Politics
Map
South Asia
British colonialism had a big influence on the development of South Asian governments once they became independent. Both the Indian and Sri Lankan governments are based on the British parliamentary system, especially India. Today, South Asia is the largest democratic region in the world by population.
Politics in Sri Lanka are complicated by the violent conflict between the Tamil minority and Sinhalese majority that has been ongoing for more than twenty years. Since 1983, the Sri Lankan government has fought against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a military organization that wants to make its own separate country in the Northeast. Though a ceasefire was signed in 2002, violence has continued and gotten much worse since 2005.
Sri Lanka’s Female Leaders
In 1960, Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike became the world’s first female prime minister when she took over leadership of Sri Lanka. Her daughter, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, served as president of Sri Lanka from 1994 until 2005. India has also had a female leader. Indira Ghandi served on and off as India’s prime minister for 15 years until she was assassinated in 1984.