The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c15.20

v1.c15.20

Colombo is not, however, in a technical sense Indian. It is the chief city of the luxuriant and beautiful island of Ceylon, which is about as large as Ireland. Neither to-day nor in the past has Ceylon been a mere appendage of India. The Buddhist religion of half its population, and the Dutch basis of its legal code are the embodiment of chapters in its history; it is for good historical reasons that the Governor of Ceylon writes his despatches home to the Secretary for the Colonies and not to the Secretary for India.