Govinthan Karunakaran (; born 1 October 1963), also known by the alias Jana (), is 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 ...

politician, former provincial councillor and Member of Parliament. Karunakaran was born on 1 October 1963. He was educated at Cheddipalayam Maha Vidyalayam and St. Michael's College National School. Following the

Black July Black July (; ) was an anti- Tamil pogrom that occurred in Sri Lanka during July 1983. The pogrom was premeditated, and was finally triggered by a deadly ambush on a Sri Lankan Army patrol by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on 23 ...

anti-Tamil

riots A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

he left school in August 1983 and in November 1983 he joined

Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization The Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) is a Sri Lankan Tamil political party and former militant group. Initially, the TELO campaigned for the establishment of an independent Tamil Eelam in northeastern Sri Lanka from 1972 to 1987, until ...

(TELO), a Tamil militant group. He received

Guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...

training and June 1987 became TELO's regional leader in

Ampara District Ampara District (; ) is one of the 25 Districts of Sri Lanka, districts of Sri Lanka, the second-level administrative divisions of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a Government Agent (Sri Lanka), Distric ...

and

Batticaloa District Batticaloa District ( ; ) 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 (previously known as a Government A ...

. Later he became general-secretary of TELO. Karunakaran contested the 1989 parliamentary election as one of the ENDLF/

EPRLF The Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) is a series of Sri Lankan political parties and a former militant separatist group. Militant separatists The EPRLF was formed in 1980 by K. Pathmanabha (Padmanaba), Douglas Devananda, Su ...

TELO The Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) is a Sri Lankan Tamil political party and former militant group. Initially, the TELO campaigned for the establishment of an independent Tamil Eelam in northeastern Sri Lanka from 1972 to 1987, until ...

TULF The Tamil United Liberation Front (, ) is a political party in Sri Lanka. Formation On 4 May 1972, several Tamil political groups, including the Federal Party (ITAK), Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), and All Ceylon Tamil Congress formed the Tami ...

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 contested the 2012 provincial council election as one of the

Tamil National Alliance The Tamil National Alliance (TNA; ISO 15919: ''tamiḻt tēciyakkūṭṭamaippu'') was a political alliance in Sri Lanka which represented the Sri Lankan Tamil minority of the country. It was formed in October 2001 by a group of moderate T ...

(TNA) electoral alliance's candidates in Batticaloa District and was elected to the

Eastern Provincial Council The Eastern Provincial Council (EPC ''Kiḻakku Mākāṇa Capai''; “Nagenahira Palat Sabava”; EPC) is the provincial council for the Eastern Province in Sri Lanka. In accordance with the Sri Lankan constitution, EPC has legislative powe ...

. Karunakaran and the other newly elected TNA provincial councillors took their oaths on 28 September 2012 in front of TNA leader and Member of Parliament R. Sampanthan. Karunakaran contested the 2015 parliamentary election as one of the TNA's candidates in Batticaloa District but failed to get elected. He contested the 2020 parliamentary election as a TNA candidate in Batticaloa District and was re-elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karunakaran, G. 1963 births Alumni of St. Michael's College National School Living people Members of the 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the Eastern Provincial Council Sri Lankan Hindus Tamil politicians Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization politicians Tamil National Alliance politicians