Uma Maheswaran

Uma Maheswaran
உமாமகேசுவரன்
Born
K. Nallainathan

(1945-02-18)18 February 1945
Died16 July 1989(1989-07-16) (aged 44)
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Cause of deathAssassination
NationalitySri Lankan
Other namesMukundan
OccupationSurveyor
Years active1977–1989
Organization(s)Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (1977–1980)
People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (1980–1989)

Kadirgamapillai (Kathirkamar) Nallainathan (Tamil: க. உமாமகேசுவரன்; 18 February 1945 – 16 July 1989; commonly known by the nom de guerre Uma Maheswaran) was a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel and the founder and leader of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), a separatist Tamil militant organisation in Sri Lanka.

Early life

Maheswaran was born on 18 February 1945 and was from Varuthalaivilan near Tellippalai in northern Sri Lanka.[1][2] He worked for the government as a surveyor.[2][3][4]

LTTE

Maheswaran joined the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 1977.[5] The LTTE gave him the nom de guerre Mukundan.[5] He was chairman of the LTTE's central committee from 1977 to 1980.[3] He received military training in Lebanon and Syria.[6][7] Maheswaran and LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran were blamed for the shooting of MP M. Canagaratnam on 24 January 1978.[2][8] In 1982 A Sri Lankan court sentenced Maheswaran, in absentia, to 15 years rigorous imprisonment for the attempted murder.[9][10]

Maheswaran fell out with Prabhakaran and left the organisation in 1980.[11]

PLOTE

After leaving the LTTE, Maheswaran founded his own militant group, the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE).[12]

On the night of 19 May 1982, Maheswaran and fellow PLOTE members Jotheeswaran and Sivaneswaran (Nirnajan) were involved in a shootout with Prabhakaran and Raghavan (Sivakumar) of the LTTE at the Pondy bazaar in Thiyagarayanagar, Madras, India.[13][14][15] Jotheeswaran was injured and hospitalised but Maheswaran and Sivaneswaran escaped.[16] Maheswaran was arrested near Gummidipoondi railway station on 25 May 1982 after a shoot out with the police but was later released on bail.[17] Maheswaran and the PLOTE would continue to carry out bank robberies and kidnappings to finance their activities.[3]

Maheswaran's actions eventually led to divisions within the PLOTE, resulting in a number of defections and splinter groups to be formed, including the Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front (ENDLF). Maheswaran was known to deal with dissent very harshly, and is alleged to have carried out 38 murders.[3]

Maheswaran was involved in the failed 1988 Maldives Coup.[11] On 16 July 1989, Maheswaran was abducted by six men in Colombo.[18] His bullet ridden body was later found at Frankfurt Place, Bambalapitiya, near the Maldivian High Commission.[19] The ENDLF, an Indian-backed offshoot of PLOTE, claimed responsibility for the assassination,[20] however some sources blamed the assassination on dissenting members of the PLOTE itself.[21][22]

References

  1. ^ Schalk, Peter. "The Revival of Martyr Cults among Ilavar". Tamil Nation.
  2. ^ a b c Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 25: War or peace?". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Archived from the original on 16 April 2002.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ a b c d Wilson, A. Jeyaratnam (2000). Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Its Origins and Development in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. C. Hurst & Co. p. 127. ISBN 1-85065-519-7.
  4. ^ Wilson, A. Jeyaratnam (1988). The Break-up of Sri Lanka: The Sinhalese-Tamil Conflict. C. Hurst & Co. p. 217. ISBN 1-85065-033-0.
  5. ^ a b "Early Tamil Militancy". Tamil Nation.
  6. ^ "Jain Commission Interim Report: Growth of Sri Lankan Tamil Militancy in Tamil Nadu Background - Sections 5 to 13". Tamil Nation.
  7. ^ Perera, K. K. S. (3 November 2013). "25 years on: Aborted coup in the Maldives - Liberators turn Mercenaries in Male". The Nation. Archived from the original on 23 December 2014.
  8. ^ Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 27: Horsewhip Amirthalingham". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Archived from the original on 22 June 2002.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ^ "Uma Maheswaran Sentenced to 15 Years" (PDF). Tamil Times. I (9): 3. June 1982.
  10. ^ Sambandan, V. S. (14 November 2002). "LTTE chief faces arrest?". The Hindu.
  11. ^ a b Asokan, N. (26 February 2012). "The Failed Coup". The Sunday Indian.
  12. ^ Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (5 April 1985). "How strong are the "boys"?". Frontline. 2.
  13. ^ ""Tigers" Shoot It Out in Streets of S. India" (PDF). Tamil Times. I (8): 1. May 1982.
  14. ^ Senadhira, Sugeeswara (16 May 2010). "Nine lives of Tiger Supremo". The Sunday Times.
  15. ^ Rajasingham, K. T. (24 December 2002). "LTTE use of donor funds for arms will not be tolerated — Chandrahasan". The Island.
  16. ^ Subramani, A. (25 November 2012). "Case against Prabhakaran closed 3 years after his death". Ceylon Today.
  17. ^ "1982 shooting: case against LTTE leader Prabhakaran dropped". The Hindu. 24 November 2012.
  18. ^ "Uma Maheswaran Murdered" (PDF). Tamil Times. VIII (8): 4. July 1989. ISSN 0266-4488.
  19. ^ Ferdinando, Shamindra (3 February 2013). "Premadasa's plan goes awry as JVP opens up new front". The Island.
  20. ^ Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 36: Indians rule the roost". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Archived from the original on 27 April 2002.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  21. ^ Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (15 May 2005). "From gun to pen - II". The Sunday Leader.
  22. ^ Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 39: Amirthalingham eliminated". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Archived from the original on 15 May 2002.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)