The history of Sri Lanka is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions, comprising the areas of South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean. The early human remains found on the island of Sri Lanka date to about 38,000 years ago.
Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an orthodox Marxist, a revolutionary Marxist, and Bolshevik–Leninist, a follower of Marx, Engels, and 3L: Vladimir Lenin, Karl Liebknecht, and Rosa Luxemburg. He supported founding a vanguard party of the proletariat, proletarian internationalism, and a dictatorship of the proletariat based on working-class self-emancipation and mass democracy. Trotskyists are critical of Stalinism as they oppose Joseph Stalin's theory of socialism in one country in favour of Trotsky's theory of permanent revolution. Trotskyists criticize the bureaucracy and anti-democratic current developed in the Soviet Union under Stalin.
The Communist Party of Sri Lanka is a communist party in Sri Lanka. In the 2004 legislative election, the party was part of the United People's Freedom Alliance that won 45.6% of the popular vote and 105 out of 225 seats.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation (abbreviated: CPI(ML) or CPI-ML or CPIML(L) or CPI-ML(L) or CPIML Liberation) also referred to as the Liberation Group, is a Communist political party in India.
Bolshevik–Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burma (BLPI) was a revolutionary Trotskyist party which campaigned for independence and socialism in South Asia. The party was formed in 1942 as a unification of two Indian groups, with the Lanka Sama Samaja Party of Ceylon. It was recognised as the Indian section of the Fourth International.
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna is a Marxist–Leninist communist party and a former militant organization in Sri Lanka. The movement was involved in two armed uprisings against the government of Sri Lanka: once in 1971 (SLFP), and another in 1987–89 (UNP). The motive for both uprisings was to establish a socialist state.
The Lanka Sama Samaja Party, often abbreviated as LSSP, is a major Trotskyist political party in Sri Lanka. It was the first political party in Sri Lanka, having been founded in 1935 by Leslie Goonewardene, N.M. Perera, Colvin R. de Silva, Philip Gunawardena and Robert Gunawardena. It currently is a member of the main ruling coalition in the government of Sri Lanka and is headed by Tissa Vitharana. The party was founded with leninist ideals, and is classified as a party with socialist aims.
Nagalingam Shanmugathasan was a trade unionist and Maoist revolutionary leader in Sri Lanka. He was the General Secretary of the Ceylon Communist Party (Maoist)
Ceylon Communist Party (Maoist) is a political party in Sri Lanka. The party surged in 1964 following a split in the Ceylon Communist Party. Initially the party just called itself 'Ceylon Communist Party' as well, and was distinguished from the main CCP in Sri Lanka by denominations like 'Ceylon Communist Party (Peking Wing)', etc. In the end of the 1960s the party was one of the major leftist parties in the country. Initially Party was led by Premalal Kumarasiri and N. Shanmugathasan.
Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka are Tamil people of Indian origin in Sri Lanka. They are also known as Malayaga Tamilar, Hill Country Tamils, Up-Country Tamils or simply Indian Tamils. They are partly descended from workers sent from South India to Sri Lanka in the 19th and 20th centuries to work in coffee, tea and rubber plantations. Some also migrated on their own as merchants and as other service providers. These Tamil speakers mostly live in the central highlands, also known as the Malayakam or Hill Country yet others are also found in major urban areas and in the Northern Province. Although they are all termed as Tamils today, some have Telugu and Malayalee origins as well as diverse South Indian caste origins. They are instrumental in the plantation sector economy of Sri Lanka. In general, socio-economically their standard of living is below that of the national average and they are described as one of the poorest and most neglected groups in Sri Lanka. In 1964 a large percentage were repatriated to India, but left a considerable number as stateless people. By the 1990s most of these had been given Sri Lankan citizenship. Most are Hindus with a minority of Christians and Muslims amongst them. There are also a small minority followers of Buddhism among them. Politically they are supportive of trade union-based political parties that have supported most of the ruling coalitions since the 1980s.
Eliyathamby Ratnasabapathy was one of the founder member of the Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students a Tamil militant group from Sri Lanka and a noted Marxist-Leninist political leader.
The British Ceylon period is the history of Sri Lanka between 1815 and 1948. It follows the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom into the hands of the British Empire. It ended over 2300 years of Sinhalese monarchy rule on the island. The British rule on the island lasted until 1948 when the country regained independence following the Sri Lankan independence movement.
Thozhar Thiyagu, also known as Comrade Thiyagu, is a social activist, politician, writer from Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He is also the General Secretary of Tamil National Liberation Movement and is well known for his proficiency in Marxist ideology.
Hardial Bains was an Indo-Canadian microbiology lecturer, but was primarily known as the founder of a series of left-wing movements and parties foremost of which was the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist–Leninist). Presenting himself as staunchly anti-revisionist and pro-Stalinist, until his death, Bains acted as the spokesperson and ideological leader of the CPC (ML) — known in elections as the Marxist–Leninist Party of Canada. During his lifetime, Bains' outlook swung from supporting the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, to Mao Zedong's China, then later to Enver Hoxha's Albania. Shortly before he died, and abandoning his previous sharp criticisms of the country, Bains turned to Fidel Castro's Cuba for inspiration. Spending most of his life in Canada, Bains was also politically active in England, Ireland, United States and India.
The Communist Party of Sri Lanka (Marxist-Leninist) was a political party in Sri Lanka. The party originated in a split in the Ceylon Communist Party, as tension had risen between N. Shanmugathasan and Watson Fernando. On September 22, 1972 the N. Shanmugathasan-led Central Committee of CP(P) declared Fernando and fellow CC members Ariyawansa Gunasekara and V.A. Kandasamy expelled. On November 12, 1972 Fernando's group declared itself as the CPSL(M-L).
Socialism in Sri Lanka or Sri Lankan socialism is a political philosophy that is shared by various political parties of the country. Socialist parties, especially the Trotskyist Lanka Sama Samaja Party, have played a major role in the country's history from the time of the Sri Lankan Independence movement. Socialist ideology shaped the principal economic and social policies of Sirimavo Bandaranaike and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party during the 1970s. Several sectors of the economy including banking, insurance and some privately owned estates were nationalized during her tenure. Bread and several essential items were rationed by the government at the time.
The New Democratic Marxist–Leninist Party is a communist party in Sri Lanka. The party emerged in 1978 following a split in the Ceylon Communist Party (Maoist). The party initially called itself 'Ceylon Communist Party (Left)'. The founding general secretary was K.A. Subramaniam, the current is S.K. Senthivel.
K. A. Subramaniam was a Sri Lankan leftist political leader. He was one of the key member for the formation of the Ceylon Communist Party (Maoist). He was the founding General Secretary of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka (Left)
Communism in Sri Lanka dates back to 1935, when the Lanka Sama Samaja Party was founded by Trotskyists who campaigned for freedom and independence of Sri Lanka which was then a colony of the British Empire and known as Ceylon.
