The British-ruled Colony of Ceylon achieved independence on 4 February 1948, with an amended constitution taking effect on the same date.

However, in 1953 – following a massive general strike or 'Hartal' by the leftist parties against the UNP – Dudley Senanayake resigned.

He was followed by General Sir John L. Kotelawala, a senior politician and military commander and an uncle of Dudley.

Elizabeth II, Queen of Ceylon, toured the island in 1954 from 10 to 21 April (She also visited in 1981 from 21 to 25 October after the country became a republic.[8]).

Such policies led to a temporary decline in SLFP power, and the UNP gained seats in Congress.

[10] A Marxist People's Liberation Front rebellion was put down with the help of British, Soviet, and Indian aid in 1972.

That same year, the country officially became a republic within the Commonwealth and was renamed Sri Lanka, with William Gopallawa serving as its first president.

[11] The economy of Ceylon was mainly agriculture-based, with key exports consisting of tea, rubber, and coconuts.

[12] The exports sold well initially, but falling tea and rubber prices decreased the earnings, with a rapidly increasing population cutting further into those profits.

Between 1972 and 1974, the Land Reform Commission set up by the new laws took over nearly 228,000 hectares, one-third of which was forest and most of the rest planted with tea, rubber, or coconut.

Most were turned over to various government agencies or to cooperative organisations, such as the Up-Country Co-operative Estates Development Board.

[19] The Royal Ceylon Air Force first went into combat in 1971 when the Marxist JVP launched an island-wide coup on 5 April.

The Ceylon Armed Forces could not respond immediately and efficiently; police stations island-wide and the RCyAF base at Ekala were struck in the initial attacks.

4 Helicopter Squadron began operating commercial transport services for foreign tourists under the name of Helitours.