The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna is a leftist political party in Sri Lanka. The party was formerly a revolutionary movement and was involved in two armed uprisings against the government of Sri Lanka: once in 1971 (SLFP), and another in 1987–1989 (UNP). The motive for both uprisings was to establish a socialist state. Since then the JVP has entered mainstream democratic politics and has updated its ideology, abandoning some of its original Marxist policies such as the abolition of private property, and moderating its rhetoric. The JVP has been led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake since 2014.
Patabendi Don Jinadasa Nandasiri Wijeweera, better known as Rohana Wijeweera, was a Sri Lankan Marxist–Leninist political activist, revolutionary, and founder of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna. Wijeweera led the party in two unsuccessful insurrections in Sri Lanka, in 1971 and 1987 until his assassination.
The 1971 Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) insurrection was the first of two unsuccessful armed revolts conducted by the communist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) against the socialist United Front Government of Sri Lanka under Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike. The revolt began on 5 April 1971 and lasted until June of that year. The insurgents held towns and rural areas for several weeks, until the regions were recaptured by the armed forces, following strong support from friendly nations that sent men and material. Although this first attempt to seize power was quickly crushed by force, in 1987 the JVP launched a low-intensity insurgency in the island's southern, central and western regions that lasted several years.
The 1987–1989 JVP insurrection, also known as the 1988–1989 revolt or the JVP troubles, was an armed revolt in Sri Lanka, led by the Marxist–Leninist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, against the Government of Sri Lanka. The insurrection, like the previous one in 1971, was unsuccessful. The main phase of the insurrection was a low-intensity conflict that lasted from April 1987 to December 1989. The insurgents led by the JVP resorted to subversion, assassinations, raids, and attacks on military and civilian targets while the Sri Lankan government reacted through counter-insurgency operations to suppress the revolt.
Dharmasoka College is a coed school in Sri Lanka. The college was established in 1913.
The Jathika Nidahas Peramuna (JNP) or National Freedom Front (NFF) is a political party in Sri Lanka which was formed by ten JVP parliamentarians led by Wimal Weerawansa, as a breakaway group of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).
The 1987 grenade attack in the Sri Lankan Parliament is an attack that took place on August 18, 1987, when an assailant hurled two grenades into a room where the Sri Lankan president, prime minister and Member of Parliament members of parliament were meeting. The grenades bounced off the table at which president J. R. Jayawardene and prime minister Ranasinghe Premadasa were sitting, and rolled away. A member of parliament and a ministry secretary were killed by the explosions.
Sunil Handunnetti is a Sri Lankan politician and a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka who has served as the Minister of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development since November 2024. A member of the National People's Power and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, he was elected as a Member of Parliament for Matara Electoral District in 2024 Sri Lankan parliamentary election.He formerly contested 2010 parliamentary elections under the Democratic National Alliance (DNA), which is led by former army chief Sarath Fonseka and was re-elected to Parliament from Colombo District.
Bimal Rathnayake is a Sri Lankan politician who serves as the Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation and Leader of the House since November 2024. A longstanding member of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Rathnayake is member of the JVP Politburo, a national executive member of National People's Power (NPP) and a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka for the National List.
Stanley Wijesundera was a Sri Lankan academic. He served as the first Vice chancellor of the University of Colombo from 1979 to 1988. A Professor of Biochemistry, he was the chairman of the Association of Commonwealth Universities from 1983 to 1984. Professor Wijesundera was assassinated by the JVP Hitman during the 1987–89 JVP Insurrection.
Shantha Bandara alias Mahanama (1951−1990) was the first convenor of the Inter University Students' Federation (IUSF) and a key leader of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, a Marxist-Leninist political party in Sri Lanka. He was killed in January 1990.
Inter-University Students' Federation is a confederation of students' unions across Sri Lanka. Around 70 students' unions are affiliated with the confederation, accounting for more than 95% of all higher and further education unions in Sri Lanka. The IUSF is the organization that is given leadership to whole university students in Sri Lanka. It is the largest student organization in Sri Lanka to date. It represents the voice of student councils and action committees in 15 higher education institutes including all major universities and technical colleges in Sri Lanka.
The assassination of Daya Pathirana took place on 15 December 1986. Daya Pathirana was the leader of the Independent Students Union of University of Colombo during 1985–1986. Pro-Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna activists are accused of his murder. This assassination is considered as a watershed incident in the 1987–1989 Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna insurrection.
Deshapremi Janatha Vyaparaya was a militant organisation in Sri Lanka. It was widely considered to be the military branch of the Marxist–Leninist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and had been designated as a terrorist organisation by the Sri Lankan government.
The 1989 Temple of the Tooth attack was an attack on the Temple of the Tooth Relic, located in Kandy, Sri Lanka. The shrine, which is considered sacred to the Buddhists in Sri Lanka, houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha and is a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site. It was attacked on 8 February 1989, allegedly by the armed cadres affiliated to Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a Marxist–Leninist political party in Sri Lanka.
Terrorism in Sri Lanka has been a highly destructive phenomenon during the 20th and 21st centuries, especially so during the periods of the Sri Lankan Civil War (1983–2009) and the first (1971) and second JVP insurrections (1987–1989). A common definition of terrorism is the systematic or threatened use of violence to intimidate a population or government for political, religious, or ideological goals. Sri Lanka is a country that has experienced some of the worst known acts of modern terrorism, such as suicide bombings, massacres of civilians and assassination of political and social leaders. Terrorism has posed a significant threat to the society, economy and development of the country. The Prevention of Terrorism Act of 1978 is the legislation that provides the powers to law enforcement officers to deal with issues related to terrorism in Sri Lanka. It was first enacted as a temporary law in 1979 under the presidency of J. R. Jayewardene, and later made permanent in 1982.
Gladys Jayawardene was a Sri Lankan Physician and academic. She was the first female Director of the Medical Research Institute and Chairman of the State Pharmaceutical Corporation. She was assassinated by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) for importing Indian medicines.
The National People's Power (NPP) or Jathika Jana Balawegaya (JJB) is a centre-left to left-wing political party in Sri Lanka. It is the current ruling party of Sri Lanka, having won the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections, and is currently the largest party in the Parliament of Sri Lanka. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is the current leader of the party and Nihal Abeysinghe is the general secretary.
Mesthree Tilvin Silva is a Sri Lankan Marxist politician serving as the General Secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and a founding member of the NPP. Silva has played a significant role in shaping the JVP's policies and strategies, particularly focusing on social justice, anti-corruption, and economic reforms. He has been described as one the closet allies of the president Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
Sri Lankan 
