Sivagnanam Shritharan (; born 8 December 1968) is a Sri Lankan Tamil teacher, politician and Member of Parliament. He is the current leader of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi, the largest Tamil nationalist party in the Sri Lankan Parliament.

Early life and family

Shritharan was born on 8 December 1968. He is from Kandavalai in

Kilinochchi District Kilinochchi District ( ''Kiḷinocci Māvaṭṭam''; ) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary (previo ...

though he is originally from the island of Neduntivu (Delft) in

Jaffna District Jaffna District ( ''Yāḻppāṇam Māvaṭṭam''; ''yāpanaya distrikkaya'') is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a ...

. He was educated at

Jaffna Hindu College Jaffna Hindu College (; ; abbreviated as JHC) is a National school (Sri Lanka), national school in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1887 by a group of Hinduism in Sri Lanka, Hindu people who wanted an English language alternative to the Christi ...

. After school, he joined the University of Jaffna. Shritharan is married to the sister of Brigadier Theepan (Velayuthapillai Baheerathakumarn) who was a senior military commander in the

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eela ...

Career

Shritharan taught at several schools in Kilinochchi District and was the principal of Kilinochchi Maha Vidyalayam. Shritharan contested the 2010 parliamentary election as one of the Tamil National Alliance

electoral alliance An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. E ...

's candidates in

and was elected to the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. He was re-elected at the

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

parliamentary elections. Following the announcement of the retirement of ITAK party leader

Mavai Senathirajah Somasundaram Senathirajah (; ; 27 October 1942 – 29 January 2025), commonly known as Mavai Senathirajah, was a Sri Lankan politician who was a Member of Parliament. He was the leader of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) from 2014 to 20 ...

, Shritharan applied for the leadership position in December 2023. He was the favored candidate since he was based in Jaffna and was elected leader of the ITAK on 21 January 2024 defeating M. A. Sumanthiran and S. Yogeswaran; having gained 184 votes to Sumanthiran's 134. Following the appointment, he paid respects at the Kanagapuram Thuyilum Illam (cemetery for fallen

Tamil Tigers The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eela ...

Assassination attempt

On 7 March 2011, Shritharan was traveling in a van from Kilinochchi to

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

to attend a meeting of Parliament the following day. Traveling with Sritharan in the van were four others including a police guard. At around 5.30pm the van was on the A12 highway near Nochchiyagama,

Anuradhapura District Anuradhapura ( ''anūrādhapūra distrikkaya''; ''Aṉurātapuram māvaṭṭam'') is a district in North Central Province, Sri Lanka. Its area is 7,179 km². Major cities * Anuradhapura (Municipal Council) Other towns * Bulnewa * Eppaw ...

, when three men standing by a white van parked on the roadside pulled out guns and started shooting at Shritharan's van. The men also threw hand grenades at the van. Sritharan's police guard fired back, forcing the attackers to flee in their white van which had no number plates. No one was seriously injured in the incident. Shritharan has blamed the

Eelam People's Democratic Party The Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) is a Sri Lankan political party and a pro-government paramilitary organization. It is led by its founder Douglas Devananda. Background Douglas Devananda was one of the founding members of the Eelam Re ...

, a government backed paramilitary group, for the assassination attempt. The EPDP has been implicated in a number of assassinations. Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa ordered an investigation into the assassination attempt.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shritharan, S. 1968 births Alumni of Jaffna Hindu College Alumni of the University of Jaffna Failed assassination attempts in Sri Lanka Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi politicians Living people Members of the 14th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 15th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 17th Parliament of Sri Lanka Politicians from Northern Province, Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Hindus Tamil politicians Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan teachers Tamil National Alliance politicians