As said before in my previous post, I would like to share about another real example of hunger strike which was unfruitful even after he laid down his life. It is about Cpt. Thileepan, member of LTTE political group. This incident dates back to 1986 when LTTE was not a banned outfit in India and other countries. The reason for Thileepan's fast was certain unwritten agreements between the Indian Government and the LTTE before signing the accord were not implemented. There was no visible change even after the accord was signed. Thileepan was one of the delegates who visited Delhi before signing the accord. Thileepan started his fast on September 14, 1986 at the Nallur Kandasamy Temple. The main objectives of his fast were,
1) Tamils detained as terrorists should be released (even journalists who wrote about Sinhalese atrocities, family members of LTTE, and other people were arrested on suspicion).
2) He wanted the Sinhalese colonisation to be stopped until interim government was formed (The government was making Sinhalese to move into Tamil areas masking it as rehabilitation).
3) New military camps should not be opened in the Northeastern province until interim government was formed.
4) Srilankan army should move out of schools.
During this time, the LTTE was very much working on surrendering their arms and taking part in the peace talks. Eelam Tamils felt a kind of backstabbed when the Indian government did not push on to support what it promised them. J. N. Dixit is being blamed by most of the commanders in the IPKF for being a catalyst and igniting the fire between IPKF and LTTE.
Thileepan was very much focused on continuing his fast despite requests from his fellow Tamils (Jaffna people still adore him). Thileepan firmly believed that Indian government and the IPKF would help in some political development for the Tamils, which unfortunately did not happen. Thileepan grew weaker day by day. During his early days of fast, he would make speeches in the podium. His last days of his fast, he spent most of the time lying down hoping that a political change would happen for the suppressed Tamils.
On September 22, 1986, on the 8th day of Thileepan's fast, LTTE leader Prabhakaran met J. N. Dixit, Indian High Commisioner to Sri Lanka and told him to meet Thileepan. J. N. Dixit called Thileepan's act provocative against the Indian government. If J. N. Dixit would have met Thileepan and some political development would have been promised, Eelam Tamils would not be instigated against the IPKF and the Indian government.
Thileepan sacrificed his life for what he believed in and fought for on September 26, 2010. His tragic death tumbled the peace process as Tamil people were infuriated by his death and blamed India for the same.
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| Old image of Thileepan Memorial (destroyed by the SLA after Eelam War IV) |
I would just like to make a comparison between the FAKE HUNGER STRIKES we read in the newspapers and watch in the television every now and then. This man laid down his life believing in 'Ahimsa' made popular by Mahatma Gandhi (Father of Indian Nation) which became unnoticed.
PLEASE COMPARE THIS HUNGER STRIKE WITH TODAY'S POLITICIANS.
I would like to wind off with a quote:
"It gives me great satisfaction and contentment that I am fulfilling a national responsibility to the nation." - Cpt. Thileepan
Note: Lovecriminal wanted to share this information as he had been following this civil war for years. He in no way supports/supported the activities of the organizations and governments described above. Lovecriminal is an antiwar activist and hates war and never like people dying. To know more about the civil war one could google and research (we live in an information era where we get every reliable information easy like a piece of cake).
