Another Angry Tamil: Thanga sees Pirapaharan as an indelible “part of the Tamil psyche”

Thanga, 24 February 2011 in http://colombotelegraph.com/2012/02/21/victor-rajakulendrans-tirade-at-the-exposure-of-pirapaharans-admiration-for-hitler/ ***

I must confess that I am ignorant about the self-styled “historian and a historian of ideology including all forms of nationalism and extremism, including Burgher, Tamil, Sinhala, German etc….” Dr.Michael Roberts.

If in fact he is a renowned historian, how come he is ignorant of whoVisvanathan Rudrakumaran is? How come he mis- identifies “The faction under Rudrakumaran of USA emerged as the principal flag-bearer and has institutionalized itself as Thamililam in exile under the rubric “Global Tamil Forum.” This slip is not ignorance, but stark ignorance. Rudrakumaran is the Prime Minister of the democratically elected Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam(TGTE). The Global Tamil Forum is a different kettle of fish based mainly in Britain. Yes, there are factions among Diaspora, but all of them are committed to the goal of Thamil Eelam!

Pic by Shyam Tekwani, mid-1980s

Again what is this song and dance about LTTE leader “had with him a copy of Mein Kampf” and derived “the idea of eliminating the other” from Hitler (Rāgavan in Kadirgamar 2009 and Roberts 2012)…..” This is the first time I am hearing that the LTTE leader had with him a copy Mein Kampf. This notwithstanding, what is the logic behind the argument that Prabhakaran was another Hitler or he was an admirer of Hitler? Prabhakaran was a voracious reader. He himself has said that he was inspired by reading Hindu epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana and its

heroes Veeman and Ravanan. He has also said that he was influenced by reading historical novels like Ponniyin Chelvan written by the famous Tamil writer Kalki. This novel depicts the glory and splendour of the mighty Chola Empire (9th – 13th centuries) under the rule of Raja Rajan 1 and his son Rajendra 1 and their naval exploits in the Indian Ocean. Another novel he liked was Kadal Pura written by the novelist Chandilyan. He named one of the many war ships owned by the LTTE as Kadal Pura. He was also influenced by reading speeches of Subhash Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh both of whom were involved in the armed struggle for independence from Britain. He said in one of his rare interviews that he was fascinated by Napoleon and Alexander the Great, devouring books on their lives. To his credit Prabhakaran remained a confirmed secularist and religion never influenced his decision-making.

I don’t who this Iyar is. Iyar is a caste name. He appears to have left the LTTE in 1980 just 4 years after the formation of the LTTE. So what are his credentials to write “history” about LTTE?

 Pic by Getty  Pic from C’bo Telegraph  

The question whether Prabhakaran is alive or dead is immaterial. Prabhakaran is part of Tamil history and part of Tamil psyche. He will be remembered by generations and generations to come. And liberation movements never die with their founders.

As proof, books on LTTE leader Veluppillai Prabhakaran and the Eelam occupied an entire stall at the recent Book fare in Madurai book fair. “Over 25 books on Prabhakaran and the Eelam have been published in the last two years alone after the end of the Sri Lankan ethnic war. These books are attracting new readers,” said the person manning the stall of Tholamai Veliyeedu. A 1000 page book on the life of Veluppillai Prabhakaran written by Pazha Nedumaran, an LTTE insider will be released soon. Prabhakaran is the only leader whose birthday is celebrated right around the globe in a grand scale!

Prabhakaran was a brave, self-less and dedicated leader who lived by example. A leader who never slept on a mat or used a pillow!

As ex-president Chandrika Kumaratunga pointed out Prabhakaran is a creation of Sinhala – Buddhist chauvinism. And Sinhala – Buddhist chauvinism still lives on. A good example is Dayan Jayatilleke who hides his racism in verbal gymnastics. “The uncompromising stance of Sinhala chauvinism has left us with no other option but an independent state for the people of Tamil Eelam,” Prabhakaran said in his Maveerar’s Speech in November 2006. As a young man he heard about a Hindu priest at Panadura town who was caught by a Sinhalese mob during the 1958 riots, tied to the cot on which he was sleeping, doused with kerosene and burnt to death. “Ours was a God-fearing society and the people were religious-minded. The widespread feeling was: when a priest like him was burnt alive, why did we not have the capability to hit back?”, Prabhakaran would ask one day.

Ceylon was never one country. It was split into different regions and when the colonial power Portuguese set foot there were 3 Kingdoms, two Sinhalese (Kotte and Kandy) and one Tamil (Jaffna Kingdom). So the likes of Dayan Jayatillake should thank the much despised British for having amalgamated the Northeast with the rest of the island. One of the reason advanced by Sinhalese leaders for reneging on the agreement to field Sri Ponnambalam Arunachalam for Colombo West was the argument that Tamils’ territory is not Colombo but Northeast. The leaders of the National Congress had promised Ponnambalam Arunachalam the nomination to contest the Colombo city constituency at the parliamentary election held under 1920 reforms and   later they changed it in favour of James Pieris prompting the former to abandon the National Congress.

So the caravan moves and we shall not rest until we shake off Sinhala hegemony imposed on the Tamils by military force which is the reality today.

  *** Courtesy of Colombo Telegraph: This is among the vibrant comments sparked by Michael Roberts: “Victor Rajakulendran’s Tirade at the Exposure of Pirapaharan’s Admiration for Hitler.” The latter n its turn cannot be comprehended without a reading of

* Ganeshan Iyer: “Military Training in the German Nazi Mould amidst Internal Dissension in the early LTTE, late 1970s,” trans by Parames Blacker, in http://thuppahi. wordpress.com/2012/01/30/military-training-in-the-german-nazi-mould-amidst-internal-dissension-in-the-early-ltte-late-1970s/.

* Michael Roberts: “Inspirations: Hero Figures and Hitler in Young Pirapāharan’s Thinking,” in http://thuppahis.com/2012/02/13/inspirations-hero-figures-and-hitler-in-young-pirapaharans-thinking/