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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 December 2009
Independence and after
When Independence was granted in 1948 it was greeted by the Church and the Catholic community in an extremely restrained fashion. Admittedly, the Archbishop of Colombo ordered church bells to be rung throughout the island, and a new advocation of the Virgin Mary, ‘Our Lady of Lanka’, was proclaimed, the shrine at Teewatte being dedicated to her. As far as the hierarchy was concerned, in an independent Sri Lanka, it was clear that the Church would be exposed to attack from the Buddhist majority. As for the laity, the advantages they had enjoyed during colonial rule had made them allies of the colonial power, and most appeared to have been indifferent at best to Independence.
During the first eight years of Independence, Sri Lanka was ruled by the United National Party (UNP). Under UNP rule, the situation of the Church remained much as before: missionaries were still allowed to enter the country at will; the Church retained its schools; Catholics remained a privileged minority. The UNP under Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake attempted to create a secular, Western-oriented capitalist state which implicitly favoured the Catholics of Sri Lanka. But this policy alienated the UNP from the majority of Sinhala Buddhists, and led to their spectacular defeat in the 1956 election.
In this election, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) led by S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike gained a victory which is often seen as being more significant than Independence. The events of 1956 marked a shift towards more populist policies attractive to the Sinhala-Buddhist masses.
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