'The Jewel of the East yet has its Flaws' The Deceptive Tranquillity surrounding Sri Lankan Independence

Abstract

This article investigates the period before Sri Lanka was engulfed by civil war and ethnic strife and how things changed so rapidly following colonial rule. Sri Lanka’s independence was seen as a model to be followed in the decolonisation of the British Empire due to the island’s peace, prosperity, indigenous leadership and its preference for British institutions. However, behind this façade the years surrounding Sri Lankan independence also saw the foundations for the vicious civil war that has dominated all recent coverage of this Indian Ocean state. This article assesses how warning signs were misread or ignored and how early political decisions in this era forged the beginnings of the future problems ahead.