Thileepan

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Thiyaka Theepam [1]
Lt. Colonel
Thileepan
திலீபன்
Thileepan (Rasaiah Parthipan).jpg
Born
R. Parthipan

(1963-11-29)29 November 1963
Urelu, Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Died26 September 1987(1987-09-26) (aged 23)
Nallur, Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Other namesAmirthalingam Thileepan
Years active1983 –1987
Organization Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

Rasaiah Parthipan (Tamil : இராசையா பார்த்திபன்; 29 November 1963 – 26 September 1987; commonly known by the nom de guerre Thileepan) was a Tamil Eelam revolutionary and member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist Tamil militant organisation in Sri Lanka. He died while on hunger strike. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Contents

Early life and family

Parthipan was born on 29 November 1963. [7] [8] [a] He was from Urelu near Urumpirai in northern Ceylon. [11] His father was a Tamil teacher and he had three older brothers. [11] His mother died when Parthipan was three months old. [11] After his father died of diabetes he was brought up by his brothers. [11] He was educated at Jaffna Hindu College. [9] [10] [11] After school he enrolled in the University of Jaffna. [9] [11]

LTTE

Parthipan joined the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) prior to the 1983 Black July anti-Tamil riots. [10] He was given the nom de guerre Thileepan. Injured in the stomach in May 1987 during the Vadamarachchi Operation (Operation Liberation), he became the LTTE's political leader for Jaffna peninsula. [12] [13]

As hostilities increased in northern Sri Lanka, the LTTE handed over a letter to the Indian High Commissioner on 13 September 1987 making five demands: the release of all political prisoners held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and emergency regulations; cessation of Sinhalese colonisation of Tamil areas under the guise of "rehabilitation"; cessation of all "rehabilitation" activities until the establishment of the Interim Administrative Council; cessation of construction of police stations in the Northern and Eastern provinces; and the disarmament of Home Guards and withdrawal of the army/police from schools and colleges. [14] [15] [16] [b] The demands were aimed at the Indian rather than the Sri Lankan government because the LTTE believed that Indians could force the Sri Lankans to comply. [16] The LTTE gave the Indians 24 hours to respond but no response, or even an acknowledgement, was received. [14]

Hunger strike

Determined to make the Indians meet the demands, Thileepan began a hunger strike on 15 September 1987 in front of Nallur Kandaswamy Temple. [15] [19] [20] Thileepan gave speeches which were broadcast on Nidharshanam, the LTTE's TV stations. [12] [13] People from all over Jaffna peninsula came to observe and participate in the hunger strike. [12] [13] On 22 September 1987 Indian High Commissioner J. N. Dixit arrived at Palaly Airport and was met by LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran who wanted Dixit to go and see Thileepan. [13] Dixit wanted a written guarantee from Prabhakaran that Thileepan would end his hunger strike if Dixit met with him but Prabhakaran couldn't give the guarantee. [13] As his condition deteriorated, Thileepan stopped giving speeches. [12] After refusing food or water for 12 days, Thileepan died on 26 September 1987. [15] [21] [22] [23] After a "martyr's funeral" in Jaffna, Thileepan's body was handed over to the University of Jaffna's medical faculty. [12]

Aftermath

LTTE leader Prabhakaran accused India of betraying the Tamils after vowing to protect them. [24] Thileepan's death resulted in large anti-government and anti-Indian protests in northern Sri Lanka. [15] [21] [16]

Statues

A statue of Thileepan was built behind Nallur Kandaswamy Temple in 1988. [25] [26] After the Sri Lankan military re-captured the Valikamam region in 1996 they destroyed the statue. [25] [26] The statue was re-built in 2003 during the Norwegian mediated Cease Fire Agreement. [27] After war resumed, Thileepan's photograph and decorative lamps at the statue were damaged by the army on 26 October 2006. [25] [26] Thileepan's statue was attacked and destroyed by armed men on 18 November 2007. [25] The remnants of Thileepan's memorial, the pillar, was destroyed by the army on 21 March 2010. [26]

Notes

  1. ↑ Another source gives Parthipan's date of birth as 27 November 1963 [9] whilst another gives his year of birth as 1962. [10]
  2. ↑ Sri Lankan sources falsely claim that Thileepan's hunger strike was a protest against the presence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka. [17] [18]

References

  1. ↑ "The light of sacrifice: Remembering Thileepan 31 years on | Tamil Guardian".
  2. ↑ de Silva, K. M. (1995). Regional Powers and Small State Security: India and Sri Lanka, 1977-1990 . Woodrow Wilson Center Press. p.  258. ISBN   0-8018-5149-1.
  3. ↑ Cummings, Joe; Cannon, Teresa; Elliott, Mark; Ver Berkmoes, Ryan (2006). Sri Lanka. Lonely Planet. p. 309. ISBN   9781740599757.
  4. ↑ Balachandran, P. K. (3 July 2015). "Former LTTE Militants To Contest Polls As 'Crusaders For Democracy'". The New Indian Express . Archived from the original on 6 July 2015.
  5. ↑ Subramanian, T. S. (7 February 1998). "Unravelling the plot". Frontline . 15 (3).
  6. ↑ Furlong, Ray (23 April 2009). "amil hunger strike in third week". BBC News .
  7. ↑ Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon (PDF). p. 230.
  8. ↑ திலீபம் (PDF). 1988. p. 124.
  9. 1 2 3 "Thileepan's 16th death anniversary to be commemorated". TamilNet . 4 September 2003.
  10. 1 2 3 Mehta, Raj K. (2010). Lost Victory: The Rise & Fall of LTTE Supremo, V. Prabhakaran. Pentagon Press. p. 176. ISBN   978-81-8274-443-1.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wijerathna, Arunadale; Kulasuriya, Madhawa (26 April 2015). "Was Thileepan killed to make him a martyr?". Ceylon Today .
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 35: Accord turns to discord". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Archived from the original on 1 October 2002.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Bhattacharya, Samir (2014). "Chapter 7: Caught in a Tangled Web". Nothing But! - Book Five: All is Fair in Love and War. Partridge Publishing. ISBN   978-1-4828-1733-1.
  14. 1 2 Sabesan. "Message of Sacrifice - 19 Years On..." Ilankai Tamil Sangam.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Tamil Rebel Dies After 12-Day Fast; Crowds Press Demands". Los Angeles Times . United Press International. 27 September 1987.
  16. 1 2 3 Lahiri, Simanti (2014). Suicide Protest in South Asia: Consumed by Commitment. Routledge. ISBN   978-0-415-82099-8.
  17. ↑ "More and more and more". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka) . 19 September 2004.
  18. ↑ Weerakkody, Kalinga (28 September 2002). "Students compelled to join LTTE hartal". The Island (Sri Lanka) .
  19. ↑ Krishna, Sankaran (1999). Postcolonial Insecurities: India, Sri Lanka, and the Question of Nationhood. University of Minnesota Press. p. 179. ISBN   0-8166-3329-0.
  20. ↑ "LTTE leader pays homage to Thileepan, Sankar". TamilNet . 26 September 2008.
  21. 1 2 "A Tamil Separatist Leader Dies in Protest Fast". The New York Times . 27 September 1987.
  22. ↑ Murari, S. (2012). The Prabhakaran Saga: The Rise and Fall of an Eelam Warrior. SAGE Publications. p. 39. ISBN   978-81-321-0701-9.
  23. ↑ Sri-Skanda-Rajah, Usha S. (26 September 2015). "Thileepan: The Reckoning That Non-Violence Didn't Stand A Chance". Colombo Telegraph.
  24. ↑ "A Tamil Separatist Leader Dies in Protest Fast". The New York Times. 27 September 1987.
  25. 1 2 3 4 "Thileepan statue destroyed in Nalloor, Jaffna". TamilNet . No. 20 November 2007.
  26. 1 2 3 4 "Sinhalese soldiers, hooligans destroy Thileepan memorial in Jaffna". TamilNet . 23 March 2010.
  27. ↑ "Lt. Col. Thileepan memorial re-opened in Nallur". TamilNet . No. 25 August 2003.
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