History of Sri Lanka
History of Sri Lanka can be traced back to 5th Century B.C when Indo-Aryan groups immigrated to this island from North India to form the Sinhalese group. A civilization developed around Anuradhapura kingdom in and around 4th Century B.C. By the middle of the 3rd Century Buddhism was introduced here. Emperor Ashoka’s son Mahindra and daughter Sanghamitra came to Sri Lanka to spread the teachings of Lord Buddha and King Devanapiya of Anuradhapura was converted to a Buddhist. The Kingdom of Polonnaruwa later emerged as the Sinhalese capital and remained in power for about two centuries. After the fall of the Polonnaruwa kingdom, Tamil kingdom came to power in Jaffna. Sri Lankan history witnessed settlement by different foreign powers. Muslim settlement developed here as many Arab traders settled in this country. In 1505 Portuguese came here and some settled here forming a small group that came to be known as European Burghers. The Dutch traders came here in 1602 who soon gained monopoly over the spice trade in Sri Lanka. They were replaced by the British power in 1796 and from 1802 Sri Lanka came under the British colonial rule.
In 1948 Sri Lanka became an independent member of the British Commonwealth. The United National Party (UNP) under the leadership of DS Senanayake formed the first independent government in Sri Lanka.
08:27 AM Monday September 13th, 2010
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Sinhala Language
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Vedio Gallery
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