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Sri Lanka Constitutional Reform
The rediscovery of old Buddhist texts rekindled a popular
interest in Sri Lanka's ancient civilization. The study of the
past became an important aspect of the new drive for education.
Archaeologists began work at Anuradhapura and at Polonnaruwa, and
their finds contributed to the resurgent national pride. In the
1880s, a Buddhist-inspired temperance movement was also initiated
to fight drunkenness, and the Ceylon Social Reform Society was
founded in 1905 to combat other temptations associated with
Westernization. Encouraged by the free reign of expression that
the government extended to these reformists, a growing number of
communal and regional political associations began to press for
constitutional reform in the closing years of the nineteenth
century. The colonial government was petitioned for permission to
have Sri Lankan representation in the Executive Council and
expanded regional representation in the Legislative Council. In
response, the colonial government permitted a modest experiment
in 1910, allowing a small electorate of Sri Lankans to send one
of their members to the Legislative Council. Other seats held by
Sri Lankans retained the old practice of communal representation.
Data as of October 1988
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