Description: How China Stole A Giant Port In Sri Lanka, The $15BN Island That Will Make or Break Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka: Port city Colombo expected to be an international financial hub | World News | WION News, Port of Colombo | Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka ( / s r iː ˈ l ɑː ŋ k ə , - ˈ l æ ŋ k ə / or i / ʃ r iː - / ; Sinhalese - ශ්රී ලංකාව, Tamil Ilaṅkai ), officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and known from the beginning of British colonial rule until 1972 as Ceylon ( / s ᵻ ˈ l ɒ n ˌ s eɪ - ˌ s iː - / ), is an island country in South Asia near south-east India .
Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest. Its documented history spans 3,000 years, with evidence of pre-historic human settlements dating back to at least 125,000 years. Its geographic location and deep harbours made it of great strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road through to World War II .
A diverse and multicultural country, Sri Lanka is home to many religions, ethnic groups, and languages. In addition to the majority Sinhalese , it is home to large groups of Sri Lankan and Indian Tamils , Moors , Burghers , Malays , Kaffirs and the aboriginal Vedda . Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage, and the first known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, the Pāli Canon , dates back to the Fourth Buddhist council in 29 BC. The country's recent history has been marred by a thirty-year civil war which decis