The National Student Heroes Day was observed for the 38th time on June 20, 2026. The number of university students killed from December 12, 1976, when Weerasuriya was killed, to June 17, 2016, was 632. Of these, 623 were killed during the second JVP rebellion, which took place from 1986 to 1990. Among the university students killed during the second JVP rebellion, 396 were identified, while another 227 remain missing. The number of school students killed during the second JVP rebellion was 2,327. Accordingly, the total number of school and university students who have been killed since 1976 is 2,959. Student Heroes Day is observed every year on June 20 to commemorate these students.
According to the Inter-University Students’ Federation, this day is a reminder to the present generation of the experiences of a generation of students who made their lives a struggle. Emphasising that education is not a privilege but a right, they showed the country how to look at the world not only through their eyes but also through their wisdom and understanding. Although some of the incidents that occurred during that period may be viewed positively or negatively, these students demonstrated an immense love and commitment towards their fellow citizens.
The first university student to die from government gunfire was killed on November 12, 1976. The student was W. M. Rohana Weerasuriya. Students had taken strong action against the arbitrary actions of the Principal of the University of Peradeniya and surrounded his office, placing him under house arrest. Riot police officers stormed the university premises and turned the institution into a battlefield. During this confrontation, Weerasuriya was killed by police gunfire, while several other students were injured. Among those who ordered the shooting was Matale Police Inspector Ronnie Gunasinghe, who was the head of the police riot squad at the time.
The student who died was W. M. Rohana Weerasuriya. Born as the second son of a wealthy farming family in Kurunegala, Rohana Weerasuriya had four brothers. He was the first student from Mudunna Maha Vidyalaya, which was established in 1934, to enter university and graduate.
University and school students across the country took to the streets on November 14, 1976, to protest against the incident. They chanted slogans such as, “We have no way out, son — if we continue like this, there is no point,” and “World peace leader — our brave ambassador.”
The killing of Weerasuriya caused a great shock among the Sri Lankan public, and the opposition United National Party gained political advantage from the incident. The matter was debated in Parliament on November 16, 1976. A commission headed by Supreme Court Justice D. Wimalaratne was appointed to investigate the killing of the university student Weerasuriya, and its report was released on February 3, 1977. The report stated that a new relationship based on respect and understanding should be established between university administrators and students.
The second university student to be killed was Hewabulathkandage Pathmasiri Abeysekara, who died on June 20, 1984. He was a second-year student of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Peradeniya. Pathmasiri, a medical student who was staying at Marcus Hostel, had failed both the second-year examination and the repeat examination of the Faculty of Medicine. However, he was preparing to sit for the examination again.
The incident was triggered when 11 students of the Faculty of Medicine, including Sydney Jayaratne, were walking in front of the Peradeniya University Police Station, during which Lionel Alahakoon’s hand struck a police window. As a result, a gunshot was fired at 10.10 p.m. Pathmasiri, who was admitted to Ward No. 10 of Peradeniya Hospital, died at 1.32 a.m. on June 20.
His post-mortem examination was conducted by Professor Chandra Amarasekara, while the magisterial inquiry was conducted by Kandy Additional District Judge Chandradasa Nanayakkara. The body was identified by Pathmasiri’s brothers, H. P. A. Nayanananda and H. P. A. Mahinda.
University and school students across the country held protests against the killing of Pathmasiri Abeysekara. During a protest organised by University of Colombo students on June 21, 1984, Rohana Ratnayake, a student of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Colombo, was also killed by police gunfire.
The Peradeniya University Police, which was established on December 27, 1983, and was considered the world’s first university police force, had to be withdrawn following these incidents. The officer-in-charge of that police station was Police Inspector A. K. D. Karunadasa. The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya at that time was Professor B. L. Panditharatne.
The commemoration of Weerasuriya was held every year on November 12 at the University of Peradeniya from 1977 to 1983. Subsequently, programmes to commemorate the students Pathmasiri Abeysekara and Rohana Ratnayake were also held informally on June 19 and June 21 at the Universities of Peradeniya and Colombo respectively.
The Inter-University Students’ Federation decided in 1986 to hold all three commemorations together on one day each year. Accordingly, November 12 was set aside as the day of commemoration from 1986.
However, the National Student Centre, established on June 14, 1988, by the Patriotic Student Movement with the support of the Inter-University Students’ Federation, decided that June 20 should be observed as National Student Heroes Day. Accordingly, the first commemoration was held at the University of Peradeniya on June 20, 1988. June 20, 2026, marked the 38th National Student Heroes Day.
The number of university students killed from December 12, 1976, when Weerasuriya was killed, to June 17, 2016, was 632. Of these, 623 were killed during the second JVP rebellion from 1986 to 1990. Of the university students killed during the second JVP rebellion, 396 were identified, while another 227 remain missing. The number of school students killed during the second JVP rebellion was 2,327. Accordingly, the total number of school and university students killed since 1976 is 2,959. Every year on June 20, Student Heroes Day is held to commemorate these students.
At a time when the entire society was brought to its knees in the face of state terrorism during the 1980s, and people lived under fear and oppression, it was the students who came forward to oppose that situation. The students sacrificed their lives in the hope of creating a better tomorrow, Antare has stated. It further emphasised that no one can underestimate their contribution towards protecting free education.
The first two school students to be killed by security forces during the second JVP rebellion were Wasantha Weerasinghe and Prasanna Wanigasinghe, students of Tangalle Maha Vidyalaya who lived on Hunukandiya Road. They were killed on the night of March 23, 1988. A notice stating that the punishment for JVP students and their supporters was death had also been displayed nearby.
Their final rites were held on March 26, 1988, at the Tangalle Public Cemetery, not far from the burial place of Peradeniya medical student Pathmasiri Abeysekara, who died in 1984.
A large number of school students were killed as a result of student protests that took place across the country. A group of students, including Nandana Bandara Abeykoon of Nugawela Central College in Kandy, were killed on October 12, 1988. Several students, including Nishantha Jayawardena of Dikwella Vijitha Maha Vidyalaya, were also killed. Hundreds of students, including Pradeep Karunaratne of Badulla, were killed on June 20, 1988, while participating in street demonstrations.
Around 25 percent of the students who were killed had lost either their mother or father at a young age, or had been abandoned by one of their parents. As a result, many of them experienced emotional difficulties related to the loss of parental support. Some came from families affected by poverty, while others experienced social oppression. These circumstances contributed to their involvement in radical political movements. However, the majority of them joined such movements as a response to the prevailing political and social system.
Although almost every university in the country erected memorials to commemorate the students who lost their lives, some of these monuments were later destroyed. The memorial built at the University of Ruhuna in 1992 and the memorial built at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in 2002 were forcibly demolished and destroyed by groups linked to pro-government political forces.
Similarly, the memorial constructed at the University of Peradeniya in memory of Pathmasiri Abeysekara was also demolished by paramilitary groups in January 1990.
The memorial currently visible at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura was designed by sculptor Rattanapitiya Tharaka Rodigoo and was newly installed on June 20, 2008. A new memorial was later constructed at the University of Peradeniya.
