Flag of Sri Lanka

What the flag means

The stripes added in 1951 stand for the Tamil (orange) and Muslim (green) communities. The bo leaves come from the tree of the Buddha's enlightenment and are read as the four Buddhist virtues of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity.

History

The lion and sword come from the flag of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha, the last king of Kandy, which was taken to Britain in 1815. In 1948 Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake set up a committee chaired by S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike to settle the design, and the lion flag was flown at independence on 4 February 1948. Parliament adopted the committee's version, with two stripes, on 2 March 1951. When Ceylon became the Republic of Sri Lanka, the bo leaves were redrawn, and the new flag was first raised on 22 May 1972.

Earlier flags of Sri Lanka

1. 1875–1948British Blue Ensign with the colonial badge of Ceylon
2. 1948–1951Lion flag without the green and orange stripes
3. 1951–1972Current layout with differently drawn corner leaves

Flags of Sri Lanka's neighbours

• India