The Official Languages Act

In 1956 S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike became Prime Minister in a coalition of nationalist forces dominated by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). He had established the party after leaving the United National party (UNP). During the election campaign he had presented himself as a champion of the common man against the elite who had dominated Sri Lankan politics. But due to the pressures of political competition his victory was seen as the triumph of Sinhala nationalism.

Bandaranaike's first measure was to introduce the Official Languages Act that made Sinhala the official language of the country. Earlier both he and J. R. Jayewardene, who was virtually the leader of the UNP after its defeat and Kotelawala's early retirement to Britain, had advanced the claims of Sinhala as opposed to English (with, therefore, no wish to denigrate Tamil). By 1956, however, parity of status between Sinhala and Tamil was abandoned by both parties in their pursuit of votes.

The Official Languages Act was challenged under the provisions of Article 29 of the Soulbury Constitution, which forbade discrimination against any segment of the population. The clause was entrenched in the Constitution, that is, it could not be changed without a two-third majority in parliament, which Soulbury had believed no party would ever achieve. The Act was passed with a simple majority. As the Sri Lankan courts were against some of its provisions, the government appealed to the Privy Council in Britain. Under the Soulbury Dominion Constitution, the Privy Council had the final say. Unfortunately, the Privy Council, which followed the British tradition of subscribing to the supremacy of parliament, upheld the legality of the Act.