Question: When did Bernard Aluwihare's country of origin leave the British Empire?

full_context: Document 1: Sinha Basnayake: Son of the prominent lawyer Hema Henry Basnayake, QC; he was educated at the Royal College, Colombo and graduated with a first class in law from the University of Oxford. After qualifying as a barrister he joined the UN as a Legal Officer in the International Trade Law Branch of the Office of Legal Affairs, eventually becoming its Director. Appointed as a President's Counsel by the government of Sri Lanka, he has served in many committees of the UN.
Document 2: Bernard Aluwihare: Uda Walawwe Bernard Herbert Aluwihare also known as Bernard Aluwihare (6 April 1902 - 22 January 1961) was a Sri Lankan Politician who has served in both the State Council of Ceylon and Parliament of Sri Lanka. He was a Sri Lankan Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament from Matale. He was a lawyer. He became the Minister for Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs in Second Dudley Senanayake cabinet in 1960.
Document 3: Senate of Ceylon: The Senate was the upper chamber of the parliament of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Commission. The Senate was appointed and indirectly elected rather than directly elected. It was housed in the old Legislative Council building in Colombo Fort and met for the first time on 12 November 1947. The Senate was abolished on 2 October 1971 by the eighth amendment to the Soulbury Constitution, prior to the adoption of the new Republican Constitution of Sri Lanka on 22 May 1972. In 2010 there were proposals to reintroduce the Senate.
Document 4: C. W. W. Kannangara: As Minister of Education Kannagara was placed in charge of implementing the recommendations. Among the reforms he introduced, which came into operation on 1 October 1945, were to make education free of charge for all students, to ensure that every student was provided with instruction in the religion of his / her parents, to prevent teachers from been exploited by managers of schools by having their wages paid directly by the government and to make adequate provisions for adult education in the country.
Document 5: Sri Lankan independence movement: The Sri Lankan independence movement was a peaceful political movement which aimed at achieving independence and self - rule for Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, from the British Empire. It was initiated around the turn of the 20th century and led mostly by the educated middle class. It succeeded when, on February 4, 1948, Ceylon was granted independence as the Dominion of Ceylon. Dominion status within the British Commonwealth was retained for the next 24 years until May 22, 1972 when it became a republic and was renamed the Republic of Sri Lanka.
Document 6: History of India: From 1920 leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi began highly popular mass movements to campaign against the British Raj using largely peaceful methods. The Gandhi-led independence movement opposed the British rule using non-violent methods like non-cooperation, civil disobedience and economic resistance. However, revolutionary activities against the British rule took place throughout the Indian subcontinent and some others adopted a militant approach like the Indian National Army that sought to overthrow British rule by armed struggle. The Government of India Act 1935 was a major success in this regard. All these movements succeeded in bringing independence to the new dominions of India and Pakistan on 15 August 1947.
Document 7: D. S. Senanayake: Don Stephen Senanayake (; ; 21 October 1883 – 22 March 1952) was a Sri Lankan statesmen. He was the first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka having emerged as the leader of the Sri Lankan independence movement that led to the establishment of self-rule in Sri Lanka. He is considered as the "Father of the Nation".
Document 8: Second Sirimavo Bandaranaike cabinet: The Second Sirimavo Bandaranaike cabinet was the central government of Ceylon led by Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike between 1970 and 1977. It was formed in May 1970 after the parliamentary election and it ended in July 1977 after the opposition's victory in the parliamentary election. The second Sirimavo Bandaranaike cabinet saw Ceylon severing the last colonial ties with Britain as the country became a parliamentary republic in May 1972. The country was also renamed Sri Lanka.
Document 9: Felix Dias Bandaranaike: Felix Dias Bandaranaike (Sinhala:ෆෙලික්ස් ඩයස් බණඩාරනායක) (5 November 1930 – 26 June 1985) was a Sri Lankan politician who served as Cabinet Minister of Finance, Parliamentary Secretary for the Prime Minister and Defence and External Affairs ("de facto" foreign minister) (1960–1965) and Cabinet Minister of Justice (1970–77) in the cabinet of Prime Minister Mrs.Sirimavo Bandaranaike. He was a very popular person about the anti-corruption campaign and also known as the ""virtual leader of the state"" during the SLFP governments after the death of Prime minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. He was very active in defeating two major coups against the government, one is 1962 attempted military coup and JVP's 1971 JVP Insurrection.
Document 10: British Empire: Britain's remaining colonies in Africa, except for self-governing Southern Rhodesia, were all granted independence by 1968. British withdrawal from the southern and eastern parts of Africa was not a peaceful process. Kenyan independence was preceded by the eight-year Mau Mau Uprising. In Rhodesia, the 1965 Unilateral Declaration of Independence by the white minority resulted in a civil war that lasted until the Lancaster House Agreement of 1979, which set the terms for recognised independence in 1980, as the new nation of Zimbabwe.
Document 11: B. Deniswaran: Deniswaran is lawyer. He contested the 2013 provincial council election as one of the Tamil National Alliance's candidates in Mannar District and was elected to the Northern Provincial Council. After the election he was appointed Minister of Fisheries, Transport, Trade and Rural Development. He took his oath as minister and provincial councillor in front of Chief Minister C. V. Vigneswaran at Veerasingam Hall on 11 October 2013.
Document 12: Gamini Atukorale: Gamini Atukorale (2 April 1951 – 1 January 2002) was the former Transport, Highways and Civil Aviation Minister in Sri Lanka and former General Secretary and Deputy Leader of United National Party.
Document 13: S. Mahinda: S. Mahinda arrived in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) at a young age and was ordained as a Buddhist monk. Having learned the Sinhala language, he became a poet, creating several literary works inspiring patriotism among the Sinhalese and urging them to fight for their freedom during Sri Lankan Independence movement.. He is now considered a national hero of Sri Lanka and one among the greatest of Sinhalese poetry figures of all time.
Document 14: Dominion of Ceylon: Between 1948 and 1972, Ceylon was an independent country in the Commonwealth of Nations that shared a monarch with Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, and certain other sovereign states. In 1948, the British Colony of Ceylon was granted independence as Ceylon. In 1972, the country became a republic within the Commonwealth, and its name was changed to Sri Lanka. It was an island country in South Asia, located about 31 kilometres (19.3 mi) off the southern coast of India.
Document 15: Elizabeth II: The 1960s and 1970s saw an acceleration in the decolonisation of Africa and the Caribbean. Over 20 countries gained independence from Britain as part of a planned transition to self-government. In 1965, however, the Rhodesian Prime Minister, Ian Smith, in opposition to moves toward majority rule, declared unilateral independence from Britain while still expressing "loyalty and devotion" to Elizabeth. Although the Queen dismissed him in a formal declaration, and the international community applied sanctions against Rhodesia, his regime survived for over a decade. As Britain's ties to its former empire weakened, the British government sought entry to the European Community, a goal it achieved in 1973.
ground_truth: February 4, 1948
sub_queries: Where was Bernard Aluwihare from? Answer: Sri Lanka
when did Sri Lanka leave the british empire Answer: February 4, 1948