Political Uprising of Tamil Youth in the 1970s : A Historical Analysis

Abstract

A segment of the Tamil youth population started to engage in aggressive anti-government activities in the Jaffna peninsula beginning from the early 1970s. Various researchers have observed from diverse perspectives the reasons for the emergence of militancy among the Tamil youth. This study will attempt to find the reasons for the Tamil youth’s political uprising and whether it was triggered at least in part by the deprivation they suffered in the society. To do that the study will analyze how the deprivations they had to face led to frustration among the Tamil youth. It was this frustration that acted as a strong influence and the motivating factor behind the emergence of the militancy. This is a qualitative research on this topic based on content analysis and the theory of relative deprivation that uses the case study method. Data were collected from text documents and supplemented by conducting interviews. Field surveys were conducted in the three villages of Meesalai, Valvettithurai and Varani of Jaffna peninsula. Altogether 44 individuals were interviewed. Most of them were elderly people who had experiences of the issues of the 1970s in Jaffna peninsula. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with them. This research revealed that both “egoistic” and “fraternalistic” relative deprivation existed among Tamil youth in the 1970s because of the disadvantageous position in which they found themselves in comparison to the privileged reference group within the same society. Both individual-centered and group-centered relative deprivation existed among the Tamil youth. However, group-centered relative deprivation played the most prominent role. Lower caste Tamil youth had to suffer “double deprivation.” Various forms of relative deprivation-based grievances existed among Tamil youth in the 1970s and these compulsions acted strongly to steer them along the militant path.