“Pirabaharanism”- A preface before getting to understand its nuances

Parani Krishnarajani

The soon to be released book “Velupillai Pirabaharan: Being and Nothingness (May 18 – Before and After) by Parani Krishnarajani, by a well-known political activists in matters pertaining to the struggle of Tamil Eezham, will be showcasing the principles of our liberation struggle by our Leader Velupillai Pirabaharan. It may be noted that the author of this yet to be released book is also a renowned feminist who has diligently recorded the violence perpetrated on women and children alike in the aftermath of the 2009 war in Sri Lanka.

An Introduction

Following the brutal war and the massacres of 2009, the array of questions that arose both internally and externally on the leader and the just war of independence which resulted in a major setback to the struggle had to be answered by me with great responsibility. I did my best to address the concerns with help from my qualified acquaintances.

As I kept writing, I discovered along the journey that the entire responses I had compiled were indeed getting a shape of matured principles and doctrines. These doctrines weren’t just for the Tamils. It was indeed taking shape as principles of liberation for all those nations subjugated and who are in their pursuit for freedom. I saw in these prepositions every trace of well-formed principles that can lead the subjugated ethnic group to the path of liberation. So I had earlier put a temporary halt to my efforts and instead decided to resume the writing by fully elaborating on the principles at a later date.

Since I believe that the time has indeed arrived, I am piecing together the rest and giving this book a shape.

Pirabaharanism – A Philosophical Understanding

When we dig deeper into a philosophy, its core idea and the doctrine; we might get to understand certain basic truths. A new doctrine takes shape only by rejecting an old doctrine either in part or completely.

Therefore to understand every nuances of the new philosophy or doctrine, it may not be sufficient to just learn the aspects of the new philosophy and getting the essence of it. So a mind that has the desire to learn and read is a requisite. To make things more clear, it is essential to have an understanding of the old philosophies that have been put to question by the new philosophies. The quest to understand the old doctrines, leads to the truth that the old doctrine itself was formed as a result of questioning some form of philosophies that were existing prior. And as you travel back unravelling philosophies after philosophies and doctrines after doctrines, this stark truth emerges from within.

Our search for truth takes us to a chain of complex web that is devoid of a well formed start or an end. It begins to occur that there is no way to reach a consensus. In the end, everything seems to be like the truth of this universe, so simple yet complex in nature. That is the very base of the world of philosophy.

A search that is not bounded and that does not seek the end takes a soul to the zenith. It renews and refreshes his thoughts. The very existence of man as a social animal lives in this search. When the search ceases, we cease to be humans. We lose the meaning of life. These searches define human existence and they give a exemplified meaning to human life.

When men understand this great truth, they become complete in all aspects. When a considerable percentage of a race have men who are clear thinkers who seem to get a grip of this great truth, the entire race moves forward in time.

This was the glorious dream of all great philosophers and thought leaders.

The dream of Pirabaharan, on the society of Eezham, journeyed this path, and what we now has is a beautiful compilation called “Pirabaharanism”.

This is the backdrop of a great soul that left behind a doctrine to this world from the shores of Nandikadal, a doctrine that shunned the many “isms” and challenged the established philosophies.

The calm and tranquil Nandikadal re-introduces a man who was known to the world as a revolutionary fighter of our time as a man who gave us this novel doctrine.

A revolutionary – A Philosopher

Baring Pirabaharan, all the other leaders who took up armed struggle against the repressive Sri Lankan regime identified and compared their struggle with other struggles. At times they did try and establish contacts with such revolutionaries. Some absurdly went beyond and dressed like those revolutionaries.

They went to the extent of taking classes on Mao’s revolution in China, the October revolution of the Communists of Soviet Union, the Cuban struggle and the Vietnam War. They would happily declare that communist ideologies and the philosophies of Karl Marx are the guiding lights of their armed struggle.

It is perfectly fine to draw analogies. But their failure stems from the fact that they never attempted to see how distinct their struggle was. A historical blunder indeed which gives us reasons why these organizations go on to drop their intended goal and become bluff masters to the state and its repressive machinery. From there on it is no wonder they go into oblivion.

It is at this point Pirabaharan gets differentiated from other leaders who fought for their people’s rights. He neither inquired nor introspected his struggle from the angle of other struggles of the world. On the other hand, he searched his ways and means from his own people and that guided him. As a matter of fact he shaped into a leader with doctrines to offer the world at those notable moments in history.

Going this way, Pirabaharan begins to give an outlook of a philosopher from Nandikadal, a transformation of a soul who was introduced as a revolutionary to the world.

A man, who journeyed as a revolutionary till Mullivaikkal, begins to transition as a philosopher the moment time takes him to Nandikadal.

Mullivaikkal and Nandikadal are two names of a similar geographical region. It may be true that both these regions are separated by an inch of land. But both these lands come to signify rather contrasting stories. They bespeak and register in our mind very different political and historical stories.

“Vaikkal” in Mullivaikkal refers to a canal where the water may at times be stagnant and kadal in Nandikadal means open sea or ocean in Tamil. Going by the meaning of Vaikkal and Kadal, Mullivaikkal represents a stagnant politics and Nandikadal represents politics of vastness that is not bounded by any boundaries.

Not comprehending the situation has led to a state of impasse for almost seven years. But Nandikadal is the place where we need to seek our quest for liberation. Nandikadal offers solutions not just for the Tamils of Eezham but for all the subjugated races. The landscape of Nandikadal is serene and tranquil yet brimming with the virtue of offering answers to the subjugated races.

This is the brief story of how a man with principles emerged. History silently records the happening as “Pirabaharanism”.

The politics of erasing the memory = The politics of erasing Tamil Tigers from the history = The politics of denying justice.

What is the definition of “politics of erasing the memory”?

Simply put, the removal of truth that Tamil Tigers ruled a de facto state called “Tamil Eezham” from the collective memory of the Tamils can be a definition of “politics of erasing the memory”.

The integral part of this politics is the politics of erasing Tamil Tigers from the history. When they say “removing the Tigers from the history”, they actually imply to remove Tamil nationalism and the nationalistic thoughts in general, and not the Tamil Tiger movement per se.

The quest for a homeland, the emotions of nationalism, the right to self-determination and all these, are virtues that are tagged to identity, language, culture, heritage and our homeland. These were virtues that were oft repeated in the Tamil national struggle. The backdrop of Mullivaikkal had all the essentials of destroying this identity.

Denying justice to the Tamils is now a seemingly unquestionable overt act. The politics of denying the entity of Tamil Tigers and their principles are rooted in the politics of erasing this collective memory. The near effortless way in which this politics is practiced is what we define as “the politics of erasing Tamil Tigers from history”.

 This is the simple reason behind our efforts on why we are against this “politics of erasing Tamil Tigers from history”.

The purpose behind using the term “Tigers” in the Tamil polity is not to bring back any kind of armed struggles back to the island. (But we cannot deny the fact that it may play an insignificant and unforeseen role in the distant future if the status quo continues). The real purpose is to tell the truth loudly that history cannot be denied – and at the same time it is an effort in part to keep our struggle intact without getting our spirit of our nation diluted.

This is the very reason why the axis of western and regional polity that destroyed the Tamil Tigers still keeps the Tigers in the list of terrorist organizations.

“Pirabaharanism” is not a philosophy that would delve and talk in length about Tigers but rather a philosophy that would serve as an instrument to get us justice.

It would talk in length on how a nation-state functioned for thirty long years. It would be the collective conscience of a nation.

“Pirabaharanism” will talk eloquent and loud on the subject. It will unleash the principles of getting liberated and walking free as a nation.

A Guide to Nations and Races

After the 2009 war which carried a systematic and deadly carnage on Tamils, the armed struggle adopted by the Tigers, and the geo-political conspiracies and activities that decimated them are discussed in length. The international relations and its ugly covert buttress to “Government sponsored terrorism” which is in direct confrontation with the subjugated nations is analysed here in length. The analysis is rather based on different political dimensions presented by the Tamil leader, Pirabaharan on different occasions.

Those political dimensions have transformed into a fine set of principles upon which the subjugated nations can base their freedom struggle.

So it will be gross injustice to confine Pirabaharan as a Tamil leader. To confine him so, would be a gross political blunder and an evident gaffe on the principles of freedom.

History has been kind to him, as his image is transforming as a beacon of hope for the hundreds of nations that are facing subjugation and humiliation.

History is written as things happen around us and that is the principle of dynamism.

The Politics of Individualism

The position and the historical stature that came to be occupied by our National Leader, Pirabaharan can never be underestimated and belittled by any forces. The life of all Eezham Tamils and their generations to come shall be intertwined with his name and fame. Centuries may pass but Pirabaharan will be one word that shall have the power to unite the world Tamils on matters concerning their freedom, liberation and their sovereignty.

The indelible principles he has left behind on matters concerning a nation’s freedom, liberty and sovereignty are exceptional and unprecedented. The principles serve a mass emotional connection to the nation’s subjects. It has the eternal power to thrust an entire nation forward for generations to come.

Hero worshipping – We subjected our research to understand if the name “Pirabaharan” echoes beyond the concept of hero worshipping. We extrapolated our results in the course of a precise psychological chart. The psychological web of connections between Pirabaharan and the dynamism within the Tamil society were astounding. Any political step that does not understand this dynamism will not have any power to bring the liberation of Eezham Tamils to fruition. And more importantly such political steps would not be a mirror of people’s conscience.

The confidence and the political aspirations built by the Tamils for thirty long years have deep-rooted connection to the Tigers. And the image of Pirabaharan occupies a central thought among the entire population of Tamils. Psychologically his image is ingrained as their political aspirations in the soul of every Tamil.

A nation has lived three generations hearing the principles of Nation, Nationalism and National Leader. The psychology of the nation has been spun around it and it lives around it, alive and kicking.

This is the precise background of “Pirabaharanism”, a modern set of principles and philosophies for freedom.

“Nandikadal”

• It is the warfront for the nations that have been subjugated to take on governments that unleash state terrorism, the crony capitalists, and the corporates that give shoulder to such governments.
• It is the warfront for the subjugated nations to fight for their freedom and liberation.
• It is a dry land that may be filled with grass and marsh. But it gobbled up a world leader only to emit a beacon of light and hope to the subjugated races.
• It is a land that expends a diehard spirit for the nations that have waged a relentless struggle of getting their due justice.
• It is a land, a warfront that provides a spirited morale to the subjugated nations to take on the world order that has slipped in its intended path of humanity and justice.

And history begins its pursuit to record these proceedings and just struggle as “Pirabaharanism”.