Arul Pragasam
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Arulappu Richard Arulpragasam (13 April 1948 – 3 December 2019), also known as Arular and A. R. Arulpragasam, was a
Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, form the plurality in the Eastern Province a ...
activist and former
revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...
from
Jaffna Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...
who had a part in forming the group
Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students The Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students (EROS), also known as the Eelam Revolutionary Organisers, was a former Tamil militant group in Sri Lanka. Most of the EROS membership was absorbed into the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ...
(EROS) in January 1975 in
Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...
, England during the Tamil independence movements to secure an independent
Tamil Eelam Tamil Eelam (, ''tamiḻ īḻam''; generally rendered outside Tamil-speaking areas as தமிழ் ஈழம்) is a proposed independence, independent sovereign state, state that many Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Sri Lan ...
. He later left the conflict, after work as an independent peace negotiator between the two sides of the civil war. At the time of his death, he headed the Global Sustainability Initiative in the United Kingdom. He was also the father of the musician M.I.A. and designer Kali Arulpragasam.


Education

Arulpragasam graduated from the
Peoples' Friendship University of Russia The Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (Russian language, Russian: Российский университет дружбы народов имени Патриса Лумумбы), also known as RUDN University and until 1 ...
in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
with a degree in Engineering.


Political career

Having created EROS in 1975 in
Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...
, England the group staged demonstrations at the inaugural Cricket World Cup that year, prompting clashes between
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
and Sinhalese cricket supporters, and bringing the conflict in
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
to international attention for the first time. In March 1976, he moved to
Vavuniya Vavuniya (, ) is a city in Vavuniya District in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. The municipality is administered by an Municipal Council. The town has been known since ancient times, but being a heavily forested area, less than 100,000 people ...
and was one of three EROS members selected to train for six months in
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
with
Palestinian militant Palestinian fedayeen () are militants or guerrillas of a nationalist orientation from among the Palestinian people. Most Palestinians consider the fedayeen to be freedom fighters, while most Israelis consider them to be terrorists. Consider ...
s associated with the
Fatah Fatah ( ; ), formally the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (), is a Palestinian nationalist and Arab socialist political party. It is the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...
wing of the
PLO The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people in both the occupied Palestinian territories and the diaspora. ...
. He left after three months of training, returning to
Jaffna Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...
, Northern Sri Lanka with his family. Arulpragasam moved back to Vavuniya in late 1976 and from 1978 – 1986, he lived and worked in
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
where India, through its intelligence agency supported and trained EROS, one of six Tamil revolutionary groups against the Sri Lankan state. He made sporadic visits to
Jaffna Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...
where his family lived, introducing himself to his children as their uncle. Although never himself a member of the
LTTE 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 Eelam ...
, Arulpragasam was an old friend of the group's military leader
Vellupillai Prabhakaran Velupillai Prabhakaran (; ; ; 26 November 1954 – 18 May 2009) was a Sri Lankan guerrilla and a major figure of Tamil nationalism, being the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The LTTE was a militant organiza ...
during the early years of the Tamil rebellion. His wife and three children left Jaffna in the late 80s and were granted political asylum in the United Kingdom, while he remained behind. Arul Pragasam left his group EROS and the conflict in 1987, becoming an independent peace mediator between the two sides of the civil war, and he was instrumental in bringing in more direct Indian intervention to the conflict in 1987, ultimately ending in failure. M.I.A. has stated in interviews her father shared revolutionary ideals, and that he was a politician, although she had no contact with him since the early 1990s. Rarely speaking about her father publicly, in an interview with ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' in 2005, M.I.A. stated "He never had a practical, physical influence" in her family's life. On his involvement in the war and some writers referring to him as a former Tiger rebel, she has said "People write it because it's easy. The Tigers were big in numbers but my dad was too selective. The Tigers had machetes and said, 'They killed my mum so I'm going to fucking fight them.' And my dad was like, 'No no no no, read this amazing book about revolution. Let's sit down and draw up a manifesto."


Later years

In 1997, he set up an Institute of Sustainability Development at
Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...
on the Eastern Province's coast. The same year, he wrote a seminal book on
Tamil history The Tamils ( ), also known by their endonym Tamilar, are a Dravidian ethnic group who natively speak the Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. The Tamil language is one of the longest- ...
, and was based in the island's north east and
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
until the mid-2000s. He contacted his daughter following the release of her debut album, named '' Arular'' after him, in 2005, telling her to change its name, however she refused. His house was flooded after the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time ( UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The undersea megathrust earthquake, known in the sci ...
. Arulpragasam moved to Britain and, at the time of his death, headed the Britain-based Global Sustainability Initiative, which has overseen inventions such as a redesigned bullock cart, a motorised wheelbarrow and a car that consumes less petrol. Arulpragasam explained "GSI's mission is to develop a program with a global perspective." Pragasam died on 3 December 2019, aged 71.


Personal life

Arul Pragasam was the father of jewellery designer Kali Arulpragasam, musician/filmmaker/visual artist Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam (better known by her stage name, M.I.A.), and Sugu Arulpragasam. His family moved back to Sri Lanka when Maya was six months old. M.I.A. named her 2005 debut album '' Arular'' after her father, partly for him to get in contact with her. "Arular" was his nom de guerre during the
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. M.I.A. said of her upbringing: "I only had my mum. I never grew up with my dad so I don’t know what he’s like. I think I’m a mixture of both. My mum’s really passive, quiet and she’s not feisty. She cared about bringing in food and getting us to school and stuff but that’s as far as it went. Growing up without a dad, I was going to school and turning up at parents' meetings on my own. At the time everyone was like, "Oh if you had a dad he’d pay for your school and you’d have a better future". At the time, my mom was bringing us up and she was like, "The only thing your father gave you was a name". So that's why I used is name "Arular"on my album to turn it into a statement that my mom always made. If the only thing he's going to give me is a name, then that's what I'm going to use." In 2005, M.I.A. told EGO Magazine that despite her father's involvement in the conflict, she felt no affiliation to either armed party in the war, noting her work to be the voice of "civilians and refugees that get caught up in the cross fire of politics" and shocking enough to invoke discussion in young people that felt they had no right to talk. Following the end of the armed conflict in 2009, M.I.A. condemned the Government of Sri Lanka for engaging in systematic
genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...
against Tamils. In a 2010 feature for ''
The Fader ''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. History and work It is owned by T ...
'', she stated of the US and Sri Lankan government's behaviour towards her following her rise in prominence: "He negotiated peace processes, brought in the new army, and when he goes to Sri Lanka, it’s the government who gives him security against the Tigers", she explains. "They used it the other way and told the world my dad’s a Tiger which got me to this point. It’s like, 'Wow I didn’t know this guy, and this guy has been working for you for 20 fucking years, and when you feel like it you want to use my own dad against me to discredit what I do.'"


References


Further reading

Arulpragasam, Maya (2002). ''M.I.A. No. 10'' (Paperback ed.). Pocko Editions. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pragasam, Arul 1948 births 2019 deaths Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students militants People from Jaffna Peoples' Friendship University of Russia alumni Sri Lankan revolutionaries Sri Lankan Tamil rebels Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan Hindus Sri Lankan expatriates in the United Kingdom M.I.A. (rapper) Indian Peace Keeping Force