Prabhakaran: The Story of his struggle for Eelam

by Chellamuthu Kuppusamy

Though the Sri Lankan Tamils began the struggle for their rights in Sinhala dominated Sri Lanka well before Prabhakaran was born, Prabhakaran’s life is inextricably linked with the struggle. This book provides an account of the life of LTTE chief Prabhakaran, who led an armed struggle against the Sri Lankan state to create Eelam, a separate nation for the Sri Lankan Tamils.The book begins from Prabhakaran’s childhood days in the aftermath of India’s and Sri Lanka’s independence from Britain. The Sri Lankan Tamils were following Gandhi’s non-violent methods to fight for their rights as citizens of Sri Lanka. Prabhakaran, an ardent fan of Bhagat Singh and Subhash Chandra Bose, felt that non-violence would not work against a Sinhala dominated government and began experimenting with violent acts against the Government to send a message. His initial success became the nucleus for the formation of LTTE, which became the quintessential guerrilla organization fighting the State.The book details various incidents of Prabhakaran’s life including terror attacks, assassination of politicians, heads of States and militant leaders; India’s role in the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict; Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka; the Eelam wars, negotiations, betrayals and elections; through to his killing in May 2009.

Genres: History, Biography, Politics

251 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 25, 2013

Reviews

[Prem · Rating 5 out of 5]

What to say, an emotional roller-coaster ride. Being Tamilian, this book helped me to visualize and understand struggle for Eelam. Off course, I have to read this book multiple times to memorize each and every incidents and names. Heartfelt thanks to the author.

[Ganesh Muthupalani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually review the book by summarizing it and sharing my own thoughts. As the content of this book is heavy, the summary is much longer than usual. Though written from the side of LTTE, the book shares in detail on Prabhakaran as a person and LTTE as an organization. The success of engaging in armed conflict is debatable, but the growth and impact of LTTE is astounding. I was surprised to find out that LTTE was the only rebel movement in the World to have built an Army, Navy and an Air Force.

WHEN THE ETHNIC CONFLICT STARTED?
Ethnic conflict between the Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamils accelerated after the withdrawal of British. Sri Lanka's official language was changed from English to Sinhalese after the enactment of the 'Sinhala Only Act' on 1st January 1961, failing to give the Tamils an equal opportunity in the society.

RESOLUTION THROUGH NON-VIOLENT MEANS
Several parties amongst the Sri Lankan Tamils attempted to settle the dispute through non-violent means. But all those yielded no significant results while they were continuously being oppressed. All this because, the Tamils had no bargaining power at the negotiation table.

TAMILS RESORTED TO VIOLENCE
In his Harijan magazine entry, Gandhi wrote on 2nd March 1940: ‘If the capacity for non-violent self-defence is lacking, there need be no hesitation in using violent means.’ The Tamils were oppressed and harrassed. Violence seemed like the way to bring power to the Tamils. Several armed groups including the Liberation of Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE) were formed to defend the rights and lives of Sri Lankan Tamils.

These groups grew to be really large and influential. The combined strength of these organisations amounted to an astonishing thirty thousand fighters, which was twice the strength of the Sri Lankan army in the 1990s!

HOW LTTE GREW TO BE THE FACE OF TAMIL EELAM
Prabhakaran, the leader of LTTE, was known to enforce strict rules and instill great discipline and loyalty in his soldiers. LTTE was one of the few organizations which did not sway from its original objective of securing the rights of Sri Lankan Tamils. The focus and discipline greatly contributed to LTTE's relevance and survival as an armed group over the years.

Many other armed groups allowed themselves to be manipulated by the Sri Lankan Government and Indian Peace Keeping Forces and/or lost sight of Eelam and diluted their objectives. They eventually withered away themselves or were wiped out by LTTE.

LTTE'S IMPACT ON SRI LANKA (1948 - 2009)
LTTE primarily carried out Hit and Run attacks on military installations and personnel. LTTE often surprised the enemy with their speed, stealth and intensity of fight. The LTTE fighters were loyal and dedicated. The Sri Lankan army however consisted of soldiers who had joined the army merely to earn money. This also explains the difference in the intensity of fight and why LTTE could make an impact despite being outnumbered.

The LTTE also created Black Tigers, a suicide squad. This wing mounted more than 330 suicide attacks on civilian, military and political targets (including the Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa and former Indian Prime Minster Rajiv Gandhi). LTTE was the only rebel movement to have built the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. The Tigers had bought aircrafts from Czech Republic, dismantled it, shipped it by sea and assembled it back in the Sri Lankan jungles.

The Sri Lankan army's attacks however often included civilians as casualties as the Tigers were well concealed in their hideouts. Close to a 100,000 civilians and fighters from both sides were killed in the entire conflict (1948-2009). 21,066 Sri Lankan Soldiers were killed by Tamil rebel groups.

INDIAN PEACEKEEPING FORCES
India was involved from 1987 to 1990 because of the huge pressure from Tamil Nadu parties requesting for an intervention. India also hoped to break the US and Sri Lanka partnership (as India sided USSR then) by supporting LTTE. India provided training camps and military weapons to the Tamil rebel groups. However, India did not support LTTE's quest for independence as it feared Tamil Nadu would seek a similar recourse in India in future.

India seemed to be actively supporting the LTTE instead of adopting a peacekeeping role as it said it would. It was shocking to read that Sri Lankan soldiers attempted to assasinate Rajiv Gandhi (then Prime Minister of India) when he was in Colombo as a guest during a guard inspection ceremony.

India negotiated the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord where Sri Lankan government was given more power in the disputed territories, Sri Lanka had to withdraw its military troops and Tamil rebels were to surrender their arms. However, the LTTE was not made party to these talks and things turned nasty between the Indian forces and LTTE thereafter.

LTTE'S DEMISE
The peace progress broke down in 2006. The Sri Lankan military launched a major offensive attack against the LTTE. Sri Lanka had increased its defense budget, sought aid and surveillance technologies from foreign partners. Sri Lanka also carpet bombed targeted cities disregarding civilians' lives. Victory was declared by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on 16 May 2009 and LTTE admitted defeat on 17 May 2009.

REFLECTIONS
1) Violence feeds emotions. Emotions blind human rationality. Both sides constantly exchanged offensive attacks on each other, only getting bigger and bigger. And many civilians were caught in the crossfire.
2) People have differing opinions within the same camp. Many different Tamil rebel groups had differing ideas and stance. Some even swayed to the Sri Lankan side forgetting their initial objectives.
3) Parties involved have different interests. India was interested in helping LTTE to keep a check on Sri Lanka's growth and partnerships. But was not interested in helping LTTE achieve it overall goals (fearing a similar occurrence in Tamil Nadu, India). Sri Lanka was only mindful of the Sinhalese' interests. Not being mindful of each others' interest led to worsening of the situation.

[Praveena D.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

With curiosity to know how Prabhakaran built an army and ruled part of the country, I started to read this book. Went through lot of emotions while reading this book. Even though I felt book is bit biased towards Tamils, book throw lot of light to Sri Lanka struggle from the beginning.

Re-learnt important lessons of life in LTTE journey, listed below.
1. Don't depend on anyone, you have to fight your war
2. Non Violence is not the only solution exists, Sri Lanka government invited Tamil delegates to peace talks only after LTTE/Armed forces come to seen.
3. No one will do favor without their benefit like Indira supported LTTE
4. However strong you are, you can't simply outsmart locals(IPKF)
5. Winning others trust is no big deal, having unity among us for long time is big deal.
6. Irrespective Whatever religion people belongs, nobody follow their religion. Humans are just driven by common features like anger, group-ism and unsecured.

I was in dilemma that is LTTE Soldiers/Prabhakaran lives are waste? I think no just because of their fight whole world came to know the injustice Tamil people facing. Because of their fight, Sri Lanka government came down to peace talks. If is there any improvement to living standards of Tamil, its because of LTTE sacrifice.

I expected author will showcase the situation of Tamils Post LTTE era.

[Premkumar (அன்புக்குமரன்) Ethirajulu (எத்தியரசன்) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Director Kittu's Tamil movie "Methagu" instigated me to read more about eelam tamils and their struggle.

This is the first English book that I have read in short span of time as I was immersed into this book because of my quest for knowledge.

Since the series of events by itself is dramatic, mournful and uplifting, I went on reading this book with more focus.

Even though this book's endeavor is to bring the Prabhakaran's freedom struggle for Tamil eelam to the light, this book doesn't fail to capture the surrounding events that influence and that are influenced by the LTTE.

Every Tamilan has to read this book to understand how Sinhalas were unfair to tamils and how state sponsored colonization and state sponsored terrorism were unleashed by Sinhalese government against Tamils.

The history documented in this book has a episodic format which brings a certain structure chronologically. Also we get a glimpse of all the key events in one line chronologically listed year wise in a concise format at the end which is notable.

This book unintentionally made me regretful for being indifferent about my ethnic group who were ethnically cleansed from Ceylon and made me realise what a great warrior is His excellency Velupillai Prabhakaran.

Just like jews who were made extinct by the genocide are making a mark.

Tamils who are already making a mark across the globe would continue to rise above all odds by swimming against the tide.

"If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?"
-William Shakespeare

[Hari · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had engrossed me past few days about brief history n struggles faced by the Sri Lankan Tamils.

void feeling took over me (ஒரு ஆழ்ந்த இன்மை என்னை ஆட்கொண்டது) after completing this book.

the only thing I felt was the sheer betrayal n greed of few defeated LTTE (and the idea tamizh eezham) more than the Sri Lanka army.

Time will heal all wounds and sincerely Hope both the people (Sinhalese n Tamils) travel towards peaceful coexistence.

The author gives the accounts of the incidents purely from Tamils point of view. He could have added more research material on the root cause of ethnic conflict between Sinhalese and Tamils.

[Naresh · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Whether a man is portrayed as a freedom fighter or a terrorist purely depends on when, how and by whom he is portrayed thus. It also depends on whether he wins or loses at the end of his struggle. The United States that portrays the Palestinian Liberation Organisation as a terrorist organisation, does not apply the same yardstick to the Irish Republic Army...Till 1990, the US regarded Nelson Mandela as a terrorist. He was later awarded a Nobel Peace Prize."

A well-researched, lucid account of Prabhakaran's long fight for Eelam. The book also attempts to respond to some popular diatribes against LTTE and their chosen path of armed resistance.

Left me wanting to read more accounts on our Tamils' struggle for a motherland.

[Sathyan Shivaram · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hard hitting recollection of the Eelam struggle. A must read for everyone interested in history, especially for people of Tamil ethnic origin. Since the author is a Tamil, the book is biased towards the LTTE/Tamils. So all the events mentioned in the book should not be taken at its face value and rather with a pinch of salt. However, the author still drives home the message of injustice meted out to the ethnic Tamils of Sri Lankan origin.

[Mithun Kannan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book not only is a biography of the greatest Tamil leader till date but also details the plight of Tamil struggle against the Sinhalese fascism in Sri Lanka.

This book delineates everything from the ideologies that shaped the great leader to how Prabhakran became the only militant to have built land, air and naval forces. The Author also detailed how political agendas of both India and Sri Lanka favored Sinhalese oppression over innocent Tamil. This piece of history describes how fascism continues to be part of people's life in recent times. Important and forgotten piece of Tamil history greatly put together.

[Sanket Sheth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having Visited SriLanka recently, I got intrigued by the history of this beautiful country. The conversation with our tour guide Madu encouraged me to pick why the LTTE phase was the darkest in the history of SriLanka. I was stunned by the audacity of the young Prabhakaran. Back in the era of 1960, he had learnt to operate pistol at the age of 15.

The tipping point of his transformation from a normal citizen to a terrorist is the death of his uncles and family members at the hand of Srilankan army. The discriminatory policies of the government against Tamilians led to the rise of terrorism. The history of how Tamils came into Sri Lanka is interesting. They were brought by Britishers to work in the tea plantations and gradually the generations settled there. However, they were never accepted by the local Sinhala population.

Prabhakaran was a by product of this systematic discrimination. He traveled to India frequently in 70s and 80s. It is interesting to know that he was caught once in Chennai however he was released at the immense pressure of Karunanidhi and other TN politicians. SriLanka had the worst set of politicians who only pandered to their vote bank. Leave alone growth, SriLanka could not feed its own population during this horrifying period of 35 years. SriLanka was even a tourist destination in 90s however it never became popular because of the harrowing terrorist acts.

It is interesting to note that people who joined LTTE were not allowed to fall in love, marry or pro create. The irony is Prabhakaran did act against his own set of rules. His was the only terrorist organization having its own airport. He had a cult following among the youth in Northern SriLanka. He was the one who introduced the ghastly concept of suicide terrorism. Our previous PM was a victim of it.

This book has lessons for countries like USA and India. If we continue to discriminate against our own people, belonging to a particular religion, race or color, we are likely to witness such scenarios in near future. No one wants to become a criminal by choice. Only a person who has seen his kin suffering/killed by the unjust policies of society will turn inconsiderate towards the society as a whole. A bad person is a by product of discriminatory & unfair policies of a society and nation. By the time we realize it, it is too late. Unfortunately, there is no reverse gear.

Be Love, Spread Love!

[Jween Samuel (JS) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Crisp reportage

Concise report but lot of spelling mistakes which takes away the joy of reading. However good read for anyone who are keen to know more about Sri Lankan politics.

[Sam Prasad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good interesting book. Came to know many unknown things

[Sachin PK · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is more towards eulogising the LTTE and its leadership. The initial chapters do explain the sad plight of Tamils of Sri Lanka during the 1950s and 1960s which led to groups like TULF and LTTE being formed. But towards the end the book becomes a eulogy of the LTTE often justifying all their terrorist actions. In the final chapters the desperation of the author can also be seen, as he brings up an alternate theory that Prabhakaran, Pottu Amman, Soosai are all still alive and they escaped east wards by speed boats. The book also has factual errors on the movement of Rajiv Gandhi's killers who were later found dead at Konanakunte near Bangalore city.

[Abhishek Kumar · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an informative book but the issue is - it gives one sided information from LTTE's perspective only. I never knew that Indira & Rajiv Gandhi from India's central government and also Tamilnadu state governments were so involved in Sri Lanka's internal conflict. Or that Prabhakaran took shelter in Tamilnadu, India for umpteen number of times.
The book gives a lot of facts but in a very dry narration. and it seemed to be very partial to Prabhakaran.

[Aman Srivastava · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a 'North Indian' and always taught that Prabhakaran led LTTE killed our PM, the image I carried of him until reading this book was that of a 'terrorist'. How 'Prabhakaran' was created is nicely illustrated but I really missed the other view point of all the events throughout the book. This is Tamil's version of history but how really did Sinhalese turn that 'barbaric' is a question that this book fails to answer.

[Ãrun Bãlãji · Rating 5 out of 5]

நான் இந்த புத்தகத்தை படித்தேன் என்று சொல்வதை விட , வாழ்ந்தேன் என்று சொல்லலாம். இதை படிக்கும் போது எனக்குள் ஒரு உணர்வு ஏற்பட்டது அது என்ன உணர்வு என்று என்னால் சொல்ல இயலாது. இந்த புத்தகத்தை படிக்கும் ஒரு ஒரு தமிழனனும் அந்த உணர்வு என்ன என்பது தெரியும், நான் சொல்லி தெரிய வேண்டிய அவசியமில்லை என்று நான் நினைக்கிறேன்.

அந்த மக்கள் என்ன தப்பு பண்ணாங்க? ஏன் இவ்ளோ அராஜகம் சிங்கள ராணுவம்?

அவுங்க கோரிக்கை ஈழம் விடுதலை , தனி நாடு கோரிக்கை தானே இதுக்கா இவ்ளோ அராஜகம்?

[Gopesh P · Rating 5 out of 5]

The battle of a particular section in Srilanka for their basic rights. The person who leaded it through arms and struggle. The LTTE had a military system like that of a modern nation with Army, Airforce and Navy. They had war planes and ships..... The author has thoroughly explained the long battle since 1948 lasted until 2009.

[kcavinash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good reading but appears to have an LTTE point of view

The subject is well arranged and in a logical sequence. The narrative is well paced. Spelling mistakes in a few places to be noted. Otherwise a good book on this subject

[Pathma Liyanage · Rating 3 out of 5]

A messy summary of the national problem in Sri Lanka, but not a good description about later years of Prabhakaran

A good description of early life of Prabhakaran and formation of LTTE but has a lots of typos and sensationalism

[Uththamaseelan, Perinbanayakam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read

This book truly and honestly describe the struggle of Tamil’s in Sri Lanka without taking side. A must read for who ever want to know about the injustice that’s happening to Tamil’s in Sri Lanka.

[Manu Gaurang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unputdownable

Gripping story telling with facts. The last chapter tries to revive the mysterious nature of ltte but to little avail. Must read..

[Prabakaran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helps to understand the history behind Tamil eelam struggle, and the narration was very simple and connecting all the dots beautifully.

[Saravana Sastha Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book worthy of one of the bravest son of his homeland.

[Nu Dha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book to spend some time n read. It will give better insight about the life of Praba and mainly why he did all these things...

I think SL politicians (If they really love our country ONLY) should read this and understand the both sides of the story. so then they can avoid repeating same mistakes again n again...

War starts b'coz of misleading and misunderstanding of both Tamil and Sinhala politicians... They cultivated war and took advantage of it to save/improve their lives and finally as a country we lost millions of innocent lives from both side.

[Praveen Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite an interesting book with lots of background information on his rise to power, India's role, especially the Gandhis.
The ending was a bit abrupt with not much detail. Alive or dead? How did he die is still a mystery.

[Sumeet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prabhakaran by Chellamuthu Kuppusamy
Prabhakaran: The Story of his struggle for Eelam

[Prathiksha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written book on the life and story of Mr. Prabhakaran. Every one should read this book at least once before they go on judging.

[Dhananjayan Jayabal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book

[Haneydict A]

Raise and Fall of Mr. Prabhakaran

Nice book to read. Raise and fall of a Single person. Vision for தமிழ் Eelam. Well narrated. Felt nice to read. Good Work Mr. Chellamuthu Kuppusamy. Good read for a person who wants to know about the Struggle for தமிழ் Eelam.