Charles Lucas Anthony (; 11 December 1960 – 15 July 1983), commonly known by the

nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

Seelan, 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 ...

rebel and leading member of 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 ...

(LTTE), a separatist Tamil militant organisation 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, ...

Early life and family

Anthony was born on 11 December 1960. He was from

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 ...

in eastern

Ceylon 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, ...

and a Roman Catholic. He was educated at Sri Koneswara Hindu College in Trincomalee. He is said to have participated in the burning of the

Sri Lankan flag The flag of Sri Lanka (; ), also called the ''Sinha'' Flag or Lion Flag, consists of a golden lion holding a ''kastane'' sword in its right fore-paw in a maroon background with four gold bo leaves, one in each corner. This is bordered by gol ...

when it was hoisted at the school on republic day in 1972.

LTTE

Anthony was one of the founding members of the

militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Lat ...

(LTTE). He took on the

"Seelan". Seelan was a close friend and confidante of LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran. Whilst Prabhakaran was in India, Seelan, together with

Mahattaya Gopalaswamy Mahendraraja (1956 – 28 December 1994), also known as Mahattaya was a member of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam who was killed for leaking secrets to India's RAW. Personal life Gopalaswamy Mahendraraja was related to Vel ...

and Ragu, were in charge of the LTTE in Sri Lanka. Later Seelan served as military chief of the LTTE. Seelan is credited with transforming the LTTE into the leading Tamil militant group. The first attack on the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

by Tamil militants took place on 15 October 1981 when the LTTE ambushed an army jeep on the KKS Road in

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 ...

and Seelan shot dead two soldiers (H. G. W. Hewawasam and H. M. P. Thisera). Seelan is also believed to have been responsible for the shooting to death of Sivashanmugamoorthy (alias Sundaram), deputy leader of

People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam The People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) is a former Tamil militant group that had become a pro-government paramilitary group and political party. PLOTE's political wing is known as the Democratic People's Liberation Front. O ...

and editor of the ''Puthiya Pathai'' (New Way) magazine, at the Chitra Press in Jaffna on 2 January 1982. On 27 October 1982 Seelan led a group of LTTE cadres (Aruna, Bashir Kaka, Mahattaya, Pulendran, Raghu, Santhosam and Shankar) and attacked the police station in

Chavakachcheri Chavakachcheri ( Cāvakaccēri, Jāvakachchēri) is a town in the Jaffna peninsula of Jaffna District, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It may have Javanese origins, as the name "Chaavaka+cheari" literally means Javanese settlement (there are als ...

, killing three police officers (Kandiah, Karunanandan and Tilakaratne) and stealing a large amount of arms and ammunition. Seelan was seriously wounded after being shot in the knee. He was driven to the house of

University of Jaffna The University of Jaffna (, ''Yāpanaya Wiśwawidyālaya''; ; abbreviated UoJ) is a public university in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Established in 1974 as the sixth campus of the University of Sri Lanka, it became an independent, autonomous university in 1 ...

lecturer M. Niththyanandan and his wife Nirmala in

for medical treatment. He was then moved to

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 ...

for further medical treatment and didn't return to Sri Lanka until February 1983. Niththyanandan and Nirmala were arrested on 18 November 1982. On 6 July 1983 a group of LTTE cadres, including Seelan and Sellakili (Sathasivam Chelvanayakam), stole five exploders from Kankesanthurai Cement Factory. Brigadier J. G. Balthazar, the commander of the Sri Lankan security forces in the north, received a tip-off from a police officer on 15 July 1983 that Seelan, the most wanted Tamil militant after Prabhakaran, was operating from a house in a coconut grove at Meesalai near Chavakachcheri. As the army arrived at the house that evening, Seelan and three other LTTE cadres (Anand, Aruna and Ganesh) fled on bicycles. As the soldiers pursued the LTTE cadres and opened fire, Seelan, who was handicapped by the injuries sustained at Chavakachcheri police station, abandoned his bicycle and ran through a paddy field. The soldiers continued the pursuit and kept firing, killing Anand and injuring Seelan in the knee. As Aruna went to help Seelan, who was struggling to keep up, Seelan asked Aruna to shoot him and escape. Aruna protested but Seelan ordered him to shoot. Aruna placed the barrel of his rifle on Seelan's forehead and shot him dead before escaping in a hijacked car. The LTTE ambush of the Four Four Bravo military patrol on 23 July 1983 which killed 15 soldiers and several LTTE members is believed to have been revenge for Seelan's death. The Charles Anthony Brigade was named after Seelan. Prabhakaran's eldest son Charles Anthony was also named after Seelan. A memorial to Seelan and a children's park named after Seelan were built at Meesalai-Allarai. After the

Sri Lankan military The Sri Lanka Armed Forces is the overall unified military of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka encompassing the Sri Lanka Army, the Sri Lanka Navy, and the Sri Lanka Air Force; they are governed by the Ministry of Defence (Sri Lank ...

re-captured the

Thenmarachchi Thenmarachchi is one of the three historic regions of the Jaffna peninsula in northern Sri Lanka. The other two regions are Vadamarachchi and Valikamam. Thenmarachchi is sometimes spelt Thenmarachi, Thenmaraachi or Thenmaraadchi. This area, like ...

region in 1995 they destroyed the memorial and children's park. The memorial was re-built in 2003 during the Norwegian mediated Cease Fire Agreement.

References

External links

Eelam View

Veeravengaikal.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seelan 1960 births 1983 deaths Alumni of R. K. M. Sri Koneswara Hindu College Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam members Place of birth missing People from Trincomalee Sri Lankan Roman Catholics Sri Lankan Tamil rebels Black July