Tilling the land – By Oscar E V Fernando Land usage in our country changed with the several changes in regimes. It appears to be so from ancient Lanka, over periods of invasions to the present day-both the land and its people suffered! From the remembered past, it may be said, that the Rajakariya system prevailed most of the time-during which period we may have earned the epithet-granary of the east. Then onwards during invasions by foreigners, land was managed by the mercantile system of companies especially in cases of tea rubber and coconut, with private ownership: this system prevailed till independence-at which time our country was termed prosperous-until it changed with the Land Reforms Commission and the lands managed by the state with consequent heavy losses: there were intermittent changes of management with changes in regimes. This situation prevailed up to now-with sparse attention given to tilling of ...