ශ්‍රී ලංකාව / Sri Lanka

                                       

                      SriLanka : ශ්‍රී ලංකාව, Tamil: இலங்கை, ilaṅkai) officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of SriLanka, is an island country in the northern Indian Ocean off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia. Known until 1972 as Ceylon (pron.: /sɨˈlɒn/,/seɪˈlɒn/, or /siːˈlɒn/), SriLanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest.

Sri Lanka's documented history spans three thousand years. Its geographic location and deep harbours made it of great strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road through to World War II. Sri Lanka is a diverse country home to many religions, ethnicities and languages. The Sinhalese people are the majority, although there are many ethnic minorities, including Tamils, Muslim Moors, Burghers, Kaffirs,Malays and the aboriginal Vedda people. Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage, and the first known Buddhist writings were composed on the island.The country's recent history has been marred by a thirty year inter-ethnic conflict which decisively but controversially ended in a military victory in 2009.

Sri Lanka is a republic and a unitary state governed by a presidential system. Thecapital Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte, named by a president after himself, is a suburb of the largest city, Colombo. An important producer of tea, coffee, gemstones, coconuts, rubber and the native cinnamon, Sri Lanka has been called The tear drop of Indiabecause of its shape and location and is known as "The Pearl of the Indian Ocean" because of its natural beauty. It is also known as "The nation of smiling people". The island contains tropical forests, and diverse landscapes with high biodiversity.

The country has had a long history of international engagement, being a founding member of SAARC and a member of United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, G77and Non-Aligned Movement.