Posts Categorized: History

No confidence in the president by K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 48 The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), though they were isolated and hunted down in India, after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, they were the determining force of the political agenda in Sri Lanka. “As a consequence of… Read more »

Gandhi’s murder: Widespread fallout by K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 47 The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi reverberated beyond the national borders of India. Brutal deaths in the Nehru family were becoming all too regular. Sanjay Gandhi had died in a plane crash, Rajiv’s mother Indira Gandhi had been gunned down…. Read more »

Questions over Gandhi’s killing by K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 46 When Rajiv Gandhi was murdered on May 21, 1991, he was 46 years old. He was born on August 20, l944 and brought up in the Nehru Gandhi family of freedom fighters, great leaders and statesmen. Indira Gandhi, the… Read more »

Slaughter of Tamil Prisoners inside High Security Jail & Genocide of Tamils in July 1983 by Kumarathasan Rasingam – Secretary, Tamil Canadian Elders for Human Rights Org. Post independence Sri Lanka brought in several official dispositions that gave preference to the Sinhalese majority. The Sinhala Only Act introduced by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)… Read more »

Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination by K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 45 The political scene in India became murkier as the minority government of Prime Minister S Chandrasekhar developed serious misunderstandings with Rajiv Gandhi, the leader of the opposition, and the latter ultimately forced Chandrasekhar to announce the resignation of his four-month-old… Read more »

War continues with brutality by K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 44 On the one hand, an inhumane campaign of collective punishment on the Tamils was unleashed by the Government of President Ranasinghe Premadasa, while on the other hand a brutal and ruthless campaign was let loose by the Liberation Tigers… Read more »

Eelam war – again by K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 43 Subjected to continuous outbursts by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), such as, “This is the last chance we give you. If you fail, we are prepared to wage war”, Anton Balasingham warned the Sri Lankan Government of… Read more »

Aftermath of the Indian withdrawal by K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 42 Indian interference in Sri Lankan politics came to a final halt when the last of the Indian Peacekeeping Forces (IPKF) left the territorial waters of Sri Lanka on March 24, 1990. Maverick Indian Prime Minister Viswanath Pratab Singh,… Read more »

Unilateral declaration of Eelam by K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 41 Viswanath Pratab Singh, the new prime minister of India and leader of the five-party National Front coalition government, announced the withdrawal of the Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF) from Sri Lanka, by March 31, 1990. This was his major… Read more »

Confusion as Indians withdraw by K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 40 The basic idea behind raising the Citizen Volunteer Force (CVF) was the provision of an armed force to ensure the safety and security of Sri Lankan Tamils in the absence of any law-enforcing agency in the Jaffna Peninsula. In… Read more »

Rohan Wijeweera’s killing still a mystery by K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 39 On July 30, 1983, along with the Nawa Sama Samaja Party and the Communist Party, the Janatha Vimukthi Perumuna (JVP – People’s Liberation Front), led by Rohana Wijeweera, was proscribed by President J R Jayewardene. The JVP… Read more »

Amirthalingam eliminated by K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 38 Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi arranged to deliver his final letter, dated July 11, 1989, to Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa through his Principal Secretary, B G Deshmukh. In the concluding paragraph, he brought to the notice of the president, the… Read more »

Badgering for Indian Withdrawal by K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 37 Shanmuganathan Sivasankaran was the head of the “Aiyanna group” – the dreaded intelligence network of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Sivasankaran was popularly called “Pottu Amman”. . He joined the LTTE in 1981 and enjoyed enormous power… Read more »

Talking Peace by K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 36 On December 20, 1988, the eighth parliament was dissolved and nominations for the ninth were fixed for between December 30 and January 6. The polling date was set for February 15, with the new parliament scheduled to be summoned on March… Read more »

Indians rule the roost by K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 35 The Tamils of Sri Lanka, for the first time, experienced the full might of the Indian Army. Indians, who for many years had played the role of saviors, suddenly turned their guns against the very Tamils they had come… Read more »

Accord turns to discord by K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 34 Subsequent to the token surrender of arms by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to the Sri Lankan Army, in the presence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF), ceremonies connected with the surrender took place throughout North… Read more »

Accord and its Ramifications by K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 33 India began to a show keen interest in evolving an acceptable political package to bring an end to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. There were many compulsions behind the desire, none the least of which was the need… Read more »

India Shows its Hand by K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 32 The second round of peace talks, in August 1985, between Tamil groups and the Sri Lankan Government, in Thimpu, the capital of Bhutan, ended suddenly in failure when the Tamil militants and TULF leaders walked out. The militant leaders… Read more »