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Sri Lanka is
a small island nation, shaped like a tear drop, situated less than 20 miles from the southern tip of India. Totaling to about
25,332 square miles (65,610 kilometers) it is a beautiful island with tropical beaches and all the year round luxurious vegetation.
Sri Lanka has a tropical climate with temperatures averaging 80° degrees F (27°C) with no temperature changes from one month
to another.
Sri Lanka's rich cultural heritage dates back to 2500 years. Buddhism was brought to Sri Lanka from India
in 247 B.C. and gave birth to a rich and prosperous civilization since then. Buddhism as its main religion has touched and
enriched every aspect of the society, tradition and culture. Even up to today the country remains as one of the strongest
Buddhist countries.
Sri Lanka was comparatively a rich country - socially, culturally, economically and spiritually, until
the 16th century when colonial powers came and conquered the country. First came the Portuguese in 1505 and ruled the country
for one and half centuries, then came Dutch came in mid 1660s and conquered the country from the Portuguese. After one and
half centuries of Dutch rule the British conquered Sri Lanka in 1797 and ruled the country until 1948. These were the super
powers during those particular times in the history and they conquered the country for economic, strategic and religious reasons.
In 1948 Sri Lanka received independence from the British soon after India won independence from the British after strong
struggles led by Indian national leaders like Mahatma Gandhi. In Sri Lanka winning independence was a peaceful process and
during the post independent era for a long time there were no major changes in spite of the fact that country was free to
carry out its own reforms. 500 years of colonial rule had overturned the country culturally, economically and to a certain
respect spiritually.
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