Abstract:
The British ideology of the colonial state of Sri Lanka during the 19th century was an amalgamation of elements drawn from the contemporary capitalist thinking of the west as well as of castefeudalism in Sri Lanka.1 It was neither defined nor consistent in application. Hence, it depicted contradictory sets of notions that kept changing with the exigencies of time. This is well reflected in the evolutionary process of the local government system in Sri Lanka during the period under review