Ceylon Gains Membership of the UN

Country faces resistance from the Soviets

From a British colony in 1947 through being the locus of the Colombo Plan in 1951 to hosting the Colombo Powers summit of 1954, the Dominion of Ceylon had seen an eventful half a decade and more since gaining independence in 1948.

Its admission to the all-embracing ranks of the UN in 1955 brought it more securely into the mainstream of newly independent nations that were beginning to forge their identities in the swirling maelstrom of international politics that characterised the Cold War era.

Being a former protectorate of the Crown of the United Kingdom, it was only natural that even in the first flush of independence for Ceylon there was still a touch of Britannia in its mores, manners and mindfulness of geopolitical allegiances – even in the shifting sands of the post-WWII ethos that was emerging in the postcolonial milieu of South Asia especially.

As part of that die-hard traditional of loyalty, service and affiliation to Britannia, Ceylon was an identifiably Anglophile nation – albeit one that from early days made no small attempts together with its regional counterparts to shape a fresh identity for itself and sister states.

It was no surprise then that among those obstinately blocking the entry of the island nation into the portals of the United Nations was the Soviet Union – ostensibly on the grounds that Ceylon was not ‘fully independent’ yet, given its latent anticommunist bias and proclivity to take policy directives from Britain.

However – and despite this formidable obstacle to its admittance, as well as a fear that the rice-rubber pact with China could be compromised arising from membership, Ceylon became a fully fledged member of the international forum on 15 December 1955 and went on to enjoy over 65 years of fruitful engagement with other nations through its permanent mission, which was set up in New York early the next year.

Ceylon became a fully fledged member of the international forum on 15 December 1955 and went on to enjoy over 65 years of fruitful engagement with other nations through its permanent mission