Music and politics in Sri Lanka in the period of 2005-2015 (through a selection of songs)

Abstract

Sri Lanka was affected by a civil war for about thirty years from 1983 to 2009. It was among the majority Sinhalese and the largest minority Tamils. The LTTE (The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) led the fight to claim an independent state for Tamils who lived in the north and northeast of Sri Lanka. It caused many casualties and open-ended questions among civilians and in the civil society. After so many uprisings, the government was able to defeat the LTTE in 2009. The behavior of the political power, the media, and the arts was significant during the war and it can be traced with in-depth analysis of films, television, newspapers, music, and other arts. This work aims to investigate the role of music in creating a mentality among the civilians to trust one leader during 2005-2015 and further discusses how songs supported this agenda through a selection of songs published in this period. Qualitative research methods and music semiotics were used as the methodology of this research and data was collected through primary and secondary sources. Literature surveys, internet sources, music analysis, interviews, and critical observations were used for further investigations. According to the results obtained through the data analysis, it can be concluded that music played a major role in creating a political ideology in the Sri Lankan society.