1.
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
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Ratnasiri Wickremanayake was a Sri Lankan politician who was Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2000 to 2001 and again from 2005 to 2010. He was a National List member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, Wickremanayake held many ministerial positions in the Sri Lankan government, beginning in 1970. During his time in United Kingdom he was elected president of the Ceylon Students Association in the United Kingdom in 1955 and he was elected to the legislature in 1960, from Horana for the Lanka Sama Samaja Party. Wickremanayake joined the SLFP in 1962 and he was re-elected twice to the legislature for Horana from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. Wickremanayake received his first ministerial appointment in 1970, when he was appointed Deputy Minister for Justice in the United Front government under Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike, in 1975, Wickremanayake was appointed Minister of Plantation Industries and the next year was also Minister of Justice. Wickremanayake lost his Parliamentary seat in the defeat of the SLFP in the general elections of 1977. He became General Secretary of the SLFP in 1978, Wickremanayake first served as Prime Minister from August 2000 to December 2001, succeeding Sirimavo Bandaranaike, who resigned from the position at the age of 84. He was sworn into office on 13 October 2000 and he escaped an assassination attempt by a suicide bomber during the 2001 election. He lost his role in December 2001 when his party lost to the opposition party, United National Party. Wickremanayake was the senior vice-president of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, after the SLFP won the 2004 parliamentary elections, Wickremanayake was appointed Minister of Buddhist Affairs, Public Security, and Law and Order, and Deputy Minister for Defence. He was sworn in for a time as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka by President Mahinda Rajapaksa on 21 November 2005. During Presidency of Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, he held the Public Administration, Home Affairs and his son Vidura Wickremanayake is also a Member of Parliament. During his first tenure as Prime Minister, he refused to consider talks with the LTTE separatist group and he called for Sri Lankas family planning policies to be modified, to encourage people to have more children. Wickremanayake was considered an opponent of Tamil separatists. He also opposed the present ceasefire arrangements at the time they were put in place, during his tenure as the Leader of the Opposition in 2002, Wickremanayake openly supported unconditional dialogue with the LTTE. On 21 December 2016, Wickremanayake was admitted to a hospital in Colombo. He died on 27 December 2016 at the age of 83 due to an unspecified illness and he was serving as the Senior Advisor to President Maithripala Sirisena at the time of his death
2.
Parliament of Sri Lanka
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The Parliament of Sri Lanka is the 225-member unicameral legislature of Sri Lanka. The members of Parliament are elected by proportional representation for five-year terms, Parliament reserves the power to make all laws. It is modeled after the British Parliament, the Speaker or, in his absence the Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees or the Deputy Chairman of Committees, presides over Parliament. The nations President has the power to summon, suspend, prorogue, or terminate a legislative session, of the 225 members,196 are elected from 22 electoral districts, which are multi-member. The remaining 29 MPs are elected from National Lists allocated to the parties in proportion to their share of the national vote, at first it was made up of only British officials but later included native citizens. At the beginning 16, and later 49, members were elected for the Legislative Council, but a limited number of people were qualified to vote. It was based on the Westminster model with a house, the Senate, whose members were appointed and a lower house of parliament. The Senate was abolished on 2 October 1971, on 22 May 1972 when the republican constitution was enacted, the House of Representatives was replaced with the National State Assembly which had 168 elected members. This itself was replaced by the Parliament of Sri Lanka when the constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka was enacted in 1977, in 1987, a grenade was lobbed into a conference room inside the Parliament complex where government MPs were meeting. Two people were killed and sixteen injured, but the target of the attack, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna claimed responsibility for the attack. The Presidential Secretariat announced that the Government will be functioning as joint government comprising two major parties, until 1972, the post was known as Clerk of Parliament. Currently, the Secretary Generals administration is divided into eight departments, the Staff Advisory Committee established under the Parliamentary Staff Act provides advice and guidance to the Parliamentary Secretariat with respect to matters concerning Parliamentary staff. The SAC consists of the Speaker, the Leader of the House, the Minister of Finance and the Leader of the Opposition. On January 29,1930 the British Governor of Ceylon, Sir Herbert Stanley, opened a building fronting the ocean at Galle Face, Colombo and it was subsequently used by the State Council, the House of Representatives, the National State Assembly and the Parliament of Sri Lanka. Today the Old Parliament Building is used by the Presidential Secretariat, in 1967 under Speaker Albert F. The island was where the palace of the King Vikramabahu IIIs powerful Minister Nissaka Alakesvara had been situated and it had belonged to E. W. Perera prior to being vested in the state. The building was designed by architect Deshamanya Geoffrey Bawa and built with Sri Lankan funds, on April 29,1982, the new Parliamentary Complex was declared open by President J. R. Jayewardene. Committee On Public Enterprises Politics of Sri Lanka List of legislatures by country Official website
3.
Lanka Sama Samaja Party
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The Lanka Sama Samaja Party is a Trotskyist political party in Sri Lanka. The party was founded in 1935 and emerged as a political force in the Sri Lankan independence movement during the 1940s. It joined a government in 1964, and was then expelled from the Fourth International. It peaked in strength in the 1970s, but has declined gradually during the last 30 years. In the parliamentary election held on 2 April 2004, the party was part of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance, one of those 105 seats belongs to LSSP. The Lanka Sama Samaja Party was the first modern party in Sri Lanka and the first party to have an indigenous name rather than an English one. The Sinhala term samasamajaya was one coined by Dally Jayawardena in the Swadesa Mitraya to translate the term socialist, however, the usage of samasamajaya has since been superseded by samajavadaya in everything but in the names of the LSSP and various of its splinter groups. The Tamil term samadharmam was used to translate socialist, but nowadays the English term is used, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party was founded on 18 December 1935 with the broad aims of Independence and Socialism, by a group of young people who had gathered together for that purpose. The group at the commencement numbered a bare half-dozen composed principally of students who had returned from abroad, influenced deeply by the ideas of Karl Marx and Lenin. The original group consisted of N. M. Perera, Colvin R. de Silva, Leslie Goonewardene, Philip Gunawardena, the LSSP grew out of the Youth Leagues, in which a nucleus of Marxists had developed. The leaders were mainly educated returnees from London, youth who had come into contact with the ideas of the European Left and were influenced by Harold Laski. Dr S. A. Wickremasinghe, an early returnee and a member of the State Council from 1931, was part of this group, the group, through the South Colombo Youth League, became involved in a strike at the Wellawatte Spinning and Weaving Mills. It published a journal in Sinhala, Kamkaruwa. In 1933 the group got involved in the Suriya-Mal movement, which had formed to provide support for indigenous ex-servicemen by the sale of Suriya flowers. The Suriya-Mal movement surged as a reaction to the fact that at the time Poppy Day funds went solely to British ex-servicemen, the movement was honed by volunteer work among the poor during the Malaria Epidemic of 1934-1935. The volunteers found that there was widespread malnutrition, which helped fight by making pills of Marmite yeast extract. In 1936 the LSSP contested the State Council elections in four constituencies, the two new members, Philip Gunawardena and N. M. Perera, proved to be a thorn in the side of the British Colonial government. The LSSP began fraternal relations with the Congress Socialist Party of India, Mrs Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya of the CSP was invited by the LSSP for a highly successful political tour of the island
4.
Alma mater
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Alma mater is an allegorical Latin phrase for a university or college. In modern usage, it is a school or university which an individual has attended, the phrase is variously translated as nourishing mother, nursing mother, or fostering mother, suggesting that a school provides intellectual nourishment to its students. Before its modern usage, Alma mater was a title in Latin for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele. The source of its current use is the motto, Alma Mater Studiorum, of the oldest university in continuous operation in the Western world and it is related to the term alumnus, denoting a university graduate, which literally means a nursling or one who is nourished. The phrase can also denote a song or hymn associated with a school, although alma was a common epithet for Ceres, Cybele, Venus, and other mother goddesses, it was not frequently used in conjunction with mater in classical Latin. Alma Redemptoris Mater is a well-known 11th century antiphon devoted to Mary, the earliest documented English use of the term to refer to a university is in 1600, when University of Cambridge printer John Legate began using an emblem for the universitys press. In English etymological reference works, the first university-related usage is often cited in 1710, many historic European universities have adopted Alma Mater as part of the Latin translation of their official name. The University of Bologna Latin name, Alma Mater Studiorum, refers to its status as the oldest continuously operating university in the world. At least one, the Alma Mater Europaea in Salzburg, Austria, the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, has been called the Alma Mater of the Nation because of its ties to the founding of the United States. At Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, the ancient Roman world had many statues of the Alma Mater, some still extant. Modern sculptures are found in prominent locations on several American university campuses, outside the United States, there is an Alma Mater sculpture on the steps of the monumental entrance to the Universidad de La Habana, in Havana, Cuba. Media related to Alma mater at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of alma mater at Wiktionary Alma Mater Europaea website
5.
King's College London
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Kings College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, and a founding constituent college of the federal University of London. Kings was established in 1829 by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington, in 1836, Kings became one of the two founding colleges of the University of London. It is a member of organisations such as the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the European University Association. Kings has five campuses, its main campus on the Strand in central London. In 2015/16, Kings had an income of £738.4 million, of which £193.2 million was from research grants and contracts and as of 2014/15. It has the fifth largest endowment of any university in the United Kingdom, and its academic activities are organised into nine faculties which are subdivided into numerous departments, centres and research divisions. Kings is home to six Medical Research Council centres and is a member of the Kings Health Partners academic health sciences centre, Francis Crick Institute. Kings College London, so named to indicate the patronage of King George IV, was founded in 1829 in response to the controversy surrounding the founding of London University in 1826. The need for such an institution was a result of the religious and social nature of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, which then educated solely the sons of wealthy Anglicans. The secular nature of London University was disapproved by The Establishment, indeed, thus, the creation of a rival institution represented a Tory response to reassert the educational values of The Establishment. Winchilsea and about 150 other contributors withdrew their support of Kings College London in response to Wellingtons support of Catholic emancipation. In a letter to Wellington he accused the Duke to have in mind insidious designs for the infringement of our liberty, the letter provoked a furious exchange of correspondence and Wellington accused Winchilsea of imputing him with disgraceful and criminal motives in setting up Kings College London. The result was a duel in Battersea Fields on 21 March 1829, Winchilsea did not fire, a plan he and his second almost certainly decided upon before the duel, Wellington took aim and fired wide to the right. Accounts differ as to whether Wellington missed on purpose, Wellington, noted for his poor aim, claimed he did, other reports more sympathetic to Winchilsea claimed he had aimed to kill. Honour was saved and Winchilsea wrote Wellington an apology, duel Day is still celebrated on the first Thursday after 21 March every year, marked by various events throughout Kings, including reenactments. Kings opened in October 1831 with the cleric William Otter appointed as first principal, despite the attempts to make Kings Anglican-only, the initial prospectus permitted, nonconformists of all sorts to enter the college freely. William Howley, the governors and the professors, except the linguists, had to be members of the Church of England but the students did not, though attendance at chapel was compulsory. Kings was divided into a department and a junior department, also known as Kings College School
6.
University of Ceylon
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The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka, the University of Ceylon Act No.1 of 1972, replaced it with the University of Sri Lanka which existed from 1973 to 1978. In 1978 it was separated into four independent universities and these are the University of Colombo, the University of Peradeniya, Vidyodaya University and the University of Kelaniya. Agitation for the provision of education in the island and for the establishment of a University began by the mid 19th century. Owing to the persistent demands of the Association the government decided in 1913 to set up a University College affiliated to the University of London. The Ceylon University College was formally declared open in January 1921 in the building that was originally the building of Royal College located on Thurstan Road opposite College House. From its inception, the University College was regarded as only a step, a half-way house. The University of Ceylon was established on 1 July 1942 by the Ceylon University Ordinance No.20 of 1942 by amalgamating the Ceylon Medical College, the first official announcement of the creation of a separate University in Colombo was made in Parliament in the Throne Speech of 1967. The University of Ceylon Act No.1 of 1972, which replaced the Higher Education Act of 1966 altered the complexion of the hitherto familiar University structure. The four independent autonomous universities which had set up by then. Its headquarters designated Senate House was located in Colombo and this arrangement did not last very long. With the promulgation of the Universities Act, the First Years of the University of Ceylon University of Colombo University of Peradeniya University of Sri Jayewardenepura
7.
Royal College, Colombo
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Royal College is a selective entry boys school located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Royal College is considered to be a public school in Sri Lanka and is often referred to as the Eton of Sri Lanka. As a national school it is funded by the government as opposed to the provincial council providing both primary and secondary education, the school was selected as one of best innovative colleges in the world by Microsoft in 2009. Students of Royal College are known as Royalists whilst past pupils are known as Old Royalists, the school has produced many distinguished alumni, among whom are presidents of two countries, a sultan, and three prime ministers. The college is funded by the Ministry of Education, which appoints its principal, the principal is the head of the administration of the college and is assisted by a vice principal. The school is divided into three sections, the school, middle school and the upper school, each coming under a deputy principal. The college educates close to 9100 students in secondary and primary education. Administration of the hostel is carried out by the warden under supervision of the principal and is assisted by a sub-warden. Since its establishment, the medium of education had been English, however with Sinhala becoming the official language along with Tamil. Since 2002 English has been reintroduced as a medium of education at the college, students may select one of the three languages in which to conduct their studies. Admission to the school is very competitive and it gets its highest number of applications for admission to grade 1 and the best 250 students from all over the country enter the school in year 5 via the grade 5 scholarship examination. The school is located on 37 acres where the school, the middle school. It is equipped with lecture halls, science and computer laboratories and this includes the College Hall and the Navarangahala, a national theatre. The school hostel is located within the grounds and it accommodates students from outside Colombo. Sport plays a part in Royal Colleges activities. The schools facilities include a pool, cricket and athletics grounds, tennis courts, basketball courts. The Royal College Sports Complex and the grounds are located a short distance from the college. The international standard sports complex, built in 2000, hosts national, situated in front of the main building, between the center Boake Gates and the College Main Hall, is the memorial to Old Royalists who died in the two World Wars and the Sri Lankan Civil War
8.
St. John's College Panadura
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St John’s College is a prominent school in Panadura, Sri Lanka, that was founded in 1876. It is a National school with a student population of 2000, St. Johns College was initially known as Primary State English School which had existed from about the middle of the 19th century. In 1876 it received endowments from Wasala Mudliyar Susew de Soysa as well as Sir Charles Henry de Soysa and was named St. Johns College by the Bishop of Colombo Rt and it was ceremonially opened by the Governor Sir William Henry Gregory on 14 June 1876. Starting with 75 students the numbers raised gradually and in 1885 classes for girls began at St John’s started by Mrs Jansz, the school has a proud history of more than 100 years and celebrated the 125th anniversary during the year 2000. Johns College and Panadura Royal College and it is known as the Battle of the Greens and Battle of Panadura. The alumni of St. Johns College are known as Old Johnians, alumni include, St. Johns College Official Web Site Read this article in Sinhala Map in St. Johns College Cricket Stars Contest, Royal Panadura clear lead in three categories. Dialog Youth Under 19 Cricket Awards
9.
Trotskyism
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Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotskyists are critical of Stalinism, as they oppose Stalins theory of Socialism in One Country in favor of Trotskys theory of Permanent Revolution, Trotskyists also criticize the bureaucracy that developed in the Soviet Union under Stalin. Vladimir Lenin and Trotsky were close both ideologically and personally during the Russian Revolution and its aftermath, and some call Trotsky its co-leader, Trotsky was the paramount leader of the Soviet Red Army in the direct aftermath of the Revolutionary period. Trotsky originally opposed some aspects of Leninism, later, he concluded that unity between the Mensheviks and Bolsheviks was impossible, and joined the Bolsheviks. Trotsky played a role with Lenin in the revolution. Assessing Trotsky, Lenin wrote, Trotsky long ago said that unification is impossible, Trotsky understood this and from that time on there has been no better Bolshevik. Trotsky was exiled from the USSR to Alma Ata in Kazakhstan on 31 January 1928 under Stalins orders, almost all of the Partys Trotskyists were executed in the Great Purges of 1937–1938 effectively removing all of Trotskys internal influence on the USSR. In contemporary English language usage, an advocate of Trotskys ideas is called a Trotskyist. In the 1920s they called themselves the Left Opposition, although todays left communism is distinct, the terminological disagreement can be confusing because different versions of a left-right political spectrum are used. Anti-revisionists consider themselves the ultimate leftists on a spectrum from communism on the left to imperialist capitalism on the right, but given that Stalinism is often labeled rightist within the communist spectrum and left communism leftist, Anti-revisionists idea of left is very different from that of left communism. Trotsky was extremely critical of the Stalinist USSR for suppressing democracy, in 1905, Trotsky formulated a theory that became known as the theory of Permanent Revolution. It is one of the characteristics of Trotskyism. Until 1905, Marxism only claimed that a revolution in a European capitalist society would lead to a socialist one, according to the original theory it was impossible for such to occur in more backward countries such as early 20th century Russia. Russia in 1905 was widely considered to have not yet established a capitalist society, the theory of Permanent Revolution addressed the question of how such feudal regimes were to be overthrown, and how socialism could be established given the lack of economic prerequisites. Trotsky argued that in Russia only the class could overthrow feudalism. Furthermore, he argued that the Russian working class would not stop there and they would win its own revolution against the weak capitalist class, establish a workers state in Russia, and appeal to the working class in the advanced capitalist countries around the world. As a result, the working class would come to Russias aid. Revolutions in Britain in the 17th century and in France in 1789 abolished feudalism, Trotsky argued that these revolutions would not be repeated in Russia
10.
Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia near south-east India. Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest, Sri Lankas documented history spans 3,000 years, with evidence of pre-historic human settlements dating back to at least 125,000 years. Its geographic location and deep harbours made it of strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road through to World War II. Sri Lanka was known from the beginning of British colonial rule until 1972 as Ceylon, Sri Lankas recent history has been marred by a thirty-year civil war which decisively ended when the Sri Lankan military defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009. A diverse and multicultural country, Sri Lanka is home to many religions, ethnic groups, in addition to the majority Sinhalese, it is home to large groups of Sri Lankan and Indian Tamils, Moors, Burghers, Malays, Kaffirs and the aboriginal Vedda. Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage, and the first known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka is a republic and a unitary state governed by a semi-presidential system. The legislative capital, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, is a suburb of the capital and largest city. Along with the Maldives, Sri Lanka is one of the two countries in South Asia that are rated among high human development on the Human Development Index. In antiquity, Sri Lanka was known to travellers by a variety of names, according to the Mahavamsa, the legendary Prince Vijaya named the land Tambapanni, because his followers hands were reddened by the red soil of the area. In Hindu mythology, such as the Mahabharata, the island was referred to as Lankā, in Tamil, the island is referred to as Eelam. Ancient Greek geographers called it Taprobanā or Taprobanē from the word Tambapanni, as a British crown colony, the island was known as Ceylon, it achieved independence as the Dominion of Ceylon in 1948. The country is known in Sinhalese as Śrī Laṃkā and in Tamil as Ilaṅkai, in 1972, its formal name was changed to Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka. Later in 1978 it was changed to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, as the name Ceylon still appears in the names of a number of organisations, the Sri Lankan government announced in 2011 a plan to rename all those over which it has authority. The pre-history of Sri Lanka goes back 125,000 years, the era spans the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and early Iron Ages. Among the Paleolithic human settlements discovered in Sri Lanka, Pahiyangala and it is said that Kubera was overthrown by his demon stepbrother Ravana, the powerful emperor who built a mythical flying machine named Dandu Monara. The modern city of Wariyapola is described as Ravanas airport, early inhabitants of Sri Lanka were probably ancestors of the Vedda people, an indigenous people numbering approximately 2,500 living in modern-day Sri Lanka. According to the Mahāvamsa, a written in Pāḷi, the original inhabitants of Sri Lanka are the Yakshas and Nagas. Ancient cemeteries that were used before 600BC and other signs of advanced civilization has also discovered in Sri Lanka
11.
Marxism
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It originates from the mid-to-late 19th century works of German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. As the contradiction becomes apparent to the proletariat through the alienation of labor, Marxism has since developed into different branches and schools of thought, and there is now no single definitive Marxist theory. Marxism has been adopted by a number of academics and theorists working in various disciplines. Critics have taken issue with particular Marxist claims or accused Marxism as a whole of being inconsistent, refuted based on new information. The Marxian analysis begins with an analysis of the material conditions, the economic system and these social relations form a base and superstructure. As forces of production, most notably technology, improve, existing forms of social organization become inefficient, from forms of development of the productive forces these relations turn into their fetters. Then begins an era of social revolution and these inefficiencies manifest themselves as social contradictions in society in the form of class struggle. Under the capitalist mode of production, this struggle materializes between the minority who own the means of production, and the vast majority of the population who produce goods, the socialist system would succeed capitalism as humanitys mode of production through workers revolution. According to Marxism, especially arising from crisis theory, socialism is a historical necessity, in a socialist society private property, in the form of the means of production, would be replaced by co-operative ownership. A socialist economy would not base production on the creation of private profits, Society does not consist of individuals, but expresses the sum of interrelations, the relations within which these individuals stand. The historical materialist theory of history analyses the causes of societal development. All constituent features of a society are assumed to stem from economic activity, the base and superstructure metaphor portrays the totality of social relations by which humans produce and re-produce their social existence. According to Marx, The sum total of the forces of production accessible to men determines the condition of society and this relationship is reflexive, at first the base gives rise to the superstructure and remains the foundation of a form of social organization. As Friedrich Engels clarified, The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles, accordingly, Marx designated human history as encompassing four stages of development in relations of production. Primitive Communism, as in tribal societies. Slave Society, a development of tribal to city-state, aristocracy is born, feudalism, aristocrats are the ruling class, merchants evolve into capitalists. Capitalism, capitalists are the class, who create and employ the proletariat. According to the Marxist theoretician and revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, the content of Marxism was Marxs economic doctrine
12.
The empire on which the sun never sets
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It was originally used for the Spanish Empire, mainly in the 16th and 17th centuries. In more recent times, it was used for the British Empire, mainly in the 19th, during this period, the British Empire reached a territorial size larger than that of any other empire in history. Georg Büchmann traces the idea to a speech in Herodotus Histories and this concept had existed in the Ancient Near East before the Old Testament. The Story of Sinuhe announces that the Egyptian King rules “all what the sun encircles. ”Mesopotamian texts contemporary to Sargon of Akkad proclaim that this king ruled “all the lands from sunrise to sunset. The phrase gained added resonance during the reign of Charless son, Philip II of Spain, when King Henry of Portugal died, Philip II pressed his claim to the Portuguese throne and was recognised as Philip I of Portugal in 1581. In 1585, Giovanni Battista Guarini wrote Il pastor fido to mark the marriage of Catherine Michelle, daughter of Philip II, to Charles Emmanuel I, guarinis dedication read, Altera figlia / Di qel Monarca, a cui / Nö anco, quando annotta, il Sol tramonta. Thomas Urquhart wrote of that great Don Philippe, Tetrarch of the world, Joseph Fouché recalled Napoleon saying before the Peninsular War, Reflect that the sun never sets in the immense inheritance of Charles V, and that I shall have the empire of both worlds. This was cited in Walter Scotts Life of Napoleon and it has been claimed that Louis XIV of Frances emblem of the Sun King and associated motto, Nec pluribus impar were based on the solar emblem and motto of Philip II. In the 19th century, it became popular to apply the phrase to the British Empire and it was a time when British world maps showed the Empire in red and pink to highlight British imperial power spanning the globe. Scottish author, John Wilson, writing as Christopher North in Blackwoods Magazine in 1829, is credited as originating the usage. In a speech on 31 July 1827, Rev. R. P, in 1839, Sir Henry Ward said in the House of Commons, Look at the British Colonial empire — the most magnificent empire that the world ever saw. The old Spanish boast that the sun never set in their dominions, has been more truly realised amongst ourselves, an 1897 magazine article titled The Greatest Nation on Earth boasted, he sun never sets on Uncle Sam. A1991 history book discussion of U. S. expansion states, the phrase is sometimes used critically with the implication of American imperialism, as in the title of Joseph Gersons book, The Sun Never Sets, Confronting the Network of Foreign U. S. King of Kings Nec pluribus impar Plus ultra
13.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
14.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
15.
Bogambara Prison
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The Bogambara Prison was a 13-acre maximum security prison and second largest prison in Sri Lanka, after Welikada Prison in Colombo. The prison is situated in the city of Kandy in the Central Province and was built in 1876 by the British Ceylon Government under instructions of Inspector General Of Prisons and it was used to house serious offenders and death row prisoners. The complex which has gallows is one of the two prisons in Sri Lanka where the penalty was implemented. The gallows were shifted from Hangman’s Hill to Bogambara in 1876, the building is one of the oldest existing building in the world heritage city of Kandy, and is considered to be a rich archaeological landmark. It is also believed the construction of the Prison has been similar to that of the Bastille. The prison was administered by the Department of Prisons, in an effort to expand the prison network in the country and improve prison conditions the Sri Lankan government decided, in 2013, to permanently close the complex. Serving inmates were transferred to a new complex in Pallekele. A few months earlier the Department of Prisons also closed the Bogambara remand prison, the prison closed operations on 1 January 2014 with the properties and belongings of the Prison handed over to President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Bogambara prison is to be used for purposes as a historical building. Dr Colvin R. de Silva - Lanka Sama Samaja Party leader, anti-war movement leader during World War II, philip Gunawardena - Lanka Sama Samaja Party leader, anti-war movement leader during World War II and later a Member of Parliament. William de Silva - Lanka Sama Samaja Party leader, anti-war movement leader during World War II, maru Sira - Death row inmate executed among much controversy. Welikada Prison Mahara Prison Bogambara Prison, Department of Prisons
16.
Wellawatte
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Wellawatte, a neighbourhood of Colombo, lies immediately south of Bambalapitiya and is classified as zone 6 within the Colombo Municipal region. The Savoy Cinema was owned and managed by C. V. de Silva, located right next to the Dutch Canal on the seaside marks the beginning of the town. The Cinema has since bought by the Edirisinghe Group, owned and managed by EAP Edirisinghe. On the beach stood the original KS&LSC, established in 1940 and this club produced several champions in swimming and aquatics. The club also produced several outstanding spear fishermen and introduced the sport of fishing to Ceylon. Wellawatte is also the birthplace of one of the countrys best seafood restaurants, Wellawatte has also produced some of the best cricketers and ruggerites in Sri Lanka. E. g. Asanka Gurusinha in cricket, the Denish brothers in rugby, Mary Anne, arethusa College, Colombo-6 St. Lawrences Church, Wellawatte Hotel Sapphire Global Towers Hotel Hotel Mirage
17.
United National Party
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The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP, is a political party in Sri Lanka. It currently is the ruling party in the government of Sri Lanka and is headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe. The UNP is considered to have right-leaning, pro-capitalist, and liberal conservative policies. 66% of the popular vote and it beat the United Peoples Freedom Alliance, a left-leaning coalition, which won 44. 38% of the vote. The Front held a majority in parliament with the support of some UPFA members, the UNP had previously been the governing party or in the governing coalition from 1947 to 1956, from 1965 to 1970, from 1977 to 1994 and 2001 to 2004. In total, the UNP governed Sri Lanka for 38 of 69 years of its independent history, the UNP also had control of the executive presidency from the presidencys formation in 1978 to 1994. The UNP is a party to the right of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. The UNP is also member of the International Democrat Union, the UNP was founded on 6 September 1946 by amalgamating three right-leaning pro-dominion parties from the majority Sinhalese community and minority Tamil and Muslim communities. The UNP represented the community and the landed gentry. However, Senanayake also adopted populist policies that made the party accepted in the grassroots level. S Senanayake is considered as the father of the nation, after independnece he refused a Knighthood but maintained good relations with Britain and was a Privy Counsel. These measures were intended primarily to undermine the Left electorally, in 1952 Prime Minister Senanayake died in a riding accident, and his son Dudley became Prime Minister. This irked long standing UNP stalwart S. W. R. D, bandaranaike, a Buddhist nationalist leader known for his centre-left views. Bandaranaike quit the party to found the Sri Lanka Freedom Party as a force between the UNP and Marxist parties. In 1953 the UNP attempted to reduce the rice ration and there was a Hartal, there was growing disaffection with the UNP particularly because of its support of minority religious groups, most notably Catholics, to the consternation of the predominantly Buddhist Sinhalese. Bandaranaike was able to take advantage and lead the SLFP to victory in the 1956 elections, soon afterwards he passed the controversial Sinhala Only Act, which led to communal clashes in 1958. For the latter, he was called “Yankee Dickey. ”After Dudley Senanayake’s death in 1973, J. R. Jayewardene became leader of the UNP, the party won an unprecedented five-sixths of the seats in parliament. J. R. Jayewardene got himself elected Executive President by Parliament and, in 1978, the UNP opened up the economy and revolutionized the entire outlook of the country. Free-trade zones such as in Katunayaka and Biyagama were established in order to generate employment which resulted in leading international companies investing in Sri Lanka, the government undertook massive development work to promote hydroelectricity and agriculture. Reservoirs were built at Victoria, Randenigala, Rantambe and Kotmale while Maduru Oya and he created the University of Ruhuna and the Eastern University as well as the Medical faculty of the Jaffna university Bandaranayake International Airport was modernized and Air Lanka was created
18.
Sinhala Only Act
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The Sinhala Only Act, formally the Official Language Act No.33 of 1956, was an act passed in the Parliament of Ceylon in 1956. The act replaced English as the language of Ceylon with Sinhalese. The act failed to give recognition to Tamil, which had not received official recognition before. Sinhalese is the language of Sri Lankas majority Sinhalese people, who accounted for around 70% of the population at that time. Tamil is the first language of Ceylons three largest minority groups, the Indian Tamils, Sri Lankan Tamils and Moors, who together accounted for around 29% of the countrys population. Under the British Empire, English was the language of rule in Ceylon, until the passage of the Free Education Bill in 1944, education in the English language was the preserve of the subaltern elite and the ordinary people had little knowledge of it. A disproportionate number of English-language schools were located in the mostly Tamil-speaking north, thus, English-speaking Tamils held a higher percentage of coveted Ceylon Civil Service jobs, which required English fluency, than their share of the islands population. In 1944, J. R. Jayewardene moved a motion in the State Council that Sinhala should replace English as the official language, however, nothing was done about these matters and English continued to be the language of rule until 1956. Ceylon gained dominion status in 1948 with a struggle, the passage to sovereignty from the British to the Sri Lankan subaltern elite being a peaceful one. For the first years of independence there was an attempt to balance the interests of the elites of the communities, the Sinhalese. Most Sinhalese did, however, harbour the view that the Tamils had enjoyed a position under the British. Some have described this being due to the British policy of divide. In 1949, at the behest of the plantation owners, the government disenfranchised the Indian Tamil plantation workers. In 1951, the ambitious Solomon Bandaranaike broke with his party, the conservative United National Party, and created a new centrist party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. In 1955, the SLFP decided to break ranks with the consensus on the left to have both Sinhalese and Tamil as official languages to campaign on the slogan Sinhala Only. In the 1956 parliamentary elections, the SLFP campaigned on largely nationalist policies, the result was electoral victory for the SLFP, and The Ceylon Order in Council or Sinhala Only Bill was quickly enacted after the election. The bill was passed with the SLFP and the UNP supporting it, with the leftist LSSP and Communist Party of Sri Lanka as well as the Tamil nationalist parties opposing it. The Left bitterly opposed it, with Dr N. M. Dr Colvin R. de Silva of the LSSP responded, in some regard as famous last words
19.
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
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The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a Tamil militant organization, often classified as a terrorist group, that was based in northeastern Sri Lanka. Founded in May 1976 by Velupillai Prabhakaran, it waged a secessionist nationalist insurgency to create an independent state of Tamil Eelam in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Tamil people. This campaign led to the Sri Lankan Civil War, which ran from 1983 until 2009, due to its military victories, policies, call for national self-determination and constructive Tamil nationalist platform the LTTE was supported by major sections of the Tamil community. University Teachers for Human Rights claimed that by combination of internal terror and it took away not only the right to oppose but even the right to evaluate, as a community, the course they were taking. This gives a semblance of illusion that the society is behind the LTTE. The LTTE was the militant group to assassinate two world leaders, former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 and Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993. The LTTE invented suicide belts and pioneered the use of women in suicide attacks in warfare and it also acquired and used light aircraft in some of its attacks. It is currently proscribed as a terrorist organisation by 32 countries, including the United States, European Union and India, Velupillai Prabhakaran headed the organisation from its inception until his death in 2009. Historical inter-ethnic imbalances between majority Sinhalese and minority Tamil populations are alleged to have created the background for the origin of the LTTE. By the 1970s, initial non violent political struggle for an independent mono-ethnic Tamil state was used as justification for a violent secessionist insurgency led by the LTTE and it was involved in four unsuccessful rounds of peace talks with the Sri Lankan government over the course of the conflict. At its peak in 2000, the LTTE was in control of 76% of the landmass in the Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka, at the start of the final round of peace talks in 2002, the Tamil Tigers controlled a 15,000 km2 area. Victory over the Tigers was declared by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on 16 May 2009, Prabhakaran was killed by government forces on 19 May 2009. Selvarasa Pathmanathan succeeded Prabhakaran as leader of the LTTE, but he was arrested in Malaysia. In the early 1970s, United Front government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike introduced the policy of standardisation to rectify the low numbers of Sinhalese being accepted into university in Sri Lanka, a student named Satiyaseelan formed Tamil Manavar Peravai to counter this. This group comprised Tamil youth who advocated the rights of students to have fair enrollment, inspired by the failed 1971 insurrection of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, it was the first Tamil insurgent group of its kind. It consisted of around 40 Tamil youth, including Ponnuthurai Sivakumaran, K. Pathmanaba and Velupillai Prabhakaran, in 1972, Prabhakaran teamed up with Chetti Thanabalasingam, Jaffna to form the Tamil New Tigers, with Thanabalasingham as its leader. After he was killed, Prabhakaran took over, at the same time, Nadarajah Thangathurai and Selvarajah Yogachandran were also involved in discussions about an insurgency. They would later create an organisation named Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization to campaign for the establishment of an independent Tamil Eelam
20.
Fourth International
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Thus, Trotskyists founded their own, competing Fourth International. Today, there is no longer a single, cohesive Fourth International, ideologically, Maoists, left communists, and anarchists all consider Trotskyism, and thus also the Fourth International, to be ideologically bankrupt and impotent. Quite a few of these carry the label Fourth Internationalist either in their organisations name, major political position documents. It has not succeeded in capitalizing on the renewed interest in socialism, the FI suffered a major split in 1940 and an even more significant split in 1953. A partial reunification occurred in 1963, but the international never recovered enough to re-emerge as a single transnational grouping, Trotskyists regard themselves as working in opposition to both capitalism and Stalinism. This theory was advanced in opposition to the held by the Stalinists that socialism in one country could be built in the Soviet Union alone. Furthermore, Trotsky and his supporters criticised the increasingly totalitarian nature of Joseph Stalins rule. They argued that socialism without democracy is impossible, thus, faced with the increasing lack of democracy in the Soviet Union, they concluded that it was no longer a socialist workers state, but a degenerated workers state. Trotsky and his supporters had been organised since 1923 as the Left Opposition and they opposed the bureaucratisation of the Soviet Union, which they analysed as being partly caused by the poverty and isolation of the Soviet economy. Prior to 1924, the Bolsheviks international perspective had been guided by Trotskys position, Trotsky argued that Stalins theory represented the interests of bureaucratic elements in direct opposition to the working class. Eventually Trotsky was sent into exile and his supporters were jailed. The Left Opposition, however, continued to work in secret within the Soviet Union, Trotsky was eventually exiled to Turkey. He moved from there to France, Norway, and finally to Mexico and he was assassinated on Stalins orders in Mexico, by Ramón Mercader, a Spanish-born Soviet agent in August 1940. A political international is an organisation of political parties or activists with the aim of co-ordinating their activity for a common purpose, after the International Workingmens Association disbanded in 1876, several attempts were made to revive the organisation, culminating in the formation of the Socialist International in 1889. This, in turn, was disbanded in 1916 following disagreements over World War I and this was organised on a democratic centralist basis, with component parties required to fight for policies adopted by the body as a whole. By declaring themselves the Fourth International, the World Party of Socialist Revolution, the Trotskyists were publicly asserting their continuity with the Comintern and their recognition of the importance of these earlier Internationals was coupled with a belief that they eventually degenerated. Trotsky believed that its formation was all the more urgent for the role he saw it playing in the impending World War, in the early 1930s, Trotsky and his supporters believed that Stalins influence over the Third International could still be fought from within and slowly rolled back. They organised themselves into the International Left Opposition in 1930, which was intended to be a group of anti-Stalinist dissenters within the Third International, Stalins supporters, who dominated the International, would no longer tolerate dissent
21.
Sirimavo Bandaranaike
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Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike, commonly known as Sirimavo Bandaranaike, was a Sri Lankan stateswoman and politician and the modern worlds first female head of government. She served as Prime Minister of Ceylon and Sri Lanka three times, 1960–65, 1970–77 and 1994–2000, and was a leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. Born to Barnes Ratwatte, Dissawa of Sabaragamuwa and Rosalind Mahawelatenne Kumarihamy of Mahawelatenne Walauwa, Balangoda, she was the eldest of six, with four brothers and her father was member of the State Council and the Senate of Ceylon. Her youngest sister Patsy Ratwatte was married to Colonel Edward James Divitotawela, Bandaranaike was educated at St Bridgets Convent, Colombo, but was a practising Buddhist. In 1940 she married Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike, a member of the State council and son of Sir Solomon Dias Bandaranaike and they had three children, Sunethra, Chandrika, and Anura. Her husband Solomon was a member of the United National Party in 1946 and was elected to the House of Representatives in the first elections of the Dominion of Ceylon in 1947. Breaking away from the UNP he went on to form the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, a coalition led by the SLFP won a majority in the House of Representatives in 1956 general election and Solomon became Prime Minister. After initiating much change on socialist and nationalistic lines, he had his tenure cut short three years later when he was assassinated by a Buddhist monk on 26 September 1959. The assassination created a vacuum, due to Solomons likely successor C. P. de Silva being gravely ill. Wijeyananda Dahanayake, Minister of Education, was appointed caretaker Prime Minister, turmoil in the government followed as Dahanayake sacked and appointed ministers. This led to a defeat of the SLFP in the March 1960 elections, during this time Sirimavo was brought forward as legitimate successor to her husbands party leadership and she entered politics. In 1960 M. P. de Zoysa Jnr stepped down from his seat in the Senate paving the way for Sirimavo to be appointed as a member of the Senate from the SLFP. She led her party to win the July 1960 elections on the pledge to continue her husbands policies, notably the Sinhala Only Act, on 21 July 1960, as a Senator she became prime minister, thus becoming the first female prime minister in the world. Known to her fellow Sri Lankans as Mrs. B, she could skillfully use appeals to the electorates as she promised to continue her husbands work. Bandaranaike was on a ride from the moment she took office. Within a year of her 1960 election victory she declared a state of emergency and this they considered a highly discriminatory act and an attempt to deny Tamils access to all official posts and the law. This led to an increase in Tamil militancy which escalated under succeeding administrations, further problems arose with the state takeover of foreign businesses, particularly petroleum companies, which upset the United States and Britain, they ended aid to Sri Lanka. As a result, Bandaranaike moved her country closer to China, at home, she crushed an attempted military coup by Christian officers in 1962 and appointed her uncle William Gopallawa Governor-General of Ceylon
22.
Sri Lanka Freedom Party
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The Sri Lanka Freedom Party is one of the major political parties in Sri Lanka. It was founded by S. W. R. D Bandaranaike in 1951 and and it first came to power in 1956 and since then has been the predominant party in government on a number of occasions. The party is considered as having a democratic socialist or progressive economic agenda and is often associated with nationalist Sinhala parties. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party is a constituent party in the United Peoples Freedom Alliance. After independence, the SLFP represented a form of non-revolutionary socialism, founding leader, S. W. R. D Bandaranaike stated that the basis of the party would be the ‘Pancha Maha Balavegaya’ which consisted of the native doctors, clergy, teachers, farmers and workers. After winning 9 seats in the 1952 parliamentary election, leader S. W. R. D Bandaranaike contested the 1956 election on a platform of giving meaning to the independence achieved in 1948. Amongst the many achievements of S. W. R, working people, a core base of support for the party, also benefited through the setting up of an Employees Provident Fund and the empowerment of peasants through the Paddy Lands Act. The S. W. R. D Bandaranaike government also had a contribution in language policy. In 1956 Sinhala replaced English as the language of Sri Lanka. In reaction to Tamil unease, the Bandaranaike–Chelvanayakam Pact was signed to grant official status to the Tamil language, however, this agreement was vehemently opposed by extremists led by the main opposition party UNP and instead a watered down act was passed. In September 1959, Bandaranaike was assassinated by an extremist monk opposed to his attempts to allegedly appease Tamils and he was replaced as Prime Minister for an interim period by Wijeyananda Dahanayake. After this, the party turned to Bandaranaikes widow Sirimavo Bandaranaike who consequently in 1960 became the worlds first elected head of government. Sirimavo Bandaranaike was determined to carry on the programme of her husband, issues arose during the state takeover of foreign businesses which upset the United States and Britain. Consequently, this augmented the SLFP’s foreign policy shift towards the East, further, in 1972, the SLFP led government oversaw the introduction of a new constitution which changed the country’s name from Ceylon to Sri Lanka and declared Sri Lanka to be a republic. Likewise, in 1971 the SLFP led government was almost toppled by a violent Marxist insurrection and this was the start of 17 years in opposition. This period of opposition was greatly difficult after President J. R. Jayewardenes government stripped Sirimavo Bandaranaike of her civic rights for 7 years. As a result, the SLFP fielded Hector Kobbekaduwa at the 1982 Presidential Election, the SLFP suffered a further blow in the same year, when a referendum to delay parliamentary elections by 6 years was passed. During this period, the party suffered from conflicts, with Sirimavo’s daughter and future party leader Chandrika Kumaratunga even leading a breakaway group
23.
Hartal 1953
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The Hartal 1953 was a country-wide demonstration of civil disobedience and strike, commonly known as a hartal, held in Ceylon on 12 August 1953. It was organized to protest of the policies and actions of the incumbent United National Party government and it was the first mass political action in Ceylon and the first major social crisis after independence. This event is of significance because it was the first peoples struggle against an elected government in the country. The protests saw much sabotage and destruction to infrastructure, as a means of frightening and halting the government. This occurred mainly in the Western, Southern and Sabaragamuwa Provinces as well as other minor protests around the rest of the island, the demonstrations lasted only a day with at least 10 people killed, resulting in the resignation of the Prime Minister. In 1948 Ceylon had gained independence becoming a Dominion, and Don Stephen Senanayake becoming the first Prime Minister of Ceylon, in March 1952 Senanayake died which began a violent tussle between his son Dudley Senanayake and his nephew John Kotelawala for his succession. The Governor General at the time Lord Soulbury arbitrated in favour of his son, in the General Elections held in May later that year, Dudley Senanayakes United National Party secured a majority in Parliament giving him the premiership. However the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, and others, complained about irregularities that took place during the election, after the elections the government faced sudden economic difficulties, Finance Minister J. R. In 1952 the UNP government promised to give a measure of rice for 25 cents, numerous welfare programmes were also withdrawn. The more than doubling of the cost of rice was the reason for the organizers of the hartal. The Sri Lankan leftist parties led by the Lanka Sama Samaja Party called for the hartal, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and Ceylon Indian Congress supported protests against the elimination of the rice subsidy, but did not support a hartal. On 12 August 1953 saw the start of civil disobedience, strikes and demonstrations held throughout Ceylon, however participation of employees of the health sector were discouraged knowing that it could affect the innocent patients. The main complaint was the elimination of the subsidy on rice. Some commentators suggest that the hartal only occurred in one-third of the country, the most incendiary acts on 12 August took place in certain localities along the western and south-western seaboard, e. g. Some of the damage was deliberate anti-government sabotage, because of the disenfranchisement of Tamils, the Jaffna Peninsula in particular participated fully in the work-stoppage, although there was no noteworthy violence reported. There were also demonstrations in the 24 divisions of the Western, Southern. Acts of sabotage occurred throughout the country, for instance on the railways the rails and fish plates were removed. In Waskaduwa the rails with the sleepers were torn up for over a mile, in Totagamuwa, the wooden sleepers were set on fire which warped the rails
24.
Janadina
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Janadina was a Sinhala-language daily newspaper published in Sri Lanka. It was an organ of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, in the latter half of the 1960s, Janadina gained recognition for carrying fierce criticisms of the government, using novel forms of journalism and catchy headlines. The newspaper had some 20, 000-30,000 daily readers, in response to its anti-government postures during this period, the Janadina was blocked from being transported on government buses and government agencies would not buy advertisements in it. Janadina was banned from time to time under emergency regulations
25.
Leslie Goonewardena
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Leslie Simon Goonewardena was a prominent Sri Lankan independence activist, politician, Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister. He was one of the founders of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party – the first Marxist party in Sri Lanka, Goonewardena was born on 31 October 1909 in Panadura in south western Ceylon. He was the son of Dr. Andrew Simon Goonewardena, Goonewardena was educated at St. Johns College, Panadura, S. Thomas College, Mount Lavinia and a public school in north Wales. He was sent to Britain with the aim of making him a Methodist priest and he was admitted to the bar at Grays Inn in 1933 but never practised law. Goonewardena met Vivienne Goonatilleka, niece of leading leftist politician Philip Gunawardena and they fell in love but Viviennes father was against the relationship because Goonewardena was a Christian and from the minority Karava caste, misconstrued to be lower. She was kept a prisoner at home and Goonewardena was forced at file a habeas corpus writ to get her released. The couple were married on 30 January 1939, though, in adulthood Goonewardene did not have any religious beliefs, as a boy he was influenced by the ideas of John Wesley. Goonewardenes family were prominent figures of the Methodist Church of Ceylon, goonewardenes grandfather Mathaes Swaris Rodrigo Goonawerdene had helped build the Panadura Methodist Church and had invited the parties for a debate. His grand-aunt Selestina Rodrigo and another relative Jeramias Dias were the sponsors of the Panadura Ronkoth Viharaya. Their ancestor, Thome Rodrigo was a prince who was a signatory to the Malwana Convention, as traditional Chiefs of the area their ancestors had played a role in defeating Arya Chakrawartis fleet at Panadura. Goonewardenes mother died when he was a toddler and she was from the well known Sri Chandrasekara Fernando family of Moratuwa, who were one of the largest Sinhala land owners at the time. Leslie inherited all the wealth from his mother and as his eldest son, leslie Goonewardene was a major party financier. Goonewardena returned to Ceylon in 1933 and helped found of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party in 1935 and he served as the LSSPs General-Secretary from 1935 to 1977. The LSSP was proscribed in 1940 and its leaders N. M. Perera, Philip Gunawardena, Goonewardena evaded arrest and went into hiding and lead the party during its underground years. He fled to India, later joined by party leaders. There he helped found the Bolshevik–Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burma and he remained uncaptured throughout the war years both in Ceylon and India. The BSP and LSSP merged in 1950, Goonewardena stood as the LSSPs candidate for Colombo North at the 1952 parliamentary election but was defeated by the United National Party candidate Cyril E. S. Perera. He stood as the LSSPs candidate for Panadura at the 1956 parliamentary election and he won the election and entered Parliament
26.
Philip Gunawardena
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Don Philip Rupasinghe Gunawardena introduced Trotskyism to Sri Lanka, where he is a National Hero, known as the Father of Socialism and as the Lion of Boralugoda. Don Philip Rupasinghe Gunawardena popularly known as Philip was born on 11 January 1901, to a family in Boralugoda, Avissawella. He attended the village school Boralugoga Siddhartha Primary School for his primary education and went on to the Prince of Wales College. He attended Ananda College in Colombo and then University College, Colombo, at the age of 21, he moved to the United States where he studied Economics at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He became radical minded and associated himself actively in the struggles which stormed the United States at the time. Two years later, he moved to the more radical University of Wisconsin–Madison, the two were introduced by Avrom Landy to the Communist Party of the United States. Woodward has recorded that Gunawardena received his training in Marxism from Scott Nearing and he completed bachelor of science & master of science degrees in Agricultural Economics. In 1925, he joined Columbia University for post-graduate work, in 1927 Gunawardena joined the League Against Imperialism in New York, where he worked with José Vasconcelos of Mexico, gaining a working knowledge of Spanish. In 1929 he went to London, where he participated in mass agitations and anti-colonial movements, excelling as a brilliant orator, trade unionist and he joined the staff of the new Daily Worker and took over the Workers Welfare League of India, an organisation founded by Shapurji Saklatvala. He crossed the channel to Europe and worked with socialist groups in France, when Ridley and Aggarwala broke with Leon Trotsky, Gunawardena sided with the latter. In 1932 he travelled on the Orient Express to meet Trotsky at Prinkipo, at the British conference of the League Against Imperialism, in May 1932, Gunawardena introduced a counter-resolution on India against those moved by Harry Pollitt. As a result, the Communist Party of Great Britain expelled him for Trotskyism, however, he had gathered around him several like-minded Sri Lankans, including NM Perera, Colvin R de Silva and Leslie Goonewardena. They came to be known as the T-Group – later forming the nucleus of the Trotskyist faction of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, scotland Yard, under orders from the India Office, thwarted him from his aim of going to India to build a new Communist Party there. He set out for the continent, meeting members of the Left Opposition in Paris and he then hiked over the Pyrenees to Barcelona, where he had a rare opportunity to meet the Trotskyists of Spain – who were soon to undergo a civil war. Soon after his return to Sri Lanka in November 1932, he plunged into active politics organising rural peasants, plantation workers and he pioneered the founding of Lanka Sama Samaja Party in 1935. In 1936 he was elected to the State Council from Avissawella electorate where he continued his struggle for the betterment of workers, when World War II broke out Philip Gunawardena was detained on Governors orders. However, he escaped to India and participated in the struggle there. In 1943 he was rearrested and detained in Mumbai, and after many months deported to Sri Lanka to be imprisoned till the end of war, on his release in 1945 he again started political and trade union activities
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