Representations of Youth in the Master Narratives
Former insurgents’ depictions of youth who participated in the JVP insurrection were founded on certain aspects borrowed from existing notions of youth found in the “master narratives” of the Bheeshanaya propagated by the state (backed by the media and powerful elites), and by the JVP.
Through their memory work and representations of “youth,” former insurgents spoke to these master narratives in interesting ways. The master narrative of the state has been subject to change over the years, depending on the political party in power. Nevertheless, it is fair to say that the state narrative on the Terror overall is marked by silence and a denial of its part in instigating violence. Both the state and JVP master narratives construct a particular stereotype of the JVP insurgent, which is built around the concept of “youth.” According to the state narrative, the insurrection was a “youth rebellion” in which “restless youth” with certain grievances were “misled” into joining a rebellion against the state, and exploited by the JVP for its own political ends. Exposed to violence and power, these young “subversives,” who included criminal elements, went on the rampage posing a threat to democracy and Sinhala society. The portrayal of youth in the state narrative draws on simplistic stereotypes and throws negative light on the category of insurgent youth as a group of actors. It somewhat patronizingly implies that the youth who participated in the insurgency were gullible (idealistic and easily led), immature (predisposed to “rebel”), and devoid of agency. For example, some journalistic and academic studies published in the aftermath of the Bheeshanaya describe the young people who joined the JVP as “hard-boiled yakkos” (uncouth thugs or demons) and downtrodden “desperados” who were manipulated by a “ruthless JVP leadership” (Chandraprema 1991), and as “idealistic young rebels supposedly dedicated to usher in a brave new world (who) became indiscriminate killers” (Perera 1999, p. 19).The narrative of the JVP is significantly less influential than the official state narrative, but similarly constructs a one-dimensional stereotype of youth in its representation of the insurgents. Here, the JVP positions itself as vanguard of the youth and portrays former insurgents in heroic terms. For instance, the JVP holds an annual “heroes” day to commemorate its cadres who were killed in the Bheeshanaya, whereby former insurgents are depicted as heroic martyrs. The JVP narrative denies responsibility for violence and instead accuses the state of committing the violence of this period. The former insurgents who participated in this research drew on some aspects of these depictions of youth, while rejecting others, in their reconstructions of the past.
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