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Heroes of the Liberation War
Friday, 24 November 2006 - 7:34 AM SL Time |  | |
Senior commanders respected by the LTTE cadres and the Tamil people as war heroes of the liberation struggle were amongst the visitors to our home. One such commander was Soosai, Sea Tiger Commander. Soosai, hailing from the fishing village of Polygandy in Vadamarachchi was very close to Bala and I. Our relationship with Soosai extends as far back as the days of the Indian occupation of Jaffna when we were under ground in Vadamarachchi. We renewed our contact during our stay in Vadamarachchi in 1990 after our return to Jaffna following the negotiations with the Premadasa government. Soosai was in charge of the Vadamarachchi sector before he became the Sea Tiger com¬mander. It was during these days Bala helped to arrange Soosai`s wedding.
Soosai thrived in his role as commander of the Sea Tiger unit and this was apparent by the success he has achieved in building up the naval wing of the LTTE. Soosai is a trustworthy confidante of Mr. Pirabakaran. Having realised the strategic importance of naval power in the Eelam War, Mr. Pirabakaran helped Soosai in every way to build up the Tamil naval unit. With the combination of Pirabakaran`s passion and creativity and Soosai`s hard work and administrative ability the LTTE`s naval wing became an effective maritime fighting force posing a serious challenge to the Sri Lankan Navy. The Sea Tiger Unit, under the able command of Soosai, has been involved in several sea battles inflicting severe damage on the Sri Lankan naval fleet and has also made remarkable contributions in land battles by several strategic sea landings of LTTE troops.
But apart from naval battles and transporting cadres, the Sea Tigers have a small unit that engages in fishing for the organisation and Bala was a beneficiary of their catch. Bala enjoys eating the freshest of fish, so he often indulged himself when Soosai sent fish straight from the beach to our house for his lunch.
Essentially a sociable and affable human being, Soosai is popu¬lar amongst the people for his sympathetic, just and down to earth approach. It is perhaps his affability and apparent generosity of spirit that won the heart of Sudha, Soosai`s devoted wife. Sudha and Soosai, and their two small children, Sindhu and Manniarasan, were always generous in sharing their family warmth and affe¬ction with us on the many occasions when we visited them for meals and on their visits to our house. Sudha, from Uddupitty, Vadamarachchi, is the sister of Shankar, the LTTE cadre whose death anniversary is celebrated as Heroes` Day. Sudha`s quiet, con¬fident and calm demeanour brings joy and serenity within the family.
Another legendary figure in the Tamil struggle for freedom that visited our house is the towering figure and personality of Sornam. Sornam`s history in the LTTE dates back to the mid 80s when he was one of Mr. Pirabakaran`s bodyguards. As a young man he reg¬ularly visited our house in Chennai in the capacity of a trusted assistant to Mr. Pirabakaran. During the period of the IPKF his mil¬itary potential, extraordinary courage and obvious administrative talents revealed themselves and pushed Sornam up the ranks in the military structure culminating in the most trusted role in charge of Mr. Pirabakaran`s personal security. The respect and admiration Sornam enjoyed from the cadres under his direct command and within the organisation was apparent whenever Sornam came with¬in their presence. Contributing to the widely held love and respect for him was his obvious readiness to lead from the front and to share the ordeals of war and to maintain the discipline of the troops under his command. Sornam has led the LTTE fighters to many victories in battle and has been injured on several occasions. It was distressing for us to see this gentle giant struggling in the Jaffna General Hospital with serious chest and arm injuries he received during major battles in the North.
Apart from his own personal security, Mr. Pirabakaran delegat¬ed to Sornam the responsibility of our protection whilst we were living in Valigamam. A team of selected cadres from Mr. Pirabakaran`s personal bodyguards was deployed at our home for our security requirements. Sornam visited our house regularly to review and advise us on our security situation and to attend to the needs and welfare of the cadres. Six feet and two inches tall and solidly built, Sornam presented a gallant figure immaculately dressed in his fatigues. His general ease and confidence under¬played the enormous military responsibilities he carried.
After many years of risking his life in the battlefield and twen¬ty four-hour service to Mr Pirabakaran and the organisation, it was a happy day for us when we were attended his wedding. His bride was the lovely Jenny, third in command of the women`s military wing. Jenny escaped death when her house received a direct hit by Sri Lankan aerial bombardment during `Operation Riversa`. She was expecting her first child. Sornam was not in the house but on the battlefield defending Jaffna from the advancing Sinhala troops at the time of the incident. Later, in the Vanni, Sornam`s work often took him away from Jenny to Trincomalee for long periods and we often visited her home to lift her spirits during these days of anx¬ious separation. They have remained a happy couple with two little girls.
Banu and Theepan, military commanders of enormous courage and astute operational ability are worthy recipients of the respect and admiration of the organisation. Banu, as the former Commander of Jaffna is reputed for his selfless disregard for his own well being in the battlefield. As the commander of the Kittu Artillery Unit, Banu has trained his contingents to a high degree of professionalism and contributed to the development of the LTTE combat formations into an effective conventional force. The artillery and mortar units under his command expanded rapidly and secured remarkable victories in several crucial battles in the libera¬tion war. Banu often helped Bala in his study of the warfront by providing him with comprehensive maps from which he could fol¬low the military developments in the battlefield. With Bala, as a great teller of jokes, and Banu, as a man who relishes subtle wit, the meetings between the two in Bala`s office were full of laughter.
Theepan, another senior commander from the Vanni, with consdierable military experience, is soft spoken and unassuming. So renowned is his reputation and the respect for his military ability in the movement, one is struck by his apparent humbleness in dealing with people. His presentation belies a brilliant strategist and steely, determined man and it is these qualities which inspire and exort the cadres under his command to greater efforts in the battlefield. His visits to our house usually involved a realistic exposition from Theepan concerning the military situation in exchange for an expo¬sition of the developments in the political sphere from Bala.
Of the military commanders, one person whom we met infre¬quently but nonetheless shared a mutual respect for, was the veter¬an military commander Balraj. Incredible as it may seem, this fight¬ing hero is a reserved man. Balraj is known, loved and respected not only for his legendary military successes and undisputed and abounding courage, but also for his utter commitment and devotion to the cadres under his command. Sensitive and respectful of the sacrifice and tribulations they have endured, Balraj opts to spend as much time as possible in the camps with them. A measure of Balraj`s courage revealed itself to us when shrapnel smashed his right leg in the Yarl Devi battle in 1993. A decision not to amputate the limb was made and Balraj suffered the excrutiating pain of limb repair. On our visits to Balraj in the Jaffna hospital the pain showed in his distressed face as he acknowledged the agony the injury was subjecting him to. Compounding his healing problems was unsta¬ble diabetes. After many months in bed and a great deal of pain, Balraj eventually walked again on his leg, but the injury left him with a permanent limp and recurrent wound infection. Nevertheless, he has viewed his injury as insignificant in compari¬son with suffering and the sacrifices of his cadres and continues to function as a field commander in the war zone to this day.
Among the close confidantes of Mr. Pirabakaran who visited our house, albeit less frequently, was the incomparable Tamilenthi. Tamilenthi has been a right hand man of Mr. Pirabakaran since the earliest days, and over the years their relationship has grown and deepened. Throughout these long years in the inner circle of Mr. Pirabakaran, Tamilenthi has been essentially responsible for the finance section, handling billions of rupees without any hint of impropriety on his part. For Mr. Tamilenthi, the finances are as important to the success of the struggle as are the weapons and it is with the same responsibility that he has managed the finance department over the years under extreme hardships. Indeed it has been at the cost of much criticism from within the various depart¬ments of the movement for his rigorous and scrupulous distribution of the organisation`s funds.
Tamilenthi`s passion for ancient Tamil literature and ethical phi¬losophy of Thiruvalluvar` and his lamentation of the corruption of the Dravidian movement in Tamil Nadu, earned him the reputation as a Tamil purist. Nevertheless, despite what could be called his `eccentricities`, Tamilenthi is a thoughtful and cultured gentleman behind his tough exterior. As a man who has lost three brothers to the struggle and has a tremendous respect for the enormous sacri¬fices made by the cadres and the people, Tamilenthi views the cre¬ation of a independent Tamil state as the inalienable right of the Tamil people.
A less frequent visitor to our house but nonetheless a young women with whom we had contact and who was worthy of respect and admiration was the e... |
Source(s)
The Will to Freedom |
Sritharan
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24 Nov 2006 01:35:21 GMT Report for Abuse
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| A less frequent visitor to our house but nonetheless a young women with whom we had contact and who was worthy of respect and admiration was the extraordinary commander Vidusa. Vidusa is from a conservative Brahman family in Jaffna. Her unassuming and modest presentation belies a truly exceptional young woman. I met Vidusa in the women's commando training camp in the Alampil jungles during the Premadasa talks. She held no particular rank in those early days of her joining the organisation. But since her deployment in the battlefield from 1990 onwards, Vidusa has demonstrated remarkable courage and leadership qualities which have taken her up through the ranks of the LTTE women to the post of Colonel: on a par with the most senior male commanders. In terms of national liberation struggles and women's role in both guerrilla and conventional war, Vidusa's history of over a decade of continuous battlefield experience and military leadership establish¬es her as one of the most remarkable and commendable women soldiers in military history. Certainly Vidusa is one of the most experienced cadres in the entire LTTE military structure having spent a decade in successive battles commanding the women fight¬ers and sharing their lives on the front lines. |
Sritharan
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24 Nov 2006 01:35:49 GMT Report for Abuse
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Of our friends and regular visitors, there were those who brought to our home a diversity of views, critical opinions as well as laughter. One of them, well known in literary circles and close friend was Puthuvai Ratnathurai the 'poet laureate' of the LTTE and a man of enormous personality. Puthuvai viewed all issues seri¬ously and formed strong opinions on most subjects. In his social location as a sculptor, Puthuvai's worldview was formed around the centre of Tamil culture - the temple. His profound knowledge of Tamil cultural practices and language meant that I had in his friend¬ship a person capable of explaining many of the ways and mean¬ings of Tamil life. A particularly endearing dimension of Puthuvai's personality was his fearless assertion of his right to speak his mind and it is from Puthavai's mouth some of the liveliest and most per¬ceptive criticisms flowed. So too did his humour. Couched in his subtle use of language, Puthuvai could always be relied on to bring laughter to our meetings. On our many visits to each other's hous¬es Puthuvai would pull out his pile of betel leaves, give one to me and then prepare his 'betel'. And so many cool evenings have passed with Puthuvai entertaining us with his wit and humour as he smoothed the lime paste onto his betel leaf , piled on the aracan shavings, rolled the leaf and pushed it into his mouth and chewed till his lips turned red.
Puthuvai was in charge of the cultural section of the LTTE and the supervisory editor of the literary magazine 'Vellichum'. It was to this publication that Bala wrote many articles in Tamil. Writing under the pen name of 'Bramagnani', Bala wrote a series of articles on philosophy, sociology and politics. It was Puthuvai's encour¬agement that led to my book on the dowry system, 'Unbroken Chains' being translated into Tamil and published in a series of arti¬cles in 'Vellichum'. Puthuvai is famous for his writing of poetry, or more specifically, poetry of the people. His writings are renowned for the emotional and realistic depiction of the day to day life of the Tamil people and the liberation struggle and a use of the Tamil lan¬guage that is both accessible and poetic. Famous also are his many liberation songs, which are widely heard and sung by the people throughout the land. |
Sritharan
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24 Nov 2006 01:36:12 GMT Report for Abuse
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Other personal friends who visited us regularly were Ravindran (Ravi) a senior cadre and editor of 'Viduthalai Puligal' (Liberation Tigers) the monthly official organ of the LTTE and Jeyaraj, the edi¬tor of 'Elanatham' the LTTE's daily newspaper. Both Ravi and Jeyaraj relied heavily on Bala's advice and direction on the official policy of the organisation. Jeyaraj visited our house daily to acquaint himself with the developments in the battlefront as well as for political views. Ravi had to write monthly reviews of events both militarily and political for which he had to consult Bala. Some sensitive articles on military operations were sent to Mr. Pirabakaran for his endorsement. Occasionally Bala wrote theoret¬ical articles explaining LTTE's policy orientation towards various social issues. Both Ravi and Jeyaraj sought Bala's guidance because of his position as theoretician as well as his wide journal¬istic experience. Furthermore, through his personal contacts with Mr. Pirabakaran, Tamil Chelvan and the field commanders, Bala could provide the news and analysis of the on-going politico-mili¬tary developments.
Ravi's wife Shobana, a former LTTE cadre, was known to us from her frequent visits when she worked on the women's wing monthly journal 'Suthanthira Paravaikal' (Birds of Freedom). Jeyaraj is married to Ganga, a teacher in Puthukuddiruppu High School. Both the couples became close friends of ours and they reg¬ularly visited us. |
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