By the end of the 20^th-century colonialism came to an end and the process of decolonisation was completed.

(a) Maldives:

• Portuguese entered the Maldives in 1529. Since then Maldives began to pay tribute to the Portuguese in Goa.
• Sultan Muhammad Thakuruphanu A1 Azam from Malabar ended the Portuguese rule and signed a treaty with the Dutch and gave them administrative responsibility of Maldives.
• the Later Maldives was taken over by the British. They built naval bases and radio transmission centers in the Maldives. They also took Indian labourers to work in the paddy fields in the Maldives.
• the Maldives became independent on 26th July 1965, by a treaty signed at Colombo.

(b) Sri Lanka:

• The British ruled Sri Lanka (Ceylon) from 1798 to 1948. They defeated the Portuguese and Dutch.
• There were uprisings in Sri Lanka against British rule. The British plantation owners had taken many labourers from Tamil Nadu to work in coffee plantations.
• In Sri Lanka, the British dominated the production of coffee, tea, rubber, and coconut. They developed Colombo as an international port city.
• They established colleges and universities in Sri Lanka and encouraged Buddhist studies. Sri Lanka became independent in 1948.

(c) Myanmar:

• In 1599, the Portuguese annexed Myanmar, however, in 1611 Portuguese were defeated and United Myanmar was formed. Now Myanmar followed expansionist policy and attacked the British territories of Assam and Manipur in India.
• This situation caused three wars between Myanmar and the British also known as Anglo- Burmese war. The British won the third war and got the control of entire Myanmar.
• Till 1935 it was a part of province of British India. In 1935 it was separated from India and granted autonomy. After 1937 the people of Myanmar formed an organization called ‘Burma Independence Army’ under the leadership of Aung San.
• The British granted independence to Myanmar on 4^th January 1948 and appointed Aung San as Vice President.