SWRD Bandaranaike and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party won a historic electoral victory on a platform of Sinhala Buddhist nationalism. The Official Language Act (Sinhala Only Act) replaced English with Sinhala as the sole official language, excluding Tamil. This marked the first time ethnic nationalism was employed to win a general election in independent Sri Lanka. The act had profound consequences, as Tamil representation in government services plummeted dramatically in subsequent years, contributing to ethnic tensions.
1956 AD
Sinhala Only Act
SWRD Bandaranaike and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party won a historic electoral victory on a platform of Sinhala Buddhist nationalism. The Official Language Act (Sinhala Only Act) replaced English with Sinhala as the sole official language, excluding Tamil. This marked the first time ethnic nationalism was employed to win a general election in independent Sri Lanka. The act had profound consequences, as Tamil representation in government services plummeted dramatically in subsequent years, contributing to ethnic tensions.