RSS Feed (xml)History evidence suggests that people settled in the Maldives more than 2500 years ago, in 500 B.C. Despite frequent contact with seafarers in ancient times, the inhabitants have remained uniquely homogeneous in terms of language, religion and culture. The Maldivian state has evolved to suite the conditions in the country and the independence of the people. The political system has evolved from Sultanate to a Republic.
For most of its history, the Maldives has been fortunate in being an independent country, free from foreign domination. Prior to becoming independent in 1965, the Maldives was a British protectorate from 1887. The Maldives was a sultanate through its known history, but became a republic in 1968. The head of state and chief executive is the president, elected by every 5 years by a public referendum. The Maldives is member of the United Nations, the Common Wealth of Nations, the South Asian Association of Regional Co-Operation, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Asian Development Bank, the World Trade Organization, and several other UN bodies.
The official language is Dhivehi, which is unique to the Maldives. However, English is widely spoken by a majority of the people, and also widely used in business and commerce.
For most of its history, the Maldives has been fortunate in being an independent country, free from foreign domination. Prior to becoming independent in 1965, the Maldives was a British protectorate from 1887. The Maldives was a sultanate through its known history, but became a republic in 1968. The head of state and chief executive is the president, elected by every 5 years by a public referendum. The Maldives is member of the United Nations, the Common Wealth of Nations, the South Asian Association of Regional Co-Operation, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Asian Development Bank, the World Trade Organization, and several other UN bodies.
The official language is Dhivehi, which is unique to the Maldives. However, English is widely spoken by a majority of the people, and also widely used in business and commerce.
Divehi is an Indo-Aryan language closely related to the Sinhalese language of Sri Lanka. Divehi represents the southernmost Indo-Aryan language, and thus the southernmost Indo-European language. Together with Sinhala, Divehi represents a special subgroup within the Modern Indo-Aryan languages which is called Insular Indo-Aryan.
Whereas earlier it was believed that Divehi was a descendant of the Sinhalese language, in 1969 Sinhalese philologist M. W. S. de Silva for the first time proposed that Dhivehi and Sinhalese have branched off from a common mother language (a Prakrit). He says that “the earliest Indic element in Maldivian is not so much a result of branching off from Sinhalese as a result of a simultaneous separation with Sinhalese from the Indic languages of the mainland of India”. S. Fritz has recently reached the same conclusion in a detailed study of the language. De Silva refers to the Dravidian influences seen in the Dhivehi language such as in the old place names. De Silva’s theory is supported by the legend of Prince Vijaya as told in the Mahavamsa because if this legend is to be believed, the migration of Indo-Aryan colonists to the Maldives and Sri Lanka from the mainland (India) must have taken place simultaneously.
Source: Wikipedia.com
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