Thileepan

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.[1][2][3][4][5]

Lt. Colonel

Thileepan
திலீபன்
Born
R. Parthipan

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

Early life and family

Parthipan was born on 29 November 1963.[6][lower-alpha 1] He was from Urelu near Urumpirai in northern Ceylon.[9] His father was a Tamil teacher and he had three older brothers.[9] His mother died when Parthipan was three months old.[9] After his father died of diabetes he was brought up by his brothers.[9] He was educated at Jaffna Hindu College.[7][8][9] After school he enrolled in the University of Jaffna.[7][9]

LTTE

Parthipan joined the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) prior to the 1983 Black July anti-Tamil riots.[8] 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.[10][11]

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.[12][13][14][lower-alpha 2] 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.[14] The LTTE gave the Indians 24 hours to respond but no response, or even an acknowledgement, was received.[12]

Determined to make the Indians meet the demands, Thileepan began a hunger strike on 15 September 1987 in front of Nallur Kandaswamy Temple.[13][17][18] Thileepan gave speeches which were broadcast on Nidharshanam, the LTTE's TV stations.[10][11] People from all over Jaffna peninsula came to observe and participate in the hunger strike.[10][11] 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.[11] 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.[11] As his condition deteriorated, Thileepan stopped giving speeches.[10] After refusing food or water for 12 days, Thileepan died on 26 September 1987.[13][19][20][21] After a "martyr's funeral" in Jaffna, Thileepan's body was handed over to the University of Jaffna's medical faculty.[10] Thileepan's death resulted in large anti-government and anti-Indian protests in northern Sri Lanka.[13][19][14]

A statue of Thileepan was built behind Nallur Kandaswamy Temple in 1988.[22][23] After the Sri Lankan military re-captured the Valikamam region in 1996 they destroyed the statue.[22][23] The statue was re-built in 2003 during the Norwegian mediated Cease Fire Agreement.[24] After war resumed, Thileepan's photograph and decorative lamps at the statue were damaged by the army on 26 October 2006.[22][23] Thileepan's statue was attacked and destroyed by armed men on 18 November 2007.[22] The remnants of Thileepan's memorial, the pillar, was destroyed by the army on 21 March 2010.[23]

Notes
  1. Another source gives Parthipan's date of birth as 27 November 1963[7] whilst another gives his year of birth as 1962.[8]
  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.[15][16]

References
  1. 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.
  2. Cummings, Joe; Cannon, Teresa; Elliott, Mark; Ver Berkmoes, Ryan (2006). Sri Lanka. Lonely Planet. p. 309.
  3. Balachandran, P. K. (3 July 2015). "Former LTTE Militants To Contest Polls As 'Crusaders For Democracy'". The New Indian Express.
  4. Subramanian, T. S. (7 February 1998). "Unravelling the plot". Frontline. 15 (3).
  5. Furlong, Ray (23 April 2009). "amil hunger strike in third week". BBC News.
  6. Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon (PDF). p. 230.
  7. "Thileepan's 16th death anniversary to be commemorated". TamilNet. 4 September 2003.
  8. Mehta, Raj K. (2010). Lost Victory: The Rise & Fall of LTTE Supremo, V. Prabhakaran. Pentagon Press. p. 176. ISBN 978-81-8274-443-1.
  9. Wijerathna, Arunadale; Kulasuriya, Madhawa (26 April 2015). "Was Thileepan killed to make him a martyr?". Ceylon Today.
  10. Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 35: Accord turns to discord". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story.
  11. 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.
  12. Sabesan. "Message of Sacrifice - 19 Years On..." Ilankai Tamil Sangam.
  13. "Tamil Rebel Dies After 12-Day Fast; Crowds Press Demands". Los Angeles Times. United Press International. 27 September 1987.
  14. Lahiri, Simanti (2014). Suicide Protest in South Asia: Consumed by Commitment. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-82099-8.
  15. "More and more and more". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 19 September 2004.
  16. Weerakkody, Kalinga (28 September 2002). "Students compelled to join LTTE hartal". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  17. Krishna, Sankaran (1999). Postcolonial Insecurities: India, Sri Lanka, and the Question of Nationhood. University of Minnesota Press. p. 179. ISBN 0-8166-3329-0.
  18. "LTTE leader pays homage to Thileepan, Sankar". TamilNet. 26 September 2008.
  19. "A Tamil Separatist Leader Dies in Protest Fast". The New York Times. 27 September 1987.
  20. Murari, S. (2012). The Prabhakaran Saga: The Rise and Fall of an Eelam Warrior. SAGE Publications. p. 39. ISBN 978-81-321-0701-9.
  21. Sri-Skanda-Rajah, Usha S. (26 September 2015). "Thileepan: The Reckoning That Non-Violence Didn't Stand A Chance". Colombo Telegraph.
  22. "Thileepan statue destroyed in Nalloor, Jaffna". TamilNet (20 November 2007).
  23. "Sinhalese soldiers, hooligans destroy Thileepan memorial in Jaffna". TamilNet. 23 March 2010.
  24. "Lt. Col. Thileepan memorial re-opened in Nallur". TamilNet (25 August 2003).
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