Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and Youth Militancy in Southern Sri Lanka
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and Youth Militancy in Southern Sri Lanka
- Nirmal Ranjith DewasiriNirmal Ranjith DewasiriDepartment of History, University of Colombo
Summary
Two insurgencies in the southern parts of Sri Lanka in 1971 and 1987 to 1989 were highly significant political events in the postcolonial period of Sri Lanka. Both these insurgencies were organized by the political organization that came to be known as Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). The social basis of the two insurgencies was the discontent of the youth of the rural lower and middle classes. This was an outcome of a serious structural problem in the social organization, and the inability to meet the social and economic expectations of a growing young population was at the center of this structural problem. The radicalization of the discontented youth was facilitated by the dynamics of vibrant Marxist leftist politics in Sri Lanka. While the first insurgency which began in April 1971 with poorly armed men and women’s attacks on police stations and some other locations of the state machinery across ethnic Sinhalese areas, the second insurgency was much more organized. The impact of the second insurgency was much more serious for three reasons. First, unlike 1971 insurgency, the second one lasted more than two years. Second, tactics that the JVP utilized were much more ruthless compared to 1971. Individual terrorism was a main feature. Political opponents as well as ordinary people who were reluctant to carry out its orders were killed. Third, counterinsurgency measures were also much more brutal.
Keywords
Subjects
- South Asia
