Sri Lanka celebrates 75th Independence Day

Tags: Important Days International News

Sri Lanka celebrated 75 years of Independence on 4 February under the theme Namo Namo Matha – A step towards a century.

An overview of the news

• The main ceremony of the National Independence Day Celebrations was held at Galle Face Green in Colombo.

• A special cultural arts festival Lankaralanka was held at Independence square in Colombo. 

• The Jaffna cultural centre which was built under an Indian grant will also be opened in a few days.

• India's Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan participated in the Independence Day celebrations.

• The Minister held talks with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Sri Lankan Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabri and discussed issues of mutual interest.

Sri Lanka Independence Day

• Known as Ceylon, Sri Lanka was a major economic center for the British Empire, which granted it semi-independent 'dominionship' status in 1948.

• Sri Lanka became a full-fledged republic on May 22, 1972, and is formally known as the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

• The first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka was Don Stephen Senanayake, who is regarded as the Father of the Nation.

• In 1972, William Gopalwa became the first President of Sri Lanka.

• Independence Day is also celebrated by Sri Lankan expatriate communities in other countries including Australia, Canada, Germany, Singapore and the United States.