Evening star., 1947-06-20
Dominion Stutus for CeyIon

In that worldwide asSen1blage OF lands
and peoples known as the British Common
wealth and Empire there are many types
and degrees of political status. These
range from the full-hedged dominions,
bound to Britain only by common ALE
glance to the crown and free to secede from
the commonwealth at any time, to crown
colonies and protectorates, some of which
have minimum of self government.
Apparently, new variant in this polit-
ical series is about to be created in Ceylon,
the big, pear-shaped island lying off the
southern tip of India. The British gov
ernment has just announced that Ceylon
will soon be given dominion status. How
ever, it will be dominion status OF special
kind differing from that of the present
commonwealth partners in not being
allowed to secede from the empire or be
independent of Britain in defense matters.
The reasons for these limitations are
obvious Within the next couple of months,
British authority will probably cease over
India, even though it's constituent mem
bers, "Hindustan" and "Pakistan," will at
least temporarily remain as dominions of
the commonwealth In like fashion, Burma
Is cutting loose from British control and
has announced its intention of becoming
an independent state. The liquidation Of
the bulk of Britain's holdings in the Middle
East may be expected to follow. All the
more necessary is it for British imperial
policy to maintain few vital strategic
and commercial links with the Far East
and it's Pacific dominions, Australia and
New Zealand.
One of those links Is obviously Ceylon.
Relatively large in size, it's area OF 1882
square miles being somewhat larger than
the State of West Virginia, Ceylon lies on
the main sea and air routes between
Britain and the Far East, besides offering
solid base next door to India. Ceylon
proved its military Importance in the late
war, when its big naval base of Trim
comalee formed a solid bastion behind
which British naval strength could rally
to hold off Japanese attacks across the
Bay of Bengal from captured Malaga and
Burma. The island is likewise rich in
natural resources, its tea copra and rubber
plantations having been highly developed.
Offhand, it might be asked why Ceylon
should not logically join future feder-
ated India. The answer is that, despite
its physical proximity to the Indian SUBJ
continent, Ceylon's historical development
has been very different. The basic dis
tinction is that Buddhism, imported from
India, has persisted in Ceylon, whereas 1t
died out in India. Likewise Mohammedan-
ism never penetrated to Ceylon. Lastly,
the island has been permeated by European
influence for nearly four centuries First
the Portuguese and then the Dutch formed
settlements along the coast, while the
British gained control $50 years ago and
soon subjected the whole island to their
authority.
The bulk of the native population are
Singalese, with their Buddhist religion and
culture, though there are native Christian
elements in the coastal districts, the result
of Portuguese and Dutch control. During
the past half century, there has been a
large influx of Tamils from Southern India
to work on the big plantations These
Tamils, mostly of the Hindu religion, have
remained distinct element not on the
best of terms with the Singalese That
mutual aversion has tended to strengthen
Ceylonese self-consciousness and to inhibit
any movement for union with India. The
grant of full self-government within the
empire may thus satisfy native aspira-
tions while safeguarding British imperial
interests.