Independence (1915 AD -
1948 AD)
The demand for country
independence arose subsequent to the independence of India after
WWI. Sri Lanka was only involved in the WWI as a part of the
British Empire. However, Allies' wartime propaganda about the
virtue of freedom and self-determination of nations, heard and
noted by Sri Lanka nationalist, had sparked off the growth of
nationalism in Sri Lanka. In 1915, the British misconstrued the
communal riot and uprising that broke out in the west coast as
antigovernment conspiracy and consequently put it down with brutal
forces. This was considered the turning point in the nationalist
movement in Sri Lanka.
Learning that, in 1917, the Indian
National Congress and the Muslim League in India had
joined for more nationalist progression, two years later, in 1919,
the major Sinhalese and Tamil political organization in Sri Lanka
united to form the Ceylon National Congress which proposed
for a new constitution which was then written in 1920. The
constitution was amended in 1924 which resulted in increasing Sri
Lankan representations. However, as the changed constitution
failed to provide qualified representative persons for government,
in 1931, further constitutional changes were implemented providing
Sri Lankan a practice of self-government and allowing Sinhalese
and Tamils to further extend their influence in government.
During WWII, Sri Lanka became a
central base for British operations in Southeast Asia after
felling of Singapore to the Japanese in February 1942. In this
time, Sri Lanka was not only the base for warfare operations but
it was also the supplier for essential products for Allies
especially rubber enabling the country to save a surplus in a hard
currency. As its role of a seat of the Southeast Asia command, a
broad infrastructure of health services and modern amenities was
built to accommodate the large number of troops posted into all
parts of the country. The inherited infrastructure improved the
standard of living in the postwar.
Relationships between British and
Sri Lanka that were maintained since WWII influenced British to
eventually promise the full participatory government after the
war. British negotiated the island's dominion status with the Vice
Chairman of the Board of Ministers, Don Stephen Senanayake,
who also the founder and the leader of the United Nation Party
(UNP). The negotiation ended with the Ceylon Independence Act
of 1947 which formalized the transfer of power which was later
implemented as a new constitution (and making Sri Lanka a
dominion) on 4th February 1948. |
