Social, political, economic and constitutional developments are considered as well as the evolution of science and arts in the development process. This is in accordance with the Sri Lankan tradition of seeing the world as a connected whole."--BOOK JACKET.

At the time of independence in 1948, Sri Lanka's economy was highly dependent on international trade, but concentrated on exporting few agricultural product exports, hence experiencing balance of payment problems. For the past fifty years Sri Lanka was experiment ground for different economic policy packages. For the first three decades after independence the focus was on import substitution. Once the limitations of such policy for development was identified, and influenced by the Asian success stories, Sri Lanka.

At the time of Independence in 1948, Sri Lanka's economy was highly dependent on international trade, but concentrated on exporting few agricultural product exports , hence experiencing balance of payment problems. For the past fifty years Sri Lanka was experiment ground for different economic policy packages. For the first three decades after independence the focus was on import substitution.Once the limitations of such policy for development was identified, and influenced by the Asian success stories, Sri Lanka decided to focus on export oriented industrializationfrom1977. After two decades, the country has identified several weaknesses in the economy that had prevented her from achieving rapid economic growth. Although the manufacturing sector has shown considerable growth, the high import dependency of the industry has resulted in low value addition. While creating small scale industry with forward linkages to the manufacturing industry the country should make an effort to attract foreign capital as well as technology that is necessary to create a strong industrial base.

Sri Lanka is an ancient civilization, shaped and thrust into the modern globalizing world by its colonial experience. With its own unique problems, many of them historical legacies, it is a nation trying to maintain a democratic, pluralistic state structure while struggling to come to terms with separatist aspirations. This is a complex story, and there is perhaps no better person to present it in reasoned, scholarly terms than K.M. de Silva, Sri Lanka’s most distinguished and prolific historian. A History of Sri Lanka, first published in 1981, has established itself as the standard work on the subject. This fully revised edition, in light of the most recent research, brings the story right up to the early years of the twenty-first century. The book provides comprehensive coverage of all aspects of Sri Lanka’s development—from a classical Buddhist society and irrigation economy, to its emergence as a tropical colony producing some of the world’s most important cash crops, such as cinnamon, tea, rubber and coconut, and finally as an Asian democracy. It is a study of the political vicissitudes of Sri Lanka’s ancient civilization and the successive phases of Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial rule. The unfortunate consequences of becoming a centre of ethnic tension and Sri Lanka’s long-standing relationship with India are also discussed. Exhaustively researched and analytical, this book is an invaluable reference source for students of ancient, colonial and post-colonial societies, ethnic conflict and democratic transitions, as well as for all those who simply want to get a feel of the rich and varied texture of Sri Lanka’s long history.

The current research signifies that the resolutions for a solid post war development in Sri Lanka are hidden within its own history. Through a close study of the Sri Lankan history from 6th century BC to 2009 AD using various research methods one can uncover this. Moreover, utilizing a range of diverse resources which include documents compiled byColonial governors, addition to parliamentary debates of Sri Lanka and Britain, archeological research conducted by the department of archeology, eyewitness accounts, and other historical documents pertaining to the selected time frames, has be strictly studied and compared in proving the weight of this theory.