Eelam Liberation Struggle : Sathiyaseelan Recalls: 09
In the last episode I have written that I went to Valveddithuri and then when to India by an illegal boat to escape from the police who had intensified the search for me.
In reality, I had two other important reasons for leaving for Tamil Nadu.
After the formation of the Tamil Students Federation, I moved very closely and through that I was able understand that the youth nurturing a thought, that the armed struggle is the only way.
Satyagraha participants from Valvettithurai in April 1961
The Sinhala rulers who came to power one after the other unleashing violence in response to the non-violent struggles the Tamil people undertook in protest against the oppressions and unleashing more oppression were reasons behind such thought of the youth. Students all over North and East had the similar thought.
I too had realized that in the context of those days, need of time, for protecting the Tamil people in Sri Lanka Politically, Socially, Economically and Culturally is an armed struggle. But we did not possess any weapons to commence an armed struggle. We cannot fight with small arms. We had learned that an important reason for the failure of the struggle of Che Guevara was that they did not have adequate weapons. We did not know anything as to how to get weapons.
This was the time when the war waged between Pakistan and Bagaladesh was about to be concluded. At that time India was providing large amounts of weapons to the ‘Mukthi Bagini’ Group of freedom fighters of Bangaladesh in the war for Bangaladesh to become a free country. We thought that going to India at this conjuncture will help us to get weapons from India in some way or at least to make useful contacts there. This is also one reason behind travelling to India. The other reason was to some political contacts in Tamil Nadu and Obtaining the support and advices of important leaders of people.
Before going to India, I convened a meeting in the mango garden near Thirunelvely Muthuthamby Vidyalayam, Jaffna. The representatives of Student Federation each place took part in this meeting. This was the first internal meeting we had held. In this meeting I made a political stance discourse. The members of the Federation, who were operating at several places independently until then, met each other for the first time and formed links among them. I explained to them that I had to go to India, the reasons for it, and appointed Narayanathas( Who was studying at the Kattubedde Technical College, and now an MP in the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam, Sabalingam( who was studying at the Kattubedde Technical College ) and Muthukumarasamy to the responsibilities of the Federation.
Muthupedai
On the Aady Amavasai (July New moon) day of 1971, One Amirthalingam who came from Valveddithurai took me from Thirunelvely. Later, Periyasothy took me from Valveddithurai to Thamilakam through a sea route in a ‘Vallam’. Passing sea of Bengal, we travelled through ‘Sellakkanni Aru’ and landed in Muthupedai located to the west of Kodikkarai.
After reaching Tamil Nadu, we went to Trichy through Vetharaniyam, booked a room in ‘Meelath Mahal’ and stayed there. Our expenses there were met by friends of Periyasothy, Hareendran and Chanthiralingam and a few businessmen from Valveddithurai.
As we planned earlier, I sent message to three members of the ‘Peravi’ (Federation) , Thavarajah ( Current Leader of the Opposition, NPC), Gnanam Anna alias Sivagnanasuntharam( Former police Officer), and Maha Uthaman, to come to Trichchy through Katunayake. They arrived at Trichchy in July 1971.After their arrival we discussed aboutwhat and what thing should be done and whom should be met in Tamil Nadu.
I will write about what decisions were taken in this meeting, whom we met in Tamil Nadu, and about those meetings in the next episode.
