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Sri Lankan State-sponsored Colonization Schemes
Sri Lankan state-sponsored colonization schemes is the government program of settling mostly Sinhalese farmers from the densely populated wet zone into the sparsely populated areas of the dry zone. This has taken place since the 1950s near tanks and reservoirs being built in major irrigation and hydro-power programs such as the Mahaweli project. Sinhala Buddhist nationalists within the Sri Lankan government, Buddhist clergy and Mahaweli department have deliberately targeted the Tamil majority northeast for state sponsored Sinhala colonisation, with the explicit intention to take the land into "Sinhala hands" away from the Tamils, and to disrupt the Tamil-speaking continuity between the north and east. This resulted in a significant demographic shift, with the resettled farmers contributing to an increase in the Sinhalese population in the northeast dry zone, thus promoting Sinhala-Buddhist hegemony in the area. Sinhalese settlers were provided with preferential access to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irrigation Tank
In Sri Lanka and India an irrigation tank or tank is an artificial reservoir of any size. They are part of a historic tradition of harvesting and preserving rainwater in the region. Often an embankment such as a mud bank was constructed across a slope to collect and store water by taking advantage of local mounds and depressions. The water would be used primarily for agriculture and drinking water, but also for bathing and rituals. Tank use is especially critical in regions without Perennial plant, perennial water resources. The word tank is the English language substitute for the Languages of South Asia, vernacular terms used in South Asia. A tank cascade is a system of irrigation tanks in single or multiple chains where water from a higher tank flows into lower tanks. Example of tank cascades include Sri Lanka’s tank cascade system, Sri Lanka's tank cascade system, the Indian city of Bangalore's cascading lakes in the Varthur lake series, and the Indian city of Madurai's Vandiyu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Farmers
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer might own the farm land or might work as a laborer on land owned by others. In most developed economies, a "farmer" is usually a farm owner ( landowner), while employees of the farm are known as ''farm workers'' (or farmhands). However, in other older definitions a farmer was a person who promotes or improves the growth of plants, land or crops or raises animals (as livestock or fish) by labor and attention. Over half a billion farmers are smallholders, most of whom are in developing countries, and who economically support almost two billion people. Globally, women constitute more than 40% of agricultural employees. History Farming dates back as far as the Neolithic, being one of the defining characteristics of that era. By the Bronze Age, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trincomalee
Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast of the island overlooking the Trincomalee Harbour, north-east of Colombo, south-east of Jaffna and miles north of Batticaloa, Trincomalee has been one of the main centres of Sri Lankan Tamil language speaking culture on the island for over two millennia. With a population of 99,135, the city is built on a peninsula of the same name, which divides its inner and outer harbours. People from Trincomalee are known as Trincomalians and the local authority is Trincomalee Urban Council. Trincomalee city is home to the famous Koneswaram temple from where it developed and earned its historic Tamil name ''Thirukonamalai''. The town is home to other hist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kantale
Kantale ( si, කන්තලේ, translit=Kantalē; ta, கந்தளாய், translit=Kantaḷāy) is a town in the Trincomalee District in eastern Sri Lanka. The town is located south-west of Trincomalee. According to the ancient chronicle, '' Mahavamsa'', Kantale Tank, also named "Gangathala Vapi", is credited as being built by Aggabodhi the II (606–618) and rehabilitated and developed by Parakramabahu the Great (1153–1186). 3,750 hectares. Constructed for the irrigation of crops in this arid region, its source of water is the Mahaweli River The Mahaweli River ( si, මහවැලි ගඟ, literally "Great Sandy River"; ta, மகாவலி ஆறு 'mahawali gangai'', is a long river, ranking as the longest river in Sri Lanka. It has a drainage basin of , the largest in the ..., the longest in the island, which flows out to the sea at Trincomalee. One of the oldest tanks in Sri Lanka, the Kantale Tank gives water to a vast area for paddy and sugar can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kantale Dam
The Kantale Dam ( si, කන්තලේ වැව, translit=Kantaḷe Wewa, ta, கந்தளாய் அணை, translit=Kantaḷāy Aṇai) is a large embankment dam built in Kantale, Trincomalee District, Sri Lanka, used for irrigation. It is long, and over high. The dam breached on , killing more than 120 people. It has since been reconstructed. The dam impounds the Per Aru, a small river discharging into the Koddiyar Bay Trincomalee Bay, also known as Koddiyar Bay, is a bay in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. The bay is located by Trincomalee town on the north-east coast of the island. Geography Trincomalee Bay is open towards the northeast and has th ..., at Trincomalee Harbour. Reservoir history The tank was built by King Aggabodhi II (604-614 AD) and further developed by King Parakramabahu the Great. It was also known as Gangathala Vapi at the time. The reservoir has a catchment area of and a capacity of . 1986 Dam failure On at 03:00 AM, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1956 Ceylonese Riots
The 1956 anti-Tamil pogrom, also known as the Gal Oya riots, was the first organised pogrom against Sri Lankan Tamils in the Dominion of Ceylon. It began with anti-Tamil rioting in Colombo, followed by anti-Sinhalese rioting in Batticaloa. The worst of the violence took place in the Gal Oya valley, where local majority Sinhalese colonists and employees of the Gal Oya Development Board commandeered government vehicles, dynamite and weapons and massacred minority Tamils. It is estimated that over 150 people died during the violence. The police and army were eventually able to bring the situation under control. Background information By 1956, 50% of clerical jobs were held by Tamils, although they were a minority of the country's population. This was partly due to the availability of Western style education built by American missionaries in the Tamil dominant Jaffna peninsula during the colonial era. The overrepresentation of Tamils was used by populist Sinhalese politicians t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kandy District
Kandy District ( si, මහනුවර දිස්ත්රික්කය, ta, கண்டி மாவட்டம்) is a district of the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Its area is 1906.3 km². Administrative divisions Ethnic groups and religion Major cities Suburbs of city of Kandy * Peradeniya * Katugastota * Pallekele Big towns * Gampola urban council * Nawalapitiya UC Other towns * Akurana * Alawatugoda * ((Ankubura )) * Ambatenna * Daskara * Daulagala * Galagedara * Galhinna * Gelioya * Hanguranketa * Hapugastalawa * Kadugannawa UC *Katugastota * Kundasale * Madawala * Menikdiwela * Pilimatalawa * Pussellawa * Talatuoya * Teldeniya Teldeniya( තෙල්දෙණිය) was a town in Kandy District Kandy District ( si, මහනුවර දිස්ත්රික්කය, ta, கண்டி மாவட்டம்) is a district of the Central Province of Sri ... * Ulapane * Watadeniya * Wattegama UC * Welamboda * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kegalle District
Kegalle is a district in Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary (previously known as a Government Agent) appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. It was a former Dissavani of Sri Lanka. It covers an area of . The district has a population of 837,179 according to 2012 Census, which is approximately 4.0% of the total population of Sri Lanka. Physical information The District of Kegalle is situated in between the central highlands and western southern plains and has an enchanting environment. The height of the western region is above sea level while the eastern region exceeds . Rubber cultivation has stretched over most of the area of the District and minor export crops from the district include coffee, cocoa, pepper, clove and nutmeg. Sri Lanka's best graphite mine is situated at Bogala in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gal Oya
The Gal Oya is a long river, in South east Sri Lanka. It is the 16th longest river in Sri Lanka. It begins in the hills east of Badulla and flows northeast, emptying into the Indian Ocean south of Kalmunai. The river was dammed in 1948 as part of the Gal Oya scheme. The dam created the Senanayake Samudra — the largest reservoir in Sri Lanka, at Bintenne. Resettlement of the Tamils and Sinhalese people displaced in this scheme gave rise to among the first ethnic riots in Sri Lanka. The Gal Oya project resulted in the formation of the 100,000 acre Gal Oya basin. This basin has since been used for cultivating paddy, chillies, sugarcane and potatoes. The Gal Oya National Park in the vicinity has a wide variety of wildlife including bears, leopards and elephants. See also * List of rivers in Sri Lanka * Gal Oya Dam * Gal Oya National Park * Gal Oya riots The 1956 anti-Tamil pogrom, also known as the Gal Oya riots, was the first organised pogrom against Sri Lankan Tamils i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalism
Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism is a Sri Lankan political ideology which combines a focus upon Sinhalese culture and ethnicity (nationalism) with an emphasis upon Theravada Buddhism, which is the majority belief system of most of the Sinhalese in Sri Lanka. It mostly revived in reaction to the colonisation of Sri Lanka by the British Empire and became increasingly assertive in the years following the independence of the country. Sinhalese nationalism has generally been influenced by the contents of the Mahavamsa, the major Pali chronicle, written in the 6th century. Origins The mytho-historical accounts in the Sinhalese Buddhist national chronicle Mahavamsa ('Great Chronicle'), a text written in the sixth century CE by Buddhist monks to glorify Buddhism in Sri Lanka, have been influential in the creation of Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism and militant Buddhism. The Mahavamsa states that Lord Buddha made three visits to Sri Lanka in which he rids the island of forces inimical to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Batticaloa District
Batticaloa District ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு மாவட்டம் ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu Māvaṭṭam''; si, මඩකලපුව දිස්ත්රික්කය ''maḍakalapūva distrikkaya'') is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary (previously known as a Government Agent) appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The capital of the district is the city of Batticaloa. Ampara District was carved out of the southern part of Batticaloa District in April 1961. Geography Batticaloa District is located in the east of Sri Lanka in the Eastern Province. It has an area of . Administrative units Batticaloa District is divided into 14 Divisional Secretary's Division (DS Divisions), each headed by a Divisional Secretary (previously known as an Assistant Government Agent). The DS Divisions are further sub- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ampara District
Ampara District ( ta, அம்பாறை மாவட்டம், translit=Ampāṟai Māvaṭṭam; si, අම්පාර දිස්ත්රික්කය, translit=Ampāra Distrikkaya) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second-level administrative divisions of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary (previously known as a Government Agent) appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The capital of the district is the town of Ampara. The district was carved out of the southern part of Batticaloa District in April 1961. Geography Ampara District is located in the south east of Sri Lanka in the Eastern Province. It has an area of . It is bounded by Batticaloa and Polonnaruwa districts from north, Indian Ocean from east, Hambantota District from south, Badulla and Matale districts from northwest and by the Monaragala District from west and southeast. The north-western panhandle of Ampar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
