FIFA Paul Cup Over and Now Over to Cricket Once agin as Cricket May Not Set Records Afresh in Indo Srilanka Relations Despite Murali Sachin Magic all the Way!

FIFA Paul Cup Over and Now Over to Cricket Once agin as Cricket May Not Set Records Afresh in Indo Srilanka Relations Despite Murali Sachin Magic all the Way!

Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, chapter 522

Palash Biswas

http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/

India face Sri Lanka in the first of the three cricket Test matches here Sunday and the fixture will be Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan's last Test.The absence of pace spearhead Zaheer Khan and S Sreesanth will be a big setback for the team, according to Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who reckons it will provide an opportunity for young pacers to prove their worth in the Test series against Sri Lanka. Zaheer has been ruled out of the series due to a shoulder injury while Sreesanth has sprained a ligament of his left knee and will be replaced by Munaf Patel in the squad.

The president of Sri Lanka held a cabinet meeting on Wednesday in the northern town of Kilinochchi, the capital of the Tamil Tigers rebels until they were finally defeated last year.

The separatist guerrillas controlled one-third of Sri Lanka as recently as 2006 and ran a de facto state from Kilinochchi that included their own legal, banking and tax collecting systems.

Mahinda Rajapakse held a two-hour cabinet session and a review of construction work in the former war zone before meeting with ethnic Tamils who were displaced during the final months of the war, his office said.

The venue for the cabinet meeting was seen as part of Rajapakse's efforts to present Sri Lanka as a united country since the defeat of the rebels, despite continuing deep ethnic divisions on the island.

The United Nations estimates that some 7,000 Tamil civilians perished in the final four months of the conflict, which claimed up to 100,000 lives since 1972.

Rajapakse's military offensive triggered international calls for a war crimes probe.

Agitation against advisory panel in Geniva

Sri Lankans living in Switzerland, France and Italy staged an agitation yesterday in front of the Geneva office of the UN demanding immediate abolishment of the advisory panel on Sri Lanka appointed by the UN Gen secretary Ban Ki Moon. Though the officials at the UN office initially refused to accept a message the agitators wanted to hand over to UN officials requesting the UN not to get involved in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka as it is a sovereign state, they reluctantly accepted it later on.

The main intention of this campaign as to stage a protest called the voice of Sri Lanka in front of the UN office in Geneva. Meanwhile the Swiss Tiger network watched the agitation from a distance. Thee agitators stated that since Ban Ki Moon is following dual policy towards Sri Lanka, he should step down from this position right away.

The Washington Post newspaper reported yesterday that UN Gen secretary Ban Ki Moon is acting beyond his legal powers. This was revealed by former US ambassador to the UN Mr. John Dolton. He also alleged that Ban Ki Moon is also going beyond the functions of the UN Security Council and he has no powers to do so.


FIFA Paul Cup Over and Now Over to Cricket Once agin as Cricket May Not Set Records Afresh in Indo Srilanka Relations Despite Murali Sachin Magic all the Way!Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi that his government will do all that it can to enable the Sri Lankan Tamils to live with dignity. In a letter to Karunanidhi dated July 3 and released to the media in Chennai on Friday, the prime minister said: "My government will certainly
do all that it can to enable the Tamils in Sri Lanka to live a life of dignity and self-respect."
"We will use our influence and make efforts to help in the restoration of normal life in northern and eastern Sri Lanka through the rapid rehabilitation of the internally displaced persons," he added.

Meanwhile,The U.N. country chief in Sri Lanka, recalled to New York in a spat over demonstrations outside the U.N. office in the capital, Colombo, will go back to his post, the world body said on Friday.

Neil Buhne "will conclude his visit to New York this week and he will return to Colombo," U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recalled Buhne last week and ordered the closure of a U.N. regional center in Colombo during protests against a U.N. war crimes panel.

The United Nations said the protests hampered its ability to operate.

The demonstrations were led by Sri Lankan Construction Minister Wimal Weerawansa, who declared a hunger strike. Last Saturday, President Mahinda Rajapaksa ordered Weerawansa to end the fast.

The protests followed Ban's appointment of a three-member panel to advise him on "accountability issues" stemming from the Sri Lankan government's destruction last year of Tamil Tiger separatists, ending a 25-year war. Human rights groups have criticized civilian deaths in the war's final phase.

"It is important to continue U.N. efforts to assist the people of Sri Lanka, particularly with regard to reconstruction and rehabilitation in the (mainly Tamil) north," Haq said.

Buhne would convey to Sri Lankan leaders "the secretary-general's strong expectations for better treatment of the U.N. family in Sri Lanka," he said, as well as progress on resettlement of refugees, reconciliation and accountability.


Citing India's financial commitment for rehabilitation of Tamils in Sri Lanka, the letter noted: "We have already committed Rs.500 crore for this purpose. Further, as you know, we are committed to assist in the construction of 50,000 houses for internally displaced persons and are also trying to restore normal economic activity in these areas by building infrastructure and promoting sustainable livelihood."

Inviting Karunanidhi's views on rehabilitation and achieving a permanent solution for the Sri Lankan Tamil problem, the prime minister said: "I also look forward to receiving your views and advice on ways forward towards the process of genuine reconciliation to resolve the ethnic issue in Sri Lanka once and for all through political agreement that we have consistently advocated."


Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi asked the Centre to grant permanent residential status to over 1.6 lakh Sri Lankan Tamil refugees residing in the state. hey should be given permanent residential status to enable the state government to initiate steps for improving their economic and social well-being, Karunanidhi wrote in the DMK's official organ 'Murasoli'.The government is of the view that any effort to improve these refugees living conditions would only be an effort to enhance the livelihood of Tamils as a whole, he said. He said there were 115 refugee camps housing 73,241 Lankan Tamils in 26 districts in the state. Besides, 31,802 of them were living outside the camps in the state, he said.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has suggested sending an Indian envoy to Sri Lanka to assess the progress on rehabilitation of Tamils living  in refugee camps in the island nation. In his letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dated July 17, Karunanidhi said: "I would like to suggest that Government of India, through
diplomatic sources or by sending a special envoy, may assess the real situation in the affected areas and the progress of rehabilitation measures so far undertaken by the Sri Lankan government...."
He said that India may also try to get information on "the time-frame for completing the process of resettlement to the satisfaction of the affected persons. This will enable us to plan the future course of action with a view to ensure peaceful and rightful livelihood of the displaced Tamils".

On July 9, Singh in his letter to Karunanidhi had invited his views and advice "on ways forward towards the process of genuine reconciliation to resolve the ethnic issue in Sri Lanka once and for all through political agreement that we have consistently advocated".

Pointing out that the DMK has been advocating the cause of the Sri Lankan Tamils right from the year 1956, Karunanidhi's letter notes that the issue needs short and long term solutions.

The letter cites the denial of permission to Lankan Tamils to return to their native places even though a year has passed since the internal strife ended.

"Though the Government of India have sanctioned a financial assistance of Rs.500 crore for the purpose of rehabilitation long back, it is sad that the rehabilitation measures have not progressed at the expected level," he said.

"Consequently, the displaced people continue to undergo the ordeal of camp life," the letter noted.


Now it is right Time to Cheer Up Team India NOT Recovered as yet from the IPL Reality Realty Scam!India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni Saturday said opener Virender Sehwag's form will be crucial as the visitors look for their first Test series win in Sri Lanka in 17 years.

ICC President Sharad Pawar on Saturday paid tribute to Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who will play his final Test match when Sri Lanka face India at Galle starting tomorrow.

Muralitharan will begin his final Test match on a record 792 Test wickets.

"I am sure there will be cricket lovers all over the world who will hope that Muttiah Muralitharan breaks the 800 Test wicket barrier," Pawar said.

'He has enjoyed a remarkably successful career and I am sure that while we will all be sad to see him leave the Test Match arena, the pinnacle of international cricket, that his achievements will inspire a new generation of young cricketers," he added.

He further said that Muralitharan has re-written the history book and created a mark that will be difficult to surpass.

"Murali is a true legend of our great sport. He has also been an excellent role model and great ambassador throughout his career - playing the game with not only great skill, but also great spirit," Pawar said.
"His record is truly astonishing for not only does he have 792 Test match wickets, but he also has 512 wickets in One-Day International cricket," he added.

Dhoni said India's fate in the series will depend on how fit-again Sehwag performs.    

'There is no doubt that Sehwag is a great batsman. And he is the one who will open the account for us. The way he bats, if he can bat for one or one and a half session, more often than not he crosses the century mark,' Dhoni said.

'It will be great to have him going. We have Gautam Gambhir and other batsmen who have the potential to score big. Of course, start is important for us. But there is no pressure on Sehwag,' he added.

Dhoni said after the team's early exit from the Twenty20 World debacle, players have made a conscious effort to improve their fitness.

'It is quite difficult to change all of a sudden. Every player has made a conscious attempt to change a bit of everything. Everyone has put in a bit of effort in training because that is important. We are trying to reduce the amount of things that we have and we are having what is really good for us. It has been working,' he added.

Dhoni also admitted that home advantage make Sri Lankans the favourites.    

'We will try our best. We have to give in more than 100 per cent in the series because the conditions are more in favour of Sri Lankan team. They know the home conditions better than us. At the same time, it will be a good exposure for the youngsters who are a part of the side. It will just add to their exposure and their experience. Overall, it would be good for Indian cricket in the long run,' he added.

On Muralitharan, Dhoni said: 'I started cricket quite late. But off the field I can say Murali is good to have in the dressing room. He is a great guy. I think there are more memories off the field than on the field because I really don't talk much on the field. We have played quite a few series against each other. Of late, we have been playing virtually every year against Sri Lanka.'

Murali's Indian farewell Hindustan Times - ‎21 minutes ago‎ Muttiah Muralitharan, playing in his farewell Test, will understandably be the man in the centre of the action as the three-match series between Sri Lanka and India begins at the Galle International Stadium on Sunday. But there will be lots to look ... An era ends with him... Hindustan Times - Anil Kumble - ‎18 minutes ago‎ How do you begin to appreciate someone who has taken 792 Test wickets and could well end with 800? One way is to look at where Sri Lankan cricket was before Muttiah Muralitharan came on in 1992 and see where it is now. No team can afford to take Sri ... At 38, he could have played on Hindustan Times - ‎13 minutes ago‎ All good things have to come to an end and, sadly for cricket lovers, today marks the beginning of the end for a true champion: Muttiah Muralitharan. During the last 19 years, Murali has dominated the game and, through the last decade, I have watched ... "As a team the best we can do for Murali is to make sure we don't get too overwhelmed or carried away with what's happening around but concentrate on really giving him a good farewell by playing a great match out there," Sangakkara told reporters on the eve of the first Test here. more by Kumar Sangakkara - 2 hours ago - NDTV.com (24 occurrences) 'We should concentrate on giving Murali a good farewell' NDTV.com - ‎2 hours ago‎ PTI Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara on Saturday reminded his teammates to focus on the job at hand and not get carried away by emotions in Muttiah Muralitharan's swansong Test against India. "As a team the best we can do for Murali is to make sure ... Muralitharan's farewell to assume centre-stage in the first Test The Hindu - ‎3 hours ago‎ AP Muttiah Muralitharan who is three short of 100 wickets against India in Tests, bowls during a practice session ahead of their first test match in Galle. The occasion bristles with possibilities. Test cricket's most successful bowler will match his ... Murali a legend, role model and an ambassador: Pawar NDTV.com - ‎2 hours ago‎ PTI ICC President Sharad Pawar on Saturday paid glowing tributes to retiring Sri Lanka spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan, describing him as a legend, role model and a great ambassador of the game. Muralitharan will retire after the opening Test against ... Weakened bowling threatens India's chances CricInfo.com - Sidharth Monga - ‎5 hours ago‎ Sometimes some places inspire people. On their last Test tour, when India came to Galle, Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma were two such inspired men. The batting had been absolutely destroyed in Colombo, and apart from Virender Sehwag they had failed ... SL vs Ind [Sri Lanka vs India]: Stage Set For M&M 's Swan Song LSB - ‎30 minutes ago‎ Galle: The Sri Lanka vs. India test series starting from tomorrow will see the great Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan bid farewell to the world of test cricket. The legend who just needs 8 wickets to bring his total up to a whopping 800 will ... Situations don't matter to Murali: Dhoni Bangalore Mirror - Sunandan Lele - ‎2 hours ago‎ India captain MS Dhoni paid tributes to the great Sri Lankan spinner and his Chennai Super Kings teammate Muttiah Muralitharan. Here are the excerpts. "I played my first Test match against Sri Lanka. Before making my debut, many players from my team ... Magician ready for final bow Deccan Herald - ‎1 hour ago‎ Not even the severe lashing the Galle International stadium took for a prolonged spell late on Saturday afternoon has dampened the enthusiasm of this laid-back tourist town, bracing up to bid farewell to Muttiah Muralitharan. ... All 106 related articles »

Related Sri Lanka India Muttiah Muralitharan Mahendra Singh Dhoni Galle Test match Timeline of articles Number of sources covering this story Murali's Indian farewell ‎21 minutes ago‎ - Hindustan Times Muralitharan's farewell to assume centre-stage in the first Test ‎3 hours ago‎ - The Hindu Murali's turn to make history again by reaching 800 Test wickets ‎10 hours ago‎ - The Guardian 'Lanka owe Murali a lot' ‎Jul 16, 2010‎ - Hindustan Times Yawn. Must we have so much cricket? ‎Jul 15, 2010‎ - Rediff SLC drops Jayasuriya, retains Murali in central contract list ‎Jul 15, 2010‎ - Times of India Opening day alarm: Will India wake up? ‎Jul 13, 2010‎ - Hindustan Times Images The Hindu NDTV.com CricInfo.com Deccan Herald Deccan Herald NDTV.com CricInfo.com Deccan Herald The Guardian All related images

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India are determined not to join the party as Sri Lanka celebrate world record wicket taker Muttiah Muralidaran's final Test appearance in Galle from Sunday.

The off-spinner, 38, will retire after the opening contest of the three-match series at the Galle International Stadium, in which he needs eight scalps to reach the unprecedented 800-wicket mark in Test cricket.

Local fans want Muralidaran to claim those eight wickets and lead Sri Lanka to victory in what will be a fitting end to a remarkable, but controversial, 18-year Test career.
However, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his world number one team will not allow Muralidaran -- who is commonly known as Murali -- to have it all his way.

"Good luck to Murali, but we are here to win," said Dhoni, who teams up with the Sri Lankan in the Twenty20 Indian Premier League for current champions Chennai Super Kings.

"We all know Murali is a great bowler and his achievements speak for themselves. More importantly, he is also a great human being and I cherish his friendship.

"However, this is Test cricket and we do not intend to give our wickets easily. Our batsmen would like not to give him the opportunity to reach 800 wickets during the first Test."

The 132-Test veteran, the most successful bowler in history with record hauls in both Test (792) and one-day (515) cricket, said last week he was retiring from the longer version since he had nothing left to strive for.
"I have achieved what I wanted to achieve. There is nothing left or any target to reach," he told reporters at the announcement of his decision to quit tests.

Muralidaran had earlier talked of retiring after the home series against the West Indies in November, but changed his mind because he "did not want to keep so many talented youngsters waiting."

Local media reports said Muralidaran preferred not to wait till the end of the India series because he was unsure of being able to manage the workload of an entire series.
Sri Lanka Cricket, eager to give Muralidaran a fitting farewell, has invited all past Test captains and those who played alongside him to witness his final match.

Officials have also planned ceremonial presentations to the spinner both at the start of the match and after it, hoping Muralidaran will sign off in style.

The off-spinner's track record at the Galle International Stadium indicates he may not have a problem reaching the 800-wicket mark.

Muralidaran has claimed 103 wickets in the 14 Tests he has played against all opposition at Galle, 13 of them against the Indians in two matches.

India's batsmen, led by world record holder Sachin Tendulkar, are reputed to play spin well, but Muralidaran grabbed 21 wickets in three Tests in the last home series in 2008 to lead Sri Lanka to a 2-1 win.

Muralidaran's controversial bent-arm action -- the result of an elbow deformity since birth -- has helped him impart considerable turn and bounce to wreck havoc with the ball.

The off-spinner has claimed five wickets in an innings an astonishing 66 times, almost double the hauls of second-placed Australian Shane Warne, who has done it on 37 occasions.

Muralidaran has taken 10 wickets or more in a Test 22 times. Warne, who follows the Sri Lankan in the all-time list with 708 wickets, has managed that only 10 times.
"Let's all enjoy the moment," said former Test batsman Aravinda de Silva, who is now the chairman of selectors. "There will not be a Murali again."

'Tendulkar deserves World Cup win'

Indianexpress, Agencies, 16 July 2010
                         
Sachin Tendulkar deserves a World Cup victory under his belt but to realise this dream the batting icon needs players like Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni to fire in 2011 home event, says former Kiwi fast bowler Danny Morrison.
"Sachin Tendulkar, the master, deserves to have some sort of winners' medal hanging round his neck but it's not all about him. Cricket is a tough game and it's also about whether Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni can deliver for India. Can they do it for Sachin?," Morrison said at an ICC audio-cricket show.
The cricketer-turned-commentator also feels that India will be strong contenders to lift the World Cup.
"I think India has the best opportunity to lift the World Cup this time round. It has to be good for them playing on home turf. It adds pressure but that's part of hosting.
"You feel that India want something special to happen and this year I think you've got to go with the India team to emulate the 1983 side led by Kapil Dev," said Morrison, who claimed 126 ODI wickets and 160 in Tests.
India will co-host the 2011 edition along with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in February-March.

   

India's views matter, don't care about the world: Rajapaksa

K Venkataramanan, TNN, Jun 28, 2010, 01.40am IST
Clearly upbeat over the outcome of his recent visit to New Delhi, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa recently spoke to TOI in an exclusive interview about India and its concerns, his troubled ties with the international community, especially the United Nations, and the constitutional changes he proposed. Rajapaksa presented the post-war rehabilitation of Tamil refugees as one that was actually unbelievably fast rather than the tardy exercise the world says it is. "We have sent back most people to their homes, about 80-90%," he said. In the course of a two-hour-long conversation with K Venkataramanan at his Temple Trees residence in Colombo, he also hinted at giving himself an opportunity for more terms in office by amending the present Constitution which limits a president's tenure to two terms. Rajapaksa described the incarceration of his political rival, ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka, as something that was not of concern to him as it was a judicial matter, and spoke candidly about his support for an ethnically mixed population in the north, where traditionally Tamils constitute an overwhelming majority and his belief that Tamils and Muslims should choose to be part of a national parties instead of limiting themselves to regional or communal identities.

EXCERPTS:

Your popularity in the country is at its height. But aren't you worried about the international image of the country and your own personal image abroad?

Why should I worry about others? If India and neighbours are good with me, that is enough for me.

The UN has made adverse remarks about the human rights situation and many have called for an international investigation into war crimes in the last phase of the war.

They should understand the country's situation. Earlier, they said Prabhakaran was the world's most ruthless terrorist. But now, suddenly, when I defeated him, they are talking differently. I wonder if they would say the same if bin Laden were to be defeated. They can advise us, but they can't force us. No one can force us to do this and that.

The international community, including EU, even India, frequently asks you to speed up the process of finding a political solution. Where do you stand on that?

We will take our own time and the solution, you can't ask for an instant solution like instant noodles. Constitutions are not for one or two days. It is not a magazine which is published weekly or monthly. We can't change the Constitution frequently. We will have to take our own time. We will certainly change all this. My commitment remains.

The European Union has threatened to suspend GSP Plus tariff concessions for Sri Lanka.

I am not bothered. These concessions were offered soon after the tsunami. Now the tsunami (rehabilitation) is over, it helped us at that time. Now we must find new markets. Our people must know this: when I called the elections, they (EU) immediately called for suspension of tariff concessions. It was a politically motivated decision. If the EU doesn't want to give it (concessions), let them keep it. I don't want it. We have gone and explained what we have done. Now we have appointed it (an inquiry commission), not because someone wanted me to, but because I am committed to that.

The commission is about the lessons learnt and what should be done for national reconciliation. You must have your own view on this. What will you say are the lessons learnt from this conflict and what are your suggestions for national reconciliation?

The people must trust each other. We have to build that trust. In Colombo, about 30 years ago, Sinhalese were the majority. Today, they are a minority, about 27%. There are more Tamils and Muslims now. But I don't see this as a problem. I believe in mixed population. Earlier, there was and they had no problem like this. Only politicians make althese issues for their own ends.

There are fears of complete Sinhalisation of the north and east. Will the Sinhalese people be settled in those areas in large numbers?

They were there, you know. They were chased by Prabhakaran, so, if anybody wants to go there, yes, they can. What if somebody were to say that in Colombo, the Tamils have come in large numbers?

Is it true there are 25,000 Chinese workers in Sri Lanka?

How can it be 25,000? Must be the Chinese who work here as dental technicians. They have been here for such a long time. I remember during the time of the Sirimavo Bandaranaike regime, the opposition started a campaign saying Bandaranaike had sold this country to China. And they came out with photos of these dental technicians. They took their photos and were publishing it saying China, China. I feel it is the same cry of China, China now. Others are saying India, India. Now they are saying we are selling this country to India. The JVP has declared we are selling this country to India.

Between all these developments, where do you see your relations with China?

We are a non-aligned country. Our neighbours are Indians. I always say, Indians are our relations. From the time of Emperor Asoka, we have had that culture. The whole culture, irrigation, architecture has been built up over the last 2,500 years. You can't break that. But that doesn't mean we won't get commercial benefits from others. From China, or Japan, or whoever. They will come here, they will build, they will go back. India comes here, they will build and they will stay. This is the difference. In simple terms, whenever our relationship is stronger and we get close to India, this campaign begins. They start to say India has started to rule, and they know India is very sensitive about Pakistan or China. So they will use these factors to upset the Indian public. Well, I think even the LTTE used this point.

How do you see your recent visit to India and the joint statement that spoke of cooperation in various fields?

I think it was a very successful visit. The agreements that we signed, in fact most of them, are concerned with development work, especially in the north, infrastructure development, railways, housing projects (50,000 houses in the north and east), power plant project in Sampur. All those things are necessary for development of this country.

Some of these ideas have been around for 2-3 years. However, not much progress has been made. Do you think work will speed up now?

I very much hope so. We need to have targets. Earlier, we could say the delay was due to the terrorist problem or something. Now we cannot say all those things. We agreed that all projects will be started by 2010.

How do you foresee Indo-Sri Lankan relations over the next five years?

It will be very strong. We had certain things in the past, but now it is very good, we understand them, they understand us. This is the best time we have had at all levels. Even the people-to-people contacts, business, politicians.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Indias-views-matter-dont-care-about-the-world-Rajapaksa/articleshow/6099633.cms

Team India has the batting to combat any situation

   
Partab Ramchand, Saturday, July 17, 2010
   
   
The most lustrous batting line up in the world must rise up to its lofty stature in the first Test at Galle starting on Sunday. Time and again, the super quintet (or sometimes a round half a dozen) has pulled off the most amazing of feats to over up for the weaker aspect of Indian cricket – the bowling.

In recent times, however, with the bowling rising to the occasion and batting living up to its reputation the Indian team has touched dizzy heights with the result that it is perched at the No.1 spot in the ICC Test rankings.

How many times in the history of Test cricket could a team have had the first four boasting of an average of fifty plus and a fifth who has an average in the mid 40s? The class, skill and experience of this Indian batting line up is hard to beat, and even after conceding that the Sri Lankan batting line up too has notched up many notable feats, particularly in recent years and at home, there is no denying that the Indian batting is without peer in the game today.

And, that is a comforting feeling for the Indian cricket follower for when one looks at the bowling line up one can only shudder with fear and anxiety. As it is, with Zaheer Khan having Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth for support the pace attack was not one that inspired confidence. The withdrawal of Zaheer and Sreesanth through injuries made the opening attack emaciated, considering the fact that Ishant has not exactly delivered following his dream debut in Australia in 2007-08.

Fortunately, the Indian pace bowling cupboard is not exactly bare and there are any number of claimants for places when a bowler drops out due to various injuries. From RP Singh to Ashish Nehra, from Irfan Pathan to Munaf Patel the replacement list is quite impressive. But the selectors' decision to opt for Abhimanyu Mithun again made the Indian cricket fan uncomfortable.

There was also talk of sending for Jaidev Unadkat, who is currently with the India A squad in England. Talented as Unadkat and Mithun are one is not sure whether they are ready for to don the India cap now. In the absence of Zaheer and Sreesanth what is needed is a bit of experience and fortunately Munaf Patel was flown to Colombo as a replacement.

Still a trio of Ishant, Munaf and Mithun does not seem to have the firepower to take on the likes of Thilan Samaraweera, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillekeratne Dilshan. What's more these players have been particularly prolific at home.

Early warning signals have been hoisted after the warm-up game at Colombo where the totals notched up by the Sri Lanka Board President's XI were 514 for nine and 260 for six with four batsmen helping themselves to centuries.

A lot then would depend on the competitive Harbhajan who relishes such a challenging situation. Pragyan Ojha's bowling in the warm-up game was a source of comfort and he and Harbhajan should be the spin duo on duty in the first Test. With match figures of one for 141 in the warm-up game Mithun's confidence levels cannot be high and it should be Ishant and Munaf sharing the new ball at Galle.

The quartet does not look to be a line up that could contain the strong Sri Lankan batting and some help from the non-regular bowlers could be required. But then the home team bowlers could face an even more serious problem when confronted by the formidable Indian batting.

Considering the fact that India have won three Tests to Sri Lanka's five in contests in the island nation as also that they have won only one series way back in 1993 when Sri Lanka were still feeling their way around in international cricket it would be tempting to place the home team in the favourities circle.

But then India are the No 1 Test team and that is something that the Lankans will have to guard against. The confidence level of the Indians is at an all time high and it has the batting to combat any situation. Whether it has the bowling to win Tests remains to be seen. And with Sri Lanka's bowling in a similar situation be prepared for a high scoring series.
    http://cricket.yahoo.com/cricket/blog/partabramchand/217/217partabramchand

    Sri Lankan Tamils in India

                                                                       

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Notable Sri Lankans in India M. G. Ramachandran, V. Kanakasabhai, Arumuka Navalar, Balu Mahendra

Total population

Hundreds of Thousands

Regions with significant populations

Tamil Nadu ~123,000 [1][2][3] Kerala[4] ~7000 [5] Pondicherry ~500 [6] Karnataka ~35,000 [7]

Languages

Tamil, Sinhala, English

Religion

Hindu (Saivite), Christian, Roman Catholic

Related ethnic groups

Sri Lankan, Indian Tamils, Malayalis, Dravidian

Sri Lankan Tamils in India mainly refer to Tamil people of Sri Lankan origin in India and non resident Sri Lankan Tamil. They are partly who migrated to India and their descendants and mostly refugees from Sri Lanka because of the recently concluded Sri Lankan Civil War. In general socio economically they are living below poverty line, except few people who settled in India during early times, rich businessmen, and professionals. In Tamil Nadu they are also known as Ceylon Tamils or Jaffna Tamils, and in Kerala the Sri Lankan Tamils call themselves Elavar after a corruption of the term Ezhava, a caste in Kerala.[8]

Contents [hide] 1 History 1.1 Early arrivals 1.2 Sri Lankan refugees 2 Demographics 3 Refugees 3.1 The Camps 4 Prominent People 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Early arrivals

During 19th century and early 20th century some Sri Lankan Tamils especially from Jaffna migrated or settled in India for various reasons such as education, employment in the British Indian government, business and other reasons. Most notable among them were Hensman family, who are migrated to Chennai from Jaffna during late 19th century.

[edit] Sri Lankan refugees

The Sri Lankan refugees arrived in Tamil Nadu in four waves. The first wave on 24 July 1983, after Black July, to the 29 July 1987 up until the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, 134,053 Sri Lankan Tamils arrived in India. The first repatriation took place after the signing of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord in 1987 and between 24 December 1987 and 31 August 1989, 25,585 refugees and non-camp Sri Lankan nationals returned to Sri Lanka. The second wave began with the start of Eelam War II after 25 August 1989, where 122,000 Sri Lankan Tamils came to Tamil Nadu. On 20 January 1992, after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi 54,188 refugees were voluntarily repatriated to Sri Lanka, until March 1995. Eelam War III commenced in April 1995 starting the third wave or refugees. By 12 April 2002, nearly 23,356 refugees had come to Tamil Nadu. The flow of refugees had stopped in 2002 because of the cease fire agreement.[9]

[edit] Demographics

Tamils distribution in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan Tamils in India number in the hundreds of thousands, mostly in the state of Tamil Nadu, the closest state to Sri Lanka and the easiest to get to. There is also a considerable amount in the state of Kerala with around 700 refugee families.[10][11] There are also a number of Sri Lankan Tamils in the eastern regions of Orissa, Karnataka and Puducherry.

Highest number of Sri Lankan Tamil families living in KK Nagar, Thuvakudi in Trichirapalli, Neelankarai, Valasaravakkam in Chennai, Nagercoil in Kanniyakumari, R.S puram, Valparai in Coimbatore.

[edit] Refugees

The Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Tamil Nadu have three different kinds of shelter. The first is the camp refugees or those who took shelter in camps mostly located in the rural areas. They were sent from the Mandapam transit camp to different locations. The second group is non-camp refugees are those living in tented house with relatives and friends without any assistance from the government. Nearly fifty thousand refugees lived outside camps; most of them are staying in big cities. The third group consisted of those who supposedly posed security threats since they were involved in subversive activities in Sri Lanka. They were sent to special camps where they had to live under constant surveillance. These special camps came into existence in 1991.

[edit] The Camps

When the first wave of refugees entered India in 1983, they were divided into three groups. Besides the camp and noncamp refugees, there were the militants in special camps.The Government of Tamil Nadu had to welcome the refugees in the emergency situation. The Indian government did not like to send the refugees to other states because of the language barriers. India's continued refusal to sign protocols and also the ban on NGOs prevent any international help from reaching the refugees. There are nearly 80,000 refugees 132 camps in Tamil Nadu and one in Orissa. All refugee camps are registered. This entitles them to government assistance-cash, shelter, health facilities, clothing and provision of essential items. The refugees from Sri Lanka have been the recipients of one of the most advanced systems of education in the world, but since 1991, this privilege has been withdrawn.

Refugees also have strict restrictions on their freedom of movement and are treated with some degree of suspicion by the Indian government. It is due to assassination of former Indian Prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 by a suspected member of the LTTE. After that some refugee camps were moved away from coastal areas to isolated interior regions of Tamil Nadu state so as to prevent contact amongst the refugees belonging to different camps[12]. Refugees also have strict restrictions on their freedom of movement and are treated as third grade citizens. If any one disobey the rules may have their monthly stipend and rations cut off as punishment. As India has not signed the international convention for refugees, the plight of the Sri Lankan refugees in India is not brought to the scrutiny of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and no other major human rights organization has taken note of the suffering of the Tamils languishing in the "special camps" in India.

Militant Refugees

Militant leadership has always been elitist and there is a clear line of distinction between them and the mass of refugees. The leadership drew its support and recruited its forces from the refugee camps. These camps no longer exist. They were all dosed down after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, but their legacy continues to haunt the refugees.

Noncamp Refugees

These are the refugees who do not receive financial assistance from the government. They are mostly rich businessmen and professionals. They also include a small number of near destitute young men who are in India to escape from being recruited by the militants. Most of the Sri Lankan Tamils lives in the pockets of Chennai, Trichy and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, Trivandrum, Punalur in Kerala.

Recent Developments

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Mr.M.Karunanidhi assured that the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees living in and outside the camps would be granted Indian citizenship soon. Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has backed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi's call to give Indian citizenship to Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in India[13].

[edit] Prominent People

• V. Kanakasabhai
• Balu Mahendra
• J.E. Hensman[14]
• Raibahadur Williamspillai[15]
• Paul M. Jayarajan aka Marcus Jayarajan Paul[16]
• E. M. V. Naganathan
• H.S. Hensman[17].
• J. P. Chandrababu

Eelam War and the Long Arm of the Indian Rearguard across the Palk Straits Saturday, 03 July 2010 00:00   By Dayapala Thiranagama Indo- Sri Lanka relations made a dramatic and unprecedented change with the beginning of the Eelam war. This change contributed to bringing about far reaching military and political consequences within Sri Lanka and its two destructive wars. The JVP led anti-devolutionary Sinhalese rebellion had been the direct result of the changed Indian policy. The most destructive Eelam war was the other.  These developments have fundamentally shaped the future course of Sri Lankan politics. Since 1983 India had begun supporting the Tamil militant groups to train and arm its cadres for military confrontations with the Sri Lankan state. Their bases in Tamil Nadu provided a rearguard and they could retreat safely to these bases after mounting deadly attacks to the Sri Lankan security forces. The current Indian policy has changed positively as India has become pragmatic but Sri Lanka needs political investment in the form of political devolution and inclusiveness of ethnic minorities in order to effectively de-activate the rearguard in Tamil Nadu. This short essay attempts to analyze the impact of Indian policy on the Sri Lankan political and military developments for the last 30 years through the rearguard in Tamil Nadu and how it has shaped our political agenda on the ethnic issue. Role of the rearguard The Tamil armed struggle had a trustworthy, stable and dependable rearguard which was easily   accessible by sea from the North and East. It became their main supply line throughout the war. It was politically and militarily supportive and culturally compatible since it was historically connected with the Sri Lankan Tamils. Such a rearguard for guerilla warfare is an ideal one for sustained protracted guerilla warfare against a militarily and politically powerful enemy if used strategically. However, the LTTE's   lack of political maturity and the pursuit of unprincipled and dangerous application of violence changed the political support they could enjoy in Tamil Nadu. The decision to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi proved to be a costly mistake for the LTTE. The LTTE's political and military ruthlessness has often been seen as strength, feared but also admired. While it has sometimes been as seen as bad for their image, the role that the LTTE's violent politics played in placing them into a strategically weaker position both politically and militarily has not been sufficiently considered. After Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, Tamil Nadu could no longer be counted on for the level of support it had once provided the Tigers. . When the LTTE leadership was cornered and decimated by the Sri Lankan army on 18 May 2009, in Vellamulaivikkal the Tamil Tigers paid in full for their past mistake. Had not the LTTE assassinated Rajiv Gandhi, the conclusion of the Eelam war could have been entirely different. The protracted guerilla war against the Sri Lankan state has been possible due to the existence of    the Indian rearguard and its stable base in Tamil Nadu. The Indian rearguard had a twin purpose, military as well as political throughout its existence. Firstly it enabled a group like the LTTE to conduct a war using a rearguard in a foreign soil with a relative safety.  The Sri Lankan    state had no capacity to place a watertight naval blockade to stop any supply lines. As a consequence, the feared Sea Tiger wing was able to establish a complete domination of the sea across Palk Strait until the last phase of the war. Secondly, the Eelamists were able to exert pressure on the Indian Government through Tamil Nadu to gain political and military advantages when the war was not going well in their favaour. The Indian rearguard would have been the envy of any guerilla leader elsewhere but Prabaharan showed his inability to understand or appreciate its value in political and military terms for the LTTE's future when he ordered the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in1991. The Indian government had its own political reasons for allowing Tamil militant groups the use of Tamil Nadu since 1979. The LTTE's activities there would not have been possible without the knowledge of RAW. After the 1983 riots in Colombo, the Congress party allowed the training of guerilla fighters in Tamil Nadu for use against the Sri Lankan state, enhancing the party's support in that region. In addition to this internal political advantage it also provided greater possibilities for India to re-balance the   regional political forces in the South Asian region. The Indian contention has been that the Tamil grievances among Sri Lankan Tamils were    unresolved. The sharp contrast between the basic democratic rights enjoyed by people living in Tamil Nadu as opposed to the Sri Lankan Tamils gave a legitimate weight to India's efforts to resolve the ethnic issue in Sri Lanka. Military intervention In 1987, Indian troops came to North and East following the Indo-Lanka Agreement signed between Rajiv Gandhi and President J.R. Jayewardene. This led to the second JVP rebellion as they portrayed the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) as an invading army   of the Indian imperialism supported by the USA and its imperialist policies. The Indo -Lanka Agreement   pushed for the devolution of power to the Tamil community in the North and East through the 13th amendment to the Sri Lankan constitution which inflamed anti-Tamil and anti-Indian sentiments in the Sinhalese south. The JVP led armed struggle against Jayewardene and the UNP became destructive and the JVP was able to deepen its Sinhalese political and social base. Some sections of the SLFP and Buddhist clergy were attracted by anti-Tamil and anti-Indian ultra-nationalist passions and proved responsive to the JVP's message. The JVP also assassinated left activists and others who supported the devolution of power under the 13th amendment. All the democratic and left activists who supported the devolution package were branded as the fifth column of the Indian imperialism by the JVP. The IPKF was not prepared to leave Sri Lanka but they found no one on their side either militarily or politically except the EPRLF which could not assert its political independence .The IPKF was militarily vulnerable and politically isolated. The LTTE also fought   against the Indian Army in the North and East until the IPKF was finally withdrawn from Sri Lanka by the end 1989. President Premadasa who was elected as President after Jayewardene had provided   weapons to Tamil Tigers secretly to fight against the IPKF. His political naivety in trusting the LTTE was disastrous and his misjudgment was probably driven by his desire for regaining Sri Lanka's sovereignty. Later on 1 May in 1993, the LTTE assassinated President Premadasa in Colombo. Rajiv Gandhi had also become a victim of a LTTE suicide bomber in Tamil Nadu in 1991. India had her own bitter lessons in the destructive nature of Sri Lankan politics. Nevertheless, they remained vocal in support of the devolution of power to the North and East. At the same time the militant groups also learnt their bitter lessons. They could not go beyond India political interests and never agreed for a separatist political solution to the Sri Lanka's ethnic issue. When the LTTE refused to accept a solution based on the 13th amendment India committed its troops to fight against the LTTE. Even after the IPKF withdrawal the Indian influence on Sri Lankan politics has not diminished. The Indo-Lanka Agreement signed in 1987 and its political objectives of devolution of power still drive our political process and this will continue in the foreseeable future and beyond. The Indo-Lanka Agreement and its political proposals have made a lasting impact on the issues of political democracy and pluralism despite the bitter and destructive civil war it generated in both communities in the country. Closing the rearguard Closing down the Indian rearguard is primarily a political act .The Indian request for the devolution power to the Tamil community in Sri Lanka is a prerequisite in this endeavour. Unless Sri Lanka is prepared to do their bit, the political closure of the Tamil Nadu support for a separate state in the North and East will not simply go away. Even after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi the Tamil Tigers were able to get the support in order to get the war going against Sri Lanka. However   following the defeat of the Tigers a political solution to the Tamil community will offer a greater capacity for India to close down the rearguard in Tamil Nadu. India has assured the Sri Lankan State time and again that it will respect Sri Lanka's territorial integrity to allay the Sri Lankan fears and to encourage political devolution of power. However, the Sri Lankan leadership so far has not made a firm commitment to devolution despite the Indian assurances. The problem has been the lack of political courage and imagination on the part of the Sri Lankan leadership to overcome the opposition by the Sinhalese chauvinist political forces in implementing a package of devolution to the Tamil community in the North and East. As long as a solution is not offered the external threat of political interference remains   and that will continue to destabilize Sri Lanka. India will bring up the issue again and again as it has done so far at the diplomatic front. This will encourage the Tamil community to action as they realize in their day to day existence that the Indian diplomacy is morally and politically correct and India has been advancing solutions to their grievances since the Eelam war has begun. It is politically ironic and nationally   embarrassing in a democracy when your neighbor has taken up the issue of political democracy on behalf of a community that lives within your own political borders. When the Indian diplomacy is exhausted the Indian rearguard will re-emerge even without the Indian patronage. This is a vicious cycle that    Sri Lanka cannot politically and militarily afford experience again. The Sri Lankan political leadership needs to understand that the defeating the LTTE is not going to resolve the democratic rights issue and we need to address it not simply   because of the Indian concerns but because the devolution of power is morally and politically correct .We need to be realists and India is our powerful neighbour. Given the regional political balance of forces and the political history of ours we need India on our side. Political stability in Sri Lanka would benefit both India as well as Sri Lanka. Conclusion The LTTE's comprehensive military defeat at the hands of the Sri Lankan military has taken us back to the fundamental political issue that is the test of our resolve and courage to offer a reasonable political solution to the Tamil grievances. When this was not forthcoming India redefined its role as Sri Lankas neighbour. The Indian intervention in Sri Lankan    politics through the Indian rearguard and the shadow of its long arm should be dislodged .However, in order to remove this Sri Lanka should act in a way that it fulfils the democratic aspirations of the Tamil community within a united Sri Lanka. The devolution of power through the 13th amendment will be a basic democratic requirement in this exercise. Our sovereignty as a democratic nation will be safer only when we resolve the Tamil community's grievances. In the absence of a political solution, will the history repeat itself? Time will tell. Courtesy Groundviews

[edit] See also

• Sri Lankan Tamil people
• Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora
• List of Sri Lankan Tamils in India
• Sri Lankans in India
• Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka

[edit] References

1. ^ http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers29%5Cpaper2857.html
2. ^ http://www.joshuaproject.net/peopctry.php?rog3=IN&rop3=109305
3. ^ http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Lankan+Tamils+in+TN+going+home+soon&artid=Dol4hTJ/xqM=&SectionID=vBlkz7JCFvA=&MainSectionID=vBlkz7JCFvA=&SEO=lanka,+tamils,+IDPs,+TN,+tamil+nadu&SectionName=EL7znOtxBM3qzgMyXZKtxw==
4. ^ http://www.rediff.com/news/apr/14lanka.htm
5. ^ http://sundaytimes.lk/100110/News/nws_80.html
6. ^ http://www.pucl.org/Topics/International/2006/refugees-srilanka-report.html
7. ^ http://sundaytimes.lk/100110/News/nws_80.html
8. ^ http://www.rediff.com/news/apr/14lanka.htm
9. ^ http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2009/11/focus-on-sri-lankan-tamil-refugees.html
10. ^ http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/close-watch-on-sri-lankan-repatriates-in-kerala_100195852.html
11. ^ http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers29%5Cpaper2857.html
12. ^ http://www.ujaen.es/huesped/rae/articulos2007/acharya0907.pdf
13. ^ http://blog.taragana.com/law/2009/09/28/give-indian-citizenship-to-tamil-refugees-ravi-shankar-13200/
14. ^ http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2004/03/29/stories/2004032900220300.htm
15. ^ http://www.ceylontamils.com/search/family.php?individualID=11174
16. ^ http://www.s-asian.cam.ac.uk/Handlist_J.htm
17. ^ http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2004/03/29/stories/2004032900220300.htm

• Refugee Studies Centre (1996-01-01). Srilankan Tamil refugees in India : a journey without end. INDIA: Refugee Studies Centre.
• Refugee Studies Centre (Rejiigw, Vol. 13, No. 3 (June 1993)). Srilankan Tamil refugees in India. INDIA: Refugee Studies Centre.

[edit] External links

• Sri Lankan Tamil refugees stage hunger strike
• OFERR
• Sri Lankan refugees

  [hide] v • d • e Sri Lankan diaspora Africa Kenya · Libya · Mauritius · Réunion · South Africa (Tamil South Africans) * Americas Bermuda · Canada (Tamil Canadians) · United States (Tamil American) Asia Brunei · Burma · India (Sri Lankan Tamils in India) · Japan · Kuwait · Malaysia (Tamil Malaysians) · Maldives · Oman · Philippines · Qatar · Russia · Saudi Arabia · Singapore · South Korea · Thailand · United Arab Emirates Europe Austria · Cyprus · Denmark · France · Germany · Italy · Netherlands · Norway · Russia · Sweden · Switzerland · United Kingdom (British Tamils) Oceania Australia · New Zealand See also Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora

  http://www.dailymirror.lk/print/index.php/opinion1/14628-eelam-war-and-the-long-arm-of-the-indian-rearguard-across-the-palk-straits.html

• India – Sri Lanka relations

  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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  Indo-Sri Lankan relations
  India	Sri Lanka

  Bilateral relations between the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Republic of India have been generally friendly, but were controversially affected by the Sri Lankan civil war and by the failure of Indian intervention during the war. India is the only neighbour of Sri Lanka, separated by the Palk Strait; both nations occupy a strategic position in South Asia and have sought to build a common security umbrella in the Indian Ocean.^[1]

  The two largest ethnic groups of Sri Lanka are Sinhala and Tamil.

  Contents [hide] 1 Development of bilateral relations 2 Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan civil war 3 Commercial ties 4 Fishermen Issue 5 Development Cooperation 6 External links 7 References

  [edit] Development of bilateral relations

  India and Sri Lanka established diplomatic relations when the latter gained its independence in 1948. Both nations proceeded to establish extensive cultural, commercial, strategic and defence ties to establish a common sphere of influence in the region, adopting non-alignment to control Western and Soviet influence.^[2] The close relationship between the then-Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and then-Sri Lankan Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike led to the development of strong bilateral relations.^[2] In 1971, Indian armed forces helped squash a Communist rebellion against the Sri Lankan government.^[1]

  [edit] Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan civil war

  Main articles: Indian Peace Keeping Force and Indo-Sri Lanka Accord

  In the 1970s-1980s, private entities and elements in the state government of Tamil Nadu were believed to be encouraging the funding and training for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a separatist insurgent force.^[2][3].In 1987, faced with growing anger amongst its own Tamils, and a flood of refugees,^[4] India intervened directly in the conflict for the first time after the Sri Lankan government attempted to regain control of the northern Jaffna region by means of an economic blockade and military assaults, India supplied food and medicine by air and sea. After subsequent negotiations, India and Sri Lanka entered into an agreement. The peace accord assigned a certain degree of regional autonomy in the Tamil areas with Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) controlling the regional council and called for the Tamil militant groups to lay down their arms. Further India was to send a peacekeeping force, named the IPKF to Sri Lanka to enforce the disarmament and to watch over the regional council.^[2][5][6][7]

  Even though the accord was signed between the governments of Sri Lanka and India, with the Tamil Tigers and other Tamil militant groups not having a role in the signing of the accord^[8], most Tamil militant groups accepted this agreement,^[9] the LTTE rejected the accord because they opposed the candidate, who belonged to another militant group named Eelam Peoples Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), for chief administrative officer of the merged Northern and Eastern provinces^[6]. Instead the LTTE named three other candidates for the position. The candidates proposed by the LTTE were rejected by India.^[10] The LTTE subsequently refused to hand over their weapons to the IPKF.^[8]

  The result was that the LTTE now found itself engaged in military conflict with the Indian Army, and launched their first attack on an Indian army rations truck on October 8, killing five Indian para-commandos who were on board by strapping burning tires around their necks.^[11] The government of India then decided that the IPKF should disarm the LTTE by force,^[11] and the Indian Army launched number of assaults on the LTTE, including a month-long campaign dubbed Operation Pawan to win control of the Jaffna peninsula from the LTTE. When the IPKF engaged the LTTE, the then president of Sri Lanka, Ranasinghe Premadasa, began supporting LTTE and funded LTTE with arms^[6]. During the warfare with the ltte IPKF was also alleged for human rights violation against the civilians. Notably, IPKF was alleged to have perpetrated Jaffna teaching hospital massacre which was the killing of over 70 civilians including patients, doctors and nurses.^[12] The ruthlessness of this campaign, and the Indian army's subsequent anti-LTTE operations made it extremely unpopular amongst many Tamils in Sri Lanka.^[13][14]. The conflict between the LTTE and the Indian Army left over 1,000 Indian soldiers dead.^[1][2]

  The Indo-Sri Lankan Accord, which had been unpopular amongst Sri Lankans for giving India a major influence, now became a source of nationalist anger and resentment as the IPKF was drawn fully into the conflict. Sri Lankans protested the presence of the IPKF, and the newly-elected Sri Lankan president Ranasinghe Premadasa demanded its withdrawal, which was completed by March 1990.^[2]. on May 21, 1992, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated and the LTTE was alleged to be the perpetrator. As a result India declared the LTTE to be a terrorist outfit in 1992. Bilateral relations improved in the 1990s and India supported the peace process but has resisted calls to get involved again.^[15] India has also been wary of and criticised the extensive military involvement of Pakistan in the conflict, accusing the latter of supplying lethal weaponry and encouraging Sri Lanka to pursue military action rather than peaceful negotiations to end the civil war.^[16]

  [edit] Commercial ties

  India and Sri Lanka are member nations of several regional and multilateral organisations such as the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme, South Asian Economic Union and BIMSTEC, working to enhance cultural and commercial ties. Since a bilateral free trade agreement was signed and came into effect in 2000, Indo-Sri Lankan trade rose 128% by 2004 and quadrupled by 2006, reaching USD 2.6 billion.^[17][18] Between 2000 and 2004, India's exports to Sri Lanka in the last four years increased by 113%, from USD 618 million to $1,319 million while Sri Lankan exports to India increased by 342%, from $44 million to USD $194 million.^[17] Indian exports account for 14% of Sri Lanka's global imports. India is also the fifth largest export destination for Sri Lankan goods, accounting for 3.6% of its exports.^[17] Both nations are also signatories of the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA). Negotiations are also underway to expand the free trade agreement to forge stronger commercial relations and increase corporate investment and ventures in various industries.^[18]

  India's National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) is also scheduled to build a 500 MW thermal power plant in Sampoor (Sampur). The NTPC claims that this plan will take the Indo-Srilankan relationship to new level.^[19]

  [edit] Fishermen Issue

  There have been several incidents of firing on Indian fishermen fishing in Palk Bay.Indian Government has always taken up the issue of safety of Indian fishermen on a priority basis with the Government of Sri Lanka. Presently there is no bona fide Indian fisherman in the Sri Lankan custody. A Joint Working Group (JWG) has been constituted to deal with the issues related to Indian fishermen straying in Sri Lankan territorial waters, work out modalities for prevention of use of force against them and the early release of confiscated boats and explore possibilities of working towards bilateral arrangements for licensed fishing. The JWG last met in Jan 2006.

  [edit] Development Cooperation

  India is active in a number of areas of development activity in Sri Lanka. About one-sixth of the total development credit granted by GOI is made available to Sri Lanka.

  Lines of credit: In the recent past three lines of credit were extended to Sri Lanka: US$ 100 million for capital goods, consumer durables, consultancy services and food items, US$ 31 million for supply of 300,000 MT of wheat and US$ 150 million for purchase of petroleum products. All of these lines of credit have been fully utilized. Another line of credit of US$ 100 million is now being made available for rehabilitation of the Colombo-Matara railway.

  A number of development projects are implemented under 'Aid to Sri Lanka' funds. In 2006-07, the budget for 'Aid to Sri Lanka' was Rs 28.2 Crs.

  Small Development Projects: A MoU on Cooperation in Small Development Projects has been signed. Projects for providing fishing equipments to the fishermen in the East of Sri Lanka and solar energy aided computer education in 25 rural schools in Eastern Sri Lanka are under consideration.

  Health Projects: We have supplied medical equipments to hospitals at Hambantota and Point Pedro, supplied 4 state of the art ambulances to the Central Province, implemented a cataract eye surgery programme for 1500 people in the Central Province and implemented a project of renovation of OT at Dickoya hospital and supplying equipment to it.

  The projects under consideration are: Construction of a 150-bed hospital at Dickoya, upgradation of the hospital at Trincomalee and a US$ 7.5 million grant for setting up a Cancer Hospital in Colombo.

  Education Projects: Upgradation of the educational infrastructure of the schools in the Central province including teachers' training, setting up of 10 computer labs, setting up of 20 e-libraries (Nenasalas), Mahatma Gandhi scholarship scheme for +2 students and setting up of a vocational training centre in Puttalam. India also contributes to the Ceylon Workers Education Trust that gives scholarships to the children of estate workers.

  Training: A training programme for 465 Sri Lankan Police officers has been commenced in Dec 2005. Another 400 Sri Lankan Police personnel are being trained for the course of 'Maintenance of Public Order'.

  [edit] External links

• Common gods, shared values thread India, Sri Lanka together

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c} India's Sri Lankan scars
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} India - Sri Lanka
3. ^ [1]
4. ^ "Tamil Militant Groups". Sri Lanka: A Country Study. 1988. http://countrystudies.us/sri-lanka/72.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-02. 
5. ^ The Peace Accord and the Tamils in Sri Lanka. Hennayake S.K. Asian Survey, Vol. 29, No. 4. (April 1989), pp. 401-415.
6. ^ ^{a b c} Stokke, K.; Ryntveit, A.K. (2000). "The Struggle for Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka". A Journal of Urban and Regional Policy 31 (2): 285–304. doi:10.1111/0017-4815.00129. 
7. ^ Weisman, Steven R. (5 June 1987). "INDIA AIRLIFTS AID TO TAMIL REBELS". STEVEN R. WEISMAN (New York Times). http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9B0DE0D8173FF936A35755C0A961948260&n=Top%2fNews%2fWorld%2fCountries%20and%20Territories%2fIndia. Retrieved 2010-05-05. 
8. ^ ^{a b} Hellmann-rajanayagam, D. (1994). The Tamil Tigers: Armed Struggle for Identity. Franz Steiner Verlag. 
9. ^ O'Ballance, 91
10. ^ O'Ballance, p.94
11. ^ ^{a b} O'Ballance, p.100
12. ^ Somasundaram, D. (1997). "Abandoning jaffna hospital: Ethical and moral dilemmas". Medicine, Conflict and Survival 13 (4): 333–347. doi:10.1080/13623699708409357. 
13. ^ "Statistics on civilians affected by war from 1974 - 2004". NESOHR. http://nesohr.org/human-rights-reports/StatisticsOnCiviliansAffectedByWar.pdf?PHPSESSID=8204ff9bfa58e205f71a95c3899f8835. Retrieved 2007-01-30. 
14. ^ "History of the Organisation". University Teachers for Human Rights. http://www.uthr.org/history.htm. 
15. ^ India rules out Sri Lanka help
16. ^ The Pakistani muscle behind Colombo
17. ^ ^{a b c} FTA pushes up India, Lanka Trade by 128%
18. ^ ^{a b} India, Sri Lanka aim to Broaden Free-Trade Agreement
19. ^ India's Sri Lanka power project runs into Tamil storm

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  Former Sri Lanka rebels 'abused in detention'

  By Swaminathan Natarajan BBC Tamil service

  Thousands of former rebels are being held in camps across northern Sri Lanka

  Former Tamil Tiger rebels detained in Sri Lanka say they have been ill-treated in government camps with no basic facilities.

  In letters and phone calls to BBC Tamil, ex-militants say they have been "tortured and beaten" in the centres.

  They accuse camp guards of being corrupt and demanding bribes before releasing detainees.

  The government says all those being held in custody following the end of the war are being well cared for.

  Sri Lanka After War

  • After the Tigers
  • Election a family affair
  • Leaderless opposition
  • Q&A: Post-war Sri Lanka

  It has consistently refused to allow any kind of independent investigation into allegations of human rights abuses in the final weeks leading up to the end of the war in May 2009.

  Recently President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that "not even a single civilian was killed" during the conflict.

  But human rights groups say thousands were killed or injured towards the end of the fighting and in the war's immediate aftermath.

  Unsanitary conditions

  "Military officers often call us dogs - even if we don't shave for a day we are beaten up badly," said one of the letters, which was written by a detainee being held at a Tamil school in Vavuniya.

  Continue reading the main story

  "Start Quote

  Instead of writing letters to the BBC in London, ask them to write to me and I will look into it"

  End Quote Rehabilitation Minister DEW Gunasekera

  "The detainees are forced to bear the expenses for electricity and cleaning charges," continued the letter.

  "If we say we don't have money, they threaten to transfer us to the notorious Boossa prison."

  Another letter said: "We don't know whether we will be released or... shot."

  The claims - mostly made in letters to BBC Tamil but sometimes in telephone interviews - are difficult to verify as there is no direct access to the camps.

  It is estimated that some 10,000 Tamil Tigers either surrendered or were captured at the end of the war; many of them remain confined.

  Some of the camps are located in military bases, others in schools and colleges.

  The government refuses to allow journalists, aid agencies and the UN to visit these camps - but in most cases, relatives are allowed to see their loved ones.

  Their accounts and the letters written by those being held all speak of unsanitary conditions and shortages of water.

  The government says it is giving technical and vocational training to the detained cadres to make them more employable. Detainees say "no meaningful training" has so far been provided.

  'Disappearances'

  One letter written by a woman from the eastern town of Trincomalee said some young detainees had been "beaten black and blue".

  The Tamil Tigers were defeated in May 2009

  "Some are hanged upside down," she wrote. "Some are made to lie down in the floor and beaten with belts and sticks. They don't take the injured to hospital."

  Others accuse the authorities of providing no information on the whereabouts of their loved ones and of orchestrating "disappearances" from the detention centres.

  They say that detainees taken away for questioning have not returned and no-one knows what has happened to them.

  But these claims too have been strenuously denied by the government.

  "I have visited Jaffna, Killinochi and Vavuniya where I met many people - including wives and relatives of the detainees," Rehabilitation Minister DEW Gunasekera told the BBC.

  "No one made any complaints to me.

  "Instead of writing letters to the BBC in London, ask them to write to me and I will look into it."

  The minister said 3,000 people had been released from the camps in the past year and 8,000 former rebels - including 600 women and 1,300 men classified as "hardcore fighters" - remained in custody.

  "Overall I would say we have been very magnanimous," added Mr Gunasekera.

  More on This Story

  Sri Lanka After War

  • After the Tigers

  • Election a family affair

  • Leaderless opposition

  • Q&A: Post-war Sri Lanka

  • Child soldiers' second chance

  Background

  • Profile: Mahinda Rajapaksa

  • Profile: Gen Sarath Fonseka

  Watch/Listen

  • History of the war in Sri LankaWatch

  • Sri Lanka displaced leaving campsWatch

  Related Internet links

  • Sri Lankan government
  • TamilNet
  • http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south+asia-10647108

  
  

  Indo-Sri Lanka Accord

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  Wikisource has original text related to this article: Indo-Sri Lanka Accord

  [show] v • d • e Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War Poomalai – Pawan – Trishul – Viraat – Checkmate – Jaffna University Helidrop

  Sri Lankan Conflict 1976 - 2009
  Background
  Sri Lanka · History of Sri Lanka
  Origins of the Civil War
  Origins of the Civil War · Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism · Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism · Riots · Black July
  Main phases
  Eelam War I · Indian intervention · Eelam War II · Eelam War III · Eelam War IV
  LTTE
  LTTE · Black Tigers · Attacks · Expulsion of Muslims
  Military of Sri Lanka
  Military of Sri Lanka · Attacks
  Major leaders
  M. Rajapaksa · V. Prabhakaran · Karuna · S. Chandrakanthan · G. Rajapaksa · Sarath Fonseka
  Indian involvement
  Operation Poomalai · Indo-Sri Lanka Accord · Indian Peace Keeping Force · Operation Pawan · Rajiv Gandhi · RAW
  See also
  Battles · Casualties · Human rights · War crimes · Allegations of state terror · Notable assassinations · Child soldiers · Disappearances · Tamil militant groups (List) · TMVP · 2009 Tamil diaspora protests
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  The Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord was an accord signed in Colombo on July 29, 1987, between Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J.R. Jayewardene. The accord was expected to resolve the ongoing Sri Lankan civil war. Under the terms of the agreement,^[1][2] Colombo agreed to a devolution of power to the provinces, the Sri Lankan troops were to be withdrawn to their barracks in the north and the Tamil rebels were to surrender their arms. ^[3][4]

  Importantly however,the Tamil groups, notably the LTTE (which at the time was one of the strongest Tamil forces) had not been made party to the talks and initially agreed to surrender their arms to the IPKF only reluctantly. Within a few months however, this flared into an active confrontation. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) declared their intent to continue the armed struggle for an independent Tamil Eelam and refused to disarm. The Indian Peace-Keeping Force found itself engaged in a bloody police action against the LTTE. Further complicating the return to peace was a burgeoning Sinhalese insurgency in the south.

  Contents [hide] 1 Sri Lankan Civil War 1.1 Indian Involvement 1.2 Operation Liberation 1.3 Operation Poomalai 2 The Peace Accord 3 References 4 External links

  [edit] Sri Lankan Civil War

  Main article: Sri Lankan Civil War

  Sri Lanka, from the early part of the 1980s, was facing an increasingly violent ethnic strife. The origins of this conflict can be traced to the independence of the island from Britain in 1948 . At the time, a Sinhala majority government was instituted which passed legislation that were deemed discriminatory against the substantial Tamil minority population. In the 1970s, two major Tamil parties united to form the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) that started agitation for a separate state of Tamil Eelam within the system in a federal structure in the north and eastern Sri Lanka^[5] that would grant the Tamils greater autonomy. However, enactment of the sixth amendment of the Sri Lankan Constitution in August 1983 classified all separatist movements as unconstitutional,^[6] effectively rendering the TULF ineffective.^[6] Outside the TULF, however, factions advocating more radical and militant courses of action soon emerged, and the ethnic divisions started flaring into a violent civil war.^[5]

  [edit] Indian Involvement

  See also: Operation Poomalai

  India had, initially under Indira Gandhi^[7][8]and later under Rajiv Gandhi, provided support to Tamil interests from the very conception of the secessionist movement. This included providing sanctuary to the separatists, as well as support the operations training camps for Tamil guerrillas in Tamil Nadu^[9] of which the LTTE emerged as the strongest force. This was both as a result of a large Tamil community in South India, as well as India's regional security and interests which attempted to reduce the scope of foreign intervention, especially those linked to the United States, Pakistan, and China.^[9] To this end, the Indira Gandhi Government sought to make it clear to the Sri Lankan President, Jayewardene that armed intervention in support of the Tamil movement was an option India would consider if any diplomatic solutions should fail.^[9] Following the anti-Tamil riots, the Tamil rebel movement grew progressively strong and increasingly violent. However,after Indira Gandhi's assassination, the Indian support for the militant movement decreased. However, the succeeding Rajiv Gandhi government attempted to re-establish friendly relations with its neighbours. It still however maintained diplomatic efforts to find a solution to the conflict as well as maintaining covert aid to the Tamil rebels.^{[9] [10]}

  [edit] Operation Liberation

  From 1985 however, the Sri-Lankan Government started rearming itself extensively for its anti-insurgent role with support from Pakistan, Israel, Singapore and South Africa.^[9][11] In 1986, the campaign against the insurgency was stepped up and in 1987, retaliating an increasingly bloody insurgent movement, Operation Liberation was launched against LTTE strongholds in Jaffna Peninsula, involving nearly four thousand troops, supported by helicopter gunships as well as Ground attack aircraft.^[9] In June 1987, the Sri Lankan Army laid siege on the town of Jaffna.^[12] As civilian casualties grew^[13][14], calls grew within India to intervene in what was increasingly seen in the Indian (and Tamil) media as a developing humanitarian crisis, especially with reports use of aerial support against rebel positions in civilian areas^[15][14]. India, which had a substantial Tamil population in South India faced the prospect of a Tamil backlash at home, called on the Sri Lankan government to halt the offensive in an attempt to negotiate a political settlement.

  [edit] Operation Poomalai

  However, the Indian efforts were futile. Added to this, in the growing involvement of Pakistani and Israeli advisors, it was necessary for Indian interest to mount a show of force.^[9] Failing to negotiate an end to the crisis with Sri Lanka, India announced on 2 June 1987 that it would send a convoy of unarmed ships to northern Sri Lanka to provide humanitarian assistance^[16]but this was intercepted by the Sri Lankan Navy and turned back.^[17]

  Following the failure of the naval mission, the decision was made by the Indian government to mount an airdrop of relief supplies in support of rebel forces over the besieged city of Jaffna. On 4 June 1987, in a blatant show of force, the Indian Air Force mounted Operation Poomalai in broad daylight. Five An-32s of the Indian Air Force under cover of heavily armed Indian fighter jets flew over Jaffna to airdrop 25 tons of supplies, all the time keeping well within the range of Sri Lankan radar coverage. At the same time the Sri Lankan Ambassador to New Delhi was summoned to the Foreign Office to be informed by the Minister External Affairs, K. Natwar Singh, of the ongoing operation. It was also indicated to the Ambassador that if the operation was in any way hindered by Sri Lanka, India would launch a full-force military retaliation against Sri Lanka.^[18] The ultimate aim of the operation was both to demonstrate the credibility of the Indian option of active intervention to the Sri Lankan Government, as a sympbolic act of support for the Tamil Rebels, as well to preserve Rajiv Gandhi's credibility.^[19]

  Faced with the possibility of an active Indian intervention and facing an increasingly war-weary population at home^[20], the Sri Lankan President, J. R. Jayewardene, offered to hold talks with the Rajiv Gandhi government on future moves.^[12] The siege of Jaffna was soon lifted, followed by a round of negotiations that led to the signing of the Indo-Sri-Lankan accord on July 29, 1987^[21] that brought a temporary truce. The terms of the truce specified that the Sri Lankan troops withdraw from the north and the Tamil rebels disarm,^[3] and saw the induction of the IPKF as a peace keeping force in Sri Lanka.

  [edit] The Peace Accord

  Main article: IPKF

  Among the salient points of the agreement,^[4] the Sri Lankan Government made a number of concessions to Tamil demands, which included^[1][2] Colombo devolution of power to the provinces, merger (subject to later referendum) of the northern and eastern provinces, and official status for the Tamil language.^[4] More immediately, Operation Liberation — the successful, ongoing anti-insurgent operation by Sri Lankan forces in the Northern peninsula — was ended. Sri Lankan troops were to withdraw to their barracks in the north, the Tamil rebels were to disarm.^[3] India agreed to end support for the Tamil separatist movement and recognise the unity of Sri Lanka.^[4] The Indo-Sri Lanka Accord also underligned the commitment of Indian military assistance on which the Indian Peace Keeping Force came to be inducted into Sri Lanka.

  In 1990, India withdrew the last of its forces from Sri Lanka, and fighting between the LTTE and the government resumed. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and government forces committed serious human rights violations against one another.

  In January 1995, the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam agreed to a cease fire as a preliminary step in a government-initiated plan for peace negotiations. After 3 months, however, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam unilaterally resumed hostilities.

  The government of Sri Lanka then adopted a policy of military engagement with the Tigers, with government forces liberating Jaffna from LTTE control by mid-1996 and moving against LTTE positions in the northern part of the country called the Vanni. An LTTE counteroffensive, begun in October 1999, reversed most government gains; and by May 2000, threatened government forces in Jaffna. Heavy fighting continued into 2001.

  [edit] References

  1. ^ ^{a b} ETHNIC POLITICS AND CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM: THE INDO-SRI LANKAN ACCORD. Marasinghe M.L. Int Compa Law Q.Vol. 37. p551-587
  2. ^ ^{a b} Sri Lanka: The Untold Story Chapter 35: Accord turns to discord
  3. ^ ^{a b c} New Delhi & the Tamil Struggle. The Indo Sri Lanka Agreement. Satyendra N. Tamil Nation
  4. ^ ^{a b c d} Text of the Peace accord.Tamil Nation
  5. ^ ^{a b}
     

     

     Location of Sri Lanka
     Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), World Tamil Association (WTA), World Tamil Movement (WTM), Federation of Associations of Canadian Tamils (FACT), Ellalan Force. GlobalSecurity.org
  6. ^ ^{a b} The Peace Accord and the Tamils in Sri Lanka.Hennayake S.K. Asian Survey, Vol. 29, No. 4. (Apr., 1989), pp. 401-415.
  7. ^ India's search for power:Indira Gandhi's Foreign Policy.1966-1982. Mansingh S. New Delhi:Sage 1984. p282
  8. ^ A commission, before it proceeded to draw up criminal proceedings against others, must recommend Indira Gandhi's posthumous prosecution Mitra A. Rediff on Net
  9. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} India's Regional Security Doctrine. Hagerty D.T. Asian Survey, Vol. 31, No. 4. (Apr., 1991), pp. 351-363
  10. ^ Research and Analysis Wing. Fas.org
  11. ^ The Colombo Chill. Bobb D.India Today.March 31.1986. p95.
  12. ^ ^{a b} India Airlifts Aid to Tamil Rebels", The New York Times. 5 June 1987
  13. ^ Sri Lanka in 1987: Indian Intervention and Resurgence of the JVP. Pfaffenberger B. Asian Survey, Vol. 28, No. 2, A Survey of Asia in 1987: Part II. (Feb., 1988), pp. 139
  14. ^ ^{a b} India Enters; The Airdrop and the L.T.T.E.'s Dilemma.
  15. ^ Growth of Sri Lankan Tamil Militancy in Tamil Nadu.Chapter I - Phase II (1987–1988). Jain Commission Interim Report
  16. ^ "Indians To Send convoy to Sri Lanka", The New York Times. 2 June 1987
  17. ^ "Indian Flotilla is turned back by Sri Lankan Naval Vessels", The New York Times. 4 June 1987
  18. ^ "Indian Air Force in Sri Lanka.Operation Poomalai - The Jaffna Food drop." Bharat-rakshak.com
  19. ^ "Operation Poomalai - India Intervenes" Bharat-rakshak.com
  20. ^ Sri Lanka's Ethnic Conflict: The Indo-Lanka Peace Accord Ralph R. Premdas; S. W. R. de A. Samarasinghe Asian Survey, Vol. 28, No. 6. (Jun., 1988), pp. 676-690.
  21. ^ Background Note: Sri Lanka. U.S Dept. of State

  [edit] External links

  • Tigers go back to Indo-Lanka accord for federal state
  • Muslims have a Case in Sri Lanka
  • Indo-Sri Lanka trade: Hype and reality
  • SRI LANKA: THE UNTOLD STORY Chapter 35: Accord turns to discord
  • PEACE PROCESS IN SRI LANKA --- WITH AND WITHOUT MEDIATION
  • ETHNIC PEACE ACCORDS AND ETHNIC CONFLICT RESOLUTION: A SURVEY
  • Dr. PC Alexander, former Principal Secretary of Rajiv Gandhi - bares it all on the Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987
  • "Peace for all with equal rights"Minister
  • Indo-Lanka Accord
  • Wickremesinghe Apprises I K Gujral of Stalled Peace Process in Sri Lanka
  • Tiger Rebels are either black or white but not both
  • SLFP to discuss peace process with Indian leaders
  • PEACE PROCESS IN SRI-LANKA
  • TIGERS, 'MODERATES' AND PANDORA'S PACKAGE
  • The road ahead
  • When guns cease to fire
  • LTTE to take Indo-Lankan accord in peace bid

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  Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Sri_Lanka_Accord"

  Categories: 1987 in Sri Lanka | Treaties concluded in 1987 | Military history of Sri Lanka | Treaties of Sri Lanka | Tamil Eelam | Politics of Sri Lanka | 1987 in Asia | India – Sri Lanka relations | 1987 in India | Treaties of the Republic of India

India-Sri Lanka Partnership in the 21st Century

Edited by Adluri Subramanyam Raju, Kalpaz, 2007, 346 p, tables, ISBN : 81-7835-544-2, Rs. 690.00 (Free shipping within India only. No extras for postage and handling)

Contents: Acknowledgements. Introduction/A. Subramanyam Raju. I. Historical interface between India and Sri Lanka: 1. India and Sri Lanka: the Buddhist connection/J. Kedareswari. II. Indo-Sri Lanka: political relations: 2. Glimpses of Indo-Sri Lankan relations/Nirupama Rao. 3. India's policy of non-intervention in Sri Lanka/P. Sahadevan. III. Ethnic, repatriates and refugee issues in Indo-Sri Lanka relations: 4. Ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka--a peaceful solution/S.J.S. Chhatwal. 5. A Cinderella community in transition: the Indian origin Tamils of Sri Lanka/P.P. Devaraj. 6. Integration and assimilation of Sri Lankan repatriates in Tamil Nadu/V. Suryanarayan. 7. Facilitating the return of Sri Lankan refugees in India/S.H. Hasbullah. IV. Maritime cooperation between India and Sri Lanka: 8. Role of maritime forces in disaster management/R.S. Vasan. 9. India and Sri Lanka: assessing maritime security relationship/Vijay Sakhuja. 10. Maritime issues between India and Sri Lanka/A. Subramanyam Raju. V. Indo-Sri Lankan economic relations: 11. India and Sri Lanka: from political fissures to economic bridges/Manoj Soni. 12. Strategic marketing formulation for the domestic manufacturers through the operation of regional cooperation in the context of globalisation/K. Ishaq. 13. Indo-Sri Lanka free trade agreement: can trade agreement among unequal partners work?/Indra Nath Mukherji. 14. Free trade agreement between India and Sri Lanka: the way forward/M. Ganeshamoorthy. 15. Ground level problems encountered in importing Sri Lankan goods into India under the FTA/Somindra Kishen Hazari. VI. Indo-Sri Lankan partnership: 16. The 'why' and the 'how' of India-Sri Lanka partnership/Sathiya Moorthy. 17. Indo-Sri Lanka cooperation in education/Santsilan Kadirgamar. 18. Sustaining tourism through cultural cooperation/G.S. Rao and Shailesh Sikha. Appendices. Bibliography. Index. 

"India and Sri Lanka are geographically contiguous and culturally close. The island state of Sri Lanka is barely thirty kilometers away from India's southern coastal tip. People of these two countries share many similarities in terms of dress, food habits, manners, customs and ways of life. In spite India sharing border with all its neighbouring countries in South Asia, its relationship with Sri Lanka has been relatively more cordial than with other countries in the region.

In addition to their cordial relationship, there is misunderstanding and mistrust between the two resulted in many ups and downs in their mutual relationship. The issue of Tamils of Indian origin and maritime issues between the two countries created turbulence. The civil war of 1983 further aggravated the situation.

Half of India's investment in South Asian region is invested in Sri Lanka and as such the island state has emerged as a close economic partner of India. Both the countries realize that restrictions on trade between the two are detrimental to their economic growth and prosperity. There is a greater potential for enhancing and institutionalizing bilateral economic cooperation in the exploration and exploitation of sea resources in the Indian ocean waters.

Neither country can ignore the security of the other. Sri Lanka cannot ignore the problems of  Tamil Nadu when its talks about its relationship with India. Similarly India cannot ignore the internal problems of Sri Lanka when it seeks to improve its relations with the latter.

The volume probes into various into mechanisms and strategies with a view to shaping better future for both the countries. The papers provide a perspective in debating the emerging issues of greater concern to India and Sri Lanka in the dynamic world of the 21st century." (jacket) 

Cricket in India

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Cricket in India

Locals in Bangalore playing cricket
Governing body	Board of Control for Cricket in India
National team	India
Nickname(s)	Men in Blue
First played	1721
Competitions
National
Cricket World Cup
ICC World Twenty20
ICC Champions Trophy
Under 19 Cricket World Cup
Women's Cricket World Cup
Club
Indian Premier League
Ranji Trophy
Challenger series

Cricket is the de facto national sport of India. Though cricket is indubitably the most popular sport in India, it is not the nation's official national sport (a distinction held by field hockey).

Contents [hide] 1 Organization of Cricket in Modern India 1.1 International Cricket 1.2 Domestic Competitions 2 References 3 External links

[edit] Organization of Cricket in Modern India

[edit] International Cricket

International cricket in India generally does not follow a fixed pattern. For example, the English schedule under which the nation tours other countries during winter and plays at home during the summer. Generally, there has recently been a tendency to play more one-day matches than Test matches. Cricket in India is managed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the richest cricket board in the cricket world. Indian International Cricketing Squad has also provided some of the greatest players to the world. Indian cricket has a rich history.

[edit] Domestic Competitions

• BCCI Corporate Trophy - BCCI have set up a 12 team inter-corporate tournament which will involve all the top Indian cricketers. The tournament will involve 50 over aside matches with the winner picking up Rs 1 Crore and the runner up getting Rs 50 lakh.

• Irani Trophy - The Trophy tournament was conceived during the 1959-60 season to mark the completion of 25 years of the Ranji Trophy championship and was named after the late Z.R. Irani, who was associated with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from its inception in 1928, till his death in 1970 and a keen patron of the game. The first match, played between the Ranji Trophy champions and the Rest of India was played in 1959-60. For the first few years, it was played at the fag end of the season. Realising the importance of the fixture, the BCCI moved it to the beginning of the season. Since 1965-66, it has traditionally heralded the start of the new domestic season. The Irani Trophy game ranks very high in popularity and importance. It is one of the few domestic matches that is followed with keen interest by cricket lovers in the country. Leading players take part in the game which has often been a sort of selection trial to pick the Indian team for foreign tours.

• NKP Salve Challenger Trophy - Started as the Challenger series by the Board of Control for Cricket in India in 1994-95 and later named as NKP Salve Challenger Trophy in 1998-99, the tournament features 3 teams: India senior, India A and India B playing each other. They were later renamed India Blue, India Red and India Green respectively. This competition also marked as the platform of return for some big names like Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly in 2005-06 season after they battled injury and form respectively. The tournament features the top 36 players from across India and is also the most popular domestic structure after IPL.

• Ranji Trophy - Founded as 'The Cricket Championship of India' at a meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in July 1934. The first Ranji Trophy fixtures took place in the 1934-35 season. Syed Mohammed Hadi of Hyderabad was the first batsman to score a century in the tournament. The Trophy was donated by H.H. Sir Bhupendra Singh Mahinder Baha-dur, Maharajah of Patiala in memory of His late Highness Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji of Nawanagar. In the main, the Ranji Trophy is composed of teams representing the states that make up India. As the political states have multiplied, so have cricket teams, but not every state has a team. Some states have more than one cricket team, e.g. Maharashtra and Gujarat. There are also 'odd' teams like Railways, and Services representing the armed forces. The various teams used to be grouped into zones - North, West, East, Central and South - and the initial matches were played on a league basis within the zones. The top two (until 1991-92) and then top three teams (subsequent years) from each zone then played in a national knock-out competition. Starting with the 2002-03 season, the zonal system has been abandoned and a two-division structure has been adopted with two teams being promoted from the plate league and two relegated from the elite league. If the knockout matches are not finished they are decided on the first-innings lead.

• Duleep Trophy - The Duleep Trophy competition, a first-class competition, was started by the Board of Control for Cricket in India in 1961-62 with the aim of providing a greater competitive edge in domestic cricket - because, apart from the knock-out stages of the Ranji Trophy, that competition proved predictable, with Bombay winning for fifteen consecutive years. The Duleep was also meant to help the selectors in assessing form. The original format was that five teams, drawn from the five zones, play each other on a knock-out basis. From the 1993-94 season, the competition has been converted to a league format.

• Vijay Hazare Trophy- named after the prolific Indian batsman, the Vijay Hazare Trophy was started in 2002-03 as an attempt to bring the limited-overs game among a greater audience. The competition involves state teams from the Ranji trophy plates battling out in a 50-over competition, much on the lines of Ford Ranger Cup of Australia and Friends Provident Trophy of England. Since its conception, Tamil Nadu and Mumbai have won the trophy twice each. It is also dubbed as the Premier Cup by BCCI. It now joins Deodhar Trophy as the second one-day competition of Indian domestic circuit.

• Deodhar Trophy - Started in 1973-74 by Board of Control for Cricket in India, it is the current one-day cricket competition in Indian domestic cricket. 5 zonal teams - North zone, South zone, East zone, West zone and Central zone feature in the competition. North zone have won this competition 11th time. It is also called All-Star Series due to some big names representing their Zonal sides in the one-day fixtures.

• Inter-State T20 Championship - After India became another member of the ICC Twenty20 and played its first international T20 against South Africa, BCCI launched its own state structure in 2006-07 season, with 27 Ranji teams divided in 5 Zones. The final was played between Punjab and Tamil Nadu, which the latter won by 2 wickets and 2 balls remaining, thereby becoming the only ever winner of this series. In this series, Rohit Sharma also became the only ever Indian to register a T20 century for Mumbai against Gujarat. The competition was later replaced by a franchise-based IPL.

• Indian Premier League - In response to the rival ICL, the BCCI started the Twenty20 Indian Premier League (known as the IPL). This League has been launched by BCCI have received support from all the other Cricket Boards, and International Players could be drafted into City-based Franchises. The game has been likened to Baseball with crowd participation encouraged more strongly than in other forms of the game.It has been greatly acknowledged by people and has made huge profits.

• Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy - To be played for the first time in the 2008-09 season, this will be the first of its kind zonal T20 championship and the third overall in the Indian cricket season, which would see Ranji teams divided along zonal lines into two groups with the tournament culminating in the All India T20 final between the winners of the two groups for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Launched after the success of the IPL and the need of the BCCI to search for more talent in the growing regions of cricket.

[edit] References

• A Corner of a Foreign Field by Ramachandra Guha

[edit] External links

• Official Team Homepage
• Indian Premier League homepage
• The Official Site of the Indian Cricket League - Indian Cricket League
• Kids Criket Club Kerala

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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_in_India"

Categories: Cricket in India | Cricket in India players

Sri Lanka

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"Ceylon" redirects here. For the time period of 1948-1972, see Dominion of Ceylon. For other uses, see Ceylon (disambiguation).

This article contains Indic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks or boxes, misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Indic text.

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ශ්‍රී ලංකා ප්‍රජාතාන්ත්‍රික සමාජවාදී ජනරජය இலங்கை ஜனநாயக சமத்துவ குடியரசு Sri Lanka ශ්‍රී ලංකා இலங்கை
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: "Sri Lanka Matha" Music (help·info) , Singing (help·info)
Capital		Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte[1][2] 6°54′N 79°54′E / 6.9°N 79.9°E / 6.9; 79.9
Largest city		Colombo
Official language(s)		Sinhala, Tamil
Ethnic groups (2001)		≈73.9% Sinhalese,[3] ≈12.6% Tamil,[3] ≈7.4% Moors,[3] ≈5.2% Indian Tamil,[3] ≈0.5% Others.[3]
Demonym		Sri Lankan
Government		Democratic Socialist Republic
-	President	Mahinda Rajapaksa
-	Prime Minister	D. M. Jayaratne
Independence		from the United Kingdom
-	Dominion (Self rule)	February 4, 1948
-	Republic	May 22, 1972
Area
-	Total	65,610 km2 (122nd) 25,332 sq mi
-	Water (%)	4.4
Population
-	2009 estimate	20,238,000[4] (53rd)
-	July 2008 census	21,324,791[5]
-	Density	308.4/km2 (35th) 798.9/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2009 estimate
-	Total	$96.527 billion[6]
-	Per capita	$4,768[6]
GDP (nominal)		2009 estimate
-	Total	$41.323 billion[6]
-	Per capita	$2,041[6]
Gini (1999–00)		33.2 (medium)
HDI (2007)		▲0.759[7] (medium) (102nd)
Currency		Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR)
Time zone		Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone (UTC+5:30)
Drives on the		left
Internet TLD		.lk
Calling code		94

Sri Lanka (English pronunciation: /sriˈlɑːŋkə/, sriˈlæŋkə, or ʃriˈlɑːŋkə;^[8][9] local pronunciation: [ˌɕriːˈlaŋkaː]; Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Tamil: இலங்கை), officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and known as Ceylon (/sɪˈlɒn/) before 1972, is an island country in South Asia, located about 31 kilometres (19.3 mi) off the southern coast of India, a nation with which it shares common culture, language and religion.

As a result of its location in the path of major sea routes, Sri Lanka is a strategic naval link between West Asia and South East Asia.^{[citation needed]} It has also been a center of the Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times and is one of the few remaining abodes of Buddhism in South Asia, including Ladakh, Bhutan and the Chittagong Hill Tracts, as well as being a bastion of Hinduism.^[10] The Sinhalese community forms the majority of the population; Tamils, who are concentrated in the north and east of the island, form the largest ethnic minority. Other communities include Moors, Burghers, Kaffirs, Malays and the indigenous Vedda people.

The country is famous for the production and export of tea, coffee, coconuts, rubber and cinnamon - which is native to the country.^[11] The natural beauty of Sri Lanka's tropical forests, beaches and landscape, as well as its rich cultural heritage, make it a world famous tourist destination.^{[citation needed]} The island also boasts the first female Prime Minister in the modern world, Sirimavo Bandaranaike.^[12]

After over two thousand years of rule by local kingdoms, parts of Sri Lanka were colonized by Portugal and the Netherlands beginning in the 16th century, before control of the entire country was ceded to the British Empire in 1815.^{[citation needed]} During World War II, Sri Lanka served as an important base for Allied forces in the fight against the Japanese Empire.^[13] A nationalist political movement arose in the country in the early 20th century with the aim of obtaining political independence, which was eventually granted by the British after peaceful negotiations in 1948.

Contents [hide] 1 Name 2 Geography and climate 3 Flora and fauna 4 History 4.1 Early periods 4.2 Ancient Sri Lanka 4.3 Colonial era 4.4 20th Century and the World Wars 4.5 Independence 4.6 Civil war 4.7 Post War 5 Government and politics 6 Foreign relations and military 6.1 Foreign relations 6.2 Military 6.3 Peace keeping 7 Economy 8 Administrative divisions 8.1 Provinces 8.2 Districts 8.3 Cities 9 Demographics 9.1 Language 9.2 Religions 9.3 Health 10 Education 11 Transport 12 Human rights 13 Culture and arts 13.1 Traditional food 13.2 Festivals 13.3 Cinema 13.4 Music 14 Media 15 Sports 16 See also 17 References 18 Further reading 19 External links

Name

Main article: Names of Sri Lanka

See also: List of country name etymologies

In ancient times, Sri Lanka was known by a variety of names: ancient Greek geographers called it Taprobane^[14] (/təˈprɒbəniː/) and Arabs referred to it as Serendib (the origin of the word "serendipity").^[15] Ceilão was the name given to Sri Lanka by the Portuguese when they arrived in 1505,^[16] which was transliterated into English as Ceylon.^[17] As a British colony, the island was known as Ceylon, and achieved independence under the name Dominion of Ceylon in 1948.

In 1972, the official name of the country was changed to "Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka" (in Sinhala ශ්‍රී ලංකා śrī laṃkā, IPA: [ˌʃɾiːˈlaŋkaː]; whereas the island itself is referred to as ලංකාව laṃkāva, IPA: [laŋˈkaːʋə], in Tamil இலங்கை ilaṅkai, iˈlaŋɡai). In 1978 it was changed to "Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka".^[18] The current name is derived from the Sanskrit श्री लंका (śrī lankā) with the word lankā, meaning "island",^[19] also being the name of the island as described in the ancient Indian epics Mahabharata and the Ramayana. The word śrī is a Sanskrit title meaning "venerable".

Geography and climate

Main article: Geography of Sri Lanka

Topographic map of Sri Lanka.

The island of Sri Lanka lies in the Indian Ocean, to the southwest of the Bay of Bengal. It is separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. According to Hindu mythology, a land bridge to the Indian mainland, known as Rama's Bridge, was constructed during the time of Rama by the vanara architect Nala. Often referred to as Adam's Bridge, it now amounts to only a chain of limestone shoals remaining above sea level.^[20]

According to colonial British reports, this is a natural causeway which was formerly complete, but was breached by a violent storm in 1480.^[21] The island consists mostly of flat-to-rolling coastal plains, with mountains rising only in the south-central part. Amongst these is the highest point Pidurutalagala, reaching 2,524 metres (8,281 ft) above sea level.

The climate of Sri Lanka can be described as tropical and warm. Its position between 5 and 10 north latitude endows the country with a warm climate moderated by ocean winds and considerable moisture. The mean temperature ranges from about 16 °C (60.8 °F) in the Central Highlands, where frost may occur for several days in the winter, to a maximum of approximately 33 °C (91.4 °F) in other low-altitude areas. The average yearly temperature ranges from 28 °C (82.4 °F) to nearly 31 °C (87.8 °F). Day and night temperatures may vary by 4 °C (7.20 °F) to 7 °C (12.60 °F). During the coldest days of January, many people wear coats and sweaters in the highlands and elsewhere.

May, the hottest period, precedes the summer monsoon rains. The rainfall pattern is influenced by monsoon winds from the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal: as the winds encounter the mountain slopes of the Central Highlands, they unload heavy rains on the slopes and the southwestern areas of the island. Some of the windward slopes receive up to 2,500 millimetres (98.4 in) of rain each month, but the leeward slopes in the east and northeast receive little rain. Periodic squalls occur and sometimes tropical cyclones bring overcast skies and rains to the southwest, northeast, and eastern parts of the island.

Between December and March, monsoon winds come from the northeast, bringing moisture from the Bay of Bengal. Humidity is typically higher in the southwest and mountainous areas and depends on the seasonal patterns of rainfall, and places like Colombo experience daytime humidity above 70% all year round, rising to almost 90% during the monsoon season in June. Anuradhapura experiences a daytime low of 60% during the monsoon month of March, but a high of 79% during the November and December rains. In the highlands, Kandy's daytime humidity usually ranges between 70% and 79%.

Flora and fauna

Main articles: Environment of Sri Lanka and Wildlife of Sri Lanka

Horton Plains National Park represents Sri Lanka montane rain forests

The mountains and the southwestern part of the country, known as the "wet zone", receive ample rainfall at an average of 2,500 mm (98 in). Most of the east, southeast, and northern parts of the country comprise the "dry zone", which receives between 1,200 mm (47 in) and 1,900 mm (75 in) of rain annually. Much of the rain in these areas falls from October to January; during the rest of the year there is very little precipitation. The arid northwest and southeast coasts receive the least amount of rain at 600 mm (24 in) to 1,200 mm (47 in) per year.

Varieties of flowering acacias are well adapted to the arid conditions and flourish on the Jaffna Peninsula. Among the trees of the dry-land forests, are some valuable species such as satinwood, ebony, ironwood, mahogany and teak. In the wet zone, the dominant vegetation of the lowlands is a tropical evergreen forest, with tall trees, broad foliage, and a dense undergrowth of vines and creepers. Subtropical evergreen forests resembling those of temperate climates flourish in the higher altitudes. Forests at one time covered nearly the entire island, but by the late 20th century lands classified as forests and forest reserves covered around ⅓ of the land.^[22]

The Yala National Park in the southeast protects herds of elephant, deer, and peacocks, and the Wilpattu National Park in the northwest preserves the habitats of many water birds, such as storks, pelicans, ibis, and spoonbills. During the Mahaweli Ganga Program of the 1970s and 1980s in northern Sri Lanka, the government set aside four areas of land totaling 1,900 km² (730 sq mi) as national parks. The island has four biosphere reserves, Bundala, Hurulu Forest Reserve, the Kanneliya-Dediyagala-Nakiyadeniya, and Sinharaja.^[23]

The national flower of Sri Lanka is the Nymphaea stellata (Sinhalese Nil Mahanel),^[24] the national tree is the Ironwood (Sinhalese Na),^[25] and the national bird is the Sri Lanka Junglefowl, which is endemic to the country.^[26]

History

Main article: History of Sri Lanka

Early periods

Sigiriya Rock Fortress.

Paleolithic human settlements have been discovered at excavations in several cave sites in the Western Plains region and the South-western face of the Central Hills region. Anthropologists believe that some discovered burial rites and certain decorative artifacts exhibit similarities between the first inhabitants of the island and the early inhabitants of Southern India. Recent bioanthropological studies have however dismissed these links, and have placed the origin of the people to the northern parts of India^{[citation needed]}.

One of the first written references to the island is found in the Indian epic Ramayana, which described the emperor Ravana as monarch of the powerful kingdom of Lanka, which was created by the divine sculptor Vishwakarma for Kubera, the treasurer of the Gods.^[27] English historian James Emerson Tennent also theorized Galle, a southern city in Sri Lanka, was the ancient seaport of Tarshish from which King Solomon is said to have drawn ivory, peacocks and other valuables. The main written accounts of the country's history are the Buddhist chronicles of Mahavansa and Dipavamsa.

Sri Lankan coin, 1st century CE.

The earliest-known inhabitants of the island now known as Sri Lanka were probably the ancestors of the Wanniyala-Aetto people, also known as Veddahs and numbering roughly 3,000. Linguistic analysis has found a correlation of the Sinhalese language with the languages of the Sindh and Gujarat, although most historians believe that the Sinhala community emerged well after the assimilation of various ethnic groups.

From the ancient period date some remarkable archaeological sites including the ruins of Sigiriya, the so-called "Fortress in the Sky", and huge public works. Among the latter are large "tanks" or reservoirs, important for conserving water in a climate that alternates rainy seasons with dry times, and elaborate aqueducts, some with a slope as finely calibrated as one inch to the mile. Ancient Sri Lanka was also the first in the world to have established a dedicated hospital in Mihintale in the 4th century BCE. Ancient Sri Lanka was also the world's leading exporter of cinnamon, which was exported to Egypt as early as 1400 BCE. Sri Lanka was also the first Asian nation to have a female ruler in Queen Anula (47–42 BC).

Ancient Sri Lanka

Since ancient times Sri Lanka was ruled by monarchs, most notably of the Sinha royal dynasty that lasted over 2000 years. The island was also infrequently invaded by South Indian kingdoms and parts of the island were ruled intermittently by the Chola dynasty, the Pandya dynasty, the Chera dynasty and the Pallava dynasty. The island was also invaded by the kingdoms of Kalinga (modern Orissa) and those from the Malay Peninsula.

Buddhism arrived from India in the 3rd century BCE, brought by Bhikkhu Mahinda, who is believed to have been the son of Mauryan emperor Ashoka. Mahinda's mission won over the Sinhalese monarch Devanampiyatissa of Mihintale, who embraced the faith and propagated it throughout the Sinhalese population. The Buddhist kingdoms of Sri Lanka would maintain a large number of Buddhist schools and monasteries, and support the propagation of Buddhism into Southeast Asia.

Colonial era

British colonial Coat of arms of Ceylon

Sri Lanka had always been an important port and trading post in the ancient world, and was increasingly frequented by merchant ships from the Middle East, Persia, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia. The islands were known to the first European explorers of South Asia and settled by many groups of Arab and Malay merchants.

A Portuguese colonial mission arrived on the island in 1505 headed by Lourenço de Almeida, the son of Francisco de Almeida. At that point the island consisted of three kingdoms, namely Kandy in the central hills, Kotte at the Western coast, and Yarlpanam (Anglicised Jaffna) in the north. The Dutch arrived in the 17th century. Although much of the island came under the domain of European powers, the interior, hilly region of the island remained independent, with its capital in Kandy.

The British East India Company established control of the island in 1796, declaring it a crown colony in 1802, although the island would not be officially connected with British India. The fall of the kingdom of Kandy in 1815 unified the island under British rule.

20th Century and the World Wars

European colonists established a series of tea, cinnamon, rubber, sugar, coffee and indigo plantations. The British also brought a large number of indentured workers from Tamil Nadu to work in the plantation economy. The city of Colombo was established as the administrative centre, and the British established modern schools, colleges, roads and churches that brought Western-style education and culture to the native people.

Increasing grievances over the denial of civil rights, mistreatment and abuse of natives by colonial authorities gave rise to a struggle for independence in the 1930s, when the Youth Leagues opposed the "Ministers' Memorandum," which asked the colonial authority to increase the powers of the board of ministers without granting popular representation or civil freedoms. Buddhist scholars^{[citation needed]} and the Teetotalist Movement also played a vital role in this time.

During World War II, the island served as an important Allied military base. A large segment of the British and American fleet were deployed on the island, as were tens of thousands of soldiers committed to the war against Japan in Southeast Asia. It was expected that Sri Lanka would gain independence as part of India, as the Indian National Army created a 'Lanka Regiment' from the existent Sri Lankan diaspora. Indeed, A plan was made to transport them to Sri Lanka by submarine, to lead a liberation struggle there, but this was aborted.

Independence

Main article: Dominion of Ceylon

The formal ceremony marking the start of self rule, with the opening of the first parliament at Independence Square.

Following the war, popular pressure for independence intensified. The office of Prime Minister of Ceylon was created in advance of independence on 14 October 1947, Don Stephen Senanayake being the first prime minister. On February 4, 1948 the country won its independence as the Dominion of Ceylon. The island enjoyed good relations with the United Kingdom and had the British Royal Navy stationed at Trincomalee.

On July 21, 1960 Sirimavo Bandaranaike took office as prime minister, and became the world's first female prime minister and the first female head of government in post-colonial Asia. In 1972, during Sirimavo Bandaranaike's second term as prime minister, the country became a republic within the Commonwealth, and the name was changed to Sri Lanka.

Civil war

Main article: Sri Lankan Civil War

One of the aspects of the independence movement was that it was very much a Sinhalese movement. As a result, the Sinhalese majority attempted to remodel Sri Lanka as a Sinhalese nation-state. The lion in the national flag is derived from the banner of the last Sinhalese Kingdom, which, to the Sinhalese majority, is a symbol of their fight against British colonialism. One single strip of orange on the left part of the flag represents the Tamil population, and it is seen by many Tamil as a symbol of their marginalisation.^[28]

In 1956, the Official Language Act (commonly known as The Sinhala Only Act) was enacted. The law mandated Sinhala, the language of Sri Lanka's majority Sinhalese community, which is spoken by over 70% of Sri Lanka's population, as the sole official language of Sri Lanka. Supporters of the law saw it as an attempt by a community that had just gained independence to distance themselves from their colonial masters.

The immediate (and intended) consequence of this act was to force large numbers of Tamil who worked in the civil service, and who could not meet this language requirement, to resign. An attempt to make Buddhism the national religion, to the exclusion of Hindu and Islam, was also made. Affirmative action in favour of Sinhalese was also instituted, ostensibly to reverse colonial discrimination against Sinhalese in favour of Tamil. Many Tamil, in response to this deliberate marginalisation, came to believe that they deserved a separate nation-state for themselves.

From 1983 to 2009, there was an on-and-off civil war against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist militant organization who fought to create an independent state named Tamil Eelam in the North and East of the island. Both the Sri Lankan government and LTTE have been accused of various human rights violations.

On May 19, 2009, the President of Sri Lanka officially claimed an end to the insurgency and the defeat of the LTTE, following the death of Velupillai Prabhakaran and much of the LTTE's other senior leadership.^[29]

Post War

After the civil war was over, the government of Sri Lanka called for redevelopment of the nation. The final stages of the war left some 300,000 people displaced.^[30] By 2 May 2010, 214,227 IDPs (74%) had been released or returned to their places of origin.^[31]

Government and politics

Main articles: Government of Sri Lanka, Constitution of Sri Lanka, and Politics of Sri Lanka

See also: Foreign relations of Sri Lanka

The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, Colombo.

The Constitution of Sri Lanka establishes a democratic, socialist republic in Sri Lanka, which is also a unitary state. The government is a mixture of the presidential system and the parliamentary system. The President of Sri Lanka is the head of state, the commander in chief of the armed forces, as well as head of government, and is popularly elected for a six-year term.

In the exercise of duties, the President is responsible to the Parliament of Sri Lanka, which is a unicameral 225-member legislature. The President appoints and heads a cabinet of ministers composed of elected members of parliament. The President's deputy is the Prime Minister, who leads the ruling party in parliament and shares many executive responsibilities, mainly in domestic affairs.^[32]

Members of parliament are elected by universal (adult) suffrage based on a modified proportional representation system by district to a six-year term. The primary modification is that, the party that receives the largest number of valid votes in each constituency gains a unique "bonus seat." The president may summon, suspend, or end a legislative session and dissolve Parliament any time after it has served for one year. The parliament reserves the power to make all laws.

On July 1, 1960 the people of Sri Lanka elected the first-ever female head of government in Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Her daughter Chandrika Kumaratunga served for a short period as the prime minister between August and December 1994 before being elected as president from 1994 to 2005 for 2 consecutive terms. The current president, who took office on November 21, 2005, and has been elected for two consecutive terms, is Mahinda Rajapaksa. The current prime minister, D. M. Jayaratne, took office on April 21, 2010.

Sri Lanka has enjoyed democracy with universal suffrage since 1931. Politics in Sri Lanka are controlled by rival coalitions led by the left-wing Sri Lanka Freedom Party, headed by President Rajapaksa, the comparatively right-wing United National Party led by former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and JVP. There are also many smaller Buddhist, socialist and Tamil nationalist political parties that oppose the separatism of the LTTE but demand regional autonomy and increased civil rights. Since 1948, Sri Lanka has been a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations.

It is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Colombo Plan, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Through the Cold War-era, Sri Lanka followed a foreign policy of non-alignment but has remained closer to the United States and Western Europe.

The military of Sri Lanka comprises the Sri Lankan Army, the Sri Lankan Navy and the Sri Lankan Air Force. These are administered by the Ministry of Defence. During 1971 and 1989 the army assisted the police in government response against the Marxist militants of the JVP and fought the LTTE from 1983 to 2009. Sri Lanka receives considerable military assistance from Pakistan and China.^[33]

Foreign relations and military

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Sri Lanka

See also: South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and Non-Aligned Movement

Sri Lanka traditionally follows a nonaligned foreign policy but has been seeking closer relations with the United States since December 1977. It participates in multilateral diplomacy, particularly at the United Nations, where it seeks to promote sovereignty, independence, and development in the developing world. Sri Lanka was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). It also is a member of the Commonwealth, the SAARC, the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank, and the Colombo Plan. Sri Lanka continues its active participation in the NAM, while also stressing the importance it places on regionalism by playing a strong role in SAARC.

Military

Main article: Sri Lanka Armed Forces

Sri Lanka Air Force IAI Kfir fighter aircraft

The Sri Lanka Armed Forces, comprising the Sri Lanka Army, the Sri Lanka Navy and the Sri Lanka Air Force, comes under the purview of the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The total strength of the three services is around 230,000 active personnel. Sri Lanka does not use a military draft. The Sri Lanka Armed Forces carried out a successful military campaign against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which was proscribed as a terrorist organization by 32 countries and defeated the outfit comprehensively in May 2009, marking a rare occurrence in world military history.^[34]

In support of the armed forces there are two paramilitary units functioning under purview of the Ministry of Defence, which are the Special Task Force and the Civil Defence Force. Sri Lanka did not have a Coast Guard service until Aug 10, 2009 and its Navy carried out such duties. Discussions were underway with respect to establishing a coast guard service.^[35] and on Aug 10, 2009 director-general of Sri Lanka Department of Coast Guard Daya Dharmapriya officially announced the on behalf of the government the launching of the service.^[36]

Since independence from Britain in 1948, the primary focus of the armed forces has been on internal security, due to three major insurgencies, most notably engaged in the 30-year long war with the LTTE and finally claimed victory at 19 May 2009 after the death of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran which took place at 18 May 2009 by a Sri Lanka army attack.

Peace keeping

Even though its armed forces were then engaged in an internal conflict, Sri Lanka contributed with forces in international missions organised by the United Nations, notably the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti and continue to contribute their forces to the United Nations. On the 21 October 2009 another group of two hundred Sri Lankan troops including nine officers from all three branches of the armed forces were added to the current deployment in a passing-out parade. The two hundred troops are scheduled to leave for Haiti on 8 November 2009.^[37]

Economy

Main article: Economy of Sri Lanka

See also: Tea production in Sri Lanka and Tourism in Sri Lanka

The Colombo World Trade Center in Colombo.

In the 19th and 20th Centuries, Sri Lanka became a plantation economy, famous for its production and export of cinnamon, rubber and Ceylon tea, which remains a trademark national export. The development of modern ports under British rule raised the strategic importance of the island as a centre of trade. During World War II, the island hosted important military installations and Allied forces. However, the plantation economy aggravated poverty and economic inequality.

From 1948 to 1977 socialism strongly influenced the government's economic policies. Colonial plantations were dismantled, industries were nationalised and a welfare state established. While the standard of living and literacy improved significantly, the nation's economy suffered from inefficiency, slow growth and lack of foreign investment^{[citation needed]}.

From 1977 the UNP government began incorporating privatisation, deregulation and the promotion of private enterprise. While the production and export of tea, rubber, coffee, sugar and other agricultural commodities remains important, the nation has moved steadily towards an industrialised economy with the development of food processing, textiles, telecommunications and finance. By 1996 plantation crops made up only 20% of export, and further declined to 16.8% in 2005 (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments have reached 63%.

The GDP grew at an average annual rate of 5.5% during the early 1990s, until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997–2000, with average growth of 5.3%. The year of 2001 saw the first recession in the country's history, as a result of power shortages, budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife. Signs of recovery appeared after the 2002 ceasefire which died away following the beginning of war. Since the separatist war ended in May 2009 the Sri Lankan stock market has shown marked gains to be among the 3 best performing markets in the world.^[38] The Colombo Stock Exchange reported the highest growth in the world for 2003, and today Sri Lanka has the highest per capita income in South Asia. About 14% of the population live on less than US$ 1.25 per day.^[39]

Sri Lanka's most widely known export, Ceylon tea.

In April 2004, there was a sharp reversal in economic policy after the government headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party was defeated by a coalition made up of Sri Lanka Freedom Party and the leftist-nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna called the United People's Freedom Alliance. The new government stopped the privatization of state enterprises and reforms of state utilities such as power and petroleum, and embarked on a subsidy program called the Rata Perata economic program. Its main theme to support the rural and suburban SMEs and protect the domestic economy from external influences, such as oil prices, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Sri Lanka, with an income per head of US$1,400, still lags behind some of its neighbors including Maldives and Mauritius but is ahead of its giant neighbor India. Its economy grew by an average of 5% during the 1990s during the 'War for Peace' era. According to the Sri Lankan central bank statistics, the economy was estimated to have grown by 7% last year, while inflation reached 20%.

Parts of Sri Lanka, particularly the South and East coast, were devastated by the 2004 Asian Tsunami. The economy was briefly buoyed by an influx of foreign aid and tourists, but this was disrupted with the reemergence of the civil war resulting in increased lawlessness in the country^[40] and a sharp decline in tourism.^[41][42] But following the end of the 3 decade long separatist war in May 2009 tourism has seen a steep uptick. Also the end of war has ensured the rule of law in the whole of the island.

Recently, New York Times has placed Sri Lanka Number 1 in 31 places to go in 2010.^[43]

Administrative divisions

Bay of Bengal

Palk Strait

Northern Province

Gulf of
Mannar

North Central Province

North Western
Province

Eastern
Province

Central
Province

Uva Province

Western
Province

Sabaragamuwa
Province

Southern Province

Indian Ocean

Main articles: Provinces of Sri Lanka, Districts of Sri Lanka, Divisional Secretariats of Sri Lanka, and List of cities in Sri Lanka

Provinces

The Provinces of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: පළාතTamil: மாகாணம்) have existed since the 19th century but they didn't have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils following several decades of increasing demand for a decentralization of the Government of Sri Lanka.^[44] Between 1988 and 2006 the Northern and Eastern provinces were temporarily merged to form the North-East Province. Prior to 1987, all administration was handled by a district-based civil service which had been in place since colonial times.

Sri Lanka is divided into 9 provinces^[45] and 25 districts.^[46] Each province is administered by a directly elected provincial council:

Administrative Divisions of Sri Lanka
province	Capital	Area (km²)	Population
Central	Kandy	5,674	2,423,966
Eastern	Trincomalee	9,996	1,460,939
North Central	Anuradhapura	10,714	1,104,664
Northern	Jaffna	8,884	1,311,776
North Western	Kurunegala	7,812	2,169,892
Sabaragamuwa	Ratnapura	4,902	1,801,331
Southern	Galle	5,559	2,278,271
Uva	Badulla	8,488	1,177,358
Western	Colombo	3,709	5,361,200

Districts

The provinces of Sri Lanka are divided into 25 districts (Sinhala: දිස්ත්‍රි‌ක්‌ක sing. දිස්ත්‍රික්කයTamil: மாவட்டம்). Each district is administered under a District Secretariat. The districts are further subdivided into divisional secretariats, and these in turn to Grama Sevaka divisions.

The Districts are known in Sinhala as Disa and in Tamil as Maawaddam. Originally a Disa (usually rendered into English as Dissavony) was a duchy, notably Matale and Uva. The Government Agent, who is known as District Secretary, administers a district.

These were originally based on the feudal counties, the korales and ratas. They were formerly known as 'D.R.O. Divisions' after the 'Divisional Revenue Officer'. Later the D.R.O.s became 'Assistant Government Agents' and the Divisions were known as 'A.G.A. Divisions'. Currently, the Divisions are administered by a 'Divisional Secretary', and are known as a 'D.S. Divisions'. Rural D.S. Divisions are also administered by a 'Pradeshiya Sabha' and 'Pradesha Sabhai' (Sinhala and Tamil for 'Regional Council'), which is elected.

Cities

Cities by population

Colombo Kandy Trincomalee	Rank	City	Province	Population	Rank	City	Province	Population	view • talk • edit Kotte Jaffna Galle
	1	Colombo	Western	682 046	11	Galle	Southern	97 209
	2	Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia	Western	232 220	12	Batticaloa	Eastern	95 489
	3	Moratuwa	Western	202 021	13	Katunayake	Western	90 231
	4	Negombo	Western	142 451	14	Battaramulla	Western	84 200
	5	Trincomalee	Eastern	131 954	15	Dambulla	Central	75 290
	6	Kotte	Western	125 914	16	Dalugama	Western	74 129
	7	Kandy	Central	119 186	17	Maharagama	Western	74 117
	8	Kalmunai	Eastern	103 879	18	Kotikawatta	Western	71 879
	9	Vavuniya	Northern	101 143	19	Chavakachcheri	Northern	70 273
	10	Jaffna	Northern	98 193	20	Anuradhapura	North Central	66 951
	2009 estimation[47]

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Sri Lanka

See also: Ethnic groups in Sri Lanka and Ethnic groups of South Asia

Population growth in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is the 53rd most populated nation in the world, with an annual population growth rate of 0.79%. Sri Lanka has a birth rate of 15.63 births per 1,000 people and a death rate of 6.49 deaths per 1,000 people. Population density is highest in western Sri Lanka, especially in and around the capital. There is a small population on the island of the Vedda people. They are believed to be the original indigenous group to inhabit the island. The Sinhalese people form the largest ethnic group in the nation, composing approximately 81.9% of the total population.

Tamils are concentrated in the North, East, Central and Western provinces of the country. Sri Lankan Tamils are the second major ethnic group on the island and have called it home for generations. Indian Tamils who were brought as indentured labourers from India by British colonists to work on estate plantations, nearly 50% of whom were repatriated following independence in 1948,^{[48][page needed]} are called "Indian Origin" Tamils. They are distinguished from the native Tamil population that has resided in Sri Lanka since ancient times.

According to 2001 census data Indian Tamils makeup 5.1% of the Sri Lankan population and, Sri Lankan Tamils 4.3% but this figure only accounted for Sri Lankan Tamils in government-controlled areas, not accounting for those in rebel-held territories. The World Factbook states that Sri Lankan Tamils make up 14% of the population. There is a significant population (8.0%) of Moors, who trace their lineage to Arab traders and immigrants from the Middle East. Their presence is concentrated in the cities and the central and eastern provinces. There are also small ethnic groups such as the Burghers (of mixed European descent) and Malays from Southeast Asia.

Language

Main article: Languages of Sri Lanka

Sinhalese and Tamil are the two official languages of Sri Lanka. English is fluently spoken by approximately 10% of the population, and is widely used for education, scientific and commercial purposes. Members of the Burgher community speak variant forms of Portuguese Creole and Dutch with varying proficiency, while members of the Malay community speak a form of creole Malay that is unique to the island.

Religions

Main article: Religion in Sri Lanka

Temple of the Tooth is the focal point of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

The Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil, Jaffna is an important place for Hindus in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka has a multi ethnic and multi religious population. Buddhism constitutes the religious faith of about 70% of the population of the island,^[49][50] most of whom follow the Theravada school of Buddhism.^[51] According to traditional Sri Lankan chronicles, Buddhism was introduced into Sri Lanka in the 2nd century BCE by Venerable Mahinda, the son of the Emperor Ashoka, during the reign of Sri Lanka's King Devanampiyatissa.^[51]

During this time, a sapling of the Bodhi Tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment was brought to Sri Lanka and the first monasteries were established under the sponsorship of the Sri Lankan king. The Pali Canon (Thripitakaya), having previously been preserved as an oral tradition, was first committed to writing in Sri Lanka around 30 BC.^[52]

Sri Lanka has the longest continuous history of Buddhism of any predominately Buddhist nation,^[51] with the Sangha having existed in a largely unbroken lineage since its introduction in the 2nd century BCE. During periods of decline, the Sri Lankan monastic lineage was revived through contact with Thailand and Burma.^[52]

Periods of Mahayana influence, as well as official neglect under colonial rule, created great challenges for Theravada Buddhist institutions in Sri Lanka, but repeated revivals and resurgences—most recently in the 19th century—have kept the Theravada tradition alive for over 2000 years. Hinduism the second most prevalent religion in Sri Lanka and it also arrived from India. Today, most Hindus are Tamil and they constitute a majority in Northern Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka religiosity
religion			percent
Buddhism			69%
Hinduism			15%
Islam			8%
Christianity			8%
Source: David, 1993[53]

Religions which today exist in Sri Lanka, in addition to Buddhism and Hinduism include Islam as well as different churches of Christianity. Followers of Islam comprise nearly eight percent of the population,^[50] having been brought to the island by Arab traders over the course of many centuries, most are Sunni who follow the Shafi'i school.^[54]

Hinduism was primarily established in Sri Lanka by migrants and often invaders from southern India,^[55] Hindus constitute just over 7 percent of the population,^[50][56] mostly of the Shaivite school.^{[citation needed]} European colonists introduced Christianity to the country in the 16th century,^[57] and the religion has been adopted by around six percent of the population.^[50]

There also was a small population of Zoroastrian immigrants from India (Parsis) who settled in Ceylon during the period of British rule. As a result of emigration, few remain, yet they have played a significant role in the growth of the country. The former finance minister of Sri Lanka, Nariman Choksy, was a Parsi. Other famous Parsi families in Sri Lanka include the Captain family and the Pestongee family.

Religion plays an important part in the life and culture of Sri Lankans. The Buddhist majority observe Poya Days, once per month according to the Lunar calendar. The Hindus and Muslims also observe their own holidays. There are many Buddhist temples spread throughout the island in addition to numerous mosques, Hindu temples and churches, especially in areas where respective communities are concentrated.

Buddhists are distributed across most parts of the island except in the north. Hindus are concentrated in north, east, and central high lands, though high populations also exists in the capital city of Colombo and in the surrounding suburbs. Christians, particularly Roman Catholics are mainly concentrated along the western coastal belt.

Muslims are concentrated in several pockets along the coast and in theinterior. All religious communities are represented in the western province and in other urban centers in sizable numbers. Sri Lanka was ranked the 3rd most religious country in the world by a 2008 Gallup poll, with 99% of Sri Lankans saying religion is an important part of their daily life.^[58]

Health

Life expectancy was 69 for males and 76 for females in 2006.^[59] Government expenditure on health care was aprox. US$ 105 (PPP) in 2006. ^[60] Sri Lanka has about 48.9 physicians per 100,000 people.^[61] The Médecins Sans Frontières are active in Sri Lanka.^[61]

Education

Main article: Education in Sri Lanka

University of Peradeniya

With a literacy rate of 92%, and 83% of the total population having had Secondary Education,^[62] Sri Lanka has one of the most literate populations amongst developing nations.^[63] An education system which dictates 9 years of Compulsory Schooling for every child is in place, with 99% of the children entering the first grade.^[62] A free education system initiated in 1945^[64] by Dr. C. W. W. Kannangara, a former minister of education, has greatly contributed to this.

Dr. Kannangara led the establishment of the Madhya Maha Vidyalayas (Central Schools) in different parts of the country in order to provide education to Sri Lanka's rural population. In 1942 a special education committee proposed extensive reforms to establish an efficient and quality education system for the people. However in the 1980s changers to this system saw the separation the of administration of schools between the central government and the provincial government. Thus the elite National Schools are controlled directly by the Ministry of Education and the provincial schools by the provincial government.

See also: List of schools in Sri Lanka

Most schools in Sri Lanka provide education from grades 1 to 13 in the same institution. Students sit for the GCE Ordinary Level Examination (O/Levels) in grade 11 and the GCE Advanced Level Examination (A/levels) in grade 13, conducted by the Department of Examinations. These schools are modeled on British colleges. A majority of them are public, but a number of private schools do exist. While most reputed National and Private Schools centered around large cities are usually single-sex institutions, rural provincial schools tend to be coeducational.

In recent decades, a large number of international schools have been established across the nation. In these schools General Certificate of Secondary Education, International Baccalaureate and Cambridge International Examinations are popular education programs. Many of the schools offer subjects in Sinhala and Tamil languages with regionally leading schools offering subjects in English medium also.

See also: Universities in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology

Sri Lanka has around 16 public universities. They include the University of Colombo, the University of Peradeniya, the University of Kelaniya, the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, the University of Moratuwa, the University of Peradeniya, the University of Jaffna, the University of Ruhuna, the Eastern University of Sri Lanka, the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka and the Wayamba University of Sri Lanka.

However the lack of space in these institutions and the unwillingness to establish private universities has led to a large number of students been denied entry into formal universities as well as high undergraduate unemployment. As a result, a number of public and private institutions have emerged, which provide specialised education in a variety of fields, such as computer science, business administration and law. These include the government owned Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology and the Institute of Technological Studies. The free education system ensures that primary to tertiary education is provided free of charge to its citizens.

Transport

Main article: Transport in Sri Lanka

GM EMD G12 - ALBERTA diesel locomotive used for transportation

Most Sri Lankan cities and towns are connected by the Sri Lanka Railways, the state-run national railway operator. The first railway line was inaugurated on April 26, 1867, linking Colombo with Kandy. The total length of Sri Lankan roads exceeds 11,000 kilometres (6,840 mi), with a vast majority of them being paved.

The government has launched several highway projects to bolster the economy and national transport system, including the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway, the Colombo-Kandy (Kadugannawa) Expressway, the Colombo-Padeniya Expressway and the Outer Circular Highway to ease Colombo's traffic congestion. There are also plans to build a major bridge connecting Jaffna to the Indian city of Chennai.

The Ceylon Transport Board is the state-run agency responsible for operating public bus services across the island. Sri Lanka also maintains 430 kilometres (270 mi) of inland waterways. It has three deep-water ports at Colombo, Trincomalee and Galle. There is also a smaller, shallower harbour at Kankesanturai, north of Jaffna.

There are twelve paved airports and two unpaved airstrips in the country. SriLankan Airlines is the official national carrier, partly owned and operated by Emirates Airline. It was voted the best airline in South Asia by Skytrax. SriLankan Air Taxi is the smaller, domestic arm of the national carrier, while Expo Aviation and Lankair are private airline companies. The Bandaranaike International Airport, currently the country's only international airport, is located in Katunayaka, 22 kilometres (14 mi) north of Colombo. A second international airport is under construction in Mattala, in the south of the island.

The Port of Colombo is the largest port in Sri Lanka, handling over 4.1 million TEUs annually. The new Port of Hambantota is currently under construction, and due to begin operations in November 2010.

Human rights

Main article: Human rights in Sri Lanka

Human rights as ratified by the United Nations are guaranteed by the constitution of Sir Lanka. The human Rights situation in Sri Lanka has come under criticism by human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch,^[65] as well as the United States Department of State^[66] and the European Union,^[67] have expressed concern about the state of human rights in Sri Lanka. Both the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the government of Sri Lanka are accused of violating human rights.

In its 2007 report, however, Amnesty International stated that "escalating political killings, child recruitment, abductions and armed clashes created a climate of fear in the east, spreading to the north by the end of the year", whilst also outlining concerns with violence against women, the death penalty and "numerous reports of torture in police custody". However, the report also stated that the ceasefire between government and LTTE remained in place despite numerous violations.^[68]

However, the Sri Lankan minister for HR said "We regret one or two statements made here, that fly in the face of all concrete evidence, that the situation in Sri Lanka is deteriorating, when we have dealt more firmly with terrorism, with far-less damage to civilians, than in any comparative situation."^[69] Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said, the report presents a distorted view of the actual situation in Sri Lanka during the year 2007 and is a litany of unsubstantiated allegations, innuendo and vituperative exaggerations.^[70]

Culture and arts

Main article: Culture of Sri Lanka

See also: Religion in Sri Lanka, Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Hinduism in Sri Lanka, and Islam in Sri Lanka

The Buddha statue at Mihintale.

Hindu Devotess engaing in 'Kavadi' at a Vavuniya temple.

The island is the home of two main traditional cultures: the Sinhalese (centered in the ancient cities of Kandy and Anuradhapura) and the Tamil (centered in the city of Jaffna). In more recent times a British colonial culture was added, and lately Sri Lanka, particularly in the urban areas, has experienced a dramatic makeover in the western mold.

Until recently, for example, most Sri Lankans, certainly those in the villages, have eaten traditional food, engaged in traditional crafts and expressed themselves through traditional arts. But economic growth and intense economic competition in developed countries has spilled over to most of Sri Lanka, producing changes that might variously be identified as progress, westernisation or a loss of identity and assimilation.

Traditional food

Main article: Cuisine of Sri Lanka

Typical Sri Lankan dish of Rice and Prawns.

Sri Lankans have added western influences to the customary diet such as rice and curry, pittu (mixture of fresh rice meal, very lightly roasted and mixed with fresh grated coconut, then steamed in a bamboo mould). Kiribath (cooked in thick coconut cream for this unsweetened rice-pudding which is accompanied by a sharp chili relish called "lunumiris"), wattalapam (rich pudding of Malay origin made of coconut milk, jaggery, cashew nuts, eggs, and various spices including cinnamon cloves and nutmeg), kottu, and hoppers ("appa"), batter cooked rapidly in a hot curved pan, accompanied by eggs, milk or savouries.

Middle Eastern influences and practices are found in traditional Moor dishes. While Dutch and Portuguese influences are found with the island's Burgher community preserving their culture through traditional favourites such as Lamprais (rice cooked in stock and baked in a banana leaf), Breudher (Dutch Christmas cake) and Bolo Fiado (Portuguese-style layer cake).

Festivals

Main article: Festivals in Sri Lanka

Elephants at the Esala Perahera.

Every year on or about April 13 Sinhala and Tamil people celebrate Sinhala and Tamil New Year Festival, and Muslims celebrate Ramadan. Esala Perahera (A-suh-luh peh-ruh-ha-ruh) is the grand festival of Esala held in Sri Lanka. It is very grand with elegant costumes. Happening in July or August in Kandy, it has become a unique symbol of Sri Lanka. It is a Buddhist festival consisting of dances and richly decorated elephants.

There are fire-dances, whip-dances, Kandian dances and various other cultural dances. The elephants are usually adorned with lavish garments. The festival ends with the traditional 'diya-kepeema'. The elephant is paraded around the city bearing the tooth of Buddha. However the new year for tamils have been established as being on January 14 from this year.

Cinema

Kadawunu Poronduwa, 1947.

Sri Lankan cinema in past years has featured subjects such as family relationships, love stories and the years of conflict between the military and Tamil Tiger rebels. Many films are in the Sinhalese language and the Sri Lankan cinematic style is similar to bollywood, kollywood of Indian cinema.

The first film to be produced and shown in Sri Lanka was Kadawunu Poronduwa (The Broken Promise) which was released in 1947. The first colour film of Sri Lanka was Ranmuthu Duwa.

Afterwards there were many Sinhalese movies produced in Sri Lanka and some of them, such as Nidhanaya, received several international film awards. The most influential filmmaker in the history of Sri Lankan cinema is Lester James Peiris who has directed many movies of excellent quality which led to global acclaim. His latest film, Wekande Walauwa ("Mansion by the Lake") became the first movie to be submitted from Sri Lanka for the Best Foreign Language film award at the Academy Awards.

In 2005 the director Vimukthi Jayasundara became the first Sri Lankan to win the prestigious Camera d'Or award for Best First Film, or any award for that matter, at the Cannes Film Festival for his Sinhalese language film Sulanga Enu Pinisa (The Forsaken Land). Controversial filmmaker Asoka Handagama's films are considered by many in the Sri Lankan film world to be the best films of honest response to the ethnic conflict raged in the country for many years.

Prasanna Vithanage is one of Sri Lanka's most notable filmmakers. His films have won many awards, both local and international. Recent releases like 'Sooriya Arana', 'Samanala thatu', and 'Hiripoda wessa' have attracted Sri Lankans to cinemas. Sri Lankan films are usually in the Sinhalese language. Tamil language movies are also filmed in Sri Lanka but they are part of Kollywood which is Indian Tamil cinema. It is also known as Sri Lankan Tamil cinema in Sri Lanka. However some Kollywood films are based in Sri Lanka as well.

Music

Main article: Music of Sri Lanka

The earliest music came from the theater at a time when the traditional open-air drama (referred to in Sinhala as Kolam, Sokari and Nadagam). In 1903 the first music album, Nurthi, was released through Radio Ceylon. Also Vernon Corea introduced Sri Lankan music in the English Service of Radio Ceylon.

In the early 1960s, Indian music in films greatly influenced Sri Lankan music and later Sri Lankan stars like Sunil Shantha found greater popularity among Indian people. By 1963, Radio Ceylon had more Indian listeners than Sri Lankan ones. The notable songwriters Mahagama Sekara and Ananda Samarakoon made a Sri Lankan music revolution. At the peak of this revolution, musicians such as W. D. Amaradeva, H.R. Jothipala, Milton Mallawarachchi, M.S. Fernando, Annesley Malewana and Clarence Wijewardene did great work.

A very popular type of music is the so-called Baila, a kind of dance music that originated from Portuguese music introduced to the island in colonial times.

See also: Cuisine of Sri Lanka, Dances of Sri Lanka, Fashion Industry of Sri Lanka, Cinema of Sri Lanka, and Music of Sri Lanka

Media

Main article: Media in Sri Lanka

See also: List of newspapers in Sri Lanka and List of television networks in Sri Lanka

The national radio station, Radio Ceylon is the oldest-running radio station in Asia.^[71][72] It was established in 1923 by Edward Harper just three years after broadcasting was launched in Europe.^[73] It remains one of the most popular stations in Asia, with its programming reaching neighboring Asian nations. The station is managed by the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation and broadcasts services in Sinhalese, Tamil, English and Hindi.

Since the 1980s, a large number of private radio stations have also being introduced, and they have gained commercial popularity and success. Broadcast television was introduced to the country in 1979 when the Independent Television Network was launched. Initially all Television stations were state controlled, but private television networks began broadcasts in 1992.^[74]

Global television networks from India, Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States are also widely popular, and cable and satellite television is gaining in popularity with Sri Lanka's middle-class. Popular publications include the English language Daily Mirror and The Sunday Observer and The Sunday Times, Divayina, Lankadeepa and Lakbima in Sinhalese and the Tamil publications Dinakaran and Uthayan.

Sports

See also: Cricket in Sri Lanka and Rugby union in Sri Lanka

A Test match between Sri Lanka and England at the SCC Ground, Colombo, March 2001.

While the national sport in Sri Lanka is volleyball,^[75] by far the most popular sport in the country is cricket.^[75] Rugby union also enjoys extensive popularity, as do aquatic sports, athletics, Football (soccer) and tennis. Sri Lanka's schools and colleges regularly organize sports and athletics teams, competing on provincial and national levels.

The Sri Lanka national cricket team achieved considerable success beginning in the 1990s, rising from underdog status to winning the 1996 Cricket World Cup.^[76] Sri Lankan cricket team reached the finals of the 2007 Cricket World Cup, where they lost to Australia.^[77] The national cricket team of Sri Lanka won the Asia Cup in 1986, 1997, 2004 and 2008.

Sri Lanka has a large number of sports stadiums, including the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, the R. Premadasa Stadium and the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla as well as the Galle International Stadium. The country co-hosted the 1996 Cricket World Cup with India and Pakistan, and has hosted the Asia Cup tournament on numerous occasions. It will also co-host the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Aquatic sports such as boating, surfing, swimming and scuba diving on the coast, the beaches and backwaters attract a large number of Sri Lankans and foreign tourists. There are two styles of martial arts native to Sri Lanka, Cheena di and Angampora.

See also

Sri Lanka portal

• Outline of Sri Lanka

• Colombo, the trade-capital of Sri Lanka
• Kotte, the administrative capital of Sri Lanka

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References

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3. ^ ^{a b c d e} Demographics of Sri Lanka#CIA World Factbook demographic statistics.
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7. ^ "Human Development Report 2009. Human development index trends: Table G". The United Nations. http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2009_EN_Complete.pdf. Retrieved 2009-10-05. 
8. ^ ""Sri Lanka" in several reference works". Dictionary.reference.com. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Sri+Lanka?r=66. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
9. ^ "Carnegie Mellon University Pronouncing Dictionary". Speech.cs.cmu.edu. http://www.speech.cs.cmu.edu/cgi-bin/cmudict?stress=-s&in=SRI-LANKA. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
10. ^ "BBC.co.uk". BBC.co.uk. 2002-10-02. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/subdivisions/theravada_1.shtml. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
11. ^ "Cinnamon". Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2008. "(species Cinnamomum zeylanicum), bushy evergreen tree of the laurel family (Lauraceae) native to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), the neighboring Malabar Coast of India, and Myanmar (Burma), and also cultivated in South America and the West Indies for the spice consisting of its dried inner bark. The bark is widely used as a spice due to its distinct odor." 
12. ^ "News.BBC.co.uk". News.BBC.co.uk. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/964914.stm. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
13. ^ British Prime Minister Winston Churchill described the moment a Japanese fleet prepared to invade Sri Lanka as "the most dangerous and distressing moment of the entire conflict." – Commonwealth Air Training Program Museum, The Saviour of Ceylon
14. ^ Abeydeera, Ananda. "In Search of Taprobane: the Western discovery and mapping of Ceylon". http://www.rootsweb.com/~lkawgw/slm-taprobane.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-04. 
15. ^ "Sri Lanka — The Pearl of the Orient". Metropolis. http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyotravel/tokyoworldtravelarchive299/295/tokyoworldtravelinc.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-04. 
16. ^ Rajasingham, K T. "Sri Lanka: The untold story". Asia Times. http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CH11Df02.html. Retrieved 2007-06-04. 
17. ^ Zubair, Lareef. "Etymologies of Lanka, Serendib, Taprobane and Ceylon". http://www.glue.umd.edu/~pkd/sl/facts/name_origin.html. Retrieved 2007-06-04. 
18. ^ "Chapter I — The People, The State And Sovereignty". THe Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. http://www.priu.gov.lk/Cons/1978Constitution/Chapter_01_Amd.html. Retrieved 2007-06-04. 
19. ^ de Silva, Colin (February 14, 1982). "Sri Lanka, The 'Resplendent Isle'". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9A01EED61E38F937A25751C0A964948260. Retrieved 2007-06-04. 
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25. ^ "Sri Lanka National Tree". gov.lk. Government of Sri Lanka. http://www.gov.lk/gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63&lang=en. Retrieved 2009-05-06. 
26. ^ "Sri Lanka National Bird". gov.lk. Government of Sri Lanka. http://www.gov.lk/gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=65&lang=en. Retrieved 2009-05-06. 
27. ^ Keshavadas, Sant (1988). Ramayana at a Glance. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 8120805453. 
28. ^ "Asia Times: Chapter 14: Post-colonial realignment of political forces". Atimes.com. http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CK10Df03.html. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
29. ^ "Sri Lanka leader hails 'victory'". BBC News. 2009-05-19. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8056752.stm. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
30. ^ "Sri Lanka's displaced". Amnesty.org. 2009-09-11. http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/sri-lanka-displaced-uncertain-future-government-unlock-camps-20090911. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
31. ^ "Joint Humanitarian Update: North East Sri Lanka" (PDF). UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 2009-09-11. http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/srilanka_hpsl/Files/Situation%20Reports/Joint%20Humanitarian%20Update/LKRN043_100410-100423%20-%20SL%20-%20IA%20-%20Sitreps%20-%20External%20-%20Joint%20Humanitarian%20Update%20-%2024.pdf. Retrieved 2010-06-07. 
32. ^ The Constitution of Sri Lanka - Contents.
33. ^ Bedi, Rahul (2007-06-02). "Sri Lanka turns to Pakistan, China for military needs". IANS (Urdustan.com Network). http://www.indianmuslims.info/news/2007/jun/02/sri_lanka_turns_pakistan_china_military_needs.html. Retrieved 2007-06-02. 
34. ^ "LTTE defeated; Sri Lanka liberated from terror". Ministry of Defence. 2009-05-18. http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20090518_10. Retrieved 2009-05-18. 
35. ^ "Defens.lk". Defence.lk. 2009-10-07. http://defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20090710_04. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
36. ^ "LankaBusinessOnline.com". LankaBusinessOnline.com. 2009-08-10. http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/fullstory.php?nid=507417129. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
37. ^ "Defense.lk". Defence.lk. 2009-10-22. http://defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20091022_05. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
38. ^ SriLankaToday.com The Sri Lankan stock market has come into the first three best stock markets in the world
39. ^ United Nations Development Programme. "Human development indices". p. 34. http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDI_2008_EN_Tables.pdf. Retrieved 2009-12-13. 
40. ^ Lawlessness Grows in Strife-Torn Sri Lanka - washingtonpost.com at www.washingtonpost.com
41. ^ LankaBusinessOnline.com, Sri Lanka tourism plummets in May
42. ^ "TravelIndustryDeals.com". TravelIndustryDeals.com. 2007-07-23. http://www.travelindustrydeals.com/news/3906. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
43. ^ "The 31 Places to Go in 2010". NYTimes.com. 2010-01-24. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/travel/10places.html. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
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47. ^ World Gazetteer online
48. ^ Hoole, Rajan (2001). Sri Lanka: The Arrogance of Power. University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna). ISBN 978-9559447047. 
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50. ^ ^{a b c d} "The World Factbook: Sri Lanka". CIA World Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ce.html. Retrieved 2006-08-12. 
51. ^ ^{a b c} Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Buddhist Studies.
52. ^ ^{a b} Theravada Buddhism and Shan/Thai/Dai/Laos Regions, Maung Chan, 2005-03-28.
53. ^ Crystal, David, ed (1993). "Sri Lanka". The Cambridge Factfinder (4th South Asian 2001 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 331. ISBN 0 521 79435 8. 
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55. ^ Hinduism In Sri Lanka, Discover Sri Lanka.
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57. ^ Young, R. F., & Sēnānāyaka, J. E. B. (1998), The carpenter-heretic: a collection of Buddhist stories about Christianity from 18th century Sri Lanka, Colombo: Karunaratne & Sons.
58. ^ "Gallup.com". Gallup.com. 2009-02-09. http://www.gallup.com/poll/114211/Alabamians-Iranians-Common.aspx. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
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62. ^ ^{a b} Figures as of 2004/2005. UNICEF, Sri Lanka: Statistics
63. ^ Chandra Gunawardene, Problems of illiteracy in a literate developing society.
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Further reading

• Brow, James: Vedda villages of Anuradhapura: The historical anthropology Of a community in Sri Lanka, University Of Washington Press, Seattle, 1978.
• Codrington, H. W.: A Short History of Ceylon, New Delhi 1994 (Reprint. Asian Educational Services).
• De Silva, Chandra Richard: Sri Lanka — A History, New Delhi 1987 (Second, revised edition 1997).
• De Silva, K. M.: A History of Sri Lanka. New Delhi, Penguin, xvii, p. 782, 2005.
• Devendra, T. and D. Gunasena: Sri Lanka: The Emerald Island, (New Delhi 1996), Roli Books.
• Domroes, Manfred: After the Tsunami: Relief and rehabilitation in Sri Lanka, New Delhi, Mosaic Books, 1st ed. 2006.
• Gunaratne, Shelton A.: The Taming of the Press in Sri Lanka. Journalism Monographs No. 39, May 1975.
• Johnson, B. L. C., and M. Le M. Scrivenor.: Sri Lanka Land, People and Economy, Heinemann Educational Books Ltd, London, 1981.
• Knox, Robert: An Historical Relation of the Island of Ceylon in the East Indies, New Delhi 2004 (Reprint. Asian Educational Services).
• Mendis, G.C.: Ceylon Today and Yesterday, Colombo 1957 (Third edition 1995).
• Sedere, Upali M.: Context of Educational Reforms Then and Now: 121st C. W. W. Kannangara. *Memorial Address, Ministry of Education, Isurupaya, Battaramulla, October 13, 2005.
• Smith, Vincent A.: The Oxford History of India, Oxford 1958 (4th edition 1981).
• Williams, Harry: Ceylon Pearl of the East, Robert Hale Limited, London, Great Britain, 1950.
• Williams, H.: Ceylon : Pearl of the East Delhi, Surjeet, 2002.
• Philippe Gilbert: Les Larmes de Ceylan Ed. des Equateurs, France, 2005.

External links

Find more about Sri Lanka on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions from Wiktionary
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	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
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	Learning resources from Wikiversity

Government

• Official web portal of the Government of Sri Lanka
• Office of the President of Sri Lanka
• Ministry of Defence, Sri Lanka
• Central Bank of Sri Lanka
• Chief of State and Cabinet Members

General information

• Sri Lanka from OneWorld Country Guides
• Sri Lanka entry at The World Factbook
• Sri Lanka from UCB Libraries GovPubs
• Sri Lanka at the Open Directory Project
• Wikimedia Atlas of Sri Lanka

Tourism

• Ministry of Tourism
• Sri Lanka Tourist Board
• Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau
• Sri Lanka travel guide from Wikitravel
• Sri Lanka Travel Guide and Country Reference
• Lonely Planet Destination Guide- Sri Lanka

Business

• Board of Investment of Sri Lanka
• Sri Lanka Export Development Board
• Colombo Stock Exchange

Other

• Virtual Library Sri Lanka
• Sri Lanka - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
• Collection of slides of Sri Lanka, University of Pennsylvania library

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Muttiah Muralitharan

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Muttiah Muralitharan
Personal information
Full name	Muttiah Muralitharan
Born	17 April 1972 (1972-04-17) (age 38) Kandy, Sri Lanka
Nickname	Murali
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right-arm off break
Role	Bowler, Sri Lanka vice captain
International information
National side	Sri Lanka
Test debut (cap 54)	28 August 1992 v Australia
Last Test	2 December 2009 v India
ODI debut (cap 70)	12 August 1993 v India
Last ODI	25 September 2009 v England
ODI shirt no.	08
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1991 – present	Tamil Union
1999 and 2007	Lancashire
2003	Kent
2008 - present	Chennai Super Kings
Career statistics
Competition	Tests	ODI	FC	LA
Matches	132[1]	334[2]	231	425
Runs scored	1,256	660	2,187	918
Batting average	11.62	6.80	11.33	7.40
100s/50s	0/1	0/0	0/1	0/0
Top score	67	33*	67	33*
Balls bowled	43,669	18,001	66,563	22,365
Wickets	792	512	1,366	641
Bowling average	22.71	22.93	19.62	22.33
5 wickets in innings	66	10	118	12
10 wickets in match	22	n/a	34	n/a
Best bowling	9/51	7/30	9/51	7/30
Catches/stumpings	72/–	128/–	123/–	151/–
Source: CricketArchive, 12 December 2009

Muttiah Muralitharan (Tamil: முத்தையா முரளிதரன், Sinhala: මුත්තයියා මුරලිදරන්, born 17 April 1972 in Kandy, Sri Lanka), often referred to as Murali, is a Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002. ^[3]

Muralitharan is the highest wicket-taker in both Test cricket^[4] and in One Day Internationals (ODIs).^[5] He took the wicket of Gautam Gambhir on 5 February 2009 in Colombo, to surpass Wasim Akram's ODI record of 502 wickets.^[6] Muralitharan became the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket when he overtook the previous record-holder Shane Warne on 3 December 2007 in the longer version of the game.^[7][8] Muralitharan had previously held the record when he surpassed Courtney Walsh's 519 wickets in 2004. But he suffered a shoulder injury later that year and was then overtaken by Warne.^[9]

Averaging over six wickets per Test, Muralitharan is one of the most successful bowlers in the game.^[10] He plays domestic cricket for the Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club, and plays in the Indian Premier League for Chennai Super Kings.

Muralitharan's career has been beset with controversy; his bowling action called into question on a number of occasions by umpires and sections of the cricket community.^[11] After biomechanical analysis in non-match conditions, Muralitharan's action was cleared by the International Cricket Council, first in 1996 and again in 1999.^[10] The legality of his doosra was first called into question in 2004. This delivery was found to exceed the ICC elbow extension limit by nine degrees, five degrees being the limit for spinners at that time.^[12] Based on official studies into bowling actions, which revealed that 99% of all bowlers exceed the elbow flexion limits, ICC revised the limits applying to all bowlers in 2005.^[13][14] Muralitharan's doosra falls within the revised limits.^[15][16][17]

In February 2009, after becoming cricket's highest wicket-taker in both forms of the game Muttiah Muralitharan hinted that he may retire at the conclusion of the 2011 World Cup. He stated "I think I am fit in my body and mind, I am enjoying my cricket and want to play more. But after the next World Cup, I will have nothing left to achieve in the game. The World Cup should mark the end of my career."^[18] In July 2009 he confirmed that he would retire from Test cricket following Sri Lanka's home series against the West Indies in November 2010, but would continue to represent his country in the one-day game until the World Cup in 2011.^[19] Muttiah Muralitharan, has announced his retirement from Test Match Cricket after the first Test against India at Galle which begins on 18 July 2010. ^[20]

Contents [hide] 1 Early years and personal life 2 Ethnic background 3 Spelling and meaning of name 4 Domestic cricket 4.1 In Sri Lanka 4.2 In England 4.3 In India 5 International career 5.1 Bowling style and career progress 5.2 Test cricket 5.2.1 Emerging years 5.2.2 Boxing day test 1995 5.2.3 Mid career 5.2.4 Passing Walsh and Warne 5.2.5 Beyond the world record 5.2.6 Performance analysis 5.2.7 Test wicket milestones 5.2.8 Five wickets in an innings 5.3 One day internationals 5.3.1 Career summary 5.3.2 Best bowling performances 5.4 Batting 5.5 Abuse in Australia 5.6 Retirement 6 World records and achievements 7 Cricket awards 7.1 Wisden leading cricketer in the world 7.2 Man of match in test cricket 7.3 Man of match in one day internationals 8 Recognition 9 Controversy of bowling action 9.1 First throwing citation and testing 9.2 Second citation and testing 9.3 Third citation and testing 9.4 University of South Australia study 9.5 Fourth round of testing 9.6 Bowling with an arm brace 9.7 Critics and converts 10 Scientific research on bowling actions 11 Philanthropy 12 Product and brand endorsements 13 See also 14 References 15 External links

[edit] Early years and personal life

Muralitharan was born in the village of Nattarampotha in Kundasale (near Kandy), the eldest of the four sons to Sinnasamy Muttiah and Lakshmi. Muralitharan's father Sinnasamy Muttiah, runs a successful biscuit-making business.^[21]

When he was nine years old Muralitharan was sent to St.Anthony's College, Kandy, a private school run by Benedictine monks. He began his cricketing career as a medium pace bowler but on the advice of his school coach, Sunil Fernando, he took up off-spin when he was fourteen years old. He soon impressed and went on to play for four years in the school First XI. In those days he played as an all-rounder and batted in the middle order. In his final two seasons at St Anthony's College he took over one hundred wickets and in 1990/1 was named as the 'Bata Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year'.^[22]

After leaving school he joined Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club and was selected for the Sri Lanka A tour of England in 1991. He played in five games but failed to capture a single wicket. On his return to Sri Lanka he impressed against Allan Border's Australian team in a practice game and then went on to make his Test debut at R. Premadasa Stadium in the Second Test Match of the series.^[23]

When his grandfather died at the age of 104 in July 2004, Muralitharan returned home from a tour of India to attend his funeral. Periyasamy Sinasamy's first wish to see Muralitharan claiming the world record for the most Test wickets was realised (passing the record set by Courtney Walsh), but not his desire to live to see his grandson married. Muralitharan's grandmother had died one month earlier at the age of 97. Muralitharan's manager, Kushil Gunasekera stated that "Murali's family is closely knit and united. They respect traditional values. The late grandfather enjoyed a great relationship with Murali."^[24]

Muralitharan married Madhimalar Ramamurthy,^[25] an Indian national, on 21 March 2005.^[26] Madhimalar is the daughter of late Dr S. Ramamurthy of Malar Hospitals, and his wife Dr Nithya Ramamurthy. Their first child, Naren, was born in January 2006.^[27]

[edit] Ethnic background

Muttiah Muralitharan is the first and only Tamil of Indian origin to represent Sri Lanka in international cricket.

Muralitharan's paternal grandfather Periyasamy Sinasamy came from South India to work in the tea plantations of central Sri Lanka in 1920.^[28] Sinasamy later returned to the country of his birth with his daughters and settled in Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, India. However his sons, including Muralitharan's father Muttiah, remained in Sri Lanka.^[29]

[edit] Spelling and meaning of name

Even though his name has been widely romanised as Muralitharan since the commencement of his career, the cricketer himself prefers to romanise his name as Muralidaran. The different spellings have arisen because the Tamil letter த can be pronounced as both 't' and 'd' depending on its place in a word. It is often transliterated as 'th' to distinguish it from another letter, ட, which is a retroflex 't' or 'd'. In 2007, when Cricket Australia decided to unveil the new Warne-Muralidaran Trophy, to be contested between Australia and Sri Lanka, Muralitharan was requested to clarify how his name should be spelt. Cricket Australia spokesman Peter Young confirmed that "the spelling he's given is Muralidaran".^[30]

The first day cover involving Muralitharan bears an official seal captioned as "The highest wicket taker in Test cricket, MUTHIAH MURALIDARAN, First Day of Issue 03.12.2007, Camp Post Office, Asgiriya International Cricket Stadium, Kandy".^[31]

The name Muralitharan means "the bearer of the flute", which is a synonym for Lord Krishna, who used to play upon his bamboo flute while looking after his cattle.

[edit] Domestic cricket

[edit] In Sri Lanka

In domestic cricket, Muralitharan has played for two first-class Sri Lankan sides, Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club in the Premier Trophy and Central Province in the Provincial Championship. His record has been exceptional – 234 wickets at 14.51 runs in 46 matches.^[32]

[edit] In England

He has also played county cricket in England, mainly for Lancashire (1999 and 2007) where he appeared in twenty eight first-class games for the club. He played five first class games for Kent during the 2003 season. His bowling record in English domestic cricket is also exceptional – 236 wickets at 15.62 runs in 33 matches.^[32] Despite his efforts, he has not been on a title winning first-class domestic team in either the Premier Trophy or the County Championship. He is unusual amongst the majority of current Test players in that he has played in more Test matches than other first-class games (116 tests and 99 other first class matches as of 30 November 2007).

[edit] In India

In February 2008, Muralitharan was slated to play Twenty20 cricket for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) . He was bought for $600,000 by India Cements, the Chennai franchisee of the IPL, through a bidding process.^[33] Chennai Super Kings were the runners up in the inaugural edition of the IPL, losing to Rajasthan Royals in the final. Muralitharan captured 11 wickets in 15 games, at an economy rate of 6.96 an over.

Muralitharan, was contracted to represent Bengal in the 2008–09 Ranji Trophy tournament. He was expected to play about four matches in the tournament's second division – the Plate League.

[edit] International career

[edit] Bowling style and career progress

A graph showing Muralitharan's test career bowling statistics and how they have varied over time.

Muralitharan is the first wrist-spinning off-spinner in the history of the game.^[34] He bowls marathon spells, yet he is usually on the attack. His unique bowling action begins with an open-chested short run-up, and culminates with an extremely wristy release which had him mistaken for a leg-spinner early in his career by Allan Border.^[35] Aside from his off-break, his main deliveries are a fast topspinner which goes straight on, and the doosra, a surprise delivery which turns from leg to off (the opposite direction of his stock delivery) with no easily discernible change of action.^[36][37] His newest variation is a version of Shane Warne's slider, which is flicked out the side of his hand and rushes onto batsmen like a flipper. His super-flexible wrist makes him especially potent and guarantees him turn on any surface.^[10]

Since his debut in 1992, Muralitharan has taken over 750 Test wickets and over 500 One Day International wickets, becoming the first player to take 1,000 wickets combined in the two main forms of international cricket.

[edit] Test cricket

[edit] Emerging years

On 28 August 1992 at the age of 20, Muralitharan made his debut against Australia at the Khettarama Stadium and claimed 3 for 141. Craig McDermott was his first Test wicket. His freakish action and his angular run-up showed that this was no run-of-the-mill spinner. During his first Test, there was one dismissal which convinced many of Muralitharan's special powers. Tom Moody's leg-stump was dislodged when he shouldered arms to a delivery that pitched at least two feet outside the off-stump.^[38]

The youthful Muralitharan went from strength to strength, playing a major part in Sri Lanka's back-to-back Test victories against England and New Zealand in 1992–93. It was at this point in his career that he struck a close bond with his leader, mentor and one time business partner, the authoritative captain Arjuna Ranatunga. This relationship formed the bedrock of his success and meant that there were few doubts about his status as the team's sole wicket-taker. Ranatunga was thoroughly convinced that Muralitharan's precocious talent would signal a new era in Sri Lanka's short Test history.^[38]

In August 1993 at Moratuwa, Muralitharan captured 5 for 104 in South Africa's first innings, his first five-wicket haul in Tests. His wickets include Kepler Wessels, Hansie Cronje and Jonty Rhodes.

Muralitharan has continued to baffle batsman outside the shores of Sri Lanka, irrespective of the team's performance. In Sri Lanka's humiliating drubbing at the hands of India in 1993–94, where all three Tests were innings defeats, Muralitharan was the sole success, with 12 wickets in the rubber. His perseverance in the face of some astronomical scores by the fearsome quartet of Mohammed Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Navjot Sidhu and Vinod Kambli was in sharp contrast to the submission with which his team-mates played the series.^[38]

It was in New Zealand in March 1995 that Muralitharan displayed his qualities as a match-winner on any surface. In Sri Lanka's first triumph on foreign soil, Muralitharan confused the crease-bound New Zealanders on a grassy pitch in Dunedin. The Sri Lankan manager Duleep Mendis' claim that Muralitharan can turn the ball on concrete was confirmed. On the eve of his tour of Pakistan later that year, doubts were cast on his ability to trouble subcontinental batsmen. By taking 19 wickets in the series and delivering a historic 2–1 victory, the off-spinner silenced the doubters. The Pakistanis, who had negotiated Warne's leg-breaks in the previous home series, were never at ease against him.^[38]

Prior to the eventful Boxing Day test of 1995, Muralitharan had captured 80 wickets in 22 tests at an unflattering average of 32.74. Even at that point in his career he was the leading wicket taker for Sri Lanka having gone past Rumesh Ratnayake's aggregate of 73 wickets.

[edit] Boxing day test 1995

During the second Test between Sri Lanka and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Boxing Day 1995, Australian umpire Darrell Hair called Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing in front of a crowd of 55,239. The off-spinner, was no-balled seven times in three overs by Hair, who believed the then 23 year old was bending his arm and straightening it in the process of delivery; an illegal action in cricket.

The drama unfolded midway through the second session of play. Muralitharan had bowled two overs before lunch from umpire Steve Dunne's or the Members' End of the ground with umpire Hair at square leg and these passed without incident. At 2:34pm he took up the attack from umpire Hair's or the southern end. Muralitharan's third over was a maiden with all deliveries again passed as legitimate but in his fourth Hair no-balled him twice for throwing on the fourth and sixth balls. The umpire continued to call him three times in his fifth over on the second, fourth and sixth balls. While the bowler stood with his hands on his hips perplexed, the five calls provoked an immediate response by the Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga who left the field at 3:03pm in order to take advice from his team management. He returned at 3:08pm and continued with Muralitharan who was called two more times in his sixth over on the second and sixth balls. At 3:17pm Ranatunga removed the bowler from the attack, although he reintroduced him at 3:30pm at umpire Dunne's end. Although Hair reports in his book, "Decision Maker", that at the end of the tea break he stated that he would call Muralitharan no matter which end he bowled he did not do so. Muralitharan completed another twelve overs without further no-balls and, after bowling Mark Waugh, finished the day with figures of 18–3–58–1.^[39]

The controversy bubbled on during the two-day long Australian innings. After being no-balled Muralitharan bowled a further 32 overs from umpire Steve Dunne's end without protest from either Dunne or Hair, at square leg. The Sri Lankan camp was outraged after the incident, but the ICC leapt to Hair's defence, outlining a list of steps they had taken in the past to determine, without result, the legitimacy of Muralitharan's action.^[40] By calling Muralitharan from the bowlers' end Hair overrode what is normally regarded as the authority of the square leg umpire in adjudicating on throwing. Dunne would have had to break convention to support his partner.

At the end of the match the Sri Lankans requested from the ICC permission to confer with Hair in order to find out exactly how to remedy the problem with their bowler. Despite the game's controlling body agreeing to it, the Australian Cricket Board vetoed it on the grounds that it might lead to umpires being quizzed by teams after every game and meant that the throwing controversy would continue into the World Series Cup during the coming week. The Sri Lankans were disappointed they didn't get an explanation and decided they would continue playing their bowler in matches not umpired by Hair and wanted to know whether other umpires would support or reject Hair's judgement.^[40]

Muralitharan's action was cleared by the ICC after biomechanical analysis at the University of Western Australia and at the University of Hong Kong in 1996. They concluded that his action created the 'optical illusion of throwing'.^[10]

[edit] Mid career

On March 16, 1997 Muralitharan became the first Sri Lankan to reach 100 Test wickets, when he dismissed Stephen Fleming in the second innings of the Hamilton Test.

In January 1998, Muralitharan took his first ten-wicket haul against Zimbabwe in the first Test at Kandy. Sri Lanka won by eight wickets and Muralitharan had figures of 12 for 117.

In August that same year Muralitharan produces his career-best Test match figures of 16 for 220, in the one-off Test against England. In England's second innings Muralitharan bowled a marathon 54.2 overs to pick up 9 for 65 runs,^[41] the other wicket being a run out. Ben Hollioake becomes his 200th Test wicket. Sri Lanka won by ten wickets, their first Test victory in England. After breaking the world record for the most test wickets in 2007, Muralitharan commented that his 1998 performance at the Oval against England, was his career highlight. He stated "Everyone thought I was a good bowler then and I didn't look back from there."^[42]

Playing his 58th Test, Muralitharan claimed his 300th Test wicket when he dismissed Shaun Pollock in the first Test in Durban, in December 2000. Only Dennis Lillee reached the milestone faster, in his 56th Test.

On 4 January 2002 in Kandy Muralitharan might have finished with the best-ever figures for a single innings, but after he had claimed nine wickets against Zimbabwe Russel Arnold dropped a catch at short leg.^[34] He missed out on the tenth when Chaminda Vaas dismissed Henry Olonga caught behind amid stifled appeals. Muralitharan follows up his 9 for 51 in the first innings with 4 for 64 in the second, equalling Richard Hadlee's record of 10 ten-wicket match hauls, but needing 15 fewer Tests to do so.

On 15 January 2002 playing in his 72nd Test, Muralitharan became the fastest to reach the 400-wicket landmark when he bowled Olonga in the third Test in Galle.^[43]

On 16 March 2004 Muralitharan became the fastest and the youngest bowler to reach 500 wickets during the second Test between Sri Lanka and Australia played in Kandy. In his 87th Test, he bowled Kasprowicz to claim his 500th victim just 4 days after Warne reached the landmark on the fifth day of the first Test between the two teams at Galle. Warne took 108 Tests to reach 500. Muralitharan took 4–48 on the first day of the second Test as Australia was skittled for 120 in the first innings.^[44]

[edit] Passing Walsh and Warne

Muttiah Muralitharan receives a guard of honour from his team mates, after breaking Courtney Walsh's record in Harare, Zimbabwe 2004.

In May 2004, Muralitharan overtook West Indian Courtney Walsh's record of 519 Test match wickets to become the highest wicket-taker. Zimbabwe's Mluleki Nkala becomes Muralitharan's 520th scalp in Tests. Muralitharan held the record until Shane Warne claimed it in October 2004. Warne surpassed Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan's mark of 532 wickets by dismissing India's Irfan Pathan. Warne said he enjoyed his duel with Muralitharan, who was sidelined following shoulder surgery at the time.^[45]

After an outstanding year Muralitharan was adjudged as the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in 2006. In six Tests, he took 60 wickets. He took ten in each of four successive matches, the second time he has performed such a feat. The opponents for his 60-wicket haul were England away, South Africa at home and New Zealand away: serious opposition. In all, Muralitharan took 90 wickets in 11 Tests in the calendar year. ^[46]

In July 2007, Muttiah Muralitharan become the second bowler after Australia's Shane Warne to capture 700 Test wickets. The off-spinner reached the landmark when he had Bangladesh's last man Syed Rasel caught in the deep by Farveez Maharoof on the fourth day of the third and final Test at the Asgiriya stadium in Kandy. The dismissal signalled Sri Lanka's victory by an innings and 193 runs to give the host a 3–0 sweep of the series. Muralitharan finished with six wickets in each innings to claim 10 wickets or more in a Test for the 20th time.^[47] However, he was unable to pass Warne's record of 708 wickets when Sri Lanka toured Australia in November 2007, capturing just 4 wickets in two test matches.

Muralitharan reclaimed the record for most Test wickets during the first Test against England at Kandy on 3 December 2007. The spinner, bowled England's Paul Collingwood to claim his 709th Test victim and overtaking Shane Warne in the process.^[7] Muralitharan reached the mark in his 116th Test – 29 fewer than Warne – and had conceded only 21.77 runs per wicket compared to the Australian's 25.41. This was Muralitharan's 61st 5-wicket haul.^[9][48] Warne believes that Muralitharan will take "1,000 wickets" before he retires.^[49] Former record holder Courtney Walsh has also opined that this is possible if Muralitharan retains his hunger for wickets.^[50] Muralitharan himself believes there is a possibility that he will reach this milestone.^[51]

[edit] Beyond the world record

In July 2008, Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis made a mockery of India's strong batting reputation as Sri Lanka won the first Test by a record innings and 239 runs in Colombo. Muralitharan finished the match with 11 wickets for 110, as India were shot out for 138 in their second innings after conceding a lead of 377 on the fourth day. He was brilliantly supported by debutant Ajantha Mendis, an unorthodox spinner with plenty of variation, who took eight wickets in his debut match.

Muralitharan believes the emergence of Mendis will help prolong his own career. Muralitharan, 36, and 23-year-old Mendis formed a formidable partnership in the first Test thrashing of India, taking 19 of the 20 wickets between them. "If he keeps performing this way, he will definitely take a lot of wickets in international cricket. Now that he has come, I think I can play Test cricket a few more years. Bowling 50 overs in a test innings is very hard. Now if I bowl only 30–35 and he bowls more than me, the job will get easier for me."^[52]

[edit] Performance analysis

[hide]Table: Test bowling performance
A Summary of Muralitharan's Test bowling performance against all opponents.
Versus	O	M	R	W	5w	10w	Best	Avg	S/R	E/R
Australia	685.3	99	2128	59	5	1	6 for 59	36.07	69.7	3.1
Bangladesh	351.4	91	908	76	10	3	6 for 18	11.95	27.8	2.6
England	1102.0	348	2247	112	8	4	9 for 65	20.06	59.0	2.0
India	956.3	200	2643	88	6	2	8 for 87	30.03	65.2	2.8
New Zealand	630.2	184	1449	69	5	1	6 for 87	21.00	54.8	2.3
Pakistan	713.1	170	1842	79	5	1	6 for 71	23.32	54.2	2.6
South Africa	984.4	221	2311	104	11	4	7 for 84	22.22	56.8	2.4
West Indies	622.3	143	1609	82	9	3	8 for 46	19.62	45.6	2.6
Zimbabwe	786.5	259	1467	87	6	2	9 for 51	16.86	54.3	1.9
Overall (9)	6833	1715	16604	756	65	21	9 for 51	21.96	54.2	2.4

In July 2007, Muralitharan achieved a career peak Test Bowling Rating of 920, based on the LG ICC Player Rankings. This is the highest ever rating achieved by a spin bowler in test cricket. This also puts him in 4th place in the LG ICC Best-Ever Test bowling ratings.^[53]

Muralitharan has the unique distinction of getting 10 or more wickets in a match against all other 9 Test playing nations as well as capturing over 50 wickets against each of them. He has also obtained 7 or more wickets in an innings against 5 nations, namely England, India, South Africa, West Indies and Zimbabwe (refer to table above).

He currently holds the highest wickets/match ratio (6.1) for any bowler with over 200 Test wickets and has also represented Sri Lanka in 118 tests of the 175 that they have played (67.4%).

Against teams excluding Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, Muralitharan has taken 572 wickets in 97 tests, which equates to 120 fewer career wickets than Warne, who has only 17 against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Murali's average of 24.05 is slightly superior to Warne's career average of 25.41. Muralitharan has won 18 Man of the Match awards in Test cricket.^[54]

Another comparison of Muralitharan's bowling record against other successful international bowlers is their career record away from home. Muralitharan has received criticism that he has enjoyed great success on home soil, taking wickets on pitches that are more spin-friendly than other international pitches.^[55] A quick analysis of his Test record of matches played outside Sri Lanka shows that from 52 matches he has taken 278 wickets at an average of 26.24 runs per wicket, with a strike rate of 60.1 balls per wicket.^[56] Similarly, spin bowling rival Shane Warne retired with a slightly superior 'away' record of 362 wickets from 73 matches, at an average of 25.50 and a strike rate of 56.7.^[57] Due to the variabilities of Test cricket such as grounds played at and opposition played against it is difficult to compare the quality of the top level players and, as such, is very difficult and subjective.

Cricinfo's statistics editor S Rajesh concluded that the decade 2000–2009 was the best 10-year period for test batsmen since the 1940s.^[58] Muralitharan was clearly the leading test wicket-taker during this period, capturing 565 wickets at 20.97 in spite of the dominance of the bat over ball. Shane Warne captured 357 wickets at an average of 25.17 during the decade.^[59] Of spinners with over test 100 wickets only John Briggs (17.75), Jim Laker (21.24), Bill O Reilly (22.59) and Clarrie Grimmett (24.21) have sub 25.00 bowling averages.^[60]

[edit] Test wicket milestones

• 1st: Craig McDermott lbw 9 vs Australia – Match #1 – Test #1195^[61]
• 50th: Navjot Sidhu caught Ruwan Kalpage 43 vs India – Match #13 – Test #1247
• 100th: Stephen Fleming bowled 59 vs New Zealand – Match #27 – 1359
• 150th: Guy Whittall caught sub (Mahela Jayawardene) 17 vs Zimbabwe – Match #36 – Test #1395
• 200th: Ben Hollioake lbw 0 vs England – Match #42 – Test #1423
• 250th: Naved Ashraf lbw 27 vs Pakistan – Match #51 – Test #1489
• 300th: Shaun Pollock caught Tillakaratne Dilshan 11 vs South Africa – Match #58 – Test #1526
• 350th: Mohammad Sharif caught and bowled 19 vs Bangladesh – Match #66 – Test #1561
• 400th: Henry Olonga bowled 0 vs Zimbabwe – Match #72 – Test #1585
• 450th: Daryl Tuffey caught Sanath Jayasuriya 1 vs New Zealand – Match #80 – Test #1644
• 500th: Michael Kasprowicz bowled 0 vs Australia – Match #87 – Test #1688
• 520th: Mluleki Nkala caught Mahela Jayawardene 24 vs Zimbabwe – Match #89 – Test #1698 – Breaks Courtney Walsh's world record
• 550th: Khaled Mashud caught Thilan Samaraweera 2 vs Bangladesh – Match #94 – Test #1764
• 600th: Khaled Mashud caught Lasith Malinga 6 vs Bangladesh – Match #101 – Test #1786
• 650th: Makhaya Ntini caught Farveez Maharoof 13 vs South Africa – Match #108 – Test #1812
• 700th: Syed Rasel caught Farveez Maharoof 4 vs Bangladesh – Match #113 – Test #1839
• 709th: Paul Collingwood bowled 45 vs England – Match #116 – Test #1851 – Breaks Shane Warne's world record
• 750th: Sourav Ganguly stumped Prasanna Jayawardene 16 vs India – Match #122 – Test #1884

[edit] Five wickets in an innings

Muralitharan has taken five or more wickets in an innings on 66 occasions in test cricket, which is a world record. In comparison Shane Warne who is in second place has performed the feat 37 times.^[62]

[show]Table: Five wickets in an innings
A list of occasions Muralitharan has taken of five or more wickets in a test Innings.
#	Date	Versus	Ground	Innings	Bowling
1	25 Aug 1993	South Africa	De Soysa Park	1st	5 for 104
2	6 Sep 1993	South Africa	Sinhalese Sports Gr	1st	5 for 101
3	18 Jan 1994	India	K.D. Singh Stadium	1st	5 for 162
4	11 Mar 1995	New Zealand	McLean Park	2nd	5 for 64
5	15 Sep 1995	Pakistan	Iqbal Stadium	1st	5 for 68
6	11 Sep 1996	Zimbabwe	Premadasa Stadium	2nd	5 for 33
7	19 Apr 1997	Pakistan	Premadasa Stadium	1st	6 for 98
8	13 Jun 1997	West Indies	Antigua Rec Ground	1st	5 for 34
9	20 Jun 1997	West Indies	Amos Vale Ground	2nd	5 for 113
10	7 Jan 1998	Zimbabwe	Asgiriya Stadium	1st	5 for 23
11	7 Jan 1998	Zimbabwe	Asgiriya Stadium	2nd	7 for 94
12	27 Mar 1998	South Africa	Supersport Park	1st	5 for 63
13	27 May 1998	New Zealand	Premadasa Stadium	1st	5 for 90
14	10 Jun 1998	New Zealand	Sinhalese Sports Gr	2nd	5 for 30
15	27 Aug 1998	England	The Oval	1st	7 for 155
16	27 Aug 1998	England	The Oval	2nd	9 for 65
17	22 Sep 1999	Australia	Galle Stadium	1st	5 for 71
18	5 Mar 2000	Pakistan	Arbab Niaz Stadium	2nd	6 for 71
19	14 Jun 2000	Pakistan	Sinhalese Sports Gr	1st	5 for 115
20	20 Jul 2000	South Africa	Galle Stadium	1st	6 for 87
21	20 Jul 2000	South Africa	Galle Stadium	2nd	7 for 84
22	6 Aug 2000	South Africa	Sinhalese Sports Gr	2nd	5 for 68
23	26 Dec 2000	South Africa	Kingsmead	1st	5 for 122
24	26 Dec 2000	South Africa	Kingsmead	2nd	6 for 39
25	14 Aug 2001	India	Galle Stadium	2nd	5 for 49
26	29 Aug 2001	India	Sinhalese Sports Gr	1st	8 for 87
27	6 Sep 2001	Bangladesh	Sinhalese Sports Gr	1st	5 for 13
28	6 Sep 2001	Bangladesh	Sinhalese Sports Gr	2nd	5 for 98
29	13 Nov 2001	West Indies	Galle Stadium	1st	6 for 126
30	13 Nov 2001	West Indies	Galle Stadium	2nd	5 for 44
31	21 Nov 2001	West Indies	Asgiriya Stadium	2nd	6 for 81
32	4 Jan 2002	Zimbabwe	Asgiriya Stadium	1st	9 for 51
33	12 Jan 2002	Zimbabwe	Galle Stadium	1st	5 for 67
34	30 May 2002	England	Edgbaston	1st	5 for 143
35	21 Jul 2002	Bangladesh	P Saravanamuttu Stad	1st	5 for 39
36	21 Jul 2002	Bangladesh	P Saravanamuttu Stad	2nd	5 for 59
37	3 May 2003	New Zealand	Asgiriya Stadium	2nd	5 for 49
38	20 Jun 2003	West Indies	Beausejour Stadium	1st	5 for 138
39	2 Dec 2003	England	Galle Stadium	1st	7 for 46
40	8 Mar 2004	Australia	Galle Stadium	1st	6 for 59
41	8 Mar 2004	Australia	Galle Stadium	2nd	5 for 153
42	16 Mar 2004	Australia	Asgiriya Stadium	2nd	5 for 173
43	24 Mar 2004	Australia	Sinhalese Sports Gr	1st	5 for 123
44	6 May 2004	Zimbabwe	Harare Sports Club	1st	6 for 45
45	13 Jul 2005	West Indies	Sinhalese Sports Gr	2nd	6 for 36
46	22 Jul 2005	West Indies	Asgiriya Stadium	2nd	8 for 46
47	12 Sep 2005	Bangladesh	Premadasa Stadium	2nd	6 for 18
48	10 Dec 2005	India	Feroz Shah Kotla	1st	7 for 100
49	28 Feb 2006	Bangladesh	Chittagong Div. Stad	2nd	6 for 54
50	8 Mar 2006	Bangladesh	Shaheed Chandu Stad.	1st	5 for 79
51	3 Apr 2006	Pakistan	Asgiriya Stadium	1st	5 for 39
52	25 May 2006	England	Edgbaston	1st	6 for 86
53	2 Jun 2006	England	Trent Bridge	2nd	8 for 70
54	27 Jul 2006	South Africa	Sinhalese Sports Gr	2nd	6 for 131
55	4 Aug 2006	South Africa	P Saravanamuttu Stad	1st	5 for 128
56	4 Aug 2006	South Africa	P Saravanamuttu Stad	2nd	7 for 97
57	15 Dec 2006	New Zealand	Basin Reserve	2nd	6 for 87
58	25 Jun 2007	Bangladesh	Sinhalese Sports Gr	1st	5 for 15
59	11 Jul 2007	Bangladesh	Asgiriya Stadium	1st	6 for 28
60	11 Jul 2007	Bangladesh	Asgiriya Stadium	2nd	6 for 54
61	1 Dec 2007	England	Asgiriya Stadium	1st	6 for 55
62	9 Dec 2007	England	Sinhalese Sports Gr	1st	5 for 116
63	3 Apr 2008	West Indies	Queen's Park	1st	5 for 79
64	23 Jul 2008	India	Sinhalese Sports Gr	1st	5 for 84
65	23 Jul 2008	India	Sinhalese Sports Gr	2nd	6 for 26
66	26 Dec 2008	Bangladesh	Shere Bangla Stadium	1st	6 for 49

[edit] One day internationals

[edit] Career summary

On 12 August 1993 Muralitharan made his One Day International (ODI) debut against India at the Khettarama Stadium and took 1 for 38 off ten overs. Praveen Amre was his first ODI wicket.

On 27 October 2000 in Sharjah, Muralitharan captured 7 for 30 against India, which were then the best bowling figures in One Day Internationals.

In 9 April 2002 Muralitharan achieved a career peak ODI Bowling Rating of 913, based on the LG ICC Player Rankings. This is the highest ever rating achieved by a spin bowler in One Day Internationals. This also puts him in 4th place in the LG ICC Best-Ever ODI bowling ratings.^[63]

In 2006, Muralitharan had the second (now third) highest number of runs (99) hit off him in a One Day International Innings. The Australians, especially Adam Gilchrist, attacked Muralitharan's bowling more than usual that day. It is also to be noted that Muralitharan does not have a great record against the Australians in ODIs and this was proved again as he was ineffective in the finals of the 2007 World Cup; his chief tormentor again being Gilchrist.^[64]

Muralitharan has played in four Cricket World Cup tournaments, in 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2007. He has captured 53 World Cup wickets in 31 matches,^[65] and has represented Sri Lanka in two World Cup finals. In 1996 Muralitharan was part Sri Lanka's World Cup winning team that defeated Australia in Lahore, Pakistan. Muralitharan also played in the 2007 World Cup final, when Australia defeated Sri Lanka in Bridgetown, Barbados. He picked up 23 wickets in the 2007 World Cup, and finished as the second highest wicket taker in the tournament behind Glenn McGrath.

Muttiah Muralitharan was left out of the Sri Lankan one-day squad to tour West Indies in April 2008. The chairman of selectors Ashantha De Mel clarifying the non-selection stated that "We know he (Muralitharan) can still play in the next World Cup if he is properly looked after, so we want to use him sparingly to preserve him for the big games and the World Cup coming up in the Asian sub-continent where Muralitharan will be a threat."^[66][67]

Muralitharan has the highest number of career wickets in One Day Internationals, having overtaken Wasim Akram on 5 February 2009. Akram took 502 wickets in 356 matches. On 3 February 2009, Muralitharan dismissed Yuvraj Singh in his 327th match, the third ODI against India in Colombo to equal Akram's record. He has won 13 Man of the Match awards in this form of the game.^[68]

[edit] Best bowling performances

[show]Table: Best ODI bowling performances
Muralitharan's best ODI bowling performances – A List of 4 or more wickets in a match.
Date	Versus	Ground	Wkts
6 Apr 1995	Bangladesh	Sharjah Stadium	4 for 23
28 Sep 1996	Kenya	Gymkhana Club Ground	4 for 18
1 Oct 1996	South Africa	Nairobi Club Ground	4 for 35
15 Apr 1998	Pakistan	Willowmoore Park	5 for 23
20 Aug 1998	England	Lord's	5 for 34
15 Dec 1999	Zimbabwe	Harare Sports Club	4 for 16
14 Jul 2000	South Africa	Premadasa Stadium	5 for 44
27 Oct 2000	India	Sharjah Stadium	7 for 30
31 Jan 2001	New Zealand	McLean Park	5 for 30
23 Mar 2001	England	Rangiri Dambulla Std	4 for 29
12 Dec 2001	Zimbabwe	Premadasa Stadium	4 for 32
9 Apr 2002	New Zealand	Sharjah Stadium	5 for 9
16 Sep 2002	Netherlands	Premadasa Stadium	4 for 15
15 Jan 2003	Australia	Brisbane Cricket Gr	4 for 27
24 Feb 2003	Kenya	Gymkhana Club Ground	4 for 28
18 May 2003	Pakistan	Rangiri Dambulla Std	5 for 23
22 Apr 2004	Zimbabwe	Queens Sports Club	4 for 32
29 Apr 2004	Zimbabwe	Harare Sports Club	5 for 23
20 Oct 2006	New Zealand	Brabourne Stadium	4 for 23
18 Apr 2007	Ireland	Queen's Park (New)	4 for 19
24 Apr 2007	New Zealand	Sabina Park	4 for 31
30 Jun 2008	Bangladesh	National Stadium	5 for 31
20 Nov 2008	Zimbabwe	Harare Sports Club	4 for 14
30 Nov 2008	Zimbabwe	Harare Sports Club	5 for 29

[edit] Batting

An aggressive lower order batsman who usually bats at No. 11, Muralitharan is known for his tendency to back away to leg and slog. Sometimes, he can be troublesome for bowlers because of his unorthodox and adventurous batting ways. Once, in a test match against England, while playing Alex Tudor, he moved back towards his leg stump trying to hook the ball and ended up lying on the ground sideways after the shot. He was infamously run out in a match against New Zealand when he left his crease to congratulate Kumar Sangakkara, who had just scored a single to reach his century; the New Zealand fielder had not yet returned the ball to the wicketkeeper, so the ball was still in play. His highest Test score of 67 came against India at Kandy in 2001, including three sixes and five fours.^[69] He has made valuable scores on occasion, including 30 runs against England at the Oval in 1998, including 5 fours,^[70] 38 runs (4 fours, 1 six) against England at Galle in 2003,^[71] 43 runs (5 fours, 3 sixes) against Australia at Kandy in 2004^[72] 36 runs against the West Indies at Colombo in 2005,^[73] and his highest-ever ODI score, 33 not out (4 fours and 2 sixes off 16 balls) against Bangladesh in the final of the 2009 Tri-Series in Bangladesh.^[74] In the latter match, Muralitharan's effort, which included three fours and a six off one over, played a key role in Sri Lanka winning the match and series after the first eight overs saw them reduced to 6 for 5, the lowest score ever recorded in an ODI at the fall of the 5th wicket.^[75] Muralitharan has a strike rate close to 70 in test cricket and has scored over 55% of his test runs in fours and sixes.^[10]

Muralitharan, together with Chaminda Vaas, holds the record for the highest 10th wicket partnership in tests for Sri Lanka. The pair put on 79 runs for the last wicket at the Asgiriya Stadium against Australia in March 2004.^[76] Muralitharan also holds the record for scoring most runs in test cricket while batting at the number 11 position.

[edit] Abuse in Australia

Muttiah Muralitharan who has been routinely heckled by Australian crowds, bowling in a One Day International against Australia at Brisbane in early 2006.

Muralitharan has voiced his frustration at routinely being heckled by Australian crowds who accuse him of throwing – one common jeer directed at him was "No Ball!".^{[77][78][79][80][81]} Following the then Australian Prime Minister John Howard's statement that Muralitharan was a "chucker", ^[82] in 2004, Muralitharan indicated that he would skip future tours to Australia.

Tom Moody, the former Sri Lanka coach and former Australian test cricketer, said he was embarrassed by the derogatory reaction and negative attention directed towards Muttiah Muralitharan by Australian crowds. Moody stated that "As an Australian when I have been with the Sri Lankan team in Australia, or playing against them in the World Cup, it's the only situation we find in the whole of the cricketing world where we have this disgraceful slant on a cricketer".^[83]

During the 2008 CB series in Australia, some members of the Sri Lankan contingent including Muralitharan, were the target of an egg throwing incident in Hobart. The Sri Lankan cricket selector Don Anurasiri was hit by an egg, while Muralitharan and two others were verbally abused by a car-load of people as they were walking from a restaurant back to the hotel.^[84] Due to the incident taking place at night, it is unclear whether Muralitharan was indeed the target of the culprits.^[85] Even though the Australian coach of the Sri Lankan team, Trevor Bayliss, down-played the incident as "a non-event", Cricket Australia tightened security around the team. In response to this episode Muralitharan was quoted as saying "When you come to Australia, you expect such incidents".^[86]

[edit] Retirement

On 7 July 2010, Muttiah Muralitharan formally accounced his retirement from Test cricket at a media briefing in Colombo. He confirmed that the first Test Match against India due to commence on 18 July, 2010 will be his last, but indicated that he is willing to play One-Day Internationals if there's a necessity leading up to the 2011 World Cup, which Sri Lanka will co-host.^[87]

He identified Sri Lanka's World Cup win of 1996 as his greated moment as a cricketer. He also stated that there were some regrets during his 19 year playing career. "Not winning Test Matches in South Africa, Australia and India are regrets. But I am sure we will win very soon." ^[88]

[edit] World records and achievements

Muttiah Muralitharan holds a number of world records, and several firsts:

• The most Test wickets (786 wickets as of 17 November 2009).^[89]
• The most One-Day International wickets (505 wickets as of 6 May 2009).^[89]
• The highest number of international wickets in Tests and ODIs combined (1275 wickets as of 6 May 2009).^[89]
• The most 5-wicket hauls in an innings at Test level (66).^[62]
• The most 10-wicket hauls in a match at Test level (22). He is the only player to take 10 wickets/match against every Test playing nation.^[90]
• Fastest to 350,^[91] 400,^[92] 450,^[93] 500,^[94] 550,^[95] 600,^[96] 650^[97] and 700^[98] Test wickets, in terms of matches played.
• Only player to take 10 wickets in a Test in four consecutive matches. He has achieved this feat twice.^[99]
• Only player to take 50 or more wickets against every Test playing nation.^[100]
• Muralitharan and Jim Laker (England), are the only bowlers to have taken 9 wickets in a Test innings twice.
• 7 wickets in an innings against the most countries (5).^[101]
• Most Test wickets taken bowled (157),^[102] stumped (41)^[103] and caught & bowled (31).^[104] Bowled by Muralitharan (b Muralitharan) is the most common dismissal in Test cricket (excluding run out).^[105]
• Most successful bowler/fielder (non-wicket keeper) combination – c. Mahela Jayawardene b. Muttiah Muralitharan (67).^[106]
• Most Man of the Series awards in Test cricket (11).^[107]
• One of only six bowlers who have dismissed all the eleven batsmen in a Test match. Jim Laker, Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, Geoff Dymock, Abdul Qadir and Waqar Younis are the others.^[108]
• Most test wickets in a single ground. Muralitharan is the only bowler to capture 100-plus Test wickets at three venues, the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo, the Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy and the Galle International Stadium in Galle.^[109]
• The only bowler to take 75 or more wickets in a calendar year on three occasions, achieving it in 2000, 2001 and 2006.
• Most ducks (dismissals for zero) ever in international cricket (Tests+ODI's+Twenty20): 59 ducks total.^[110]

[edit] Cricket awards

[edit] Wisden leading cricketer in the world

Preceded by Andrew Flintoff	Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World 2006	Succeeded by Jacques Kallis
Preceded by Steve Waugh	Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World 2000	Succeeded by Glenn McGrath

[edit] Man of match in test cricket

[show]Table: Man of match in test cricket
Muttiah Muralitharan has won 19 Man Of Match awards in test cricket.
#	Date	Versus	Ground	Inns	Batting	Bowling	Catches
1	15 Sep 1995	Pakistan	Iqbal Stadium	1st	*8	5 for 68	0
				2nd	*10	2 for 83	2
2	7 Jan 1998	Zimbabwe	Asgiriya Stadium	1st	17	5 for 23	0
				2nd	DNB	7 for 94	0
3	27 Aug 1998	England	The Oval	1st	30	7 for 155	1
				2nd	DNB	9 for 65	0
4	5 Mar 2000	Pakistan	Arbab Niaz Stadium	1st	22	4 for 77	1
				2nd	*2	6 for 71	0
5	20 Jul 2000	South Africa	Galle Stadium	1st	*2	6 for 87	0
				2nd	DNB	7 for 84	1
6	6 Aug 2000	South Africa	Sinhalese Sports Gr	1st	*0	3 for 70	0
				2nd	DNB	6 for 68	0
7	29 Aug 2001	India	Sinhalese Sports Gr	1st	DNB	8 for 87	0
				2nd	DNB	3 for 109	0
8	6 Sep 2001	Bangladesh	Sinhalese Sports Gr	1st	DNB	5 for 13	0
				2nd	DNB	5 for 98	1
9	13 Nov 2001	West Indies	Galle Stadium	1st	14	6 for 126	1
				2nd	DNB	5 for 44	2
10	21 Nov 2001	West Indies	Asgiriya Stadium	1st	4	4 for 54	0
				2nd	DNB	6 for 81	0
11	4 Jan 2002	Zimbabwe	Asgiriya Stadium	1st	1	9 for 51	0
				2nd	DNB	4 for 64	0
12	21 Jul 2002	Bangladesh	P Saravanamuttu Stad	1st	0	5 for 39	0
				2nd	DNB	5 for 59	0
13	2 Dec 2003	England	Galle Stadium	1st	38	7 for 46	0
				2nd	13	4 for 47	0
14	6 May 2004	Zimbabwe	Harare Sports Club	1st	26	6 for 45	1
				2nd	DNB	2 for 37	2
15	12 Sep 2005	Bangladesh	Premadasa Stadium	1st	3	3 for 42	0
				2nd	DNB	6 for 18	0
16	2 Jun 2006	England	Trent Bridge	1st	33	3 for 62	0
				2nd	2	8 for 70	0
17	25 Jun 2007	Bangladesh	Sinhalese Sports Gr	1st	DNB	5 for 15	1
				2nd	DNB	4 for 87	1
18	11 Jul 2007	Bangladesh	Asgiriya Stadium	1st	DNB	6 for 28	2
				2nd	DNB	6 for 54	0
19	23 Jul 2008	India	Sinhalese Sports Gr	1st	DNB	6 for 84	1
				2nd	DNB	6 for 26	0

[edit] Man of match in one day internationals

[show]Table: Man of match in one day internationals
Muttiah Muralitharan has won 14 Man Of Match awards in one day internationals.
#	Date	Versus	Ground	Batting	Bowling	Catches
1	12 Aug 1993	India	Premadasa Stadium	DNB	1 for 38	0
2	28 Sep 1996	Kenya	Gymkhana Club Ground	DNB	4 for 18	0
3	20 Aug 1998	England	Lord's	DNB	5 for 34	1
4	14 Jul 2000	South Africa	Premadasa Stadium	DNB	5 for 44	0
5	27 Oct 2000	India	Sharjah Stadium	DNB	7 for 30	1
6	31 Jan 2001	New Zealand	McLean Park	*1	5 for 30	1
7	23 Mar 2001	England	Rangiri Dambulla Std	DNB	4 for 29	1
8	18 May 2003	Pakistan	Rangiri Dambulla Std	19	5 for 23	1
9	7 Jun 2003	West Indies	Kensington Oval	3	3 for 17	0
10	20 Oct 2006	New Zealand	Brabourne Stadium	DNB	4 for 23	0
11	23 Mar 2007	India	Queen's Park	DNB	3 for 41	2
12	20 Nov 2008	Zimbabwe	Harare Sports Club	DNB	4 for 14	0
13	30 Nov 2008	Zimbabwe	Harare Sports Club	5	5 for 29	0
14	30 Jul 2009	Pakistan	Rangiri Dambulla Std	32	2 for 46	1

[edit] Recognition

In 2002, Wisden carried out a statistical analysis of all Test matches in an effort to rate the greatest cricketers in history, and Muralitharan was ranked as the best Test bowler of all time.^[3] However, two years earlier, Muralitharan was not named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century. Former Australian captain Steve Waugh called him "the Don Bradman of bowling".^[111]

Muralitharan was selected as the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in 2000 and in 2006.^[112]

On 15 November 2007, the Warne-Muralidaran Trophy was unveiled named after the two leading wicket-takers in Test cricket, Shane Warne and Muralitharan. The trophy displays images of the two spin bowlers' hands each holding a cricket ball. This trophy will be contested between Australia and Sri Lanka in all future Test series.^[113]

On 3 December 2007, just hours after Muttiah Muralitharan became Test cricket's leading Test wicket-taker, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) announced it had unveiled a portrait of the Sri Lanka off-spinner at Lord's.^[114] On the same day the Philatelic Bureau of the Department of Posts in Sri Lanka issued a circular stamp with a denomination of Rs. 5 to mark the world record set by Muttiah Muralitharan. The circular design was meant to denote the cricket ball.^[115]

Australian musician Alston Koch provoked worldwide interest when he recorded the only official tribute song to Muralitharan, the song was even mentioned on the BBC's Test Match Special.^[116][117] The Muralitharan Song video was also released after he broke the world record.

On 10 January 2008, the Parliament of Sri Lanka felicitated Muttiah Muralitharan for his world record breaking feat of being the highest wicket taker in Test cricket.^[118] This is the first time that a sportsman has been honoured in the country's Supreme Legislature.^[119]

[edit] Controversy of bowling action

[edit] First throwing citation and testing

Initial concerns as to whether Muralitharan's action contravened the laws of the game by straightening his bowling arm during delivery broke into open controversy after Australian umpire Darrell Hair called a "no ball" for an illegal action seven times during the Boxing Day Test match in Melbourne, Australia, in 1995. Australian Sir Donald Bradman, universally regarded as the greatest batsman in history, was later quoted as saying it was the "worst example of umpiring that [he had] witnessed, and against everything the game stands for. Clearly Murali does not throw the ball".^[120][121]

Ten days later, on 5 January 1996, Sri Lanka played the West Indies in the 7th ODI of the triangular World Series competition, in Brisbane. Umpire Ross Emerson officiating in his debut international match, no-balled Muralitharan three times in his first over, twice in his second and twice in his third. It was an identical tally to that called by Hair on Boxing Day and (like Hair) Emerson made his calls from the bowler's end while his partner stood silent. The main difference was that several no-balls were for leg-breaks instead of the bowler's normal off-breaks.

In February 1996, just before the world cup Muralitharan underwent biomechanical analysis at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology under the supervision of Prof. Ravindra Goonetilleke, who declared his action legal in the conditions tested, citing a congenital defect in Muralitharan's arm which makes him incapable of fully straightening it, but giving the appearance of fully straightening the arm. Although under the original Laws a bowler's arm did not need to be fully straightened to be in breach of a legal delivery.^[122][123] They concluded that his action created the 'optical illusion of throwing'. Based on this evidence ICC gave clearance to Muralitharan to continue bowling.^[10]

[edit] Second citation and testing

Doubts about Muralitharan's action persisted however, on the 1998–99 tour to Australia he was once again called for throwing by Ross Emerson during a One Day International against England at the Adelaide Oval in Australia. The Sri Lankan team almost abandoned the match, but after instructions from the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka, the game resumed.^[124] The Sri Lankan captain at the time Arjuna Ranatunga, was later fined and given a suspended ban from the game as a result.^[125] It later emerged that at the time of this match Emerson was on sick leave from his non-cricket job due to a stress-related illness and he stood down for the rest of the series.^[126] Muralitharan was sent for further tests in Perth and England and was cleared again.^[10] At no stage was Muralitharan requested to change or remodel his action, by the ICC. Up to this point in his career (1999) Muralitharan primarily bowled two types of deliveries, namely the off-break and the topspinner. He had not yet mastered the doosra.

[edit] Third citation and testing

Muralitharan continued bowling, taking his 500th Test wicket in the second Test against Australia in Kandy on 16 March 2004. At the end of the series his doosra delivery was officially called into question by match referee Chris Broad. At the University of Western Australia (Department of Human Movement and Exercise Science), three-dimensional kinematic measurements of Muttiah Muralitharan's bowling arm were taken using an optical motion capture system while he bowled his doosra. Muralitharan's mean elbow extension angle for the doosra delivery was 14°, which was subsequently reduced to a mean of 10.2° after remedial training at the University. The findings reported to ICC by the University of Western Australia's study^[127] was that Muralitharan's doosra contravened the established ICC elbow extension limit of 5° for spinners.^{[12][128][129]}

Under the original throwing Laws of Cricket, the umpires officiating were under an obligation to call "no-ball" to a delivery that they were not entirely happy was absolutely fair. This Law gave the umpires absolutely no discretion. In 2000, the Laws were changed to put an allowable figure of straightening of 5° for spinners, 7.5° for medium pacers and 10° for fast bowlers in an attempt to more clearly define what was legal.^[130] But these figures proved difficult to enforce due to umpires being unable to discern actual amounts of straightening and the differentiation between the three different allowable figures. Testing in Test Match conditions is not currently possible "when the identification of elbow and shoulder joint centres in on-field data collection, where a shirt is worn, also involves large errors. In a match the ability to differentiate anatomical movements such as 'elbow extension' by digitising segment end-points, particularly if you have segment rotations, is extremely difficult and prone to error.^[13] This is certainly the case with spin bowlers. It is therefore not surprising that laboratory testing is preferred, particularly for spin bowlers, where an appropriate pitch length and run-up can be structured. This is clearly the only way to test players, where data would be able to withstand scientific and therefore legal scrutiny."^[129]

An extensive ICC study, the results of which were released in November 2004, was conducted to investigate the "chucking issue". A laboratory kinematic analysis of 42 non-Test playing bowlers done by Ferdinands and Kersting (2004) established that the 5° limit for slow and spin bowlers was particularly impractical.^[131]

Due to the overwhelming scientific findings, researchers recommended that a flat rate of 15° tolerable elbow extension be used to define a preliminary demarcation point between bowling and throwing. A panel of former Test players consisting of Aravinda de Silva, Angus Fraser, Michael Holding, Tony Lewis, Tim May and the ICC's Dave Richardson, with the assistance of several biomechanical experts, stated that 99% of all bowlers in the history of cricket straighten their arms when bowling.^[132] Only one player tested (part-time bowler Ramnaresh Sarwan) reportedly did not transgress the pre 2000 rules.^[132] Many of these reports have controversially not been published and as such, the 99% figure stated has yet to be proved. In fact, Muralitharan stirred up controversy when he said during an interview with a Melbourne radio station that Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee flexed their arms by 12, 13 and 14–15 degrees respectively, although it is unclear as to where Muralitharan quoted these figures from. Muralitharan was censured by the Sri Lankan Cricket Board for these comments.^[133]

The ICC Executive was asked to ratify the panel's recommendations at the ICC's Annual General Meeting in February 2005. Based on the recommendations the ICC issued a new guideline (which was effective from 1 March 2005) allowing for extensions or hyperextensions of up to 15 degrees for all types of bowlers, thus deeming Muralitharan's doosra to be legal.^[14][134]

Explaining why the maximum level of 15 degrees was arrived at, panel member Angus Fraser stated "That is the number which biomechanics says that it (straightening) becomes visible. It is difficult for the naked eye to see less than 15 degrees in a bowler's action. We found when the biceps reached the shoulder the amount of bend was around 165 degrees. Very few bowlers can get to 180 degrees because the joint doesn't allow that. ...... but once you go further than 15 degrees you get into an area which is starting to give you an unfair advantage and you are breaking the law".^[134]

[edit] University of South Australia study

The original decision of disallowing the doosra bowling action was hailed widely as justifiable on account of being scientifically based. Hence, a team of Australian scientists ^[135] representing the University of South Australia conducted an independent research, in line with modern Artificial Intelligence and biomechanics in order to solve the controversial issue arise from doosra. The University of South Australia's study, founded by Prof. Mahinda Pathegama, and contributed by Prof. Ozdemir Gol, Prof. J. Mazumdar, Prof. Tony Worsley and Prof. Lakmi Jain has analyzed the previous studies with close scrutiny since the techniques in their fields of expertise are employed in the course of assessment as the basis for decision-making. The findings based on this scientific study are overwhelming^[135] and Dave Richardson, General Manager ICC stated that the ICC is currently reviewing the Law on throwing and the ICC regulations and the study done by Prof. Mahinda Pathegama with UniSA scientists ^[13] is a valuable source of information in this regard.^[136] The team of Australian scientists including Sri Lankan-born Australian scientist, Prof. Mahinda Pathegama^[135] reporting their findings, in line with the Muralitharan test to ICC, has analyzed in-depth various issues, such as Pitfalls in image interpretation when using 2D images for 3D modeling associates compared to the modern techniques in Artificial Intelligence and biomechanics, and Biomechanics assessment for doosra bowling action, etc. Pathegama at al. (2004) further reports on the Disagreement of expression on measurement accuracy in the Murali Report, with the analysis of the Motion tracking system used for the Murali Report, and discussing Cognitive aspects, Evidence of errors in Anthropometric assessment and movement tracking, Lateral inhibition in response tracking, Psycho-physiological aspect on post-assessments, Angular measurement errors, Skin marker induced errors, Geometrics- and physics-based 3D modeling and the Approach to on-field assessment, etc.

The Muralitharan Report produced by the University of Western Australia's study has considered the Richard's study^[137] done in 1999 to evaluate the error margin. University of South Australia's study done by Prof. Mahinda Pathegama^[135] argued that the Richard's study which was presented by the University of Western Australia's study has used a rigid aluminium bar that only rotated in the horizontal plane to introduce such error margin. Pathegama's report^[13] stated that "in view of the system used in the test itself yielding considerable error even with a rigid aluminum bar (an accuracy level of approximately 4 degrees as stated in the Murali Report), it stands to reason that the error margin would be considerably larger when tracking skin markers on a spin bowler's moving upper limb by this same system".

Vincent Barnes in an interview argues ^[138] that Bruce Elliott, the UWA professor who is also the ICC biomechanist, had made an interesting discovery in his dealings with finger spinners. "He said he had found that a lot of bowlers from the subcontinent could bowl the doosra legally, but not Caucasian bowlers."

[edit] Fourth round of testing

On 2 February 2006, Muralitharan underwent a fourth round of biomechanical testing. There had been criticism that the previous round of tests in July 2004 did not replicate match conditions due to a slower bowling speed in the laboratory tests. The results showed that the average elbow flexation while bowling the 'doosra' delivery was 12.2 degrees, at an average of 53.75 mph (86 km/h). The average for his off-break was 12.9 degrees at 59.03 mph (99.45 km/h).^[139]

[edit] Bowling with an arm brace

In July 2004 Muralitharan was filmed in England, bowling with an arm brace on. The film was shown on Britain's Channel 4 during the Test against England on 22 July 2004. The documentary is not available for purchase and has not been aired in Australia.

Initially, Muralitharan bowled three balls – the off-spinner, the top-spinner and the doosra – as he would in a match. Then he bowled the same three balls with a brace that is made from steel bars, which are set into strong resin. This brace has been moulded to his right arm, is approximately 46 centimetres long and weighs just under 1 kilogram.

TV presenter Mark Nicholas who tried the brace himself, confirmed that "There is no way an arm can be bent, or flexed, when it is in this brace." All three balls reacted in the same way as when bowled without the brace. They were not bowled quite so fast because the weight of the brace restricts the speed of Muralitharan's shoulder rotation, but the spin was still there.

With the brace on, there still appeared to be a jerk in his action. When studying the film at varying speeds, it still appeared as if he straightened his arm, even though the brace makes it impossible to do so. His unique shoulder rotation and amazing wrist action seem to create the illusion that he straightens his arm.^[140]

The off-spinner said the exercise was to convince a sceptical public rather than sway an ICC investigation into bowling actions launched after he was reported by match referee Chris Broad for his doosra delivery in March 2004, the third time action has been taken on his bowling. In an interview for August 2004 edition of Wisden Asia Cricket, Muralitharan stated "I think it will prove a point to those who had said that it was physically impossible to bowl a ball that turned the other way. I proved that it was possible to bowl the doosra without bending the arm."^[141]

In 2004 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Muralithan voluntarily performed a series of tests with live video cameras. Michael Slater and Ravi Shastri witnessed it all unfold. Muralitharan once again showed he could bowl all his deliveries including the doosra with an arm brace that prevents any straightening of his elbow. Orthopediatrician Dr Mandeep Dillon stated that Muralitharan's unusual ability to generate extra movement both at the shoulder as well the wrist enables him to bowl the doosra without straightening the elbow.^[142]

[edit] Critics and converts

Two vocal critics of Muralitharan's action have been former Test cricketers, Australian Dean Jones and Bishan Bedi, the former Indian captain.

Michael Holding, the former West Indian fast bowler was also a critic of Muralitharan, but withdrew his criticisms under the light of the tests carried out. Holding had been quoted^[143] as being in "110% agreement" with Bedi, who likened Murali's action to a "javelin throw"^[144] and more recently, compared to a "shot putter".^[145] Following the ICC study, as a member of the panel that conducted the study, Holding stated, "The scientific evidence is overwhelming... When bowlers who to the naked eye look to have pure actions are thoroughly analysed with the sophisticated technology now in place, they are likely to be shown as straightening their arm by 11 and in some cases 12 degrees. Under a strict interpretation of the Law, these players are breaking the rules. The game needs to deal with this reality and make its judgment as to how it accommodates this fact."^[146]

In May 2002, Adam Gilchrist, speaking at a Carlton (Australian) Football Club luncheon, claimed Muralitharan's action does not comply with the Laws of cricket. The Melbourne-based Age newspaper quoted Gilchrist as saying."Yeah, I think he does (chuck), and I say that because, if you read the Laws of the game, there's no doubt in my mind that he and many others, throughout cricket history have."^[147] These comments were made before the doosra controversy, in spite of Muralitharan's action having been cleared by ICC in both 1996 and 1999. For his comment Gilchrist was reprimanded by the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) and found guilty of being in breach of ACB rules concerned with "detrimental public comment".^[148]

During the 2006 tour of New Zealand another Muralitharan critic, former New Zealand captain and cricket commentator Martin Crowe called for Muralitharan's doosra to be monitored more closely, asserting that his action seemed to deteriorate during a match.^[149] Earlier that year when delivering the Cowdrey lecture at Lords Martin Crowe had demanded zero tolerance instead of 15 degrees for throwing and specifically branded Muttiah Muralitharan a chucker.^[150][151] In response to Crowe's criticism ICC general manager Dave Richardson stated that the scientific evidence presented by biomechanists Professor Bruce Elliot, Dr Paul Hurrion and Mr Marc Portuswith was overwhelming and clarified that "Some bowlers, even those not suspected of having flawed actions, were found likely to be straightening their arms by 11 or 12 degrees. And at the same time, some bowlers that may appear to be throwing may be hyper-extending or bowl with permanently bent elbows. Under a strict interpretation of the law, they were breaking the rules – but if we ruled out every bowler that did that then there would be no bowlers left."^[152]

[edit] Scientific research on bowling actions

Since 1999 there has been a number of scientific research publications discussing the Muralitharan's bowling action as well the need for defining the legality of a bowling action using biomechanical concepts. This research has directly contributed towards the official acceptance of Muralitharan's bowling action and has convinced the ICC to redefine the bowling laws in cricket.

The key publications are listed below:

• Elliot, B.C., Alderson, J., Reid, S. and Foster, D. (2004). Bowling Report of Muttiah Muralitharan.[1]
• Ferdinands, R.E.D. (2004). Three-dimensional biomechanical analysis of bowling in cricket. PhD Thesis, University of Waikato.
• Ferdinands, R.E.D. and Kersting, U.G. (2004). Elbow Angle Extension and implecation for the legality of the bowling action in Cricket. In A McIntosh (Ed.), Proceedings of Australasian Biomechanic Conference 5 (9 December-10), University of New South Wales, Sydney, pp. 26–27.
• Ferdinands, R.E.D. and Kersting, U.G. (2007). An evaluation of biomechanical measures of bowling action legality in cricket. Sports Biomechanics, Volume 6, Issue 3 September 2007, pages 315 – 333
• Goonetilleke, R.S. (1999). Legality of bowling actions in cricket. Ergonomics, 42 (10), 1386–1397.
• Lloyd, D. G., Alderson, J. and Elliot, B.C.(2000). An upper limb kinamatic for the examination of cricket bowling: A case study of Muttiah Muralitharan. Journal of Sports Sciences, 18, 975–982.
• Marshall, R. and Ferdinands R. (2003). The effect of a flexed elbow on bowling speed in circket. Sports Biomechanics, 2(1), 65–71.
• Pathegama, M., Göl, Ö, Mazumdar, J., Winefield, T. and Jain, L (2003) 'Use of imprecise biomedical image analysis and anthropometric assessment in biomechanics with particular reference to competitive cricket', UniSA Scientific Study, SEIE, University of South Australia, Australia.
• Pathegama, M. & Göl, Ö (2004) 'Special Report on the Controversial doosra bowling action based on UniSA scientific study: As per the invitation made by David Richardson, General Manager, ICC), EIE, University of South Australia, Australia.
• Portus, M., Mason, B., Rath, D. and Rosemond, C. (2003). Fast bowling arm actions and the illegal delivery law in men's high performance cricket matches. Science and Medicine in Cricket. R. Stretch, T. Noakes and C. Vauhan (Eds.), Com Press, Ports Elizabeth, South Africa, pp. 41–54.

[edit] Philanthropy

Muralitharan, along with his manager Kushil Gunasekara, established the Foundation of Goodness,^[153] a charity organisation, in the early 2000s. This organisation is committed to the wellbeing of the Seenigama region (in southern Sri Lanka) and supports local communities through a range of projects across areas including children's needs, education and training, healthcare and psycho-social support, housing, livelihoods, sport and the environment.

In June 2004, Muralitharan also joined the United Nations World Food Program as an ambassador to fight hunger among school children.^[154]

When the tsunami devastated Sri Lanka on 26 December 2004, Muralitharan galvanised into action to ensure that aid reached people that needed it.^[155] He himself narrowly escaped death,^[156] arriving 20 minutes late at Seenigama, where he was to give away prizes at one of the charity projects he worked on. While international agencies were bringing food in by air, there was an urgent need for transport, and Murali organised three convoys of 10 trucks each, paying for these himself, to get the food to people who needed it.^[157] He persuaded those who could to donate clothes, and supervised the delivery himself.

During the hard work of rehabilitation in the tsunami's aftermath, cement was in short supply. Muralitharan promptly signed an endorsement deal with Lafarge, a global cement giant, that was a straight barter, where cement would be supplied to the Foundation for Goodness in exchange for work Muralitharan did. During the first three years since the tsunami, the foundation raised more than US$ 4 million to help survivors, and has built homes, schools, sports facilities and computer centres.^[158]

[edit] Product and brand endorsements

• Mobitel (Sri Lanka): 2008–Present^[159]
• Indian Oil Corporation: 2004–2005 ^[160]
• Janashakthi Insurance: 2004–2008^[161]
• Ceylinco Consolidated- Ceylinco Life: 2008–Present^[162]
• Western Union: 2006–2008 ^[163]
• KFC: 2008–Present ^[164]
• Reebok brand ambassador – present

[edit] See also

Cricket portal

• Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World
• List of international cricket five wicket hauls by Muttiah Muralitharan
• Doosra
• List of international cricketers called for throwing
• List of cricketers called for throwing in major cricket matches in Australia
• Throwing (cricket)
• List of World XI ODI cricketers
• List of Asian XI ODI cricketers
• World Cricket Tsunami Appeal

[edit] References

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2. ^ Including 4 ODIs for the Asian XI and 4 for an ICC World XI.
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106. ^ Cricinfo, Tests – Most Wickets by Same Fielder/Bowler Combination
107. ^ Cricinfo,Tests – Most player-of-the-series awards
108. ^ Cricinfo, Dismissing all eleven batsmen in a match
109. ^ Cricinfo, Most wickets on a single ground
110. ^ Cricinfo, Ask Steven (Most ducks in international cricket; most ducks as opener batsman
111. ^ Murali is Don Bradman of bowlers: Steve Waugh
112. ^ Barnes, Simon, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2007. "Wisden Leading Cricketer In The World 2006: Muttiah Muralitharan". Cricinfo. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/287072.html. Retrieved 2008-01-01. 
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114. ^ Marylebone Cricket Club (2007-12-03). "Record holder Muralitharan honoured at Lord's". Press release. http://www.lords.org/latest-news/news-archive/record-holder-muralitharan-honoured-at-lords,969,NS.html. Retrieved 2007-12-28. 
115. ^ New Postal Stamp To Mark The World Record Set By Murali « Sinhale Hot News
116. ^ "World Music Central – Worldwide interest in Alston Koch's Murali Song". http://www.worldmusiccentral.org/article.php/20071227150012690. Retrieved 2008-02-12. 
117. ^ "Alston Koch's Murali Song". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXsI_mmYc80. Retrieved 2008-06-16. 
118. ^ "Muralitharan honoured in Sri Lanka's parliament". The Hindu. 2008-01-10. http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/007200801101723.htm?section=sport. Retrieved 2008-01-15. 
119. ^ "A lesson from cricket". Daily News (Sri Lanka). 2008-01-10. http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/01/12/main_Editorial.asp?section=Editorial. Retrieved 2008-01-15. 
120. ^ Austin, Charlie (2004-12-07). "Bradman was an admirer of Murali". Cricinfo. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/135717.html. Retrieved 2008-01-01. 
121. ^ Sygall, David (2004-12-05). "Murali no chucker: Bradman". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/12/04/1101923389044.html?oneclick=true. Retrieved 2007-12-29. 
122. ^ Goonetilleke, Ravi. "Biomechanical Tests done on Muttiah Muralitharan at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology". http://www-ieem.ust.hk/dfaculty/ravi/murali01.html. Retrieved 2008-01-28. 
123. ^ IngentaConnect Technical Note – Legality of bowling actions in cricket
124. ^ Hilal (2007-05-07). "Ranatunga takes the team off". YouTube. http://youtube.com/watch?v=7PFsMqGfdqs&watch_response. Retrieved 2008-03-15. 
125. ^ "e-cyclopedia: Chucking: Why the fuss?". London: BBC News. 1999-04-23. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1999/02/99/e-cyclopedia/263398.stm. Retrieved 2008-01-01. 
126. ^ Cricinfo – Officious officialdom
127. ^ Elliott, B., Alderson, J., Reid, S. & Foster, D. (2004) The Murali Report, Biomechanics Laboratory, School of Human Movement and Exercise Science, The University of Western Australia. University of Western Australia. (Report).
128. ^ "Murali's 'doosra' doesn't conform to ICC stipulation but should be allowed: UWA report". The Hindu. 2004-04-29. http://www.hindu.com/2004/04/29/stories/2004042905562200.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-01. 
129. ^ ^{a b} "The Rediff Special: The Murali Report". Rediff.com. 2004-05-15. http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2004/may/15murali.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-15. 
130. ^ http://www.coachesinfo.com/category/cricket/351/
131. ^ "An evaluation of biomechanical measures of bowling action legality in cricket". Sports Biomechanics, Volume 6, Issue 3, September 2007, pages 315 – 333. http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a781625456~db=all~jumptype=rss. Retrieved 2008-01-17. 
132. ^ ^{a b} "ICC study reveals that 99% of bowlers throw". Cricinfo. 2004-11-10. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/141558.html. Retrieved 2006-12-20. 
133. ^ Reuters (2004-11-18). "Muralitharan censured over throwing remarks". ABC Sport (Australia). http://www.abc.net.au/sport/content/200411/s1246049.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
134. ^ ^{a b} "What is an illegal action?". London: BBC Sport Cricket. 2005-11-17. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/rules_and_equipment/4404874.stm. Retrieved 2008-02-09. 
135. ^ ^{a b c d} Pathegama, M., Göl, Ö, Mazumdar, J., Winefield, T. and Jain, L (2003,2004) Use of imprecise biomedical image analysis and anthropometric assessment in biomechanics with particular reference to competitive cricket. University of South Australia. (Report).
136. ^ http://kes.unisa.edu.au/ "ICC Acknowledgement for UniSA researchers". University of South Australia. 2008-08-12. http://www.unisa.edu.au/, http://kes.unisa.edu.au/. Retrieved 2008-08-14. 
137. ^ Richards, J. (1999). ""The measurement of human motion. A comparison of commercially available systems"". Human Movement Science 18: 589–602. 
138. ^ http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/404772.html
139. ^ "Murali cleared by yet more tests". London: BBC Sport Cricket. 2006-02-04. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/4680246.stm. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
140. ^ Nicholas, Mark (2004-07-08). "Brace yourselves for new footage that may prove Murali's not bending the law". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/07/07/1089000223490.html?from=storylhs. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
141. ^ paxinos, Stathi (2004-08-01). "Film clears my bowling action: Murali". The Age. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/31/1091080491359.html?from=storylhs. Retrieved 2008-02-12. 
142. ^ Hilal (2008-12-14). "Video1 – Murali bowling in arm-brace". Island Cricket. http://www.islandcricket.lk/videos/murali-bowling-arm-brace. Retrieved 2009-02-14. 
143. ^ Reuters (2002-03-08). "After Bedi, Holding doubts Murali's action". The Tribune (Chandigarh, India). http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020309/sports.htm#5. Retrieved 2008-01-15. 
144. ^ "Murali threatens to sue Bedi". Cricinfo. 2004-06-07. http://www.cricinfo.com/india/content/story/139300.html. Retrieved 2008-01-15. 
145. ^ "Murali considers legal action after Bedi jibe". Cricinfo. 2007-08-14. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/srilanka/content/current/story/306935.html. Retrieved 2008-01-15. 
146. ^ Cricket-Online: Murali's doosra given green light
147. ^ "Gilchrist queries Murali's action". London: BBC Sport. 2007-04-26. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/2009427.stm. Retrieved 2008-02-27. 
148. ^ ACB (2002-05-30). "Adam Gilchrist reprimanded by ACB Code of Behaviour Commission". Cricinfo. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/australia/content/story/120116.html. Retrieved 2008-02-29. 
149. ^ "Crowe calls for Murali action review". Cricinfo. 2006-12-21. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/srilanka/content/story/273536.html. Retrieved 2008-01-15. 
150. ^ Selvey, Mike (2006-07-13). "Crowe flies off course to tamper with the spirit of the game". Independent. http://sport.guardian.co.uk/cricket/comment/0,,1819091,00.html. Retrieved 2008-03-01. 
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153. ^ "The Foundation of Goodness website". http://www.unconditionalcompassion.com/sub/ManagementChart.asp. Retrieved 2008-01-23. 
154. ^ "Murali an ambassador for United Nations". Cricinfo. 2004-06-19. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ausvsl/content/story/139558.html. Retrieved 2008-01-22. 
155. ^ "Cricketers help relief programme". Cricinfo. 2005-01-03. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/144986.html. Retrieved 2007-12-22. 
156. ^ "Malinga and Fernando affected by tsunami". Cricinfo. 2004-12-28. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/136260.html. Retrieved 2007-12-22. 
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159. ^ "Mobitel's all encompassing registration system". www.sundaytimes.lk. 2008-08-31. http://sundaytimes.lk/080831/FinancialTimes/ft322.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-15. 
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162. ^ "Murali extends his association with Ceylinco Life". www.ceylincolife.com. 2008-08-01. http://www.ceylincolife.com/murali1.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-12. 
163. ^ "Western Union appoints PB as agent and Murali as brand ambassador". www.nation.lk. 2006-10-29. http://www.nation.lk/2006/10/29/busi8.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-12. 
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Sri Lankan dependence on Murali

[edit] External links

• Muralitharan.com
• CricInfo Player Profile: Muttiah Muralitharan
• Muttiah Muralitharan International Fan Club
• Alston Koch's Murali Song Video
• Murali Tracker
• Muralitharan.cricket-records.com
• Murali's throwing controversy was resolved at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
• TimeLine: Muttiah Muralitharan
• Muralitharan.org
• Murali BigStarCricket

[show]   Achievements of Muttiah Muralitharan [show] v • d • e Bowlers who have taken 5 wickets in a Test innings 25 times or more Muttiah Muralitharan • Richard Hadlee • Anil Kumble • Shane Warne • Ian Botham • Wasim Akram • Glenn McGrath [show] v • d • e Bowlers who have taken 400 Test wickets  Muttiah Muralitharan •  Shane Warne •  Anil Kumble •  Glenn McGrath •  Courtney Walsh •  Kapil Dev •  Richard Hadlee •  Shaun Pollock •  Wasim Akram •  Curtly Ambrose [show] v • d • e Bowlers who have taken 400 One-Day International wickets Wasim Akram • Muttiah Muralitharan • Waqar Younis • Chaminda Vaas [show] v • d • e Bowlers who have taken 700 Test wickets  Muttiah Muralitharan •  Shane Warne

[show]   Muttiah Muralitharan in the Cricket World Cup [show] v • d • e Sri Lanka squad – 1996 Cricket World Cup (1st Title) 1 Ranatunga (c) • 2 Atapattu • 3 Chandana • 4 De Silva • 5 Dharmasena • 6 Gurusinha • 7 Kaluwitharana (wk) • 8 Jayasuriya • 9 Mahanama • 10 Muralitharan • 11 Pushpakumara • 12 Tillakaratne • 13 Vaas • 14 Wickramasinghe • Coach: Whatmore   [show] v • d • e Sri Lanka squad – 1999 Cricket World Cup 1 Ranatunga (c) • 2 Muralitharan • 3 Atapattu • 4 Jayawardene • 5 Mahanama • 6 Tillakaratne • 7 Kaluwitharana (wk) • 8 Vaas • 9 De Silva • 10 Wickramasinghe • 11 Kalpage • 12 Chandana • 13 Upashantha • 14 Hathurusingha • 15 Jayasuriya • Coach: Dias   [show] v • d • e Sri Lanka squad – 2003 Cricket World Cup Semi-Finalists 1 Jayasuriya (c) • 2 Atapattu • 3 Jayawardene • 4 Sangakkara (wk) • 5 De Silva • 6 Arnold • 7 Mubarak • 8 Tillakaratne • 9 Muralitharan • 10 Vaas • 11 Fernando • 12 Gunaratne • 13 Gunawardene • 14 Nissanka • 15 Buddhika • Coach: Whatmore   [show] v • d • e Sri Lanka squad – 2007 Cricket World Cup Runners-Up 1 Jayawardene (c) • 2 Atapattu • 3 Jayasuriya • 4 Tharanga • 5 Sangakkara • 6 Dilshan • 7 Arnold • 8 Silva • 9 Maharoof • 10 Vaas • 11 Fernando • 12 Malinga • 13 Kulasekara • 14 Muralitharan • 15 Bandara • Coach: Moody

[show] v • d • e Chennai Super Kings – current squad 1 M.Vijay · 3 Raina · 6 Mukund · 7 M.S Dhoni (c) · 8 Muralitharan · 9 Patel · 11 Balaji · 11 Flintoff · 12 Vidyut · 13 Sharma · 16 Ntini · 21 Amarnath · 24 Oram · 25 Jakati · 28 Hayden · 33 Badrinath · 42 Karthik · 48 M.Hussey · 76 Gony · 81 A.Morkel ·  Ashwin ·  Einstein ·  Kadbe ·  Kumar ·  Srikkanth ·  Thushara · Coach: Fleming

[show] v • d • e Victoria squad – Current Squad 2 Harwood · 3 Wright · 4 McDonald · 5 Finch · 7 Hodge · 8 D Hussey · 9 White (c) · 11 Hastings · 12 Quiney · 13 Wade · 14 Rogers · 15 McKay · 16 Hill · 18 McGain · 19 J Pattinson · 20 Siddle · 21 D Pattinson · 24 Mash · 26 Nannes · 27 Holland · 30 Gilmour · 32 Maxwell · 39 Jewell · 47 Bravo ·  Muralitharan ·  Coleman ·  Forsyth ·  Carters ·  Sheridan ·  Topp · Coach: Shipperd

Persondata
NAME	Muralitharan, Muttiah
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Cricketer
DATE OF BIRTH	17 April 1972
PLACE OF BIRTH	Kandy, Sri Lanka
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muttiah_Muralitharan"

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