Sri Lanka, also known as the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and Ceylon before 1972, is a country with an island as its mainland. It is located in South Asia, approximately 31 kilometers off the southern coast of India.
A Buddha statue
Sri Lanka is a country whose major religion is Buddhism, mostly practicing the Theravada. It is also one of the few remaining countries that hold Buddhism as its major religion in South Asia. The Sinhalese community constitutes the majority of the country's total population, and the Tamils, who are concentrated in the northern and eastern areas of the island, makes the largest ethnic minority. Other ethnic minorities include Moors, Burghers, Kaffirs, Malay and the indigenous Vedda people.
The British colonized Ceylon in the 19th century.
After many years of ruling under local kingdoms, areas of Sri Lanka were colonized by the Portuguese and the Dutch, starting in the 16th century. After which, the reign of the entire country was handed over to Britain in 1815. Allied forces used the country as a substantial base to fight against Japan during WWII. There was a plan to overthrow the British ruling in the early 20th century in order to obtain political independence, which was granted after peaceful negotiations in 1948.
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