Ponnuthurai Sivakumaran (Tamil: பொன்னுத்துரை சிவகுமாரன்; 26 September 1950 – 5 June 1974) was a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel and the first Tamil militant to commit suicide by swallowing cyanide.[1]
Sivakumaran was born on 26 September 1950.[2][a] He was the son of Ponnuthurai, principal of Urumpirai Hindu Tamil Vidyasalai, and Annalakshmi.[4] Sivakumaran's father and mother were both supporters of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi and its leader S. J. V. Chelvanayakam which influenced Sivakumaran's own political beliefs.[5] Sivakumaran had two brothers and a sister.[4] He was educated at Urumpirai Hindu College and Jaffna Hindu College.[5][6] After school he joined Kokkuvil Junior Technical College but dropped out after two months.[5]
Militancy
Sivakumaran became a supporter of an armed struggle.[5] In 1969 a small group of militant Tamil youths from Valvettithurai formed an underground group.[7][8] The group was known as the Thangadurai Group and was led by Thangadurai and Kuttimani.[9] The group would later be known as the Tamil Liberation Organisation (TLO).[7][10] Other members of the group included V. Prabhakaran, Sri Sabaratnam, Sivakumaran, Periya Sothi, Chinna Sothi, Chetti and Kannadi.[10][11] In 1971 Sivakumaran joined the Tamil Student Federation [b] (Tamil Manavar Peravai) (TSF), which had been formed in 1970 by Ponnuthurai Sathiyaseelan.[12][14] Sivakumaran later left the TSF and formed his own group which was known as the Sivakumaran Group.[5][12]
Whilst speaking at an event at Colombo Hindu College in July 1970 Deputy Minister of Cultural Affairs Somaweera Chandrasiri, a Sinhalese politician, claimed that Sinhalese and Tamil cultures were linked.[4][15] Sivakumaran was angered by this.[4] In September 1970 Sivakumaran tried to assassinate Chandrasiri as he visited Urumpirai Hindu College.[15][16][17] Sivakumaran placed a time bomb under Chandrasiri's car and quietly slipped away but when the bomb exploded no one was in the car.[15] No one suspected Sivakumaran.[15]
Mayor of JaffnaAlfred Duraiappah was a member of the governing Sri Lanka Freedom Party and its chief organiser in Jaffna District.[14][18][19] Tamil militants considered Duraiappah to be a traitor and government collaborator.[20][21][22] In February 1971 Sivakumaran tried to assassinate Duraiappah by throwing a hand grenade on to Duraiappah's car which was parked on Second Cross Road in Jaffna.[14][16][19] Duraiappah was not inside the car at the time.[15][19] This time the police found out that Sivakumaran was involved and started a manhunt for him.[15]
In 1972 and 1973 the police arrested many Tamil youths suspected of being militants.[5] As a result, Sivakumaran's militant activities slowed down.[5] In January 1974 nine civilians were massacred by the police at the World Tamil Conference in Jaffna.[14] Tamil militants blamed the government and Posts and Telecommunications Minister Chelliah Kumarasuriar for the massacre.[23] Sivakumaran however blamed Duraiappah and ASP S. K. Chandrasekera for the massacre and sought vengeance.[5][15] Fearing torture if he was arrested, Sivakumaran started carrying cyanide pills.[16] On 4 June 1974 TSF[c] militants including Sivakumaran attempted to rob the People's Bank in Kopay.[16][17][25] As the bank's police guards gave chase, a cornered Sivakumaran swallowed a vial of cyanide, dying instantly.[12][16][24][d][e] Sivakumaran became the first Tamil militant to die in such a manner and the first Tamil "martyr".[12][24][27] A large public funeral was held which was attended by senior Tamil politicians.[5][24] Sivakumaran's body was taken in procession from Jaffna hospital to Urumpirai.[24]
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam leader V. Prabhakaran would later claim that Sivakumaran's death was the inspiration for LTTE cadres carrying cyanide capsules as standard equipment.[12][17] A bronze statue of Sivakumaran was put up in Urumpirai but during the 1977 anti-Tamil riots the statue was destroyed by the police.[2][5][28][29] The edifice was demolished by the army during Operation Riviresa.[28] The statue was re-built in 1999.[28] 5 June is commemorated as Tamil Students' Day of Uprising or Sivakumaran Day in the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora.[30][31]
Notes
^Another source gives Sivakumaran's date of birth as 26 August 1950.[3]
^The Tamil Student Federation was also known as the Tamil Student Union (TSU),[12] Tamil Students' League (TSL)[13] and Tamil Student Organisation (TSO).[14] The TSF was renamed Tamil Youth League (Tamil Ilaignar Peravai) in 1973.[13]
^Another source states that the Tamil New Tigers tried to rob the Kopay People's Bank on 4 June 1974.[16][24]
^According to another source, Sub Inspector Wijesundera, the Officer In Charge of Kopay police station, had followed Sivakumaran after receiving intelligence that the Kopay People's Bank was going to be attacked.[14] Sivakumaran tried to shoot Wijesundera but misfired whereupon Wijesundera captured Sivakumaran who then swallowed cyanide.[14]
^According to another source Sivakumaran didn't die instantly but was taken to hospital where his stomach was pumped out but he nevertheless died.[26]
References
^"Remembering Sivakumaran's sacrifice". Tamil Guardian. 6 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
^ abSri Kantha, Sachi (27 June 2014). "Sivakumaran's Cyanide Suicide". Ilankai Tamil Sangam.
^Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 23: Srimavo's constitutional promiscuity". . Archived from the original on 13 February 2002.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ abRichardson, John (2005). Paradise Poisoned: Learning about Conflict, Terrorism, and Development from Sri Lanka's Civil Wars. International Center for Ethnic Studies. p. 350. ISBN955-580-094-4.
^ abcdefgRajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 24: Tamil militancy - a manifestation". . Archived from the original on 13 February 2002.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ abcdefImtiyaz, A. R. M. (2008). "Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka: The Dilemma of Building a Unitary State". In Chatterji, Manas; Jain, B. M. (eds.). Conflict and Peace in South Asia. Emerald Group Publishing. p. 140. ISBN978-0-4445-3176-6.
^ abcKingsbury, Damien (2012). Sri Lanka and the Responsibility to Protect: Politics, Ethnicity and Genocide. Routledge. p. 65. ISBN978-0-415-58884-3.
^"Acrimony at inaugural JMC meeting". TamilNet. 24 April 1998.
^ abcSabaratnam, T. "Chapter 3: The Unexpected Explosion". Pirapaharan. Ilankai Tamil Sangam.
^Feith, David (2013). "Chapter 10: Separatism in Sri Lanka". In Cabestan, Jean-Pierre; Pavković, Aleksandar (eds.). Secessionism and Separatism in Europe and Asia: To Have a State of One's Own. Routledge. p. 169. ISBN978-0-415-66774-6.
^Coomaraswamy, Radhika; Perera-Rajasingham, Nimanthi (2009). "Chapter 6 - Being Tamil in a Different Way: A Feminist Critique of the Tamil Nation". In Cheran, R. (ed.). Pathways of Dissent: Tamil Nationalism in Sri Lanka. SAGE Publications. p. 121. ISBN978-81-321-0222-9.
^"Colombo remembers Alfred Duraiappa, setting hands of the clock backwards". TamilNet. 30 July 2009.
^Sabaratnam, T. (August 1996). The Murder of A Moderate(PDF). Nivetha Publishers. p. 231.
^ abcdeSabaratnam, T. (August 1996). The Murder of A Moderate(PDF). Nivetha Publishers. pp. 233–234.
^Gunaratna, Rohan (1993). Indian intervention in Sri Lanka: the role of India's intelligence agencies. South Asian Network on Conflict Research. p. 68. ISBN978-955-95199-0-4.
^Roberts, Michael (22 April 2009). "Suicidal Political Action II: Ponnudural Sivakumaran". The Island (Sri Lanka).
^"Diaspora Tamil students mark Sivakumaran Day". TamilNet. 9 June 2008.
^"TYO-Canada remembers Sivakumar". Tamil Guardian. 17 June 2011.
External links
Eelam View
January 28, 2023
sivakumaran, ponnuthurai, sivakumaran, tamil, வக, ரன, september, 1950, june, 1974, lankan, tamil, rebel, first, tamil, militant, commit, suicide, swallowing, cyanide, வக, ரன, bornp, sivakumaran, 1950, september, 1950died5, june, 1974, 1974, aged, nationalitysr. Ponnuthurai Sivakumaran Tamil ப ன ன த த ர ச வக ம ரன 26 September 1950 5 June 1974 was a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel and the first Tamil militant to commit suicide by swallowing cyanide 1 Pon Sivakumaranப ன ச வக ம ரன BornP Sivakumaran 1950 09 26 26 September 1950Died5 June 1974 1974 06 05 aged 23 NationalitySri LankanOther namesUrumpirai Sivakumaran Contents 1 Early life and family 2 Militancy 3 Notes 4 References 5 External linksEarly life and family EditSivakumaran was born on 26 September 1950 2 a He was the son of Ponnuthurai principal of Urumpirai Hindu Tamil Vidyasalai and Annalakshmi 4 Sivakumaran s father and mother were both supporters of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi and its leader S J V Chelvanayakam which influenced Sivakumaran s own political beliefs 5 Sivakumaran had two brothers and a sister 4 He was educated at Urumpirai Hindu College and Jaffna Hindu College 5 6 After school he joined Kokkuvil Junior Technical College but dropped out after two months 5 Militancy EditSivakumaran became a supporter of an armed struggle 5 In 1969 a small group of militant Tamil youths from Valvettithurai formed an underground group 7 8 The group was known as the Thangadurai Group and was led by Thangadurai and Kuttimani 9 The group would later be known as the Tamil Liberation Organisation TLO 7 10 Other members of the group included V Prabhakaran Sri Sabaratnam Sivakumaran Periya Sothi Chinna Sothi Chetti and Kannadi 10 11 In 1971 Sivakumaran joined the Tamil Student Federation b Tamil Manavar Peravai TSF which had been formed in 1970 by Ponnuthurai Sathiyaseelan 12 14 Sivakumaran later left the TSF and formed his own group which was known as the Sivakumaran Group 5 12 Whilst speaking at an event at Colombo Hindu College in July 1970 Deputy Minister of Cultural Affairs Somaweera Chandrasiri a Sinhalese politician claimed that Sinhalese and Tamil cultures were linked 4 15 Sivakumaran was angered by this 4 In September 1970 Sivakumaran tried to assassinate Chandrasiri as he visited Urumpirai Hindu College 15 16 17 Sivakumaran placed a time bomb under Chandrasiri s car and quietly slipped away but when the bomb exploded no one was in the car 15 No one suspected Sivakumaran 15 Mayor of Jaffna Alfred Duraiappah was a member of the governing Sri Lanka Freedom Party and its chief organiser in Jaffna District 14 18 19 Tamil militants considered Duraiappah to be a traitor and government collaborator 20 21 22 In February 1971 Sivakumaran tried to assassinate Duraiappah by throwing a hand grenade on to Duraiappah s car which was parked on Second Cross Road in Jaffna 14 16 19 Duraiappah was not inside the car at the time 15 19 This time the police found out that Sivakumaran was involved and started a manhunt for him 15 In 1972 and 1973 the police arrested many Tamil youths suspected of being militants 5 As a result Sivakumaran s militant activities slowed down 5 In January 1974 nine civilians were massacred by the police at the World Tamil Conference in Jaffna 14 Tamil militants blamed the government and Posts and Telecommunications Minister Chelliah Kumarasuriar for the massacre 23 Sivakumaran however blamed Duraiappah and ASP S K Chandrasekera for the massacre and sought vengeance 5 15 Fearing torture if he was arrested Sivakumaran started carrying cyanide pills 16 On 4 June 1974 TSF c militants including Sivakumaran attempted to rob the People s Bank in Kopay 16 17 25 As the bank s police guards gave chase a cornered Sivakumaran swallowed a vial of cyanide dying instantly 12 16 24 d e Sivakumaran became the first Tamil militant to die in such a manner and the first Tamil martyr 12 24 27 A large public funeral was held which was attended by senior Tamil politicians 5 24 Sivakumaran s body was taken in procession from Jaffna hospital to Urumpirai 24 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam leader V Prabhakaran would later claim that Sivakumaran s death was the inspiration for LTTE cadres carrying cyanide capsules as standard equipment 12 17 A bronze statue of Sivakumaran was put up in Urumpirai but during the 1977 anti Tamil riots the statue was destroyed by the police 2 5 28 29 The edifice was demolished by the army during Operation Riviresa 28 The statue was re built in 1999 28 5 June is commemorated as Tamil Students Day of Uprising or Sivakumaran Day in the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora 30 31 Notes Edit Another source gives Sivakumaran s date of birth as 26 August 1950 3 The Tamil Student Federation was also known as the Tamil Student Union TSU 12 Tamil Students League TSL 13 and Tamil Student Organisation TSO 14 The TSF was renamed Tamil Youth League Tamil Ilaignar Peravai in 1973 13 Another source states that the Tamil New Tigers tried to rob the Kopay People s Bank on 4 June 1974 16 24 According to another source Sub Inspector Wijesundera the Officer In Charge of Kopay police station had followed Sivakumaran after receiving intelligence that the Kopay People s Bank was going to be attacked 14 Sivakumaran tried to shoot Wijesundera but misfired whereupon Wijesundera captured Sivakumaran who then swallowed cyanide 14 According to another source Sivakumaran didn t die instantly but was taken to hospital where his stomach was pumped out but he nevertheless died 26 References Edit Remembering Sivakumaran s sacrifice Tamil Guardian 6 June 2020 Retrieved 13 June 2020 a b Sri Kantha Sachi 27 June 2014 Sivakumaran s Cyanide Suicide Ilankai Tamil Sangam த ய க ப ன ச வக ம ரன Athirady a b c d Sathiyaseelan P 5 April 2015 Eelam Liberation Struggle Sathiyaseelan Recalls 03 Tamil Diplomat a b c d e f g h i j Swamy M R Narayan 1995 Tigers of Lanka From Boys to Guerrillas pp 28 29 Sathiyaseelan P 6 March 2015 Eelam Liberation Struggle Sathiyaseelan Recalls 01 Tamil Diplomat a b Sri Kantha Sachi 5 June 2013 Kuttimani Files Ilankai Tamil Sangam Roberts Michael 26 February 2010 Caste in modern Sri Lankan politics II The Island Sri Lanka Furtado Christina S 2007 Inter rebel Group Dynamics Cooperation Or Competition The Case of South Asia p 76 a b Early Tamil Militancy Tamil Nation Rajasingham K T Chapter 23 Srimavo s constitutional promiscuity Sri Lanka The Untold Story Archived from the original on 13 February 2002 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint unfit URL link a b c d e f Amarasingam Amarnath 2015 Pain Pride and Politics Social Movement Activism and the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora in Canada University of Georgia Press p 25 ISBN 978 0 8203 4812 4 a b Richardson John 2005 Paradise Poisoned Learning about Conflict Terrorism and Development from Sri Lanka s Civil Wars International Center for Ethnic Studies p 350 ISBN 955 580 094 4 a b c d e f g Rajasingham K T Chapter 24 Tamil militancy a manifestation Sri Lanka The Untold Story Archived from the original on 13 February 2002 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint unfit URL link a b c d e f g Heynes Stephen 2016 The Bleeding Island Scars and Wounds Partridge India ISBN 978 1 4828 7479 2 a b c d e f Imtiyaz A R M 2008 Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka The Dilemma of Building a Unitary State In Chatterji Manas Jain B M eds Conflict and Peace in South Asia Emerald Group Publishing p 140 ISBN 978 0 4445 3176 6 a b c Kingsbury Damien 2012 Sri Lanka and the Responsibility to Protect Politics Ethnicity and Genocide Routledge p 65 ISBN 978 0 415 58884 3 Acrimony at inaugural JMC meeting TamilNet 24 April 1998 a b c Sabaratnam T Chapter 3 The Unexpected Explosion Pirapaharan Ilankai Tamil Sangam Feith David 2013 Chapter 10 Separatism in Sri Lanka In Cabestan Jean Pierre Pavkovic Aleksandar eds Secessionism and Separatism in Europe and Asia To Have a State of One s Own Routledge p 169 ISBN 978 0 415 66774 6 Coomaraswamy Radhika Perera Rajasingham Nimanthi 2009 Chapter 6 Being Tamil in a Different Way A Feminist Critique of the Tamil Nation In Cheran R ed Pathways of Dissent Tamil Nationalism in Sri Lanka SAGE Publications p 121 ISBN 978 81 321 0222 9 Colombo remembers Alfred Duraiappa setting hands of the clock backwards TamilNet 30 July 2009 Sabaratnam T August 1996 The Murder of A Moderate PDF Nivetha Publishers p 231 a b c d e Sabaratnam T August 1996 The Murder of A Moderate PDF Nivetha Publishers pp 233 234 Gunaratna Rohan 1993 Indian intervention in Sri Lanka the role of India s intelligence agencies South Asian Network on Conflict Research p 68 ISBN 978 955 95199 0 4 Hoole Ratnajeevan September 2007 Five Miscalculations Part 05 Sri Lanka Guardian Hopgood Stephen 2005 Tamil Tigers 1987 2002 In Gambetta Diego ed Making Sense of Suicide Missions Oxford University Press p 68 ISBN 0 19 927699 4 a b c Taraki 17 January 1999 Those who wear the Tiger mask The Sunday Times Sri Lanka Roberts Michael 22 April 2009 Suicidal Political Action II Ponnudural Sivakumaran The Island Sri Lanka Diaspora Tamil students mark Sivakumaran Day TamilNet 9 June 2008 TYO Canada remembers Sivakumar Tamil Guardian 17 June 2011 External links EditEelam View Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Pon Sivakumaran amp oldid 1132321388, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
