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Thileepan, an epitome of sacrifice and symbolism of determination

That was His demise, nay martyrdom. It was the demise of Rasiah Partheepan who embraced death with the glorious name Thileepan. Partheepan was born in 1964 as the fourth son of a school teacher in Urelu, in a hamlet Urumpirai in the Jaffna District. Partheepan lost the warmth of his mother when he was just a baby of ten months and grew up with his mother's younger sister, aunty Rajaluxmy. Mother snatched away, Partheepan as a toddler, started hanging to papa's hands when the teacher goes to school. As a child of three years, he was interestingly moving around the classrooms in his father's Tamil school in Urumpirai.

Though ailing from asthma during childhood, Partheepan never failed to gain ranks in his classes. Acting to the dictates of his conscience, Partheepan, though selected to read for medical science, opted a hazardous revolutionary path. His motivation to select this path of freedom struggle was the result of his deep commitment to the Tamil people's struggle for freedom from oppression.

The first experience, a deep seated one at that, about the sufferings of his people under oppression was during his childhood. That was in 1974. Genocide with its full impact was staged in the heart of the Jaffna city. Ten youths who were participating in the World Tamil Research Conference held in Jaffna were shot dead by the Sri Lankan police. This ghastly scene where his brethren were killed for no offense committed had an indelible impression in this ten year old kid. Just three years after this genocidal killing, Tamil blood was flowing in the highways of the south ominously announcing things to come with the formation of the notorious 1977 regime. Partheepan was just thirteen years then. He was one of those who took care of the brethren who came to Jaffna escaping death in the hands of marauding mobs in the south.

Giving up an opening to become a medical doctor, Partheepan was motivated to commit himself to the historical duty to his brethren and this commitment was strongly based on the bloodletting and the misery he witnessed. He became a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. It was the year 1983. Partheepan put aside a nagging and tortuous asthma and freedom of his people started nagging him instead.

Irony had it, a Thileepan is born to be a freedom fighter, sacrifice personified. Thileepan who commenced his political duty as a propagandist under Capt. Pandithar grew up quickly and this young star began shining conspicuously and drew attention. On assuming responsibility as the propagandist for Vaddukoddai, Thileepan's march as a revolutionary, gained the attention of leader Prabaharan and Col. Kittu. This saw the rise of a clever organizer and a formidable fighter. Thileepan was appointed as the Political Head of the Jaffna District. Blossomed at this stage was the revolutionary thinking of Thileepan. By his simple living and the rapport with the people, Thileepan expanded the horizon of his commitment for freedom. Thileepan's contribution was immense to the freedom movement when it comes to educating the people as well as his colleagues. Introduction of the magazine Kalaththil(in the forefront) and organizing the students' and women's fronts were the end results of Thileepan's innovative thinking.

Thileepan pioneered the people's courts in rural interiors and ventured into broadening the broadcasting and transmission capacity of the freedom movement. Danger and risk incessantly followed Thileepan. Fourteen inches of his intestine had to be removed when Thileepan suffered gun shot injury in a military round up in Valvettithurai in the year 1984. This did not deter Thileepan strengthening his will to march forward in the freedom struggle.

That historical year -1987- ushered in extra-ordinarily faster, it appeared. The Indo-Sri Lanka pact saw the Indian military setting foot in the Tamil homeland. Thileepan was conspicuously seen among the people who were watching patiently the receding of the promise for freedom and peace with dignity, day by day. Writing of a new chapter pregnant with sacrifice was unfolding thus on 15th September 1987.

Five minutes more to ten on the fifteenth September Thileepan climbed on to the specially erected dais, determined to fast undo death putting forward five demands against the armed violence let loose in the Tamil homeland. These five demands have been already sent to the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo on 13th September requesting a response to the LTTE within 24 hours. The Indian authorities did not break their silence till the 15th.

It did not strike anyone that the days to follow were going to be decisive and a single individual's act of dedication and sacrifice was going to entirely changed face of the freedom struggle and this yearning was to spread through out the nooks and corners of the Tamil homeland. But history had it that way.

As Thileepan sat down a colleague of his, Prasath read out loudly the five demands for the thousands of people thronged there. Endorsing it Thileepan too announced that he does not intend giving up the fast until the demands are fulfilled and that he will not subject himself for any medical examination or care. Thus began a silent but determined revolution.

To be continued tomorrow

25 September 2004

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