Politics with Death Body of Tamilchelavan

(November, 25, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) The recent killing of LTTE leader Tamilchelvan is a good barometer to judge whether the LTTE cause is as dear to Tamils here as when they opened up their hearts 20 years ago...

by. Pushpa Iyengar

Stand Up and Be Counted
Does the average Tamil still feel worked up because his brethren in the emerald isle across the Gulf of Mannar are far from achieving their goal of a homeland? The recent killng of LTTE leader SP Tamilchelvan is a good barometer to judge whether the LTTE cause is as dear to Tamils here as when they opened up their hearts 20 years ago after fleeing Tamils landed at Rameshwar and then spread further inland.

I remember going to a refugee camp at Gummidipoondi, about an hour from Madras, as it was called back in 1990. The tales the refugees told were spine-chilling--of death and destruction and people fleeing virtually with the clothes on their backs. They yearned to get back to their homeland to get on with their lives. But, to this day, that seems illusory.

The assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on May 21, 1991, by a woman LTTE suicide bomber changed many people's perspective. No one deserved to die like that and least of all Rajiv Gandhi who had captured many hearts with his charm and his promise to lead India into the 21st century. And, suddenly, most people were wary about wearing their sympathies for the Tamil cause on their sleeve.

As the Special Investigation Team led by D R Karthikeyan unraveled the conspiracy behind the killing of a well-loved leader, it became less and less fashionable (and safer) to get back to life and let the island Tamils fend for themselves. Says Geetha V of Tara Publications: "People will not go on the street because the Eelam cause has been discredited." But she says that the identification with a fellow Tamil remains. "Socially and culturally there is solidarity with Tamils. There is also a general sense of dismay because Tamilchelvan died a martyr." The average Tamil sees the killing of the LTTE leader also as a setback to peace on the island. "It might not be sharp but the Tamil cause is pertinent to people here," she says.

But the reactions from political parties is what makes people cynical. Weeks after he set off a debate--and gave the BJP a new lease of life--after questioning the very existence of Lord Ram as the Sethusamudram controversy took centrestage, DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi ruffled Congress feathers by penning an elegy for Tamilchelvan. But the Congress which has been propped up by DMK at the center found its hands tied when it came to condemning Karunanidhi. When AIADMK supremo J Jayalalitha sought his dismissal, the Kalaignar simply said his poem was a spontaneous response to the killing of a Tamil.

Back in 1991, Rajiv Gandhi had firmed up an alliance with the AIADMK weeks before he was killed, so the Congress then went hammer and tongs at the DMK. Now, while at least the local unit of the Congress made statements criticizing the DMK and even demanded a ban on the LTTE, the AICC resolution at its recent session was wishy-washy as usual. EVKS Elangovan, former TNCC president and minister of state for textiles in the UPA government had thundered, "There are people who sing an elegy, take out rallies and put up posters for the death of a leader of a banned outfit that killed our beloved leader Rajiv Gandhi. How can this be justified?" The AICC, on the other hand, passed a resolution tamely saying, "The LTTE categorized internationally as a terrorist outfit deliberately assassinated our beloved leader in a brutal manner. The sentiments of all Congressman and women are bound to get hurt if the LTTE is eulogized in any manner."

On the other hand, DMK ally Pattali Makkal Katchi's S. Ramados tried to score brownie points by implying that the DMK was not doing enough for the Tamil cause.He asked Karunanidhi to press the center to bring about peace in Sri Lanka as otherwise "the entire Tamil race will be obliterated."

But most interesting was that Jayalalithaa was red-faced when she found her ally, MDMK (Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) leader Vaiko courting arrest along with 200 others including P Nedumaran. Not that Vaiko's response should surprise anyone because he has built a political career (including his arrest by Jayalalithaa, the then CM, under Pota) on his pro-LTTE leanings.

But it was a Sri Lankan Tamil who has told Tamil Nadu's politicians not to make the "historic blunder" of supporting the LTTE. Tamil United Liberation Front leader and former Killinochi MP V Anandasangaree has said it was "very important" that a team of leaders from TN visit the north including areas under LTTE control. "What the Tamils need today is liberation from the so-called LTTE liberators," he said. And about Tamilchelvan's killing. he says, "Tamilchelvan was not assassinated like Mahatma Gandhi or Martin Luther king."

He may not have been, but people here still see him as a martyr to the Tamil cause and feel anguish or him. Why are they not on the streets? Because people don't hit the streets for any issue anymore in this material world -- at least not here.

A Finger On Prisoners' Pulse
We are familiar with politicians who feign a heart attack when some court orders them to be put behind bars. But diabetes and blood pressure is a real problem among prisoners. Soon after Sabur Rehman, who was convicted in the Coimbatore bomb blasts case, died of a heart attack recently, another convict, Kichan Buhari, also convicted in the bomb blasts case, has been admitted to the ICU at Coimbatore Medical College(CMC) after complaining of severe chest pain.

The Coimbatore district administration has extended the varumun kappom (Prevention is better than cure) scheme to the inmates of the central prison and the ongoing mega camp (2300 prisoners were screened) has revealed startling medical facts about prisoners--a significant number of them have blood pressure, diabetes, skin problems and urinary infections. District collector Neeraj Mittal says those diagnosed with various ailments would be treated by 15 specialists from the CMC and Tirupur hospital. Such camps will be held every six months. Prisoners have welcomed this finger on their pulse. After all they feel that they have real reason to be depressed and stressed out dealing with what they have done and its consequences.

"Silk" Smitha To Scorch Screens Again
She was to southern cinema what Helen was to Hindi films. Even more perhaps. Every South Indian red-blooded male considered it a rite of passage to be tantalized and seduced by the voluptuous "Silk" Smitha. When she committed suicide in 1996 in Vadapalani, one of Chennai's suburbs, South Indian cinema had lost its mother of all item girls considering she had done 200 Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and even Hindi films. It's a different time and different place but "silk" Smitha will scorch the screens again when her last film, Thanga Thamarai (Golden Lotus) is released shortly in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

But her sensuality might be leashed because this movie will have her playing the lead role of a village girl. Chennai-based producer and director Thirupathi Rajan--whose financial struggle led to the film being delayed--knows that he'll be back in the financial doldrums if he does not give the audience what they want from "Silk". So there are four songs which will be vintage "Silk". The actress, who was launched by Rajan way back in 1979, did him a good turn and shot for the film although he was down on his luck.A Telugu girl, the actress' first movie was "Vandichakram" which gave birth to her "silk" persona.

Courtesy-Outlook India