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Vignettes on Three Black Tiger Heroes in the Battlefield
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Selected Writings by Sachi Sri Kantha
Vignettes on Three Black Tiger Heroes in the Battlefield
17 August 2004
"...That afternoon,
Borg said farewell to his family members (father, elder brothers,
younger brothers and loving sister). Finally, he went to his mother
and said, "Mother, please place a pottu – blessing charm – on my
forehead." Mother obliged accordingly. He smiled, and bid farewell
to her. He took a last look of all, from the gate and he left.A few
minutes later, his elder brother shrieked: ‘Thambi – has left his
lungi and T-shirt.’ For that, his mother consoled, ‘Maybe, he left
these, because they had worn out.’ Borg’s mother says sobbingly: ‘I
couldn’t feel, why he behaved rather differently on that last day.
Only after he died as a Black Tiger, I realized why he had asked me
to come and sleep next to him, why he asked me to place the blessing
charm, why left his clothing. Now, I know.’"
After the posting of
my review of the Sooriya Puthalvargal 2003 Memorial Souvenir in the
Sangam website [June 23, 2004], I received two appreciatory emails
for the details I had provided on Black Tigers. One was from American
academic Dr. Robert Pape, Associate Professor in Political Science,
University of Chicago. The other one was from a young Tamilian in New
Delhi, who is researching LTTE activism. Both correspondents also
requested additional details on Black Tigers.
Since Prof. Pape is not fluent in Tamil language, he solicited from me
any profiles and vignettes of Black Tigers which have previously
appeared in the Tamil press. His request was a reasonable one because I
had taken him to task first, for not reading the original LTTE
literature in Tamil, and also for depending on dubious secondary sources
on ‘terrorism scholarship.’ My criticism was in relation to Dr. Pape’s
publication entitled, ‘The strategic logic of suicide terrorism,’ which
appeared in the American Political Science Review of August 2003
[vol.97, no.3, pp.343-361]. In my first email to Dr. Pape, sent on April
28, I was rather nasty to him. Excerpts:
"…I present an academic analogy, for you to grasp my criticism. I’d be
laughed off the podium if I had wanted to present a research study on
the subtle nuance and vibes of Carl Sandburg’s poetry on democracy and
liberalism, if I could not comprehend English and had not read a book
authored by poet Sandburg. I wonder, how the hell you could read the
minds and interpret the deeds of LTTE’s suicide warriors [Yes, that is
the endearing term LTTE and Eelam Tamils use for these special military
forces, and not ‘suicide terrorists’] without reading the literature [in
the original] generated by Eelam Tamils in the past two decades. In the
‘references’ section of your paper, you had not indicated any original
literature in Tamil, which you had checked or studied, with the
exception of a reference to Peter Schalk’s (1997) book chapter. Of
course, Schalk is reasonably knowledgeable on Tamil militancy. But have
you checked and analyzed the extensive Tamil Tiger literature in
original?"
The very next day, Dr. Pape responded promptly and courteously to my
mail missile. Excerpts, as follows:
"Thank you for your message,…I plan to do more work on this subject and
am interested in deepening my knowledge of the Tigers…You're right that
I don't speak Tamil."
I appreciated Dr. Pape’s academic candor and his interest to learn more
on Tamil Tigers. Thus, for his sake, from the LTTE literature in my
collection, I dug out three vignettes on the Black Tiger heroes [I use
the masculine form, though one is a woman; this usage is gaining
currency, as seen in the obliteration of the feminine form ‘actress’ and
with both men and women movie stars now being called actors.], and
translated the Tamil original into English.
Black Tigers do have an internet presence, but it is provided
predominantly by the biased descriptions of non-Tamil analysts,
reporters and editorialists in which they are painted in pejorative
terms. ‘Terrorism experts’ Rohan Gunaratna and Bruce Hoffman lead the
list in such academic skulduggery. Though they posture as academic
analysts, their multi-faceted deficiencies in sociological analyses –
prime among all, being their illiteracy in the Tamil language - are
glaring. Their deceptions on merely quantifying the ‘suicide terrorist
attacks’ of Black Tigers – a nonsensical mixing of apples and s -
were anticipated by Sir Peter Medawar, a leading biomedical scientist
and thinker of the 20th century, who was a co-Nobelist in medicine in
1960. In a short perceptive commentary, entitled, ‘Some follies of
quantification’ [vide, Hospital Practice, July 1974, pp.179-180],
Medawar wrote,
"It is in sociology especially that premature or inappropriate
quantification is most obviously an embarrassment. This is because in
their anxiety to appear truly ‘scientific,’ many sociologists have based
their activities on an entirely erroneous model of scientific procedure
according to which important scientific truths grow out of semblage of
facts, preferably in numerical form."
Despite Medawar’s cautious pleading for scientific sense in
quantification, reports on ‘suicide terrorism’ in quasi-academic
journals cavalierly indulge in mixing ‘apples and s.’
Nevertheless, for patriotic Eelam Tamils, the courage of Black Tigers in
the battlefield is on par with that of Allied bomber pilots who
demolished and disintegrated enemy lines with their bravery and grit.
Thus, the thoughts, words and the deeds of these Black Tigers deserve
more light, to counter the twisted propaganda from the terrorism
industry. Hence, I provide below my English translations of vignettes on
Black Tiger heroes, from Kalathil [In the Battlefield] and Erimalai
[Volcano] magazines.
Sea Black Tiger: Major Ganesh
Date of Birth: 1973 January 26 – Date of Martyrdom: 1993 November 11.
[courtesy: Kalathil, March 18, 1994, p.8]
In Ganesh’s words, "We all shouldn’t die unnecessarily; but we need to
do something purposeful. We shouldn’t become ‘incidents’; we need to
become ‘history’." Now, in the historic ‘Operation Frog’ battle, Ganesh
did become history by his black tiger signature attack on the Poonagari
– Nagathevanthurai naval base.
In 1987, when aged 14, Ganesh was taken by the Indian army – then in
Jaffna – for detention. This detention in Kankesanthurai lasted for a
year. When Ganesh’s father went to see him in detention, the teenager
was keen on finding out more about town news, and not much about family
news. When the Indian army left the island, Ganesh was released. Ganesh
stayed at home for 5-6 days, and then joined the Movement completely.
While his mother was praying to God, depositing her sorrows, Ganesh
marched all over the Eelam front with his gun. As a gunslinger, he took
part in all the LTTE battle campaigns. His gun slung and swirled in
major battles in Mandaitivu, the Mankulam army camp attack, countering
the ‘Vanni Vikrama’ campaign, the ‘Bala Vegaya’ campaign, the Manal Aru
campaign and in Mannar special forces attacks. He demolished the enemy
with ingenious courage. During this period, he dreamt of becoming a
black tiger.
In late 1992, on the battlefront, Ganesh received a serious injury below
his left knee. The bullet pierced one of the vital nerves. At the
battlefront, due to lack of immediate medical attention, he lost
consciousness following heavy loss of blood. Two days later, his left
leg (below knee) was amputated. He didn’t cry because he lost a leg. He
sobbed because, ‘How can I go to battle again?’
By nature, Ganesh was a ‘silent person’; he was more a listener, and was
keen on learning about processes in which he was rather less
knowledgeable. He was assigned work in the financial section of the
Movement. But, he argued with his superior, and soon received battle
duty. Finally, he received ‘home leave’ before his big assignment. His
mother says, ‘Ganesh asked her to feed him rice gruel to his mouth (like
for a child)’ and she did. Also, unusually, Ganesh asked both his
parents to bathe him, and they did that, too.
Sea Black Tiger: Major Santhana
Date of Birth: 1973 February 11 – Date of Martyrdom: 2000 June 26.
[courtesy: Erimalai, August 2001, p.46]
Major Santhana knew well that her long dream and the objective would be
successful this time. With this, she went to see her mother at home for
the last time. Her mother told her, ‘Child, will you visit us
frequently?’ She responded, ‘I’ll return mother, very shortly.’ Her
mother, at that moment, didn’t understand the meaning of her daughter’s
words. She bid farewell to her daughter, by hugging and kissing her,
with tears. Then, her mother was unaware that Santhana would surely
return home shortly; but, as a photograph!
Major Santha was one of the thousands of young women who joined the
Movement to fight and liberate the Tamils from Sinhalese dominance. She
was in Women’s Tiger battalion, and in 1995, with the permission from
the Leader, she joined the Black Tiger team. Once completing the special
training assigned for the Black Tigers, Santhana began to search for
targets.
When she was about the launch her final attack, and when she boarded the
boat, she handed her slippers to her fellow fighter, saying: ‘I’ll not
return; so, you can keep this.’ Within a minute, she cracked, ‘Suppose,
if I return, please give the slippers back to me, without minding.’ Even
in her final moments, she was delighting in making others smile, with a
joke.
On June 26, 2000, the ship 'Ugana' brought armaments, explosives and
food provisions to the Kankesanthurai harbor from Colombo for the army.
The battle boats of the Sea Tigers and Black Tiger were on their mission
to block and thwart this supply ship. About 55 miles from Point Pedro
harbor, in the mid-sea, there was a confrontation of high intensity.
Black Tiger boats cavalierly rammed the 'Ugana,' which then sank. Ten
Sri Lankan navy cadres got killed. Those who wrote heroic history –
Major Santhana and five of her colleagues; Black Sea Tigers,
Lieut.Col.Gnanendran, Major Suran, Major Nallappan, Capt.Ilamathi and
Capt.Bhamini – also settled into the sea permanently.
Black Tiger: Lieut.Col.Borg
Date of Birth: 1959 November 11 – Date of Martyrdom: 1990 November 23.
[courtesy: Erimalai, October 2001, p.48]
In the heart of the Vanni district, the Mankulam military camp of
Sinhalese was located. It carried out quite a number of atrocities. When
Eelam War II began, the Liberation Tigers surrounded this military camp.
There was a special plan to attack this camp. It was decided that a
Black Tiger attack was needed to capture the camp.
Col.Balraj, who led the attack stated, "When we were planning the
attack, Borg asserted, ‘I’m the one who knows much about this camp. So
I’ll be the one to drive the explosive-laden vehicle.’ " Col.Balraj
continued, "Borg is not a neophyte in the battlefield. He was in charge
of the district, and he led a quite a number of attacks. Before he left
on his final mission on 1990 November 23, Borg hugged me and said, ‘I’m
about to leave. With this, Mankulam military camp is history.’" He drove
the explosive-laden vehicle. In a few minutes, we heard a big explosion.
The military camp was floored. In a few hours, we captured the camp
territory."
Before his final mission, brother Borg went on his home leave for few
days. His village (Semamadu, in Vanni district) is in the vicinity of
the Sinhala border. He walked in the sands of his village and
appreciated the lake, fields and forest. No! he was bidding farewell to
his familiar surroundings. Nearby, a few children were playing. Brother
Borg sat near them and asked; ‘Little brothers, you know – Heroes’ Day
is nearing. Suppose if I die, what will you do on that day?’ The little
guys retorted, ‘Why? Are you going to die?’ Borg responded: ‘Suppose if
I die, in my memory, will you plant a tree – each one of you?’ The
little guys laughed. Borg also smiled.
The day to leave home arrived. Borg had lunch and rested on a mat for
while on the verandah. His mother also came nearby and placed a mat to
rest herself. Borg requested, "Mother, come near me, and place your mat
adjacently." Mother obliged and patted his head. That afternoon, Borg
said farewell to his family members (father, elder brothers, younger
brothers and loving sister). Finally, he went to his mother and said,
"Mother, please place a pottu – blessing charm – on my forehead." Mother
obliged accordingly. He smiled, and bid farewell to her. He took a last
look of all, from the gate and he left.
A few minutes later, his elder brother shrieked: ‘Thambi – has left his
lungi and T-shirt.’ For that, his mother consoled, ‘Maybe, he left
these, because they had worn out.’
Borg’s mother says sobbingly: ‘I couldn’t feel, why he behaved rather
differently on that last day. Only after he died as a Black Tiger, I
realized why he had asked me to come and sleep next to him, why he asked
me to place the blessing charm, why left his clothing. Now, I know.’ |
