Pon Sivakumaran

Sivakumaran was born on 26 September 1950.[2][lower-alpha 1] 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]

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 [lower-alpha 2] (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[lower-alpha 3] 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][lower-alpha 4][lower-alpha 5] 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][32]

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