
Image 43The Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology is a research institute specialising in the field of nanotechnology. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 44A Low Country drummer playing the traditional Yak Béra (from Sri Lanka)
Image 45Traditional Sri Lankan harvesting dance (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 46Female dancers in traditional Kandyan dress (from Sri Lanka)
Image 47J. R. Jayewardene was the most influential political figure of Sri Lanka in the 1970s and 1980s. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 48The Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre was constructed as a major venue for the performing arts. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 49A 1595 map of Sri Lanka created by Dutch cartographer Petrus Plancius (from Sri Lanka)
Image 50Esala Perehera festival, around 1885 (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 51Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil in Jaffna (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 52Maha rath mala (Rhododendron arboreum ssp. zeylanicum) is a rare sub-species of Rhododendron arboreum found in Central Highlands of Sri Lanka. (from Sri Lanka)

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Anuk Arudpragasam in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Anuk Arudpragasam (Tamil: அனுக் அருட்பிரகாசம்) (born 1988) is a Sri Lankan Tamil novelist writing in English and Tamil. His debut novel The Story of a Brief Marriage was published in 2016 by Flatiron Books/Granta Books and was subsequently translated into French, German, Czech, Mandarin, Dutch and Italian. The novel, which takes place in 2009 during the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War, won the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, and was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize and the German Internationaler Literaturpreis. His second novel, A Passage North, was published in 2021 and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. (Full article...)

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... that during the colonial period, the Dutch East Indies was the third-largest exporter of tea after the British Raj and Ceylon?

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Adam's Peak is the setting for the novel The Fountains of Paradise

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... that Deep Penetration Unit of SL Army is believed to be composed of personnel from the Commando and Special Forces regiments of the Sri Lanka Army, in addition to ex-LTTE cadres and members of anti-LTTE Tamil groups?
... that Dilhara Fernando appeared briefly in English county cricket, playing one County Championship and two Pro40 matches at the end of the season in 2008?
... that King Vijayabahu I successfully drove the Chola out of Sri Lanka in 1070, reuniting the country for the first time in over a century?
... that The Academy Award-winning "The Bridge on the River Kwai" was filmed on the Kelani River (pictured) near Kitulgala?

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