CONTENTS
OF THIS SECTION
06/08/09
|
Note by
tamilnation.org -
"Jeyam Thamotheram passed way on 27 October
2005. He was an unceasing, committed and
influential worker for the Tamil struggle for
justice. He will be remembered with affection
by many in the Tamil diaspora." |
|
|
Tribute from Colombo at Funeral in
London - S. Sivanayagam, 4 November
2005 |
Brian Senewiratne on The Thamotheram
Funeral, 8 November 2005 |
C.J.T.Thamotheram - An
Appreciation by Ivan Pedropillai, 6 November
2005 |
Jeyam Thamotheram: An untiring
servant of the cause of freedom for his people - Rev.
Dr. S.J. Emmanuel, Germany, 5 November
2005 |
C.J.T. Thamotheram: an End of
an Era - Brian Senewiratne, 1 November
2005 |
Jeyam Thamotheram - Doyen of Thamil
Diaspora - Editorial of Eelam Nation, 4 November
2005 |
Thamotheram, social activist,
passes away - TamilNet, 1 November
2005 |
|
One Hundred
Tamils of the 20th Century
C.J.T.Thamotheram
19 September 1919 - 27 October
2005
[ A Website has been opened to
celebrate the life of Charles Jeyam Thamotheram
- please visit http://www.thamotheram.co.uk ]
|
S. Sivanayagam, Colombo - Tribute from Colombo
at Funeral, 4 November 2005 |
Dear Friends, This is no ordinary occasion for
which you have met today. This is not like any
other internment. This is not like any other
funereal gathering. In marking the passing away of
one individual, you are today marking the end of an
epoch in the history of Tamils in this country. It
is not one Thamotheram whom we have lost, but by
his loss we are in danger of losing a part of our
identity as a Tamil people.
It is my great regret that I am not physically
present in your midst, to share the feeling of
tremendous loss that you all feel - you the many
mourners and friends of Mr.Thamotheram, whom I
count as my friends as well. Like many things in
life which become richer by sharing, even grief
becomes tolerable by sharing. Unfortunately, here
in Colombo I grieve for him in isolation. That
itself makes it hard.
My sense of gratitude to Mr.Thamotheram, my
indebtedness to him in many ways, is something very
personal to me. That naturally makes his loss more
heart-rending. But then Mr.Thamotheram was a public
person. He was my patron and friend, but he was
also leader of a whole community in this country.
He belonged to all of you. If he was an institution
in himself, many are the institutions that he had
founded - the first English-language journal, the
first Tamil school, the first think-tank,
International Tamil Foundation, and in his eighty
sixth year his mind was active enough to think of
another first - a Writers' Guild to propagate the
Tamil point of view. But alas, before he could
breathe more life into his latest foundling, he has
gone.
Three days before I left England for good and flew
to Sri Lanka, I called on Mr. and Mrs.Thamotheram
at their home in Ealing along with my friend Bala.
We had a long, long chat. It was really my farewell
visit to him. That was the last I saw him in
person. I sent him a card on his 87th birthday on
the 19th last month, which he told me he liked very
much. Parted physically did not mean the end of our
association, or the end of his personal affection
and concern for me.
In a letter he wrote to me on the 7th July,
which he dictated to his brother Edgar, he said
(Quote) "My dear Siva, this is a letter that I had
wanted to write to you for the past two months, but
illness and other distractions had come in the
way….First of all, do tell me how you spend
the day in Colombo. I know you must be concerned
about your illness, but I understand you have
already begun treatment under an oncologist. What
is his prognosis? Are you eating well and also able
to sleep in that hot weather…I do miss the
almost daily telephone conversations I had with you
when you stayed with your daughter in New Malden"
(Unquote)
Friends, here is a man who had the largeness of
heart to be so concerned about another's health ,
another's welfare, when he himself had begun to
struggle with his own bodily ailments. In the same
letter he was expressing his great worry about the
deteriorating physical condition of another mutual
friend, Adrian Wijemanne.
His concern for his fellow men apart,
Mr.Thamotheram's thoughts to the last remained with
the Tamil people he loved and the Tamil cause to
which he was wedded. In his letter to me, he wrote
- (Quote) "The Tamil community here lacks
leadership. We are fast losing our Tamilness,
unlike the Jews who maintained their Jewishness
whether they lived in Moscow or Morocco, New York
or Norway. I am astounded by the number of
marriages taking place between Tamils, mostly
professionals, and the host community."
(Unquote).
Friends, it is distressing to say that, but I
cannot help feeling that we, as a people, and as a
community have failed Mr.Thamotheram, failed him in
sharing his deep values, and failed to reciprocate
by our own actions what he stood for, and what he
strived for. It is part of human fallibility to
take a person for granted when he is alive. It is
only when he departs from us, we suddenly realize
how empty the world around has become.
If I may be permitted to believe that I am talking
to you Sir, as you lie in that casket, may I say
this. Although you have left us, I can always hear
your voice whenever I choose to. Your speech at my
book launch function is on video tape. I can still
see you on that stage, large and life-like. I can
yet hear you, when I choose to, loud and clear.
Memories of you are too embedded in my
consciousness, not to be erased until the time
comes fore me too to walk the same path as you and
go across to the beyond.
Farewell, dear Sir. You shall always remain part of
Tamil memory.
|
Brian
Senewiratne on The Thamotheram Funeral, 8 November
2005 |
Last week a Sinhalese thought it appropriate to fly
half way round the world to attend the funeral of a
Tamil, Jeyam Thamoderam, whose funeral took place
in the Methodist Church, Hammersmith, London, on 4
November 2005. The Church was packed to capacity
but from my perspective the highlights were the
tributes paid by two exceptional Sinhalese - Adrian
Wijemanne and Neville Jayaweera. The 30-hour flight
seemed well worthwhile.
Rev Roger Dunlop detailed the unbelievable
achievements of an extraordinary person. The first
Tribute was from "Siva", Subramanium Sivanayagam,
the finest Tamil journalist, indeed Journalist of
any ethnic group, that Ceylon has ever produced. It
was a very personal tribute from a close friend
read by Mr Sithamparapillai. I will not focus on
Siva's contribution because I am sure it will be
published elsewhere. The next was from the
irreplaceable Adrian Wijemanne read by myself, and
the third by a relative, Dr.Karuna Alagaratnam.
This was followed by the cremation, attended by
just the family. After lunch followed the many
tributes from relatives, friends and
representatives of the numerous organizations that
Jeyam founded. I will deal with just two of these
tributes because of the importance of the message
which should be heard by all, the Sinhalese in
particular.
The Adrian Wijemanne Tribute.
Before I read Adrian's Tribute, I thanked the
Thamoderam family for honouring me by asking me to
deliver it. Before I did so, I briefly introduced
Adrian, not that he needed an introduction. I
described him as a great Sinhalese whose shoelaces
I was not worthy to untie. While my contribution to
the Tamil struggle for justice, equality and
dignity were based on emotion, Adrian's was based
on irrefutable facts, presented and argued with the
precision of a brilliant lawyer (which he was not).
Here is what he wrote:-
"I met Mr Thamoderam, for the very first time, in
June 1994. It was at a meeting of the International
Tamil Foundation to which he invited me. Within
minutes of meeting, he made me feel as if I had met
a long lost friend. He had a gift for friendship.
It was a gift that survived the pain and trauma
that our two nations were suffering in the throes
of war at that time.
Soon our friendship ripened for our concerns were
identical - peace and good neighbourliness between
our two nations on the island which both of us
regarded as our spiritual home in which we had been
nurtured and in which the bones of our ancestors
lay buried. We got to first name terms very soon -
I called him Jayam and we spoke on the 'phone with
each other nearly every day.
Inevitably our perceptions of the future of our two
nations differed. Mine more pessimistic and shorter
term than his. He had a longer term hope of
eventual amity and peace. He was wiser and more
humane than I and he had the advantage of moral
integrity which the Sinhala people (myself
included) had sacrificed to their eternal
discredit. These differences did nothing to cloud
our friendship which thrived as the years went by.
Never a cross word passed between us and our
families drew closer together. I had the advantage
of knowing at first hand what a cultured, middle
class, Tamil gentleman of the early decades of the
last century was like. Jayam was its perfect
exemplar.
The ravages of time made short work of all our
hopes; the future takes dimensions unforeseen.
Nevertheless as human beings we project values of
eternal relevance however translated into reality
of time and tide. Jayam stood steadfastly for the
hope some day, even in the very distant future, our
two nations would live on the island, in their own
political configurations, not only in peace and
good neighbourliness but even more importantly in
friendship. He knew and personified the healing
grace of friendship" Adrian Wijemanne
I could not have possibly delivered it as well as
Adrian would have, having had no sleep for some 30
hours did not help. Just 24 hours later, Adrian was
admitted to hospital with a severe pain in his
back. I fear he has crushed a spinal vertebra from
the relentless myeloma which I know he has. I pray
for his recovery, it is about as much as is left to
do.
The Neville Jayaweera Tribute.
I had not met Mr Jayaweera until I arrived in the
Church. Years ago, he had been the G.A (Government
Agent) in Jaffna. His address at the funeral was
worth travelling 15,000 km to hear. Here is what he
said:-
"Madame Malar Thamotheram, members of the
Tharmotheram family and friends.
In the course of several tributes paid to the
memory of Jeyam during the Church service, all
speakers have referred to his many and varied
endowments and achievements. Therefore, during the
few minutes allocated to me to speak from this
platform I will not go over that ground again.
Rather, as a member of the Sinhala community, I
want to dwell on an aspect of Jeyam's life which,
for obvious reasons, other speakers preferred not
to dwell on.
Like many others seated in this audience, Jeyam was
a victim of the injustices heaped on the Tamil
people by my own community. When I think of how
Jeyam's career, and indeed the lives of thousands
of other Tamil brethren, had been thwarted and
terminated through discrimination practised against
Tamil people over decades, I feel a deep shame and
contrition. If Jeyam can hear me from wherever he
is now I can only ask him to forgive me as a member
of the Sinhala community and indeed to find it in
his Christian heart to forgive the whole Sinhala
community for the wrongs they have inflicted upon
the Tamil people". (I might add that Neville is a
Buddhist)
"As I look around me in this very hall, I can see
many other brilliant Tamil mathematicians,
engineers, accountants, doctors and other
professionals, all of whose services and skills are
desperately need back in Sri Lanka. So then, why
are they here rather than there? Why is it that a
Sri Lanka, a country so desperately in need of
skills and talents for nation building, squandering
all these precious assets in foreign lands? When
will Sri Lanka ever realise, if it ever will, that
only the termination of its discriminatory policies
will attract these skills and talents back to serve
the country of their birth?
Fifty seven years after Independence Sri Lanka is
still only a state, a state comprised of two
warring nations. When will it be able to transcend
the divisions that have plagued it for so long and
emerge as a single nation? It was Jeyam's undying
hope and prayer that some day it will.
As you have heard many speakers say, Jeyam was a
brilliant mathematician, one of a galaxy of
brilliant students of mathematics who came out of
Hartley College Jaffna, among whom was Prof. C.J.
Eliezer who went on the become Professor of
Mathematics in the Colombo University, (I might add
that he was the youngest Dean the Faculty of
Science has ever had and the only Ceylonese I know
of. who was invited to work with Einstein), but
himself had to pursue his career abroad because of
discriminatory policies perpetrated upon his fellow
Tamils. Jeyam could have pursued a career in the
prestigious Ceylon Civil Service, but instead opted
for the far nobler vocation of teaching.
Many leading secondary schools in then Ceylon
sought to employ him as their mathematics teacher
but, as a practising Methodist Christian, he opted
to serve in Ceylon's premier Methodist institution,
Wesley College. However, when in the fullness of
time it was Jeyam's turn to be appointed Principal,
the discriminatory policies which by that time were
in full bloom, took toll again and he was denied
what was his legitimate right. Those who knew Jeyam
and who were acquainted with the rights and wrongs
of the situation were aghast and outraged. Jeyam
resigned his job as a teacher at Wesley, opted out
of the profession, and after a short stint with the
British Council (I think) in Colombo, he migrated
to the UK.
However, a man so richly endowed by God would not
let his many skills and attributes wither on the
vine. In the UK, Jeyam went on to pioneer many
institutions and activities to improve the
prospects and the quality of life of the Tamil
diaspora who were by the mid 70s growing into a
steady stream. You have already heard several
speakers pay tribute to Jeyam's qualities as an
institution builder, as a pioneer and as a leader
of the Tamil people.
It would not be an exaggeration to say of Jeyam
that he was to the Tamil Diaspora, in the UK as
well as in other countries, what Martin Luther King
had been to the black people in the USA of the
1960s. Jeyam was deeply hurt but was neither
embittered nor discouraged. He had felt the searing
pains and carried the scars of injustice, but would
not allow himself to be deterred from his vision.
Like Martin Luther King, Jeyam had caught a larger
vision. To the very end he believed that it is
still possible for all the communities who comprise
the fabric of Sri Lanka, the Sinhala, the Tamils,
the Moors and the Burghers and all religions, to
live in peace and amity and without recourse to
war. He hoped and prayed that the discriminatory
policies followed by successive governments of Sri
Lanka would be turned around and that wisdom and
reason would triumph over injustice, bitterness and
conflict.
Whether Jeyam's dream will ever be realised, and
whether the Tamil people of Sri Lanka will ever
gain the Promised Land, remains an open question.
Notwithstanding, it is the measure of Jeyam's
greatness and his quality as an exceptional human
being, that despite all the evidence to the
contrary he continued to the end to believe in his
vision.
May his vision be realised in full and may his Soul
Rest in Peace.
While condoling with the Tharmotheram family I
thank them again for the privilege of allowing me
to speak on this platform." Neville Jayaweera
I could barely retain my seat, the urge being
overwhelming to rise to my feet and applaud. I
could then have said that Neville Jayaweera got a
'standing ovation' which he richly deserved.
When it was my turn to speak, I could say nothing,
it had all been said much moré eloquently by
Siva, Adrian and Neville. All I could do was to say
that I was proud to identify myself as a Sinhalese
at a time when there is little to be proud of in
being one. I feel much less isolated to know that
people of integrity and honour such as Adrian and
Neville who had not sacrificed their 'moral
integrity', as Adrian so accurately stated.
In my heart I have always had a yearning to do what
Neville had just done so touchingly - to say
"Sorry" to the Tamil people. As I said in one of my
earliest publications on Sri Lanka The July 1983
Massacre. Unanswered Questions which was quoted by
Sivanayagam in his recent monumental work Sri
Lanka:Witness to History,
"It would be too revolting and unprofitable to
recount details of the acts of barbarism committed
by Sinhalese mobs. All that the author, a
full-blooded Sinhalese, can say is that for the
first time he has felt ashamed to be a Sinhalese.
It is not that one identifies oneself with the
hooligan mobs, but there inevitably is a collective
responsibility for the behaviour of one's
countrymen - hooligan, barbarian or civilized. He
who watches while a fellow human being has his
limbs cut off, belly slit open, petrol poured on
and burnt to death, is only marginally less guilty
than he who does it. In the General Hospital,
Colombo, desperately ill Tamil patients had their
intravenous infusions disconnected and were thrown
out of wards because they were Tamils. Tamil
doctors had to take refuge in toilets to avoid
assault". What I said so long ago (1983) it is what
Adrian Wijemanne refers to when he speaks of the
Sinhala people sacrificing their moral integrity to
their eternal discredit.
In a covering letter I have just received from Ivan
Pedropillai who was the 'Master of Ceremonies' in
the post-lunch presentations , he says
" Neville Jayaweera's text is concise but also
carries a resounding message to his misguided
compatriots that unity and prosperity in a modern
State can only be built on equality under the law
without distinction of race, caste or creed.
Take the United Kingdom, where the Scots represent
about 10% of the population and yet hold many of
the senior Cabinet portfolios as well as senior
positions in industry. This is not an issue here at
all as it works on meritocracy. The West is able to
make these strides in economic and social
development because a man's race, tribe or religion
is just private and personal and he is not judged
by it.
When the electorate in Sri Lanka is mature enough
to leave religion and race
out of politics and when there are multi-ethnic
secular parties in the country shorn of corruption,
we shall again have a prosperous land. As long as
the Sinhalese, the Tamils and the Muslims have
their own parties, and when rabble-rousers can play
on the baser emotions of the unsophisticated
electors, there will continue to be the bane and
the stain of racial politics in the country. Brave
people like you and Neville have to run the
gauntlet of vicious racists on all sides to
restrain the country from continuing with its grim
slide into the fate of Hades".
I am so very glad I decided to go all the way to
the UK, not only to farewell an incredible
gentleman but because I was also able to meet and
hear some extraordinary human beings who give me
hope that there is a future, contrary to what it
appears to be.
|
An
Appreciation: Mr.C.J.T. Thamotheram by Ivan Pedropillai,
BSc., M.Sc., FCCA, FCMA, President Tamil Writers
Guild, UK. , 6th November 2005 |
A leading light of the Tamil Community has been
extinguished but his memory will live on in our
hearts forever.
The mortal remains of Jeyam Thamotheram were laid
to rest in London, England on 4th November 2005. He
passed away on 27th October at 87 years of age
after a lifetime of service to the Tamil community.
He was loving a husband, a father, a grandfather, a
brother, an uncle, a friend, a counsellor and above
all the conscience and the motivating force that
unceasingly mustered and rallied the intellectual
and professional classes of expatriate Tamils to
uphold and advance the cause of the oppressed
Tamils of Sri Lanka in their struggle for freedom.
The institutions he created and the network of
friends that he made by his immense capacity of
persuasiveness and his infectious energy will
remain as edifices to his selfless devotion to the
cause of justice and self-determination for Tamils
in the northeast of Sri Lanka.
But before we paint a picture of a man who fought
for justice and liberation for his own people, we
must thank God for creating in him a man endowed
with great moral and intellectual courage and an
unwavering love of his homeland. The hallmarks of
his character were formed in childhood in a family
in which his father, Mr C. P. Thamotheram, was the
eminent Principal of Hartley College, Point Pedro;
a leading Christian College in the country which
has established a reputation for producing
brilliant scholars especially in mathematics.
Jeyam Thamotheram went on to study in other leading
Christian Colleges, such as St John's College,
Jaffna and St Joseph's College, Colombo. He was an
outstanding student and entered the University
College, Colombo on an illustrious exhibition
award. He obtained a First class honours degree in
mathematics from University College and went back
to teach in his old school, Hartley College, from
1939 to 1942. Although he left teaching for a short
period of two years to join the Ceylon Government
Supplies Department, his love of teaching saw him
return as a teacher to St Patrick's College, Jaffna
for a couple of years and from there he left to
join Wesley College, Colombo where he taught for
over 10 years.
In 1944 he married Florence Thiviamalar Nalliah.
She too comes from a leading Christian family, in
which her father - Rev N. K. Nalliah was a
prominent pastor in Jaffna. They were to have six
children, three boys and three girls who have
themselves gone on to become well-qualified and
upright persons of whom Jeyam and Florence can be
rightly proud. Jeyam was a loving husband and a
caring father, and in turn the devotion of the
children to their parents is a joy to behold. It
has been a very moving experience for me to see how
they have looked after him in his illness and have
worked together with their own children to organise
the final valediction for him.
While teaching at Wesley College he won a Fulbright
scholarship for one year to the University of
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, after which he again
returned to Wesley College to teach. His interest
in serving the rights of teachers as a profession
was to come to the fore at about this time. In
1954-55 he took on the mantle of President of the
Colombo Teachers Association and led them ably to
become a force for good in the teaching profession.
He was also starting to prove his keenness in
expanding the interests of teachers by founding the
Ceylon Teachers Travel Club.
From Wesley College, he joined the British Council
in Colombo as the First Administrative Assistant in
1959 and afterwards in 1961 he arrived in the UK to
teach at a school in Luton. However, his longest
service as a teacher was from 1965 to 1983 at
Latymer Upper School, Hammersmith - one of the
leading public schools in London.
He was a man of phenomenal vision and capability
and took on the tasks of building the different
pillars that would form an infrastructure for the
Tamils in the UK . While teaching at Latymer, he
also inaugurated the Association of Commonwealth
Teachers (1966); founded the Tamil Times (1977);
founded the West London Tamil School (1978); and
founded the International Tamil Foundation (1988).
We could have thought that Jeyam would rest on
his laurels after creating these organisations.
But, even in his advancing age and with his failing
health, he felt strongly that there existed another
void amongst us, which was to represent the Tamil
cause with intellectual vigour in the English
media. Towards this goal, he was inspired again, in
March this year to enlist with his customary
tenacity some of us as writers to found the Tamil
Writers' Guild of which I am the first President.
In his declining months, with both his legs giving
way, he still came to our meetings as our Patron
and contributed with his wisdom and experience to
get TWG functioning. This was his swan song and we
wish to invite more of you to join it as a lasting
memorial to his irrepressible and indomitable
spirit.
It would have been impossible for anyone else to
start even one or two of these organisations and
involve so many leading Tamil academic and
professional figures in them. The vibrancy and
growth of some of these organisations even to this
day is a testimony to Jeyam Thamotheram's powers of
persuasion, dedication, organisation and
intellectual ability. He would be on the telephone
from morning to evening, calling people and
exhorting them or cajoling them to do something for
the good of the Tamil people and their cause.
Countless are the times that Jeyam has worked the
telephones relentlessly to raise substantial monies
to save Tamil newspapers and journals from
financial insolvency.
He was respected and loved by the people that he
knew - and there were many of them - and they
trusted him and gave willingly for the causes that
he sponsored. He was a true friend and a soul mate
to a number of people and would instantly rally to
their support in their illnesses and in their hour
of need. He was truly a great man, a giant among
men for he thought not of himself but of the
community and others who were more in need. He was
an old-fashioned gentleman, courteous and well
mannered but also doughty and courageous and
prepared to stand firm for his principles. We are
all better for having known him.
Throughout his life he embraced students and people
of all religions and backgrounds and he did this
from the strength of his own Christian upbringing
and values. Some of these friendships that were
formed as a teacher in the 1950s have lasted for
over 50 years and even to this day there are some
of his former students and associates who have
maintained their close friendship with him. Their
love for him and his love for them has been
undiminished over these many long years.
He was one of the founders of the London Tamil
Christian Congregational church in Putney and in
the moving service of prayer and thanksgiving in
that very church on 4th November 2005 attended by
many hundreds, our prayers have joined those of his
family to wish him our fondest farewell when we
know he has gone to join his loving God and creator
in heaven. We wish to convey our love and deepest
sympathy to his sorrowing wife and children and
their families and pray that the good Lord will
grant them peace of mind and his blessings. We
grieve the loss of this colossus among us but we
also celebrate the life of one so special and
touched by God. May his soul rest in peace.
"Atque in perpetuum, frater, ave atque vale" - (and
forever, brother, hail and farewell).
|
Jeyam
Thamotheram: An untiring servant of the cause of
freedom for his people - Rev. Dr. S.J. Emmanuel,
Germany |
I came in contact with Mr.C.J.T.Thamotheram during
the last ten years of my engagement with the Tamil
cause. Being a Christian believer and a respected
senior Tamil citizen with a passion for truth and
justice, he was a valuable advisor and an
encouraging friend for me. I regret my inability to
be present at the Thanksgiving Service in his
honour of him in London.
Though I had young Mr.C.J.T.Thamotheram as my
teacher at Patrick's College, Jaffna and later
Prof. C.J.
Eliezer as my professor at Ceylon University,
both these men of Hartley College, Vadamaradchy
impressed me, not so much by their teaching of
mathematics, but by their mature understanding of
the Tamil Struggle and by their devotion to the
noble cause of freedom.
Without a Chelvanayagam and a Thaninayagam, or an Ambalavanar and
an
Eliezer, the contribution of Christian leaders
to the Tamil struggle would have been minimal.
Similarly, without the initiatives and endurance of
Jeyam Thamotheram among the UK Tamils during the
last two decades, the Tamil Struggle would have
suffered without the support of the
English-educated Tamils in London. Jeyam was a
humble instrument of God in connecting people by
his telephone calls, bringing them together towards
a consensual vision and moving them into
action.
Mr. Jeyam Thamotheram, though migrating to the UK
long before the Black July of 1983, sensed early the
lack of true patriotism, self-respect and
solidarity among the Tamils in the UK. Living in
England meant for most of the expatriates
imitating, if not apeing, the British way of life
and giving up their love for their homeland and
their mother-tongue.
Admiration of white values and lack of
self-respect were still part of the post-colonial
mentality inhibiting many of the English-educated.
To arrest these tendencies, which go against the
Tamil struggle, Jeyam quickly founded the first
Tamil school and went on to bring together senior
Tamils of divergent or no political views towards a
common vision of the Tamil liberation struggle.
Living among a community that is very
self-conscious about intellectual and professional
achievements and material wealth, Jeyam succeeded
only because of his humble approach and enduring
efforts in bringing together the largest gathering
of senior Tamils. He was thus instrumental in
lessening the gap between generations and in
enabling a better understanding of the militant
struggle.
Based on his Christian conviction of seeing all
human beings as his brothers and sisters, his
social engagement for the welfare of teachers in
Ceylon and in the UK, as well as his political
engagement to serve the cause of justice and
freedom, knew no barriers of race or religion. In
fact, by his amiable and sincere ways, he persuaded
many talented Sinhalese and Englishmen to defend
the Tamil cause.
God, Lord of Life and Giver of gifts!
We thank you for the gift of a long life to our
brother Jeyam.
With the gifts of faith, courage and endurance
He has served the cause of Truth, Justice and
Freedom.
Thank you, Lord, for planting him at this critical
junction of our history,
And among the expatriate intellectuals and
professionals with a mission to serve.
Without his courageous initiatives and enduring
efforts
Many would have still stood behind their fences
without any contribution to the struggle.
For a people dreaming of an identity and a
homeland,
Lord, you have given not only a Chelvanayagam and a
Thaninayagam
An Ambalavanar and an Eliezer
But also a Jeyam to guide them in their vision and
move them on their journey.
Lord in your Mercy, raise among us men and women,
with a prophetic courage
To stand up for the Truth of history and for the
values of justice and freedom.
Bring all those who are still lukewarm and
reluctant to come to the fore
And do their mite in lessening the agony and
hastening the liberation of our people.
Jeyam was instrumental in encouraging the less
courageous
to take up more responsibility on behalf of the
weak and the oppressed.
He stood neither on the stage nor sat in the front
rows of gatherings,
but stood "tele-connected" to all parts of the
world and worked behind the curtains.
Jeyam has fulfilled his mission with a Christian
vision.
Among the dispersed and discordant Diaspora
He was an instrument of unity and a point of
convergence
He kept us all rightly motivated to serve the cause
of freedom.
His initiatives and services were varied and
enduring
With patience and endurance he kept us all
moving
With phone calls and letters he pleaded and
reconciled.
He left no stone unturned to serve the supreme
cause of liberation.
Lord now you have taken this faithful Servant Jeyam
from among our midst.
We are poorer by his absence, but made richer by
the spirit he has bequeathed to us.
His memory will enliven us. His spirit will move us
forward.
You only grant us the grace to be loyal to his
memory and his mission.
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Brian
Senewiratne on C.J.T.Thamotheram: an End of an Era,
1 November 2005 |
This is not an obituary, since I am not
qualified to write one. It is just a note of thanks
from a Sinhalese to a great Tamil for all he has
done for the Tamil cause over a very long time. He
is one of the unsung heroes of the Tamil struggle.
It is a struggle for justice and freedom from
Sinhala oppression which has gone on for such a
long time and at a terrible cost to Tamil lives,
property and the complete destruction of the Tamil
areas. What is unrecognized is the damage done to
the much-treasured and closely knit family unit
which means so much to people of Jeyam's
generation. People of that generation (and even
later ones) have paid a terrible, but unrecognized,
price in terms of social disruption, indeed 'social
decimation', as a result of the violence unleashed
on the Tamils by a succession of Sinhala
Governments since 1956, and more so
since 1983.
The Thamotherams have made a major contribution to
education in Jaffna. Jeyam's father was the
Principal of a very famous school, Hartley College,
a Methodist mission school founded in 1838 and was,
in fact the first non-white Principal of any school
in Jaffna. Among the many famous people coming out
of that school was the brilliant Prof.C.J.Eliezer who actually worked
with Albert Einstein! Later Jeyam himself joined
the staff of that school, making a significant
contribution to education in Jaffna.
He emigrated to Britain many years ago. Unlike so
many of his vintage who, having left Sri Lanka,
have sat on their hands doing nothing other than
hallucinating about the future, Jeyam acted in his
own inimitable way. He made an enormous
contribution which is largely unrecognized because
of the nature of the man. A quiet unassuming,
self-effacing man, modest almost to a fault, Jeyam
had a vision of what expatriate Tamils could do in
a positive way.
He founded, among other things, the first Tamil
School in the UK, the Tamil Times and the
International Tamil Foundation. A few years ago he
telephoned me in the early hours of the morning (!)
in Australia, to say that he thought it important
to get together a group if international writers to
highlight the problems faced by the Tamils, would I
join the group? That was typically Jeyam, his mind
ever active, thinking what more he could do to
further the Tamil cause. I gather that he also had
the largest list of Tamils in the UK and their
addresses. It was the Sri Lankan concept of an
'extended family' being applied on an international
scale!
In October 1981 he founded the monthly Tamil Times
which was to be the voice of the Tamil expatriate
community. This is the only journal run by Tamils
that has been published uninterrupted since its
inception more than two decades ago. It is most
unfortunate that the founder of this journal had to
distance himself from his brain-child. As another
great Tamil, S.Sivanayagam, put it in his
recently published monumental work, Sri Lanka:
Witness to History, the Tamil Times "changed hands
midway and subsequently changed direction as
well….. it was thought to be, by a wide
spectrum of Tamil expatriates, no longer capable of
speaking up for an oppressed Tamil nation with any
conviction or courage". When I discussed this with
Jeyam at our last meeting a couple of years ago, I
could see his eyes brimming with tears and could
sense his disappointment and sadness.
I first met this extraordinary man in 1984 when I
was campaigning to draw international attention to
the genocidal massacre of Tamil
civilians in the Sri Lankan South whose only crime
was that they were where they were. They had every
right to be where they were since they and
generations of their ancestors had made a major
contribution to the development and prosperity of
the Sinhala South, Colombo in particular. Jeyam had
extensive contacts with British parliamentarians,
especially in the House of Lords, and kept them
informed of what the Tamils in Ceylon were going
through. Among them were Dame Judith Hart and Lord
Avebury, the latter being the author of the first
of a series of damming Amnesty International
Reports on human rights violations in Ceylon that
first drew international attention to the magnitude
of the problem in that country. These are not
people whom you can readily see. When I went to
London to lobby them and ask for their help to
apprise the international community of what went on
behind the censored doors of the Sri Lankan
Government, all I had to do was to mention that I
was "a friend of Jeyam Thamotheram".
In 1991 I had a call from the International Tamil
Foundation inviting me as their guest speaker to
address their annual sessions on The Abuse of
Democracy in Sri Lanka. I thought it was completely
crazy to go more than 15,000 km for a luncheon
meeting. I was then told that Mr Thamotheram had
specifically asked that I be invited. I was on my
way.
In the packed hall, the man who was responsible for
the ITF itself and should have been on the podium,
unobtrusively sat in the corridor. That was the
nature of the man. I am sure that the scores of
people who passed him had no idea of who he was and
what he had done for the Tamil cause.
After the meeting he suggested that we drive up to
Cambridge to see a man who makes me proud to call
myself a Sinhalese - Jeyam's long-standing friend
Adrian Wijemanne who has made such a major
contribution to the struggle of the Tamil people.
The next day we were on our way to see Adrian, who
was too ill to come down to London for the meeting.
The historic photograph of that meeting is in
Sivanayagam's book.
I met C.J.T once more 2 years later, also at the
annual ITF meeting, this one addressed by Gajan
Ponnambalam MP. I was there as a visitor who had
just 'dropped in'. Jeyam would have none of it. He
insisted that I take a place on the podium and make
a contribution to the meeting. That was typically
Jeyam.
When I heard that he had passed away, I said that I
was going for his funeral? What, all the way to
England? "Yes", I said, "I want to say that I was
there". He will be cremated in London on 4.11.05,
the end of an extraordinary life.
When God made Jeyam Thamotheram he must have thrown
away the mould. It was my privilege to have been
associated with this great man. A fitting tribute
to him would be to work towards the goal which
Jeyam had devoted the later years of his life - a
Tamil homeland where Tamils can live in safety and
without discrimination and domination by the brutal
and racist regime in Colombo.
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Jeyam
Thamotheram - Doyen of Thamil Diaspora - Editorial
of Eelam Nation, 4 November 2005 |
CJT is no more. He was in his early nineties when
he passed away last week. He did not cease working
for the Tamil cause even during his last few days.
Truly, the Sri Lankan Thamil nation the world over
will miss him. Son of C P Thamotheram, a great
educationist and Principal of Hartley College Point
Pedro during the early part of the last century,
Jeyam graduated with honours in Mathematics from
the London University and chose the teaching career
which was close to his heart.
He joined Hartley College, Point Pedro and then
taught at St Patricks College Jaffna. In the early
forties he joined Wesley College Colombo where he
taught Advanced Mathematics for nearly twenty
years. He was known endearingly to his students as
"Thamma" for they held him in great awe and esteem
for the manner in which he showed them to solve the
most complex of problems with the greatest of ease.
His turn to be principal came in 1962 and he was
overlooked despite his brilliance and ability. His
fault was that he did not belong to the right race.
He experienced for the first time the real taste of
racism He was forthright and never cringed for
favours. His self-effacing nature and his modesty
were his strengths as well as his weaknesses...
After serving the British Council in Colombo for a
while he left with his family, in the early sixties
to take up appointment as a mathematics teacher in
Luton in England. Having experienced racism and
discrimination first hand he realized its impact on
young Thamils in Sri Lanka. While at the British
Council he formed a network of Thamil professionals
who could be of assistance to Thamil youth to find
suitable careers. His sincere and pleasant
personality helped him with a very wide circle of
friends wherever he lived and worked.
To England he took along with him his fervour to
fight for the Thamil cause and to expose the
injustices towards the Thamils in Sri Lanka. In
this he was a pioneer. He lifted the profile of the
Thamil expatriates working for the cause. In
England he helped the Tamil expatriates in many
ways, in Greenford he founded the first Thamil
school and established a Thamil church in Putney.
By far his greatest Contribution was the founding
of the first journal of the Thamil Diaspora, the
Tamil Times run on professional journalistic lines.
Although thousands of Thamils the world over read
the paper, only a few knew that he was its first
editor. In his characteristic manner, he
unostentatiously s stayed on the sides guiding his
enterprises and rarely pushed himself forward.
He lived a life of a good Christian. A good
Christian need not be a "religious" person. He was
a socialist at heart. He observed economies and
charities for the benefit of those whom he served.
He shunned the luxuries of life to serve the cause
against injustice. His devotion to the Thamil cause
was greater than his devotion to his religion. He
was an example to other Christians in showing that
one can be a good Christian and still be a part of
the Thamil national liberation struggle.
CJT Thamotheram was great person. He was great not
because he did great things. He did great things
because he was great.
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Thamotheram,
social activist, passes away - TamilNet, 1 November
2005 |
Mr C J T Thamotheram, social activist and an
expatriate doyen of Tamils in England, passed away
on Thursday. Son of Mr CP Thamotheram who was a
principal at Hartley College (1915 - 1943), CJT
Thamotheram was a student and teacher at Hartley
College, Point Pedro, and later teacher at Latymer
Upper School in U.K.
Mr Thamotheram devoted his years in U.K working
on Tamil issues and developed several initiatives
among the Tamil expatriates. He established the
first Tamil School at Greenford - the West London
Tamil School. He was among those actively involved
in the formation of the Standing Committee of
Tamils (SCOT) in 1977. In October 1981 he founded
the monthly Tamil Times which served as the voice
of the Tamil expatriate community for many years.
He then set up the League of Friends of the Jaffna
University and went on to initiate a think tank -
International Tamil Foundation(ITF).
Earlier this year, despite poor health, he launched
the Tamil Writers' Guild.
The funeral service takes place on Friday 4th
November at 11.00 AM at the Rivercourt Methodist
Church, King Street, Hammersmith, London W6 9JT.
The funeral will be followed by a private family
cremation. Those wishing to pay their final
respects could do so at Henry Paul (Funeral
Directors), 3 Uxbridge Road, Hanwell, London W7
3PX, on Wednesday 2nd/ Thursday 3rd November
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
He is survived by his widow Florence (Malar), his
sons, Vijay, Priya, and Raj, daughters Sunetra,
Thiru and Shantini, six grand children and two
great grand children.
Family requests not to send flowers but encourages
making donations made payable to 'White Pigeon',
(Registered Charity) to the Henry Paul
address.
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