WWW Virtual Library Sri Lanka
Politics Sri Lankan Style!
Sri Lanka Betrayed Selfish politicians let Sri Lanka down
Sri Lanka: One of the most mismanaged countries in the world
The Colombo ruling class which control the two main political parties United National Party under Senanayakes, Jayawardenes and now their relative ex-prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party under the all powerful President Chandrika Bandaranaike and her family dominated the political scene in Sri Lanka since independence. Both parties adopted short sighted policies aimed only at the next election and not the next generation or the country's long term interest. Every time they spoke of national interest they only meant their own interests. These two parties are mainly responsible for turning this once prosperous country, with all its wealth of human and natural resources and peaceful people, into one of the most mismanaged countries in the world.
Political History of Sri Lanka
Politics in Sri Lanka so dirty, absolutely filthy and a terrible game - President Chandrika Kumaratunga President Chandrika Kumaratunga, the daughter of two Prime Ministers, has been a member of Sri Lanka's First Family for half a century and President since 1994. She spoke to TIME's Alex Perry at President's House in Colombo. "In Sri Lanka, politics is a terrible, terrible game. So dirty, absolutely filthy. Decent people do not want to have anything to do with it anymore." "I would love to leave. I am dreaming of a life beyond politics." |
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Loony Politics
Lovely Country - Lousy Politics!
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"After four and half centuries of European colonial rule, when Sri Lanka became independent in 1948, Dubai was an undeveloped emirate without even basic facilities, Indian university degrees were not recognised in Sri Lanka and Singapore leaders vowed to turn their island into a Sri Lanka, which was then a Third World role model for economic prosperity, political stability and communal harmony. In 1948 Ceylon boasted the most powerful economy in Asia after Japan.
Sri Lanka is a country where presidents are sworn in and governments are sacked at astrologically auspicious times. With opinion polls still in their infancy in Sri Lanka, fortune-tellers are in high demand ahead of elections. A former Sri Lankan president was once reported to have commissioned charmers from the southern Indian state of Kerala to help him ward off an impeachment attempt. The politically influential here traditionally keep family astrologers, much like family doctors, to advise on choosing a marriage partner, starting a business or even before deciding when to start a foreign visit. Allegations of corruption have rocked the astrology world with accusations that the planetary positions have been rigged by the political astrologers.
Don Stephen Senanayake was born on 20th October 1884, at Botale, a village in the Hapitigame Korale of the Negombo district in the Western Province. D. S. Senanayake was the first member of the Senanayake family of Botale to enter the Legislative Council though his older brother, ‘F. R.’, could have at any time won a seat by election and was always a powerful influence behind the scenes until his premature death. 
Bandaranaike, Solomon West Ridgeway Dias (1899-1959), the prime minister of Ceylon (1956-59), whose election marked a significant change socially and ethnically in the political history of modern Ceylon, was born on January 8. His father was the only son of Gate Mudliyar, Sir Don Solomon Dias Bandaranaike, and his mother was Lady Eslin Daisy Obeysekera, and they hailed from Horagolla, in Attanagalle.
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From The Nation - America's Longest Running Weekly Magazine Is Ceylon Independent? "Although Ceylon and India are separated by only sixty miles of water, the contrast between them is striking. Ceylon is relaxed where India is tense. It has two distinct communities with clashing outlooks, but riots are unknown. Almost half of Ceylons population can read and almost all can vote, while in India only about one-seventh can do either. Free education up through the university is in the offing, and progress is being made in public health. These conditions set Ceylon off from almost all Asiatic countries." | ||||||||
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Always frank and outspoken, Sir John never hesitated to call a spade a spade. He always enjoyed a good story even at his own expense. Anecdotes about his wit and rollicking sense of humour are told and retold to this day. 
unexpected success in his food production drive and the ‘green revolution’. It can safely be said that Dudley'’s food production drive in the late sixties was the most successful medium term economic plan ever to be implemented in this country. 
Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, was the first woman in the world to hold the office of prime minister. Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike rose to power in 1960 as a bereaved wife and mother of three, just a year after her husband, then prime minister, was assassinated by a Buddhist monk.
With its anti-Government image and an ideology that is a mix of Marxism and Sinhala Buddhist nationalism, the JVP has once again look attractive to the rural poor and the youth. The JVP was founded in 1967 by Rohana Wijeweera, a drop-out from Moscow's Lumumba University. Within four years, the Che look- alike declared war on the Sirimavo Bandaranaike-led Government, which was put down with help from India and Pakistan. The second insurrection came in 1987, after the signing of the Indo-Lanka Accord, by which time the JVP had embraced an extreme form of Buddhist nationalism, enabling it to tap into the strong anti-India, anti-Government feelings prevalent at the time. By December that year, the JVP had killed several hundred functionaries of the ruling UNP and turned the rest into fugitives. Government retaliation turned the next three years into a blood-bath. Sri Lanka WWW Virtual Library is a part of the South Asia WWW Virtual Library and Asian Studies WWW Virtual Library.
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WWW Virtual Library Sri Lanka 1995-2005