By Ajith Rajapaksa –

Ajith Rajapaksa

In the early 1980s, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) sought to occupy the political space once dominated by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). As part of this effort, they launched a major nationwide propaganda campaign titled “End of a Journey.” However, the campaign itself was a failure. Since then, the JVP has employed various strategies to gain political power. Today, however, the party is undergoing a historic transformation: one so profound it appears irreversible. This transformation involves shedding its long-held nationalist and socialist ideologies in favor of a form of liberalism.

Historically, the JVP staunchly opposed Indian expansionism, Western imperialism, the open-market economy, privatization, and the involvement of global institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Yet, in a stunning shift, the party has recently abandoned all of these positions, and in an astonishingly short span of time.

Prior to the most recent election, the JVP fiercely opposed President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s IMF-backed debt restructuring program and criticized agreements signed with India for development projects. Today, in power, the same party continues implementing these very policies, ones it opposed just months ago, with neither hesitation nor explanation.

On one hand, this dramatic reversal may not come as a surprise. The JVP has a long history of ideological flip-flopping: shifting from Guevarism to Sinhala nationalism, from anti-Indian rhetoric to calls for Tamil self-determination, and from revolutionary socialism to rejection of even the provincial council system. It is a party often torn between radical and contradictory ideological currents.

In the 1988–89 period, the JVP pivoted to ultra-nationalism and adopted violent tactics, including assassinations and acts of terror, endangering its own cadre. It was a self-destructive phase. Instead of building mass support, they sought to capture state power through force. Worker strikes were not mobilized organically, but enforced through intimidation and death threats. JVP leaders seemed to believe the state could be overthrown through terrorism, not people’s power. Even in 1971, their first insurrection was an attempt to seize power through guerrilla warfare, inspired by Che Guevara and Fidel Castro. The JVP of that era was not a true labor movement, it was a collection of disillusioned students, youth, farmers, and marginalized communities. Many political analysts viewed it as a petty-bourgeois movement projecting the frustrations of a disempowered class.

Their attempt to topple a democratically elected government within a year of its formation: one backed by a popular coalition, was politically immature and reactionary. As Lenin once described such behavior, it was an “infantile disorder” of leftism. Even Che Guevara warned that guerrilla warfare should only be a last resort, undertaken after all democratic options had been exhausted. The JVP’s attempts to romanticize its uprisings as heroic revolutions are deeply problematic. Both insurrections were ultimately self-defeating, driven by flawed ideology, poor understanding of Marxist principles, and a petty-bourgeois adventurism that alienated the working class.

On Socialism

The transition from capitalism to socialism is a complex societal transformation that requires deep-rooted mass participation. It cannot be imposed by a revolutionary elite, nor achieved through dramatic acts of heroism. Crucially, it cannot succeed in isolation from the global socialist movement. The JVP lacked clarity and vision in this regard.

Prominent leftist intellectuals, such as Dr. Vickramabahu Karunaratne, argued that true socialist change in a country like Sri Lanka could only emerge as part of a broader regional transformation. They promoted internationalism and solidarity, especially with South India, and recognized the legitimate rights of the Tamil people in the North and East. In contrast, the JVP clung to anti-Indian nationalism. When United Socialist Alliance leader Vijaya Kumaratunga forged ties with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran in the late 1980s, the JVP and its allies found it intolerable. This led to the planning of assassinations of leftist leaders, contributing to a cycle of violence. Their fascist tendencies provoked a brutal state response. Simultaneously, militant groups in the North adopted equally destructive tactics. In the end, both the Southern insurrection and the Northern armed struggle led to devastating human tragedies—two sides of the same coin.

The Recent Past

In 2005, the JVP was instrumental in bringing Mahinda Rajapaksa to power, claiming they were saving the nation from the United National Party (UNP), which they accused of betraying the country. The party viewed the LTTE as the main obstacle to socialism and actively supported its defeat, aligning with Rajapaksa and other right-wing nationalist forces. This alliance, however, empowered those very forces and marginalized the JVP. Internal dissent soon followed. Key leaders, including the party’s propaganda secretary and parliamentary group leader, left. Others soon followed, forming a new political party. The JVP’s vote base plummeted to below 3%.

The formation of the National People’s Power (NPP) coalition was a response to this crisis. But the NPP’s initial performance failed to improve electoral fortunes, and internal disagreements persisted.

The People’s Struggle

The 2022 economic crisis, fueled by Rajapaksa-era mismanagement and compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, led to a historic people’s uprising. At first, some JVP leaders dismissed the protesters at Galle Face Green as privileged urban youth enjoying the sea breeze. But as the movement gained momentum, the JVP joined the struggle. However, their participation was inconsistent. They often appeared more interested in electoral gain than in grassroots activism.

When the movement called for a sustained general strike to demand justice for attacks on protesters, JVP-aligned union leaders initially pledged support. But the very next day, they pulled out, undermining the movement’s momentum.

After Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled and Ranil Wickremesinghe assumed the presidency, the JVP initially welcomed IMF engagement, claiming the institution would not support corrupt politicians like Wickremesinghe. But once the IMF agreement was finalized, they reverted to their previous criticisms. They also attacked development deals with India, accused India of involvement in the Easter Sunday attacks, and condemned the leasing of Trincomalee oil tanks. They pledged to revise IMF agreements if elected. But in power, they backtracked, saying revision was no longer feasible.

They once promised to repeal repressive laws like the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) with the stroke of a pen. Today, there is no indication of such reforms. Police repression, arbitrary arrests, and attacks on protesters continue. They criticized Wickremesinghe for taxing the poor instead of the rich, but those policies remain unchanged. Far from resisting the IMF, the JVP has now fully embraced its program. Graduates are told the government cannot create jobs for them. Farmers are blamed for inflation. Indian-backed agreements signed under Ranil are being implemented enthusiastically. Defense ties with India have deepened. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently visited Sri Lanka to formalize these deals.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake now acts like a “red elephant calf”, a symbolic nod to his transformation into a compliant figurehead for elite and capitalist interests. For the IMF and business elites, this is a welcome development. Even Ranil’s old advisors now serve AKD. The JVP has aligned itself with Indian and American interests. American diplomats routinely visit Pelawatta to reinforce these ties.

This shift has not stirred much dissent within the party. JVP members remain obedient to leadership, a long-standing tradition within the party.

The Final Curtain

The political transformation of the past few years in Sri Lanka is nothing short of extraordinary. Mahinda Rajapaksa, once revered as a patriotic leader and war hero, is now seen as a corrupt criminal. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, once hailed as a decisive leader, has been exposed as inept. The JVP, once a firebrand movement of Marxists and patriots, has become a liberal force aligned with global capitalism. The party that once demonized Indian influence now implements Indian-backed agreements without protest.

In this new political landscape, there is no room left for “patriots” or “revolutionaries.” The Rajapaksas ended patriotism. AKD and his coalition have ended socialism and anti-Indian rhetoric. The illusions have shattered. The masks have fallen. And in a sense, that is a healthy development. The people now see things as they are.