YOUTH OF SRI LANKA - THE PAST AND THE FUTURE
Emergence of the Young
Youth is said to be the harbinger of social progress. This does not denote a diminished role other social layers play in social development. The basic universal concept that all social phenomena come into being, develop into forces of relative freedom and construction and then become forces of relative bondage and impediment applies to youth movements as well. However in any given social stratum or framework the younger generation is more acceptive to change and thus become the change agents. The younger generation is expected to work within the socio-economic and cultural framework developed by the ‘older’ generation in its heyday. Obviously there are generational gaps in social attitudes, in the level of accessibility to science and technology, in cultural staticness etc.. The ‘younger’ is an emerging force looking forward to better opportunities, is ready to take greater risks, and is more adventuristic in imposing radical solutions to critical problems. This, I believe, is the prevalent characteristic of youth movements in historical social development and will remain the driving force of future social progress.
Lack of Space
All past socio-economic frameworks have catered to a minority enjoying most of the available resources and exclusive privileges. Within these frameworks majority had been kept far away from power centres and as a result had been powerless and helpless. The rights of this majority had to be bargained for with the privileged minority. ‘Rights’ had been granted as ‘presents’ from the privileged minority which could be taken back at its will.
This lack of space for the ‘rightless’ majority has led to two main approaches towards social issues. Majority of the ‘older’ generation will ‘request’ for their rights awaiting kind and humane responses. Majority of the ‘young’ usually see what they demand as their basic human right for existence. They look for quicker solutions that the privileged few will see as a threat to their survival.
Previous Millennium
The historical period before young Vijaya and his group were banished from India is not yet well researched. Apparently tribes fighting each other inhabited Lanka and they had their own level of scientific and technological achievement. Vijaya married Kuveni probably to gain foothold in the island. Obviously the two would have represented the rebellious youth at that time. However the role youth played at the time as a movement is not clear. In feudal Sri Lanka antagonism between the ‘young ‘and the ‘older’ came to the fore perhaps in the form of struggles against rulers by village leaders and in the form of revolts of ‘son’ princes against their ‘father’ kings.
Colonialism, Left Movement and Independence
Colonial forces imposed their capitalist administration all over the island before feudal production relations became a hindering force to social development. Thus the ‘unitary’ colonial island ‘nation’ came into being. The resistance led by the younger generation to domination, suppression and exploitation was continuous and took various forms including the rebellions of 1818 and 1848, the anti-imperialist struggles launched by the left political parties and the trade unions. However the colonialist masters transferred political power to their faithful in 1948.
During the 1948 - 1956 period, foreign owned companies continued to dominate the major economic resources. The Sinhala and Tamil speaking majority continued to be downtrodden and had little access to power centres. Social mobility for the vast majority was severely restricted with hardly any expansion of educational opportunities. Conservatives in power did not address social justice issues that prevailed. During the latter part of 1950s Sri Lankan economy was not performing at its best.
Thus nationalist power demands that earlier had had no appeal started making headway into the national political agenda.
Neither the socio-economic, cultural framework nor the unitary state imposed by the colonialists and maintained by the ‘older’ generation could satisfy the peoples’ needs. Sinhala nationalism, which claimed to bring benefits to the Sinhala speaking majority, commenced playing a dominant role. For Sinhala speaking Buddhists and Tamil speaking Hindus a period of cultural renaissance was necessary. Federal party had come into existence to articulate the Tamil national aspirations. Bandaranayake government of 1956 appeared to cater to the aspirations of Sinhalas while leaving out the aspirations of Tamils.
Emergence of the JVP and the 1971 Youth Insurrection
Sri Lankan agrarian society comprises of semi-proletarian and lower middle class social layers. Despite lowering the voting age and large-scale expansion of educational opportunities for the youth, lack of employment opportunities, distance from power centres and exclusion from important national decision making processes remained. This provided the JVP with very favourable conditions for rapid growth.
The JVP’s main source of political cadre was young university and school students conscious of the deteriorating socio-economic situation. The youth, acting alone and having substituted themselves for the peoples of Sri Lanka, demanded radical solutions to the existing problems. The response of the established framework was not only undemocratic, but also decisive and devastating. Initial response took the form of annihilatory measures against the radical youth movement. 1971 youth insurgency saw around 10000 people killed and more than 50,000 people incarcerated.
Tamil Youth Rebellion
Privileged English speaking Tamils were dislodged from their positions in an undemocratic and non-consultative manner. Discrimination against Tamils on the basis of their language and religion strengthened Tamil nationalism. With the removal of English from the school curriculum socio-economic and cultural barriers grew between the Sinhala and Tamil youth. Caste oppression and other feudal remnants led Tamil youth to rebel against established Tamil political parties. Democratic protests were subjected to violent repression. Tamil people, who overwhelmingly rejected the slogan of a separate state before, now embraced the slogan of Eelam demanding the recognition of the Tamil socio-cultural identity with its right to self-determination. Vadukkodai Resolution was an expression of this hardening position. However the established power blocks were arrogantly insensitive to the situation. Instead of a Sinhala Buddhist country, they demanded the recognition of a multicultural country. The rebellion of the Tamil youth continues unabated to date with enormous damages to the lives, property and the economy.
JVP and 1983 Black July
With the release of its incarcerated leaders in 1977, the JVP was once again developing into a strong political force. The established ‘old’ framework reacted by proscribing the JVP falsely implicating it with July 1983 Black July riots and annihilating almost the entire leadership of the JVP along with about 60,000 young people.
Inheritance of the Previous Millenium
New millennium inherits the reviving JVP as the strongest youth movement. It only sees the resolution of the national problem within a socialist state. Tamil youth militancy led by the LTTE continues unabated, increasingly encompassing the Tamil population. It demands a separate state to resolve the issue. Janatha Mithrayo, a breakaway from the JVP / Sinhala Weera Vidahana is rapidly developing linkages among various Sinhala nationalist organisations aiming for a pan Sinhala movement to safeguard the interests of the Sinhalas from perceived threats, both national and international. It stands for the annihilation of Tamil nationalists. Thus Sri Lanka moves to the new millennium with all of its major socio-economic and cultural problems unresolved and with three essentially youth movements, all of which aspire to political power. Continuing war inflicts a heavy toll on the economy. In an environment of rising nationalist tendencies in the Indian sub-continent, these characteristics denote a potential for an explosive situation.
New Millennium
With the rapid development of science and technology, new millennium will be knowledge based and heavily supported by the rapid information revolution. However this millennium will still not ensure free availability of information though more readily available. As in the previous millennium information flow will be restricted depending on the needs of those in power. There is no guarantee that ready availability of information will be used for the advantage of the people, especially in countries like Sri Lanka where emergency rule and press censorship had been and will continue to be the norm.
Knowledge Base and Multiculturalism
In the long run spread of information and knowledge base will lead to the acceptance of diversity of cultures within a multicultural framework. Equal opportunity and equality of access to services will be the norm. The two trends, i.e., breaking away from domination to form national states and formation of voluntary unions will continue to prevail. Instead of imposing the majority will upon others the existence of more than one people, voluntary union of peoples and collective decision making will be recognised. Youth movements will spearhead this tendency and will move away from their current extreme positions.
Resistance to Change
The struggles of the youth movement will continue to look for adjustments in the established framework. If the ‘older’ do not let such adjustments occur then youth movements will endeavour to impose radical changes. Such endeavours may take different forms including violence depending on the nature of resistance they encounter.
The Future
In the new millennium an explosive situation could be avoided only by democratising political institutions, by becoming more sensitive, attentive and accomodative to the youth demands. A multicultural framework will ensure maintaining harmonious relations among all diverse social groups. Acceptance of diversity should become the norm with necessary attitude changes commencing in school classrooms.
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