Parliamentary elections held over several days produced a decisive victory for S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike’s Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP), ending UNP dominance and setting the stage for language-policy change as a central governing priority.
Bandaranaike’s cabinet was formed in mid-April 1956, marking the start of his administration (1956–1959) and enabling rapid pursuit of the promised “Sinhala Only” official-language agenda.
A Federal Party (ITAK) satyagraha linked to language-policy grievances was attacked at Galle Face, signaling early escalation of ethnic and political tensions during debate over official-language legislation.
The Official Language Act (No. 33 of 1956)—popularly known as the “Sinhala Only” law—came into force, replacing English with Sinhala as the sole official language and becoming a defining, controversial reform of Bandaranaike’s government.
Bandaranaike and S.J.V. Chelvanayakam signed an agreement aimed at easing communal conflict, including proposals for regional councils and administrative arrangements; it became a focal point for both Tamil expectations and Sinhalese nationalist opposition.
Bandaranaike’s administration enacted legislation suspending the death penalty, a major criminal-justice change later revisited after the prime minister’s assassination.
Facing strong opposition (including from influential Buddhist monks and nationalist forces), Bandaranaike publicly abandoned the Bandaranaike–Chelvanayakam Pact, worsening mistrust between communities and narrowing prospects for negotiated accommodation.
Large-scale violence against Tamils began in late May 1958, becoming the first islandwide pogrom/riot episode of the post-independence period and exposing the depth of communal polarization amid language-policy disputes.
With violence spreading, the Governor-General declared a state of emergency and deployed security forces, reflecting the crisis level reached during the 1958 riots and shaping subsequent political calculations around language and devolution.
Parliament passed the Tamil Language (Special Provisions) Act in August 1958, allowing limited official/administrative and educational use of Tamil—an attempted partial concession after unrest that nevertheless left core disputes unresolved.
A Buddhist monk, Talduwe Somarama, shot Prime Minister Bandaranaike at Tintagel in Colombo while he was meeting members of the public, abruptly destabilizing the government that had driven the 1956–1958 language reforms.
Bandaranaike died the day after being shot, ending his 1956–1959 premiership; Wijeyananda Dahanayake was appointed caretaker prime minister, opening a new phase in which language-policy implementation and communal relations continued under different leadership.
S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike government and language reforms (1956-1959)
