- Sri Lanka
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A drop in the ocean, at the foot of the Indian sub-continent, the island of Lanka literally resembles a tear drop. Very much a part of India, till a few thousand years ago, it was here that the battle between the Hindu God Lord Ram and the Lankan king Ravana was fought, after the latter abducted the former's wife and held her captive in Sri Lanka. When Sri Lanka was considered to be a part of India, there were many men and women from the island who traveled to Nalanda University to study. During the pre-Vedic times, Sulabha and Gargi women from Lanka are known to have composed the Vedas, at a time when women were accorded equal status in society. Lanka has experienced the influence of several cultures since time immemorial. The Portuguese, the Dutch and the British have all taken to the land for its spices, as flies to a honey-pot, Lanka being a...