Rajani Thiranagama (née Rajasingham) (23 February 1954 – 21 September 1989) 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 ...
human rights activist and
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
who was assassinated by 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 ...
cadres after she had criticised them for their atrocities.
At the time of her assassination, she was the head of the Department of Anatomy at the
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 ...
and an active member and one of the founders of
University Teachers for Human Rights
The University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) or UTHR(J) was formed in 1988 at the University of Jaffna, Jaffna, in Sri Lanka, as part of the national organization University Teachers for Human Rights. Its public activities as a constituent ...
, Jaffna.
Biography
Early life and education
Rajani was born 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 ...
, in northern
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 middle-class Tamil Christian parents. She was the second of four female children. She attended primary and secondary school in Jaffna, and in 1973, she entered the
University of Colombo
The University of Colombo (informally Colombo University or UoC) is a Public University, public research university located primarily in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is the oldest institution of modern higher education in Sri Lanka. Specialised in t ...
to study medicine. In university, she became actively involved in student politics.
Marriage and children
During her stay at Colombo University she met a politically active student leader from
Kelaniya University
The University of Kelaniya (UoK; , ) is a public university in Sri Lanka. Just outside the municipal limits of Colombo, in the city of Kelaniya, the university has two major institutions and seven faculties.
History
The University of Kelaniya ...
named Dayapala Thiranagama. Dayapala was from a rural Sinhala Buddhist background. Rajani broke ethnic and religious barriers and married Dayapala in 1977. They had two daughters: Narmada (1978) and Sharika, 1980. Narmada now lives in Britain and works for the public sector union
UNISON
Unison (stylised as UNISON) is a Great Britain, British trade union. Along with Unite the Union, Unite, Unison is one of the two largest trade unions in the United Kingdom, with over 1.2 million members who work predominantly in public servic ...
. Political Anthropologist
Sharika Thiranagama currently teaches at
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, and is married to fellow anthropologist
Thomas Blom Hansen
Thomas Blom Hansen (born 22 January 1958 in Frederiksvaerk) is a Danish anthropologist and commentator on religious and political violence in India.
Background
Hansen has a BA in Sociology and an MA in political theory from the University of ...
. In 2005, Sharika portrayed the role of her mother in a documentary film on Rajani,
No More Tears Sister.
[
]
Medical profession
In 1978, Rajani began her first posting as an intern medical doctor at the Jaffna Hospital. After the completion of the internship in 1979, she travelled to Haldumulla, a small village near Haputale
Haputale (; ) is a town of Badulla District in the Uva Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. The elevation is 1431 m (4695 ft) above the sea level. The area has a rich bio-diversity dense with numerous varieties of flora an ...
, to work as a medical doctor. By 1980 she had returned to Jaffna as a lecturer in anatomy at the newly formed Faculty of Medicine at the University of Jaffna. By then, Jaffna was a battle zone and in the early stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War. Many were leaving Jaffna for 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 ...
or migrating to other countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.
Links with LTTE
Inspired by her elder sister Nirmala, then a member of 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 ...
, Rajani became involved with the LTTE by administering care to those wounded in action. In 1983, Rajani travelled to England under Commonwealth scholarship for postgraduate studies in anatomy at the Liverpool Medical School. There, she launched a major international campaign for the release of her sister, who was imprisoned in 1982 under Sri Lanka's Prevention of Terrorism Act. She also maintained her links with LTTE by joining its London Committee to educate human rights groups and other international organisations about the atrocities occurring in Sri Lanka. While continuing to write and publish scientific papers, she also became implicated in grassroots organisations fighting for women's rights and against the discrimination of Britain's black people and became involved in the international campaigns of other liberation groups.
Human rights activist
Over time, constant exposure to politically motivated killings by armed groups on all sides caused Rajani to rethink her position on armed struggle. A determined idealist, she criticised the narrow nationalism of the LTTE and the atrocities committed by the LTTE, the Indian Peace Keeping Force
Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was the Indian military contingent performing a peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990. It was formed under the mandate of the 1987 Indo-Sri Lankan Accord that aimed to end the Sri Lanka ...
and the Sri Lankan government forces upon the innocent Tamil civilian population in Jaffna. She began to collect evidence of human rights violations of the Indian Peace Keeping Force and the LTTE. At the University of Jaffna, Rajani and some of her teacher colleagues founded the Jaffna branch of the University Teachers for Human Rights
The University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) or UTHR(J) was formed in 1988 at the University of Jaffna, Jaffna, in Sri Lanka, as part of the national organization University Teachers for Human Rights. Its public activities as a constituent ...
.
Having witnessed the evidence of human rights violations by the IPKF and the LTTE, Rajani co-authored a book, '' The Broken Palmyra''. The book documents the violence in Jaffna in the 1980s.
Death
A few weeks after the publication of her book ''The Broken Palmyra'', on 21 September 1989, Rajani was shot and killed at Thirunelvely, Jaffna in front of her house by a gunman while cycling back from work. The UTHR(J)
The University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) or UTHR(J) was formed in 1988 at the University of Jaffna, Jaffna, in Sri Lanka, as part of the national organization University Teachers for Human Rights. Its public activities as a constituent ...
and Rajani's sister accuse the LTTE of her murder as retaliation against her criticism of its violent tactics. However, the Tamil weekly ''Thinamurasu'' published an article in 1998 blaming the pro-Indian 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 ...
for the killing, alleging that a former EPRLF member who had been directly involved in the killing confessed to having carried it out on the order of IPKF Colonel Sasikumar. Though there has been dispute over the identity of her killers, her daughters have identified them as LTTE members.
Legacy and memorials
Documentary film
In a documentary released worldwide in 2005, '' No More Tears Sister'', produced by the National Film Board (NFB) of Canada, Rajani's life and legacy are brought to life. This film is available in free streaming on the site of the NFB. The film is written and directed by Helene Klodawsky with François Dagenais as its cinematographer. It runs for 80 min, 15 sec.
Book
The Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
novel ''Sugandhi Enna Aandal Devanayaki'', by the author T. D. Ramakrishnan, portrayed the life and times of Rajani. The author even paid tribute to Rajani by dedicating the novel to her and quoting '' No More Tears Sister''.
Rajani is also acknowledged as being the inspiration for the character Anjali Acca in the novel ''Brotherless Night'' by the author V. V. Ganeshananthan, which won the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2024.
Quotes
Embracing feminism
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
and a belief in human rights, Rajani felt that women in particular were the primary casualties of war:
wrote Rajani in 1989, a few months before she was killed.
See also
* Sri Lankan Civil War
References
External links
Dr. Rajani Thiranagama: Her contribution to the University Teachers for Human Rights (U.T.H.R.)
No More Tears Sister – Documentary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thiranagama, Rajani
1954 births
1989 deaths
Academic staff of the University of Jaffna
Alumni of Jaffna College
Alumni of the University of Colombo
Assassinated Sri Lankan activists
Deaths by firearm in Sri Lanka
Minority rights activists
People murdered in Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan Christians
Sri Lankan human rights activists
Sri Lankan Tamil people
Sri Lankan academics
Sri Lankan Tamil women
Sri Lankan women academics
Violence against women in Sri Lanka