Vaithilingam Sornalingam
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Vaithilingam Sornalingam (September 1949 – 26 September 2001; , alternative spellings include Vythilingam Sornalingam; often referred to by his ''
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 ...
'' Colonel Shankar) was the founder of the air wing and marine division 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) and a relative of the militant group's leader
Velupillai 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 ...
. He was educated in Sri Lanka, and worked for some time in Canada before returning to Sri Lanka and joining the LTTE.


Early life

Sornalingam was born in September 1949, the second of six sons. He studied at the Tamil Maha Vidyalayam in Vanni and later as a boarding student at
Hartley College Hartley College ( ''Hāṭlik Kallūri'') is a provincial school in Point Pedro, Sri Lanka. Founded in 1838 by British Methodist missionaries, it is one of Sri Lanka's oldest schools. The school is named after Wesleyan priest and missionary Rev. ...
in
Point Pedro Point Pedro, also known as Paruthithurai (; ) is a town, located in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. I ...
,
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, ...
between 1959 and 1969. While there, he lived in Thamotheram House, and proved himself a talented sportsman, representing the college in
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
and
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
. He then went on to the Hindustan Institute of Engineering Technology in Chennai, where he studied aeronautical engineering. Some time after completing his studies, he moved to
Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
, Canada, where he worked for
Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada, by size and passengers carried. Air Canada is headquartered in the borough of Saint-Laurent in the city of Montreal. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and cha ...
; while there, he was known to have become involved with the LTTE as early as 1973. Though he did not formally become a member of the LTTE at that time, he assisted in setting up their Office of Overseas Purchases, which was responsible for acquiring communications equipment, ships, radar, and armaments.


LTTE membership

From
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
, Sornalingam moved to
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
in July 1983, and from there went back to Sri Lanka; upon his return, he chose to become a full time member of the LTTE, and began his rise through the ranks. He participated in a gun battle near the Tamil Information Centre in
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
in 1985 in which he and his colleagues kidnapped the
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 ...
military commander Kannan. Kannan was later exchanged by the LTTE for Pottu Amman, who had been kidnapped earlier by the PLOTE. During these years, three of his brothers who were involved with the LTTE died: Manoharan committed suicide by
cyanide In chemistry, cyanide () is an inorganic chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Ionic cyanides contain the cyanide anion . This a ...
after his capture by the Sri Lankan navy; Vaseekaran, alias "Lieutenant Siddharth", died in a bomb blast when preparing for an attack in
Mannar Mannar may refer to the following places: India * Mannar, Alappuzha, a town in Chengannur Taluk, Kerala Sri Lanka * Mannar District, one of 25 districts in Sri Lanka ** Mannar Island, an island within the district ** Mannar Bridge, a bridge conne ...
and a third brother was arrested by Sri Lankan forces and presumed dead after no further news was heard of him. In 2000, Sornalingam accompanied Prabhakaran in his meeting with Norwegian envoy
Erik Solheim Erik Solheim (born 18 January 1955) is a Norwegian diplomat and former politician. He served in the Norwegian government from 2005 to 2012 as Minister of International Development and Minister of the Environment, and as Under-Secretary-General ...
, acting as an interpreter; he and political wing leader
S. P. Thamilselvan Suppayya Paramu Thamilselvan, commonly known as S. P. Tamilselvan, (sometimes transcribed as "Tamilchelvan"),''Sunday Times''Situation Report: SLAF regains its image with powerful strike/ref> was the leader of the political wing of the Liberatio ...
were the only ones whom Prabhakaran trusted closely enough to accompany him to that meeting.


Death

Sornalingam was killed by a
claymore mine The Claymore mine is a directional anti-personnel mine developed for the United States Armed Forces. Its inventor, Norman MacLeod, named the mine after a claymore, large medieval Scottish sword. Unlike a conventional land mine, the Claymore may ...
on 26 September 2001 at around 10:45 AM in the jungle near Vanni, while driving alone from
Oddusuddan Oddusuddan is a town in the Mullaitivu District, Sri Lanka. In Tamil Oddu-suddan translates to 'roof-tile-making-place'. It is located nearly halfway between Maankulam and Mullaitivu Mullaitivu (; ) is the main town of Mullaitivu District, si ...
to Puthukkudiyiruppu. Sornalingam's killing was part of a series of attempts around the same time on the lives of LTTE leaders, including Gangai Amaran and
S. P. Thamilselvan Suppayya Paramu Thamilselvan, commonly known as S. P. Tamilselvan, (sometimes transcribed as "Tamilchelvan"),''Sunday Times''Situation Report: SLAF regains its image with powerful strike/ref> was the leader of the political wing of the Liberatio ...
. An LTTE press release a few hours after his death attributed the attack to a special
deep penetration unit The Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) ( Sinhala: දිගු දුර විහිදුම් බලකාය ''Digu Dura Vihidum Balakaya'') is a Covert Operation unit of Sri Lanka Army. This unit is also known as the Deep Penetration U ...
of the
Sri Lankan army The Sri Lanka Army (; ) is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. The army was officially established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, though the army traces its roots back in 1881 when Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers was created; t ...
, and claimed that the date of his killing had been chosen deliberately to coincide with the anniversary of the death of
Thileepan Rasaiah Parthipan (; 29 November 1963 – 26 September 1987; commonly known by the nom de guerre Thileepan) was a Tamil Eelam revolutionary and member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist Tamil militant organisation ...
, who had died 14 years earlier in a hunger strike protesting the policies of the Sri Lankan government and 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 ...
. Government newspapers denied the LTTE's charges and instead attributed the attacks to an alleged internal power struggle in the LTTE. His funeral was held at the Great Heroes' Commemorative Hall in Mulliyawalai; he is survived by his elder brother, a doctor in the United Kingdom. The book ''ATM Interworking in Broadband Wireless Applications'' was also dedicated in his memory.


References


Further reading

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உருக்கினுள் உறைந்த பனிமலை
கேணல் சங்கர் - ஆக்கம்: க. வே. பாலகுமாரன் {{DEFAULTSORT:Shankar 1949 births 2001 deaths Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam members Sri Lankan Tamil rebels Sri Lankan rebels Sri Lankan Tamil politics Assassinated Sri Lankan people Alumni of Hartley College Alumni of Jaffna Hindu College