Rasaiah Parthipan
Encyclopedia
Rasaiah Parthipan also known as Lt. Col. Thileepan was a LTTE political wing member who died during a hunger strike
during the IPKF
operation of Jaffna
, Sri Lanka
.
progrom.
in 1983 prior to Black July
progrom. He was given the name Thileepan. He became the LTTE political wing leader of the Jaffna peninsula. He was a determined person making him fast till death.
On the 15th of September 1987 at 9.30 a.m at the Nallur Murugan Temple, Thileepan began his fast. His main objective was to bring awareness and action to a list of public demands made by himself and the Tamil Tigers, at a time when the relationship between the LTTE and the IPKF administration was deteriorating.
The publicly stated goals of his fast were
There was widespread grief in Tamil areas. Thousands of people from the North and East flooded Jaffna
as news of his death spread.
His death created an anti-Indian mood in Jaffna that was pro-India till then.
. The death of Thileepan was hence seen as a pivotal moment in Sri Lankan History and Sri Lankan - Indian relations for years to come.
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
during the IPKF
Indian Peace Keeping Force
Indian Peace Keeping Force was the Indian military contingent performing a peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990...
operation of Jaffna
Jaffna
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
.
Personal life
His real name was Rasaiah Parthipan and was born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. His father Rasaiah was a school teacher. His mother died during his childhood and he was brought up by his single father. He was a popular student in Jaffna Hindu College, a prominent high school in Jaffna, before joining the LTTE. prior to the 1983 Black JulyBlack July
Black July is the commonly used name for the anti-Tamil pogrom and attacks carried out by mobs in Sri Lanka which began on July 23, 1983. The riots occurred following a deadly ambush by a Tamil militant organization known as Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which killed 13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers...
progrom.
LTTE
Rasaiah Parthipan joined the Liberation Tigers of Tamil EelamLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a separatist militant organization formerly based in northern Sri Lanka. Founded in May 1976 by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, it waged a violent secessionist and nationalist campaign to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Tamil...
in 1983 prior to Black July
Black July
Black July is the commonly used name for the anti-Tamil pogrom and attacks carried out by mobs in Sri Lanka which began on July 23, 1983. The riots occurred following a deadly ambush by a Tamil militant organization known as Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which killed 13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers...
progrom. He was given the name Thileepan. He became the LTTE political wing leader of the Jaffna peninsula. He was a determined person making him fast till death.
Reasons for fast
The publicly stated goals of his fast were
- All Tamils detained under the Prevention of Terrorism ActPrevention of Terrorism ActPrevention of Terrorism Act could refer to four different sets of Acts of Parliament, in three different countries:* Prevention of Terrorism Acts, passed between 1974 and 1989 to deal with terrorism in Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom...
should be released. - The colonisation of Sinhalese in Tamil areas under the guise of rehabilitation should be stopped.
- All such rehabilitation should be stopped until an interim government is formed.
- The Sri Lankan government should stop opening new Police stations and camps in the NortheasternNorth Eastern Province, Sri LankaThe North Eastern Province was one of the provinces of Sri Lanka. The province was created in September 1988 by merging the Northern and Eastern provinces. This merger was declared illegal by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in 2006. The province was formally demerged into the Northern and Eastern...
province. - The Sri Lankan ArmySri Lankan ArmyThe Sri Lanka Army is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is responsible for land-based military and humanitarian operations. Established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, it was renamed when Sri Lanka became a republic in 1972...
and Police should withdraw from schools in Tamil villages and the weapons given by the Sri Lankan government to 'homeguards' should be withdrawn under the supervision of the Indian army.
Death
Although several groups requested Thileepan as well as the local IPKF administration to intervene and stop the fast, Thileepan died on the 26th of September 1987.There was widespread grief in Tamil areas. Thousands of people from the North and East flooded Jaffna
Jaffna
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...
as news of his death spread.
His death created an anti-Indian mood in Jaffna that was pro-India till then.
Resumption of hostilities
Several days later the LTTE began hostilities against the Indian Peace Keeping ForceIndian Peace Keeping Force
Indian Peace Keeping Force was the Indian military contingent performing a peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990...
. The death of Thileepan was hence seen as a pivotal moment in Sri Lankan History and Sri Lankan - Indian relations for years to come.
See also
- Liberation Tigers of Tamil EelamLiberation Tigers of Tamil EelamThe Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a separatist militant organization formerly based in northern Sri Lanka. Founded in May 1976 by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, it waged a violent secessionist and nationalist campaign to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Tamil...
- Indian Peace Keeping ForceIndian Peace Keeping ForceIndian Peace Keeping Force was the Indian military contingent performing a peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990...
- Indo-Lanka accord