The author of this monograph believes that Sri Lanka lacks a comprehensive political history of the whole or parts of its post-colonial existence. Professor de Silva’s aim in this monograph is to provide the beginnings of such a political history; indeed it could be treated as the first volume of a comprehensive political history of Sri Lanka. While it is based on years of research in the Public Record Office in London and also the Sri Lanka National Archives in Colombo, but principally at the Public Records Office in London, the author has conducted interviews with persons with a knowledge and practical experience of the conflicting issues in Sri Lanka’s public life; and he has reached out to other sources in Sri Lanka, including scarce official papers, private letters and newspapers.
CONTENTS
Abbreviations and Glossary vii
Statistical Tables and Maps ix
Preface and Acknowledgments xi
PART ONE: D.S. SENANAYAKE’S CAREER: A BRIEF INTRODUCTION
I D.S. Senanayake: The Early Years 1
II D.S. Senanayake and the Transfer of Power 15
III March 1952: The Death of D.S. Senanayake 31
PART TWO: S. W. R. D. BANDARANAIKE, THINGS FALL APART
IV S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike 37
V Bandaranaike, Legislator: 1931-35 53
VI Minister, 1936-47 63
VII From Leader of the House to Leader of the Opposition, 1947-56 87
VIII Prime Minister, 1956-59 95
PART THREE: THE ASSASSINATION OF S.W.R.D. BANDARANAIKE
IX The Assassination of the Prime Minister, September 1959 115
X Prosecution of the Conspirators 121
XI The Political Legacy of Bandaranaike 131
PART FOUR: RE-ASSERTION OF FAMILY POWER AND INFLUENCE
XII Mrs Bandaranaike in Power: The First Phase,
1960 to 1964-65 137
XIII The Recovery of the UNP 145
XIV The Short but Important Career of R. Premadasa 149
XV Mrs Bandaranaike in Power: The Last Phase 151
XVI Caste in Sri Lankan Politics: An Introductory Survey 155
XVII Mrs Bandaranaike’s Political Career, 1960-77: An Assessment 159
PART FIVE: THE TAMIL PROBLEM AND ITS COMPLEXITY
XVIII The Tamil Minority in Sri Lanka 167
PART SIX: EPILOGUE
XIX The Transformation of the Polity 175
XX Epilogue 183
BIOGRAPHIES 187
BIBLOGRAPHY 189
About the Author: Professor K.M. de Silva was Professor of Sri Lanka History at the University of Ceylon (later the University of Peradeniya) from 1969-95. He has been Smuts Visiting Fellow in Commonwealth Studies and Visiting Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge; Commonwealth Professor in the Department of Government at the University of Manchester and Visiting Professor of South Asian History at Bowdoin College, Maine; and a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center, Washington DC, USA. He is the author of several books including A History of Sri Lanka (Hurst, London & University of California Press – 1980 and Penguin, India – 2005), and Regional Powers and Small State Security, India and Sri Lanka 1977-90, Woodrow Wilson Press, Washington DC, USA (1995) and The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD, USA and London.
He was the principal founder of the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES), Kandy/Colombo, Sri Lanka in 1982 and is presently a Director of the ICES.
ALSO NOTE
Pingback: Jane Russell on Sri Lankan Political History in Debate with Kumarasingham’s Readings | Thuppahi's Blog