NOTES 99 interests of the plantation sector, as well as other business interests. It has been noted that the "characteristics of this group were that they were broadly Ceylonese (as opposed to identifying with narrower ethnic classifications), largely Christian, mostly high-caste, highly urbanized, highly Western-educated, largely engaged in Western-type occupations and of the highest economic and social class".8 Although Sri Lankan in terms of skin colour and place of birth, they identified strongly with British values, attitudes and perspectives. The ruling elite in the UNP of 1948 was far removed from the traditional culture. Unlike neighbouring India, where leaders like Gandhi and Nehru attempted to mould a new nationalist ideology from traditional Indian values and ideals, the Sri Lankan elite was isolated culturally from its own people. To this elite, "even more significantly, the British parliament is the mother of democracy, and Hobbes, Burke, Locke and Hume were all absolutely correct. It was forgivable' for a member of this elite not to know who followed Raja Singa I to the Lion Throne of Lanka but it is downright unthinkable for him not to know who signed the Magna Garta".4 Downfall of Westernised Elite The UNP suffered a crushing electoral defeat in 1956 by a coalition offerees representing nationalist and Marxist trends, in short, a coalition of counter views on the shape of Sri Lankan society. The 1956 election has had an important bearing on the economic, cultural and political life in the country since then. It has been said: "the 1956 election was remarkable in that of all the elections held in Ceylon since 1931 and in India and Burma since independence, it alone resulted in a marked transfer of political power from one segment of the population to another55.5 It has also been called the "silent revolution" of 1956,6 signifying the arrival of a socially responsive party system as opposed to one of a collection of notables in the society. The coalition offerees led by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) which emerged victorious in the 1956 election, represented among others the nationalist sentiments represented by Dharmapala as well as those of Marxist parties. The election result itself was received with high exuberance by the masses. There was, for instance, joyful storming of the House of Parliament, where, to the chagrin of local representatives of British tradition, common people even sat in the Speaker^ chair. There was a feeling that the 'Age of Common Man' had arrived. If the forces that ruled from 1948 to 1956 were to be termed Anglicized and Western-oriented, the election victory of the SLFP in 1956 could be termed a victory for national and socialist-oriented forces. The SLFP came to power on a platform of change: over the language question (Sinhalese to be used by the administration, instead of English); the restoration of the rights of Buddhists and Buddhism; the nationalization of basic industries; and a rejuvenation of the traditional culture. "In 1956