Thileepan

Parthipan was born on 29 November 1963.{{cite book|last=Arumugam|first=S.|title=Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon|url=http://noolaham.net/project/19/1810/1810.pdf|year=1997|page=230|authorlink=S. Arumugam}}{{cite book|title=திலீபம்|url=https://noolaham.net/project/733/73207/73207.pdf|year=1988|page=124}}{{Efn|Another source gives Parthipan's date of birth as 27 November 1963{{cite news|title=Thileepan's 16th death anniversary to be commemorated|url=https://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=9873|work=TamilNet|date=4 September 2003}} whilst another gives his year of birth as 1962.{{cite book|last1=Mehta|first1=Raj K.|title=Lost Victory: The Rise & Fall of LTTE Supremo, V. Prabhakaran|date=2010|publisher=Pentagon Press|isbn=978-81-8274-443-1|page=176|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WyRZKMxTPXsC}}}} He was from Urelu near Urumpirai in northern Ceylon.{{cite news|last1=Wijerathna|first1=Arunadale|last2=Kulasuriya|first2=Madhawa|title=Was Thileepan killed to make him a martyr?|url=http://www.ceylontoday.lk/90-91041-news-detail-was-thileepan-killed-to-make-him-a-martyr.html|work=Ceylon Today|date=26 April 2015}} His father was a Tamil teacher and he had three older brothers. His mother died when Parthipan was three months old. After his father died of diabetes he was brought up by his brothers. He was educated at Jaffna Hindu College. After school he enrolled in the University of Jaffna.

Parthipan joined the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) prior to the 1983 Black July anti-Tamil riots. He was given the nom de guerre Thileepan. Injured in the stomach in May 1987 during the Vadamarachchi Operation (Operation Liberation), he became the LTTE's political leader for Jaffna peninsula.{{cite book|last=Rajasingham|first=K. T.|title=Sri Lanka: The Untold Story|url=http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DD13Df02.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20021001211331/http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DD13Df02.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=2002-10-01|chapter=Chapter 35: Accord turns to discord}}{{cite book|last1=Bhattacharya|first1=Samir|title=Nothing But! - Book Five: All is Fair in Love and War|date=2014|publisher=Partridge Publishing|isbn=978-1-4828-1733-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ndIAAwAAQBAJ|chapter=Chapter 7: Caught in a Tangled Web}}

As hostilities increased in northern Sri Lanka, the LTTE handed over a letter to the Indian High Commissioner on 13 September 1987 making five demands: the release of all political prisoners held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and emergency regulations; cessation of Sinhalese colonisation of Tamil areas under the guise of "rehabilitation"; cessation of all "rehabilitation" activities until the establishment of the Interim Administrative Council; cessation of construction of police stations in the Northern and Eastern provinces; and the disarmament of Home Guards and withdrawal of the army/police from schools and colleges.{{cite web|last1=Sabesan|title=Message of Sacrifice - 19 Years On...|url=http://sangam.org/taraki/articles/2006/09-26_Thileepan.php?uid=1970|publisher=Ilankai Tamil Sangam}}{{cite news|title=Tamil Rebel Dies After 12-Day Fast; Crowds Press Demands|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-09-27-mn-10642-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|agency=United Press International|date=27 September 1987}}{{cite book|last1=Lahiri|first1=Simanti|title=Suicide Protest in South Asia: Consumed by Commitment|date=2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-82099-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kzVEAwAAQBAJ}}{{Efn|Sri Lankan sources falsely claim that Thileepan's hunger strike was a protest against the presence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka.{{cite news|title=More and more and more|url=http://www.sundaytimes.lk/040919/columns/political.html|work=The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)|date=19 September 2004}}{{cite news|last1=Weerakkody|first1= Kalinga|title=Students compelled to join LTTE hartal|url=http://www.island.lk/2002/09/28/news05.html|work=The Island (Sri Lanka)|date=28 September 2002}}}} The demands were aimed at the Indian rather than the Sri Lankan government because the LTTE believed that Indians could force the Sri Lankans to comply. The LTTE gave the Indians 24 hours to respond but no response, or even an acknowledgement, was received.

Determined to make the Indians meet the demands, Thileepan began a hunger strike on 15 September 1987 in front of Nallur Kandaswamy Temple.{{cite book|last1=Krishna|first1=Sankaran|title=Postcolonial Insecurities: India, Sri Lanka, and the Question of Nationhood|date=1999|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|isbn=0-8166-3329-0|page=179|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Xq4GnaraYUC}}{{cite news|title=LTTE leader pays homage to Thileepan, Sankar|url=http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?artid=27035&catid=13|work=TamilNet|date=26 September 2008}} Thileepan gave speeches which were broadcast on Nidharshanam, the LTTE's TV stations. People from all over Jaffna peninsula came to observe and participate in the hunger strike. On 22 September 1987 Indian High Commissioner J. N. Dixit arrived at Palaly Airport and was met by LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran who wanted Dixit to go and see Thileepan. Dixit wanted a written guarantee from Prabhakaran that Thileepan would end his hunger strike if Dixit met with him but Prabhakaran couldn't give the guarantee. As his condition deteriorated, Thileepan stopped giving speeches. After refusing food or water for 12 days, Thileepan died on 26 September 1987.{{cite news|title=A Tamil Separatist Leader Dies in Protest Fast|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/27/world/a-tamil-separatist-leader-dies-in-protest-fast.html|work=The New York Times|date=27 September 1987}}{{cite book|last1=Murari|first1=S.|title=The Prabhakaran Saga: The Rise and Fall of an Eelam Warrior|date=2012|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-81-321-0701-9|page=39|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P9-GAwAAQBAJ}}{{cite news|last1=Sri-Skanda-Rajah|first1=Usha S.|title=Thileepan: The Reckoning That Non-Violence Didn't Stand A Chance|url=https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/thileepan-the-reckoning-that-non-violence-didnt-stand-a-chance/|work=Colombo Telegraph|date=26 September 2015}} After a "martyr's funeral" in Jaffna, Thileepan's body was handed over to the University of Jaffna's medical faculty.

LTTE leader Prabhakaran accused India of betraying the Tamils after vowing to protect them.{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/27/world/a-tamil-separatist-leader-dies-in-protest-fast.html | title=A Tamil Separatist Leader Dies in Protest Fast | newspaper=The New York Times | date=27 September 1987 }} Thileepan's death resulted in large anti-government and anti-Indian protests in northern Sri Lanka.

A statue of Thileepan was built behind Nallur Kandaswamy Temple in 1988.{{cite news|title=Thileepan statue destroyed in Nalloor, Jaffna|url=https://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=23818|work=TamilNet|issue=20 November 2007}}{{cite news|title=Sinhalese soldiers, hooligans destroy Thileepan memorial in Jaffna|url=https://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=31414|work=TamilNet|date=23 March 2010}} After the Sri Lankan military re-captured the Valikamam region in 1996 they destroyed the statue. The statue was re-built in 2003 during the Norwegian mediated Cease Fire Agreement.{{cite news|title=Lt. Col. Thileepan memorial re-opened in Nallur|url=https://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=9722|work=TamilNet|issue=25 August 2003}} After war resumed, Thileepan's photograph and decorative lamps at the statue were damaged by the army on 26 October 2006. Thileepan's statue was attacked and destroyed by armed men on 18 November 2007. The remnants of Thileepan's memorial, the pillar, was destroyed by the army on 21 March 2010.

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{{Reflist}}

• {{Url|1=eelamview.com/2012/09/25/lt-col-thileepan-2/|2=Eelam View}}
• {{Url|1=tamilnation.co/tamileelam/maveerar/thileepan.htm|2=Tamil Nation}}
• {{URL|1=http://veeravengaikal.com/maaveerar/index.php/maaveerarlist?view=maaveerarlistdetails&Itemid=103&cid=704|2=Veeravengaikal.com}}

{{Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam}}

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Category:1963 births

Category:1987 deaths

Category:Alumni of Jaffna Hindu College

Category:Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam members

Category:People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka

Category:People who died on hunger strike

Category:Sri Lankan Tamil rebels

Category:Indian Peace Keeping Force