Later in 1956, after the Sinhala-only law, the National Anthem was sung in both languages until 1987. After that singing in Tamil language was stopped.
Then, after the presidential election in 2015, as part of the reconciliation efforts in Sri Lanka, the national anthem, which was sung in Sinhala, came back into practice to be sung in Tamil as well.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa won the presidential election held in November 2019. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe resigned when the UN-led government had a majority in Parliament.
As a result, an interim government was formed under the leadership of Mahinda Rajapaksa. Following this, it later announced that the national anthem should be sung and played only in Sinhala during the Independence Day celebrations on February 4.
In this case, the Sri Lankan government has again decided to sing the national anthem in Sinhala and Tamil. The Ranil Wickremesinghe government has announced that the National Anthem will be sung in both Sinhala and Tamil languages during the Independence Day celebrations.
The development comes as Sri Lanka moves to end the state of emergency imposed in the country following protests against the government. It is being watched with wonder by people of various sects.