The Sinhalese people, also known as the Sinhalese are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the island of Sri Lanka. Historically, they were also known as the Helas or the Lion People. They are the largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka, constituting about 75% of the Sri Lankan population and number more than 15.2 million.
The "Sri Lanka Matha" is the national anthem of Sri Lanka. "Sri Lanka Matha" was composed by Ananda Samarakoon and was originally titled "Namo Namo Matha".
Sugathapala De Silva was a Sri Lankan dramatist and novelist.
The United People's Freedom Alliance was a political alliance in Sri Lanka founded by former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga in 2004 and dissolved by former Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena in 2019.
Mass media of Sri Lanka consist of several different types of communications media: television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and Web sites. State and private media operators provide services in the main languages Sinhala, Tamil and English. The government owns two major TV stations, radio networks operated by the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), and newspaper titles in Sinhala, Tamil, and English.
Karunaratne Abeysekera was one of Sri Lanka's most famous Sinhala broadcasters. He was also a poet and songwriter and was widely admired for his excellent command of Sinhala.
Sri Lankan cinema encompasses the Sri Lankan film industry. It is a fledgling industry that has struggled to find a footing since its inauguration in 1947 with Kadawunu Poronduwa produced by S. M. Nayagam of Chitra Kala Movietone. Sri Lankan films are usually made in Sinhala and Tamil, the dominant languages of the country.
Rajiva Wijesinha, MA, DPhil is a Sri Lankan writer in English, distinguished for his political analysis as well as creative and critical work. An academic by profession for much of his working career, he was most recently Senior Professor of Languages at the University of Sabaragamuwa, Sri Lanka.
Sedhavi Mudiyanselage Damitha Buddhini Abeyratne Bandara, popularly as Damitha Abeyratne, is a Sri Lankan film and teledrama actress.
Malaka Dewapriya (Sinhala: මාලක දේවප්රිය, IPA:[maːləkədeːʋaprijə] is a Sri Lankan film maker, visual artist, Sinhala Radio Play writer, short film and video director.
Deshanabu Tissa Ananda Abeysekara was a Sri Lankan filmmaker, actor, writer, director, screen playwright and political activist. He is better known as a script writer for the cinema as well as a film director. In 1996, his book Bringing Tony Home won the prestigious Gratiaen Prize for the new creative writing in English. He was the chief coordinator of FOSWAL in Sri Lanka and honoured awardee of SAARC Literary Award.
Diyogu Badathuruge Dhanapala (1905-1971) was a pioneering Sri Lankan journalist and writer.
Bodu Bala Sena, also abbreviated as BBS is a far-right anti-liberalist, and ultranationalist Sinhalese Buddhist organization, and a break-away faction from the right-wing nationalist Jathika Hela Urumaya party. The BBS generally opposes pluralist and democratic ideologies, and criticizes non-extremist Buddhist monks for not taking action against the rise of other religions within Sri Lanka.
Vidyodaya Vibhushana Sahithya Kala Shiromani Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne Kuruwita Bandara, popularly as Sunil Ariyaratne, is a Sri Lankan scholar, film director, author, poet and a lyricist. One of the most popular filmmakers and lyricists in Sri Lankan cinema, Ariyaratne has won six Sarasaviya awards, four Presidential awards from the year 1981 as a film lyricist and then won three awards as a teledrama lyricists.
The Sri Lanka Rūpavāhinī Corporation, also known as Jathika Rupavahini or simply as Rupavahini, is the national television network of Sri Lanka.
Daya Dissanayake is a bilingual Sri Lankan novelist, poet and blogger. His work spans a critical study of king Ashoka, nine novels in English, six novels in Sinhala and a collection of poems, and numerous articles in newspapers, journals and magazines. He is the author of the first e-novel in Asia, 'The Saadhu Testament' (1998), and the first e-novel in Sinhala, 'Vessan Novu Wedun' (2003). His first nonfiction work is "Who is Ashoka?" He is the only Sri Lankan writer to receive the Sri Lankan State Literary Award for the best English novel three times and was awarded the SAARC Literary Award in 2013. Being the first Sri Lankan to release his work online and for free access, he is often seen as one of Sri Lanka's earliest and most vocal advocates for the ebook format, copyleft and Creative Commons.
Konara Mudiyanselage Podiappuhamy Rajaratne was a Ceylonese lawyer, politician and parliamentary secretary.
Arjuna Kamalanath Karunaratne [Sinhala]) is an actor in Sri Lankan cinema. Though he became popular as an actor in cinema, Kamalanath also performed as a director, producer and screenplay writer.
Morathennage Douglas Ranasinghe, is an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, theater, and television. He acted in many supportive roles in movies including Akkara Paha, Yuganthaya, Viragaya, Sri Siddhartha Gautama and Dharmayuddhaya.
