Major is a rank in the

Sri Lanka Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...

. The rank insignia for a major is the Sri Lankan emblem. It ranks below

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

and above

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. The equivalent is Lieutenant-Commander in the

Sri Lanka Navy ta, இலங்கை கடற்படை , image = Sri Lanka Naval Seal.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of Sri Lanka Navy , dates = , c ...

and Squadron Leader in the Sri Lanka Air Force. From 1949 to 1972, in the Ceylon Army the rank insignia for a major was a

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

, similar to the of the British Army Major. A major of the Sri Lanka Army would usually commanding independent companies, squadrons and batteries, but those that were organically part of a regiment or battalion were still usually commanded by captains. They would be

second-in-command Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation. Usage In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, ...

of battalions in infantry or regiments (in the artillery and armoured regiments) as well as serve as

Brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section direct ...

s. During the Sri Lankan Civil War majors commanded area commands known as military sectors and have commanded battalions in combat. In 1947, at its formation the uniform of the

Serjeant-at-arms A serjeant-at-arms, or sergeant-at-arms, is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin ''serviens'', which means "servant". Historically, s ...

of the Sri Lankan Parliament was molded on

uniforms A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, ...

of a major.

Notable majors

G. S. Jayanath Ginimalage Samantha Jayanath PWV, CR ( si, ගිණිමැල්ලගේ සමන්ත ජයනාත්, died 4 December 1997), was a major in the Sri Lanka Army and a member of the army's elite Commando Regiment. He posthumously rece ...

Parama Weera Vibhushanaya __NOTOC__ The Parama Weera Vibhushanaya (PWV) (Sinhala language, Sinhala: පරම වීර වීභූෂණය ''parama vīra vibhūṣaṇaya''; Tamil language, Tamil: பரம வீர விபுஷனைய) is Sri Lanka's highest Mil ...

recipient * K. A. Gamage - Parama Weera Vibhushanaya recipient *

E. A. Nugawela Major Edward "Eddie" Alexander Nugawela, ED (21 September 1898 – 5 July 1972) was a Ceylonese lawyer, soldier and politician. He was the first Cabinet Minister of Education in independent Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) (1947–1954), later Cabinet M ...

- first

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

Minister of Education of Ceylon, later Cabinet Minister of Health, a Member of Parliament and State Council. *

Montague Jayawickrama Major Deshamanya Walter Geoffrey Montague "Monti" Jayawickrama (January 15, 1911 – November 16, 2001) was a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the Minister of Transport and Public Works (1952-1956) and the Minister of Public Administrati ...

- Government Ministers and Provincial Governor *

L. V. Gooneratne Major Lionel Victor Gooneratne, ED (1893-1971) was a Sri Lankan educationist and a municipal councillor. He was the Chairman of the Dehiwala Urban Council and the first Mayor of Dehiwala - Mt Lavinia. Educated at Royal College Colombo, Goone ...

, ED - Mayor of Dehiwala - Mt Lavinia *

Bevis Bawa Major Bevis William Frederick Bawa, ADC, CLI (26 April 1909 – 18 September 1992) was a Ceylonese (Sri Lankan) planter, soldier and a landscaper. He was also one of the most renowned landscape architects in Sri Lanka and served as the Aide-de- ...

ADC ADC may refer to: Science and medicine * ADC (gene), a human gene * AIDS dementia complex, neurological disorder associated with HIV and AIDS * Allyl diglycol carbonate or CR-39, a polymer * Antibody-drug conjugate, a type of anticancer treatm ...

CLI CLI may refer to: Computing * Call Level Interface, an SQL database management API * Command-line interface, of a computer program * Command-line interpreter or command language interpreter; see List of command-line interpreters * CLI (x86 instruc ...

- former Aide-de-camp to the

Governor of Ceylon {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The Governor of Ceylon can refer to historical vice-regal representatives of three colonialism, colonial powers: Portuguese Ceylon * List of Captains of Portuguese Ceylon (1518–1551) * List of Captain-majors of ...

Victor Gunasekara Major Victor Joseph Harold Gunasekera, CCS (1921 — 1993) was a former Ceylonese civil servant. The former Controller of Imports Exports, Government Agent of Kegalle and Secretary to the Board of Control for Cricket. A reservist, he was a Majo ...

, CCS - former

Controller Controller may refer to: Occupations * Controller or financial controller, or in government accounting comptroller, a senior accounting position * Controller, someone who performs agent handling in espionage * Air traffic controller, a person ...

of Imports Exports and Government Agent of

Kegalle Kegalle ( si, කෑගල්ල; ta, கேகாலை) is a large town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It is located on the Colombo– Kandy road, approximately from Colombo and from Kandy. It is the main town in the Kegalle Distr ...

Deshamanya Deshamanya ( si, දේශමාන්‍ය, translit=Dēshamāṉya; ta, தேசமான்ய, translit=Tēcamāṉya; Pride of the Nation) is the second-highest national honour of Sri Lanka awarded by the Government of Sri Lanka as a ...

Duncan White Major Deshamanya Duncan M. White MBE, ED (1 March 1918 – 3 July 1998) was a Sri Lankan sportsman. He was the first Ceylonese athlete to win an Olympic medal, winning silver in the 400-metre hurdles at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, Eng ...

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

, ED - first Ceylonese athlete to win an

Olympic medal An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is laid o ...

Wickremasinghe Wimaladasa Deshabandu Wickramesinghe Wimaladasa (born 29 August 1943) is a Sri Lankan former sprinter who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics. He won two gold medals at the 1974 Asian Games held in Tehran, Iran, in the men's 400m and relay events. Wimal ...

- Asian games (

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

) 400 metres gold medalist.

References

*Army, Sri Lanka. (1st Edition - October 1999). ''"50 YEARS ON" - 1949-1999'',

Sri Lanka Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...

External links

Sri Lanka ArmyMinistry of Defence, Public Security, Law & Order - Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri LankaThree Service Commanders promoted : Official Government News Portal
Military ranks of the Sri Lanka Army {{mil-rank-stub

Notable majors

See also

References

External links