The anthem was also sung in the majority Sinhalese, but the change to the usual procedure has been criticised by hardline Sinhalese nationalists.

President Maithripala Sirisena restored the Tamil version as part of moves towards ethnic reconciliation and the move comes  seven years after the end of the war with the LTTE. 

Tamil is the native language for the Tamil people, who constitute about 15% of Sri Lankans, and for Muslims who are nearly 10%.