Michael Roberts
Naren Rajasingham was a trifle junior to me at Peradeniya University when he pursued a Vet/Science Degree before proceeding to postgraduate qualifications in the same field. It was only when I was fully enmeshed in researching the Eelam Wars and visiting Colombo with some frequency that I got to know him. My memory is imprecise in its notation of time; and I cannot fix precise dates to our exchanges.
These conversations were mostly during Eelam War IV when retirement from teaching at Adelaide University and funded support for my focus on the topic of “sacrificial devotion” on a world comparative scale encouraged regular visits to Sri Lanka. My sister Estelle’s home in Wellawatte was usually my working base. Narendran had a house not far away down the road past Colts Cricket Club in Bambalapitiya. We met on several occasions and discussed the flow of military and political events.
His incisive readings impressed me; contrasting with that of several SL Tamil friends and acquaintances who were clearly – in my reading – pro-Tiger in underlying sentiment (albeit with some reservations in some cases).
Narendran Rajasingham, let me stress, was – and always remained – a Jaffna Tamil …. a man rooted in the Jaffna Peninsula. His home in Colombo must have been a recent acquisition and the fruit of monies earned as a scientist abroad.
His moderation and balance in evaluating the political/military scenario unfolding in the island in the years 2006-09 and beyond were immediately manifest. These lines of thinking were embodied in his participation with Noel Nadesan and a few other Tamils in assisting the Tamil IDPs placed in the refugee camps at Manik Farm and elsewhere in the period 2008-12.
Naren, Noel Nadesan & other Tamil moderates during visit to thr IDP camps in Vavuniya
Tamil spokespersons in discussion with Kumar Rupesinghe of the Peace Research Institue of Oslo … aka PRIO
In my retrospective reading, one foundation for his balanced orientation must surely be attributed to the harrowing experiences he faced when his parental home and occupants were ‘decimated’ by the Indian troops of the IPKF in the late 1980s. This NOTE by Naren …. surely a distraught Naren …. is essential reading for any citizen not alive to the horrors of war.
“I hereby present briefly what I witnessed with regard to the bodies of my family members and others killed by the IPKF on day 10 of their murders: My mother: 68 years old at the time of her killing. Slim build. Had been attacked by animals and crows and was in an advanced state of decay. My brother: 38=year old at the time of his death. neither obese nor thin. Body intact though bloated. The gardener: Age approx. 60 years. Obese. All flesh had fallen off and the skeleton was clearly visible. A neighbour’s Watchman: Age approx. 60 years. medium build. Only thigh bones-femurs and the skull remained. The rest of the body had been consumed or carried away by animals.”
HERE, then, we see a clinical dispassionate mind and voice. To NAREN, I bow in praise.
To his readings of the situations around him in Sri Lanka from the 1970s to the second decade of the 21st century, therefore, we must accord high value. Such readings of his readings are the best EPITAPHS we – whether Bharatha, Burgher, Colombo Chetty, Malay, Moor, Parsee, Sinhala, Tamil, Thuppahi – can ‘present’ in his memory.
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Naren, Noel Nadesan et al with Tamil IDPs via cooperation with the SL Army ….
… & Vale for a Dinky-Die Peacemaker and Mediator
A LIMITED BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
&& = Dr Narendran Rajasingham: A Tamil Sri Lankan ………. https://thuppahis.com › 2019/09/13 › dr-narendran-rajasinghama…13 Sept 2019 —
&& = Narendran Rajasingham’s Note on the Moon-Panel’s Report, 11 May 2011 ………. https://thuppahis.com › 2011/05/11 › narendran-rajasingham…
&& = Dr Narendran Rajasingham: A Tamil Sri Lankan ……. https://thuppahis.com › 2019/09/13 › dr-narendran-raja…
&& = “Narendran Rajasingham’s Note on the Moon-Panel’s Report” …… https://thuppahis.com › 2011/05/11 › narendran-rajasin…
&& = “Rajasingham Narendran debates recent history with Ilaya ……. …….https://thuppahis.com › 2011/09/21 › rajasingham-nare…
&& … “Rajasingham Narendran’s Open Letter to All Sinhalese in ...” …… https://thuppahis.com › 2014/01/28 › rajasingham-narendran …
&& …. Naren Rajasingham’s Reading of Pirapāharan’s … https://thuppahis.com › 2019/09/20 › naren-rajasingha…
&& …. Vale. In Memoriam. Dr. Rajasingham Narendran … ……………. https://thuppahis.com › 2017/09/04 › vale-in-memoriam.
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Insightful and educative
Racial discrimination and religious discrimination have no place in decent society.