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Origins Of The Sri Lankan Civil War
The origins of the Sri Lankan civil war lie in the continuous political rancor between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Sri Lankan Tamils. The war has been described by social anthropologist Jonathan Spencer as an outcome of how modern ethnic identities have been made and re-made since the colonial period, with the political struggle between minority Tamils and the Sinhalese-dominant government accompanied by rhetorical wars over archeological sites and place name etymologies, and the political use of the national past. Colonial period The roots of the conflict have been traced back to Sri Lanka's colonial era. Some observers claim that British colonial rule used "divide and rule" strategy and its policies exacerbated ethnic tensions. Tamils were overrepresented in the civil service jobs due to the advantage of English language educational resources being allegedly disproportionately allocated to them. However, English language schools were established in the Tamil-maj ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donoughmore Commission
The Donoughmore Commission (DC) was responsible for the creation of the Donoughmore Constitution in effect between 1931 and 1947 in British Ceylon, Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka). In 1931 there were approximately 12% Sri Lankan Tamils, Ceylonese Tamils, 12% Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka, Indian Tamils (migrant and immigrant workers employed in the Tea plantations established in the late 19th century), 65% Sinhalese people, Sinhalese, and ~3% Ceylon Moors.J. Russell, ''Communal Politics Under the Donoughmore Constitution'', Tisara Prakasakayo, Colombo 1982 The British government had introduced a form of communal representation which a strong Tamil representation, out of proportion to the population of the Tamil community. The Sinhalese had been divided into up-country and low-country Sinhalese. Commissioners The commissioners were four British Member of Parliament, parliamentarians appointed by Sydney Webb, the first Labour Party (UK), Labour Secretary of State for the Colonies on 13 N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Majoritanian State
Majoritarianism is a political philosophy or ideology with an agenda asserting that a majority, whether based on a religion, language, social class, or other category of the population, is entitled to a certain degree of primacy in society, and has the right to make decisions that affect the society. This traditional view has come under growing criticism, and liberal democracies have increasingly included constraints on what the parliamentary majority can do, in order to protect citizens' fundamental rights. Types Majoritarianism, as a concept of government, branches out into several forms. The classic form includes unicameralism and a unitary state. Qualified majoritarianism is a more inclusionary form, with degrees of decentralization and federalism. Integrative majoritarianism incorporates several institutions to preserve minority groups and foster moderate political parties. Advocates and critics Advocates of majoritarianism argue that majority decision making is intrinsica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hill Country Tamils
Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka are Tamil people of Indian origin in Sri Lanka. They are also known as Malayaga Tamilar, Hill Country Tamils, Up-Country Tamils or simply Indian Tamils. They predominantly descend from workers sent during the British Raj from Southern India to Sri Lanka in the 19th and 20th centuries to work in coffee, tea and rubber plantations. Some also migrated on their own as merchants and as other service providers. These Tamil speakers mostly live in the central highlands, also known as the Malayakam or Hill Country, yet others are also found in major urban areas and in the Northern Province. Although they are all termed as Tamils today, some have Telugu and Malayalee origins as well as diverse South Indian caste origins. They are instrumental in the plantation sector economy of Sri Lanka. In general, socio-economically their standard of living is below that of the national average and they are described as one of the poorest and most neglected groups in Sri Lank ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ceylon Citizenship Act
The Ceylon Citizenship Act No. 18 of 1948 was a controversial law passed by the Ceylon Parliament which did not grant citizenship to Indian Tamils, who were 11% of the population. Background During the 19th and early 20th centuries the British rulers of Ceylon recruited large numbers of South Indians, primarily Indian Tamils, to work in tea, coffee, rubber and coconut plantations in Ceylon. By 1946 their numbers had grown to 780,000, 11.7% of the population. Their presence was resented by Sinhalese nationalists. There was real fear amongst the Indian Tamils that once Ceylon obtained independence, the Sinhalese, who constituted 69.4% of the population, would take steps to remove them from the country. The Bill Shortly after independence on 4 February 1948 the new Sinhalese dominated government of Ceylon introduced the ''Ceylon Citizenship Bill'' before Parliament. The outward purpose of the Bill was to provide means of obtaining citizenship, but its real purpose was to dis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United National Party
The United National Party (UNP; , ) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Sri Lanka. Founded in 1946, the party was one of Sri Lanka's two main parties for several decades. The UNP has served as the country's ruling party, or as part of its governing coalition, during the periods 1947–1956, 1965–1970, 1977–1994, 2001–2004, 2015–2019, and 2022–2024. After suffering a major split in the lead-up to the 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, 2020 parliamentary elections, the UNP suffered a major collapse, with the party only winning one Appointed and National List Member of Parliament, national list seat and losing all its votes to the new Samagi Jana Balawegaya alliance. Currently, the UNP is a notable Third party (politics), third party in Sri Lankan politics. The UNP has been led by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe since 1994. The party is a member of the International Democracy Union. History Formation (1946–1952) The UNP was founded b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All Ceylon Tamil Congress
All Ceylon Tamil Congress (), is the oldest Tamil political party in Sri Lanka. History The ACTC was founded in 1944 by G.G. Ponnambalam. Ponnambalam asked for a 50-50 representation in parliament (50% for the majority Sinhalese, and 50% for ''all'' other ethnic groups). This was immediately rejected by the British Governor General Lord Soulbury as a "mockery of democracy". Due to the cooperation of the ACTC with the United National Party (UNP) a group led by S.J.V. Chelvanayakam broke away in 1949, forming the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), commonly known as Federal Party (FP). The ACTC was largely discredited when their ally the UNP moved away from bilingual and bicommunal policies towards a pro- Sinhalese stance. Thus the FP emerged as the major Tamil party in 1956. In 1972 the ACTC and the FP formed the Tamil United Front, which later evolved into the Tamil United Liberation Front in 1976. Ahead of the 2001 elections, ACTC joined the LTTE-backed Tamil Nationa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks in World War II, Tanks and Air warfare of World War II, aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in history, causing World War II casualties, the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Allied-occupied Germany, Germany, Allied-occupied Austria, Austria, Occupation of Japan, Japan, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinhala Maha Sabha
The Sinhala Maha Sabha () was a political party in colonial-era British Ceylon, Ceylon founded by S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike in the mid-1930s to promote Sinhalese people, Sinhalese Buddhist culture and community interests. In 1946, it joined the United National Party, before leaving the coalition in 1951 to form the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. References 1936 establishments in Ceylon Defunct political parties in Sri Lanka Nationalist parties in Sri Lanka Political parties established in 1936 {{SriLanka-party-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soulbury
Soulbury is a village and also a civil parishes in England, civil parish within the Buckinghamshire Council, unitary authority area of Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Aylesbury Vale, about seven miles south of Central Milton Keynes, and three miles north of Wing, Buckinghamshire, Wing. The village name is Old English language, Anglo Saxon in origin, and means "stronghold in a gully". In the Domesday Book of 1086, the village was recorded as ''Soleberie''. The parish The parish contains the hamlet (place), hamlets of: * Hollingdon in the west, * Chelmscote on the Stoke Hammond to Leighton Buzzard road, * Bragenham to the east of the River Ouzel, and * Stockgrove near Stockgrove Country Park on the border with Bedfordshire. Other places mentioned in historical records include: * Lortun Hill and * a road called London Street, (mentioning William Holynden) * Hongurhell The parish extends as far as Rammamere Farm on Watling Street. Rammamere Heath is managed with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Universal Franchise
Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion of the young and non-citizens (among others). At the same time, some insist that more inclusion is needed before suffrage can be truly universal. Democratic theorists, especially those hoping to achieve more universal suffrage, support presumptive inclusion, where the legal system would protect the voting rights of all subjects unless the government can clearly prove that disenfranchisement is necessary. Universal full suffrage includes both the right to vote, also called active suffrage, and the right to be elected, also called passive suffrage. History In the first modern democracies, governments restricted the vote to those with property and wealth, which almost always meant a minority of the male population. In some jurisdictions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colombo
Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the financial centre of the island and a tourist destination. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to the Greater Colombo area which includes Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, the legislative capital of Sri Lanka, and Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. Colombo is often referred to as the capital since Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is situated within the Colombo metro area. It is also the administrative capital of the Western Province and the district capital of Colombo District. Colombo is a busy and vibrant city with a mixture of modern life, colonial buildings and monuments. It was made the capital of the island when Sri Lanka was ceded to the British Empire in 1815, retaining its capital status when Sri Lanka gained independence in 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
