The north, in the meanwhile, eventually evolved into the Jaffna kingdom. 26.5% of the country's land area is legally protected. The city is a beautiful combination of new and colonial buildings. Sri Lanka is a Sinhala and Tamil speaking island country in the Indian Sea and the Laccadive Sea. [188] Sri Lanka is essentially a multi-party democracy with many smaller Buddhist, socialist and Tamil nationalist political parties. [305] The 135-year-old Article 365 of the Sri Lankan Penal Code criminalises gay sex and provides for a penalty of up to ten years in prison. King Vijayabâhu III, who led the resistance, brought the kingdom to Dambadeniya. By 2016, the country's debt soared as it was developing its infrastructure to the point of near bankruptcy which required a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF)[249] The IMF had agreed to provide a US$1.5 billion bailout loan in April 2016 after Sri Lanka provided a set of criteria intended to improve its economy. While ensuring that it maintains its independence, Sri Lanka has cultivated relations with India. [322] Traditional music instruments such as Béra, Thammátama, Daŭla and Răbān were performed at these dramas. Dishes include rice and curry, pittu, kiribath, wholemeal roti, string hoppers, wattalapam (a rich pudding of Malay origin made with coconut milk, jaggery, cashews, eggs, and spices including cinnamon and nutmeg), kottu, and appam. [156] Sri Lanka claims an exclusive economic zone extending 200 nautical miles, which is approximately 6.7 times Sri Lanka's land area. Sri Lanka has two capital cities, Colombo and Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, with the latter serving as the administrative seat for government and Colombo as the commercial center. [312], The culture of Sri Lanka is influenced primarily by Buddhism and Hinduism. The Sigiriya rock fortress is surrounded by an extensive network of ramparts and moats. Tea production in Sri Lanka thrived in the following decades. [133] Jayawardene introduced a new constitution, together with a free-market economy and a powerful executive presidency modelled after that of France. 115 km from Colombo. Provinces The British colonial culture has also influenced the locals. [32][33] Ceilão, the name given to Sri Lanka by the Portuguese Empire when it arrived in 1505,[34] was transliterated into English as Ceylon. In addition to these economic sectors, overseas employment, especially in the Middle East, contributes substantially in foreign exchange. [193], G. G. Ponnambalam, the Tamil nationalist counterpart of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike,[194] founded the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) in 1944. Because the Pāli Canon was at that time oral literature maintained in several recensions by dhammabhāṇakas (dharma reciters), the surviving monks recognised the danger of not writing it down so that even if some of the monks whose duty it was to study and remember parts of the Canon for later generations died, the teachings would not be lost. The remaining Christians are evenly split between the Anglican Church of Ceylon and other Protestant denominations. [192] Following the parliamentary election in July 1960, Sirimavo Bandaranaike became the prime minister and the world's first elected female head of government. The Sinhala Kingdom or Sinhalese Kingdom refers to the successive Sinhalese kingdoms that existed in what is today Sri Lanka., the Sinhala Kingdom existed as successive kingdoms known by the city at which its administrative centre was located. Martin Wickramasinghe, the author of Madol Doova is considered the iconic figure of Sri Lankan literature. [309][310], In 2012, the UK charity Freedom from Torture reported that it had received 233 referrals of torture survivors from Sri Lanka for clinical treatment or other services provided by the charity. The Tamil term Eelam (Tamil: ஈழம், romanized: īḻam) was used to designate the whole island in Sangam literature. [237], Sri Lanka has 15 public universities. Two guards were critically injured, they said. Additional debt had been incurred in the past by state-owned organisations and this was said to be at least $9.5 billion. During its two and a half millennia of existence, the Sinhala Kingdom was invaded at least eight times by neighbouring South Indian dynasties such as the Chola, Pandya, Chera, and Pallava. Resistance to the British was immediate. [287], Science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke served as chancellor of Moratuwa University from 1979 to 2002.[288]. Listen to the audio pronunciation of Capital of Sri Lanka on pronouncekiwi. [234], According to the International Monetary Fund, Sri Lanka's GDP in terms of purchasing power parity is the second highest in the South Asian region in terms of per capita income. [54] He established the Kingdom of Tambapanni, near modern-day Mannar. Although partially reversed in 1958, the bill posed a grave concern for the Tamil community, which perceived in it a threat to their language and culture. Sri Jayawardenepura is the administrative capital of Sri Lanka, and more government institutions continue to be relocated to the city from Colombo. One serves as a commercial city whereas the other one is an administrative center. [38], The pre-history of Sri Lanka goes back 125,000 years and possibly even as far back as 500,000 years. Anuradhapura dominated Sri Lanka's early history and served as the capital city of the island nation for over a millennium. The two countries signed an important Rice-Rubber Pact in 1952. The history of Colombo is more than two thousand years old. 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