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Those who saw visual images of Prabhakaran reading out his speech in Tamil were struck by one thing. Though propaganda in sections of the media stated that the LTTE leader was under severe pressure, the impression gained when seeing him was quite the opposite.
Those of us who have been regularly following his annual addresses were struck by a remarkable change in his demeanour and tone. He seemed relaxed and supremely confident. Serene amidst strain. Prabhakaran looked and sounded like a man in firm control of his destiny. He seemed to mean every word he said. In this context one recalls an anecdote of 21 years vintage. This was during the time when Indian officials in New Delhi were trying to pressurise Prabhakaran into accepting the proposed Indo Lanka accord. At one point former Indian envoy Jyotindra Nath Dixit in typical hectoring mode warned Prabhakaran that he would have to fight the Indian army if he did not accept the accord. To which the LTTE leader replied, I don t want to but I will fight the Indian army if I have to. Dixit then retorted, Do you know the strength of the Indian army? Prabhakaran replied 350,000? 400,000? Then Dixit said Add another cipher . Once again Prabhakaran said that he did not want to fight the Indian army but was prepared to do so if necessary. Later the LTTE went through the charade of agreeing and adhering to the Indo - Lanka accord. New Delhi s South block thought that Prabhakaran had submitted meekly to the overwhelming might of India and devoured humble kanji (porridge). When Dixit began relating the above mentioned exchange of words on the diplomatic cocktail circuit most people had a hearty laugh. The puli (Tiger) had become an eli (mouse) with India, the joke went. Yet it was Prabhakaran who had the last laugh,. Belatedly India realised that the tiger chief was dead serious when he said that he was prepared to fight India. Likewise it may seem amusing to hear Prabhakaran declaring his intent to continue fighting at a time when the Sri Lankan military juggernaut is relentlessly rolling forward. But it would be a monumental error to misjudge or underestimate the man as many have done in the past. There are two sayings in Tamil about the tiger. One is puli pathunguvathu paaivathatku (the Tiger crouches only to pounce). The other is puli pasithaalum Pullai Thinnaathu (Even if hungry Tigers don t eat grass). |
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