Sri Lanka: The Second World War and the Soulbury Commission, 1939-1945, Part 1

Renamed Sri Lanka in 1972, Ceylon was the first of Britian's crown colonies in Asia and Africa to become independent. Though it was regarded as a model colony, conflict between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority posed a major obstacle to self-government. Based on material from offical Britih archives, this two-part volume illustrates the complexities in the political and constitutional negotiations which culminated in Ceylon's independece in February 1948. This volume reveals how their island's nationalist leaders insisted that Ceylon's contribution to the war effort be rewarded by a pledge of dominion status. Part 2 of the work records developments up to independence. It reveals how a reluctant labour cabinet in the UK was ultimately presuaded and also how the independence settlement left the minorities nurturing misgivings.