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Official Name of Sri Lanka: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Government type in Sri Lanka: republic
Capital of Sri Lanka: Colombo
Primary Language in Sri Lanka: Sinhala
Currency in Sri Lanka: Sri Lankan rupee

The Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C., probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced beginning in about the mid-third century B.C., and a great civilization developed at the cities of Anuradhapura (kingdom from circa 200 B.C. to circa 1000 A.D.) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty seized power in the north and established a Tamil kingdom. Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch in the 17th century, the island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crown colony in 1802, and was united under British rule by 1815. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; its name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted in violence in the mid-1980s. Tens of thousands have died in an ethnic war that continues to fester. After two decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam began a ceasefire in December 2001, with Norway brokering peace negotiations. Strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes

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Sri Lanka destinations

» Anuradhapura
» Aturuwella
» Bandarawela
» Bentota
» Beruwela
» Colombo
» Dehiwala
» Galle
» Jaffna
» Kandy

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