The Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

is the Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

n envoy

Envoy

Envoy may refer to:*an Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary*a Special Envoy*a diplomat in general*Envoy , the British Vauxhall cars for Canadian market in 1960-'70*Envoy , a document reader and document file format...

 to India. Countries belonging to the Commonwealth of Nations

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

 typically exchange High Commissioner

High Commissioner

High Commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages.-Bilateral diplomacy:...

s, rather than Ambassador

Ambassador

An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....

s. Though there are a few technical differences (for instance, whereas Ambassadors present their diplomatic credentials to the host country's head of state

Head of State

A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...

, High Commissioners are accredited to the head of government

Head of government

Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...

), they are in practice one and the same office.

Prior to the establishment of formal diplomatic ties with India after Ceylon gained independence in 1948, the Government of British Ceylon

British Ceylon

British Ceylon refers to British rule prior to 1948 of the island territory now known as Sri Lanka.-From the Dutch to the British:Before the beginning of the Dutch governance, the island of Ceylon was divided between the Portuguese Empire and the Kingdom of Kandy, who were in the midst of a war for...

 maintained a official representative to the British Raj

British Raj

British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...

 in India from 1942 to 1948. The Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India is concurrently accredited

Dual accreditation

Dual accreditation is the practice in diplomacy of a country granting two separate responsibilities to a single diplomat. One prominent form of dual accreditation is for a diplomat to serve as the ambassador to two countries concurrently...

 as Ambassador

Ambassador

An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....

 to both Bhutan

Bhutan

Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...

 and Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

. Sri Lanka also maintains two Consul-Generals in Chennai

Chennai

Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

 and Mumbai

Mumbai

Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

.

Representatives of the Government of Ceylon

Representative	Start of Term	End of Term
Sir Sir Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...  Baron Jayathilake Don Baron Jayatilaka Sir Don Baron Jayatilaka was a Sri Lankan educationalist, politician and diplomat....	1942	1945
Sir Sir Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...  Bandara Panabokke Adigar Adigar Adigar, known as Adikarm in Sinhala, was a feudal title associated with high office during the existence of the Kingdom of Kandy. Persons were appointed to the title and office by the King, these appointees made up the King's council of ministers...	1945	1946
M.W.H de Silva	1947	1948

High Commissioners

High Commissioner	Start of Term	End of Term
Sir Sir Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...  Arunachalam Mahadeva Arunachalam Mahadeva Sir Arunachalam Mahadeva, KCMG was a Sri Lankan, prominent colonial era legislator and diplomat. He was Minister of Home Affaires of the State Council and Ceylon's High Commissioner to India.... , KCMG	1948	1950
C. Coomaraswamy	1950	1955
Sir Sir Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...  Edwin Wijeratne	1955	1957
Sir Sir Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...  Richard Aluwihare Richard Aluwihare Sir Richard Aluwihare, KCMG, CBE, CCS, JP was a Sri Lankan civil servant and diplomat. He was the first Ceylonese Inspector General of Police and Ceylon's High Commissioner in India.... , KCMG, CBE CBE CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...	1957	1963
Shirley Amerasinghe	1963	1966
Siri Perera Siri Perera Siri Perera QC a Buddhist leader who was one time the President of the Colombo YMBA.He was also a former Sri Lanka High Commissioner to India.He was educated at Nalanda College Colombo.-References:* By Rajah Kuruppu - Vice President Colombo YMBA...	1967	1969
N.Q. Dias	1970	1972
Justin Siriwardena	1974	1977
Arthur Basnayake	1977	1978
T.B.Panabokke Theodore Braybrooke Panabokke Theodore Braybrooke Panabokke was Sri Lankan politician, lawyer and diplomat. He was a former Deputy Minister of Justice & Agriculture, Member of Parliament and Ceylon's High Commissioner to India. He was the Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya.Born to Adigar Sir Tikiri Bandara Panabokke...	1978	1982
Bernard Tilakaratna Bernard Tilakaratna Bernard Tilakaratna, SLOS was a senior diplomat and bureaucrat of the Sri Lankan government. He was an ambassador to many countries and prior to retirement was the permanent secretary to Ministry of Foreign Affairs.-Early life:...	1982	1989
Dr Stanley Kalpage	1989	1991
Dr Doctor (title) Doctor, as a title, originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb docēre . It has been used as an honored academic title for over a millennium in Europe, where it dates back to the rise of the university. This use spread...  Neville Kanakeratne Neville Kanakeratne Deshamanya Neville Kanakeratne is a Sri Lankan lawyer, diplomat and scholar, who was the former Governor of the Southern Province. He was the Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States and High Commissioner to India....	1991	1994
Mangala Moonesinghe Mangala Moonesinghe Mangala Moonesinghe is a Sri Lankan lawyer, politician and diplomat. He was Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2000 to 2002 and Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India from 1995 to 2000...	1995	2000
Dr Senake Bandaranayake	2000	2002
Mangala Moonesinghe Mangala Moonesinghe Mangala Moonesinghe is a Sri Lankan lawyer, politician and diplomat. He was Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2000 to 2002 and Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India from 1995 to 2000...	2002	2005
C.R.Jaysinghe	2005	2009
Prasad Kariyawasam	2009	Present