The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Revolt began on this day in 1971, the first armed uprising by the communist JVP against the Government of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), under Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

The JVP was initiated by Rohana Wijeweera (shown), a former medical student ex-functionary of the Maoist Ceylon Communist Party. The group was explicitly revolutionary, eschewing electoralism, and drew recruits from economically alienated youth. In 1970, Wijeweera was arrested following unruly anti-Vietnam War protests in front of the U.S. embassy, and JVP launched the 1971 armed rebellion shortly afterward, while its founder was still imprisoned.

The revolt began on April 5th, 1971 and lasted until June of that year. The insurgents were able to capture and hold several towns and rural areas for several weeks until they were recaptured by the armed forces.

The official death toll was listed as 1,200, however other accounts estimate the deaths to be around 4,000 - 5,000 people. The rebellion led to Ceylon severing ties with North Korea, which it accused of supporting the JVP.

In 1987, the JVP launched another armed rebellion, this one sustained for three years and involving guerrilla warfare and political assassinations.

According to Dr. Rohan Gunaratna's research, in this second rebellion, the JVP killed approximately 200 people, including politicians, academics, and military officers, between 1987 and 1990. In contrast, the total death toll of 35,000 - 60,000 is mostly due to violence perpetrated by state-sponsored death squads.