Flag of British Ceylon

Sri Lanka

Name	Lion flag or Sinha flag
Use	Civil and state flag, civil ensign
Proportion	1:2
Adopted	22 May 1972
Design	Dark red rectangular panel bordered yellow containing a yellow lion holding a sword upright in its right fore paw, and four bo leaves, one in each corner, and next to the hoist two vertical stripes, green and orange, also bordered yellow together.
Variant flag of Sri Lanka
Use	Civil ensign
Proportion	1:2
Adopted	1972
Design	A red field with the flag of Sri Lanka in the canton.
Variant flag of Sri Lanka
Use	Blue ensign
Proportion	1:2
Adopted	1972
Design	A blue field with the flag of Sri Lanka in the canton.
Variant flag of Sri Lanka
Use	President's Colour
Proportion	1:2
Adopted	1972
Design	A defaced flag of Sri Lanka with Coat of arms of Sri Lanka
Variant flag of Sri Lanka
Use	Naval ensign
Proportion	1:2
Adopted	1972
Design	A white field with the flag of Sri Lanka in the canton.
Variant flag of Sri Lanka
Use	Air Force ensign
Proportion	1:2
Adopted	2010
Design	A defaced sky blue ensign with the flag of Sri Lanka in the canton and Air Force roundel.

The flag of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ජාතික කොඩිය Sri Lankavay Jathika Kodiya)(Tamil: இலங்கையின் தேசியக்கொடி Ilankaiyin teciyakkoṭi), also called the Lion flag or Sinha flag, consists of a yellow lion holding a kastane sword in its right fore paw in a dark red background with four yellow bo leaves in each corner of the background. Around the background is a yellow border and to its left are two vertical stripes of equal size in green and saffron, with the saffron stripe closest to the lion. The lion represents bravery of Sri Lankans. The four Bo leaves represent four main concepts of Buddhism Mettā, Karuna, Mudita and Upekkha. The stripes represent the two main minority groups. The saffron stripe represents Tamils and the green stripe represents Muslims, and the maroon background represents the majority Sinhalese. The yellow border around the flag represents the unity of Sri Lankans.

It was adopted in 1950 following the recommendations of a committee appointed by the 1st Prime Minister of Ceylon, The Rt Hon D.S. Senanayake.

When Vijaya, the first King of Sri Lanka, arrived in Sri Lanka from India in 486 BC, he brought with him a flag with a symbol of a lion on it. Since then the Lion symbol played a significant role in the history of Sri Lanka. It was used extensively by North Indian prince who followed King Vijaya and it became a symbol of freedom and hope. In 162 BC, when King Dutugemunu embarked on the campaign in which he defeated the South Indian invader Elara, who had ruled the northern part of the island, he carried with him a banner which portrayed a lion carrying a sword on his right forepaw along with two other symbols, the Sun and the Moon.