Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Socialism
- The Cambridge History of Socialism
- The Cambridge History of Socialism
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Contributors to Volume II
- Abbreviations
- Introduction to Volume II
- Part I Transforming State Power
- Social Democratic Routes in Europe
- Social Democratic Routes in Australia, the Americas, and Asia
- Worldwide Connections
- Southern Trajectories
- 17 Socialism, Zionism, and Settler Colonialism in Israel/Palestine
- 18 Socialism in India
- 19 The Lanka Sama Samaja Party
- 20 African Socialism
- 21 Arab Socialism
- 22 Chavismo: Revolutionary Bolivarianism in Venezuela
- Left Socialisms
- Part II Transversal Perspectives
- Index
- References
19 - The Lanka Sama Samaja Party
from Southern Trajectories
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 November 2022
Edited by
Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Socialism
- The Cambridge History of Socialism
- The Cambridge History of Socialism
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Contributors to Volume II
- Abbreviations
- Introduction to Volume II
- Part I Transforming State Power
- Social Democratic Routes in Europe
- Social Democratic Routes in Australia, the Americas, and Asia
- Worldwide Connections
- Southern Trajectories
- 17 Socialism, Zionism, and Settler Colonialism in Israel/Palestine
- 18 Socialism in India
- 19 The Lanka Sama Samaja Party
- 20 African Socialism
- 21 Arab Socialism
- 22 Chavismo: Revolutionary Bolivarianism in Venezuela
- Left Socialisms
- Part II Transversal Perspectives
- Index
- References
Summary
The Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP, Lanka Party for Social Equality), Sri Lanka’s oldest socialist party, was formed in colonial Ceylon in December 1935. It belonged to the first generation of socialist parties in south Asia. The LSSP has also had a dual existence, as a political party as well as a social–intellectual movement in colonial and post-colonial Sri Lanka. Because of its interventions in shaping the nature and trajectories of Sri Lanka’s political, social, and economic change, the LSSP has also been a key agency in Sri Lanka’s modernity.
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- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge History of Socialism , pp. 435 - 454Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022
References
Further Reading
Alexander, Robert J., ‘Trotskyism in Ceylon/Sri Lanka: The Rise of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party’, in Alexander, Robert J. (ed.), International Trotskyism 1929–1985: A Documented Analysis of the Movement (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1991), pp. 159–75.Google Scholar
Amarasinghe, Y. Ranjith, Revolutionary Idealism and Parliamentary Politics: A Study of Trotskyism in Sri Lanka (Colombo: Social Scientists’ Association, 1998).Google Scholar
Goonewardene, Leslie, A Short History of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (Maradana: Gunaratne, 1960; reprint Foligno: Centro Studi Pietro Tresso, 1992).Google Scholar
Jayawardena, V. Kumari, ‘The origins of the left movement in Sri Lanka’, Social Scientist 2, 6/7 (1974), pp. 3–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lerski, George Jan, Origins of Trotskyism in Ceylon: A Documentary History of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, 1935–1942 (Stanford: Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, 1968).Google Scholar
Muthiah, Wesley S., The Bracegirdle Affair: An Episode in the History of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, 2nd edn (Colombo: Young Socialist Publications, 2006).Google Scholar
Muthiah, Wesley S., and Wanasinghe, Sydney, We Were Making History: Saga of the Hartal of August 1953 (Colombo: Young Socialist Publications, 2002).Google Scholar
Richardson, A. (ed.), Blows against the Empire: Trotskyism in Ceylon. The Lanka Sama Samaja Party, 1935–1964 (London: Socialist Platform, 1997).Google Scholar
Siriwardena, Regi, Working Underground: The LSSP in Wartime. A Memoir of Happenings and Personalities (Colombo: International Centre for Ethnic Studies, 1999).Google Scholar
Uyangoda, Jayadeva, ‘Left Parties in Permanent Decline: Ideological and Strategic Shifts, Survival Strategies, and Consequences’, in Shastri, Amita and Uyangoda, Jayadeva (eds.), Political Parties in Sri Lanka: Change and Continuity (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2018), pp. 159–90.Google Scholar