When did Sri Lanka become independent?

Concept

Political independence is dated to the day on which a former colony acquires sovereign or dominion status under the operative constitutional settlement.

Preparatory legislation and earlier historical events are milestones, but they are not the independence date unless the transfer of authority took effect then.

Application

1. In 1947, the British Parliament enacted the Ceylon Independence Act, which supplied the legal framework for the transfer of authority.

2. That constitutional settlement took effect on 4 February 1948, when Ceylon was declared an independent Dominion.

3. Therefore, the independence year asked for is 1948.

Cross-check and contrast

• 1945 marks the end of the Second World War; Ceylon’s constitutional transfer had not yet taken effect.

• 1947 marks the enactment and royal assent of the independence legislation; the operative transfer followed in the next year.

• “More than one of the above” would require at least two listed years to describe the same independence event, but the milestones are distinct.

• “None of the above” would exclude 1948 even though the constitutional transfer took effect in that year.

Sri Lanka, then called Ceylon, became independent on 4 February 1948. Thus, the answer by value is 1948.