More than a quarter century has gone since the brutal murder of Tamil human rights activist and feminist Dr. Rajani Thiranagama in Jaffna by an assassin deputed allegedly by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The then head of the department of anatomy at the University of Jaffna, who broke religious and ethnic barriers to marry a social activist with Sinhala Buddhist background and dared to become a distinct human rights activist in Sri Lanka by criticising both Sinhala chauvinism and narrow nationalism of the LTTE as well as the alleged brutalities of the Indian Peace Keeping Force, is now winning admiration in the Malayalam literary world for a different reason.
Her life and struggles have inspired novelist T.D. Ramakrishnan to pen his latest bestseller, ‘Suganthi Enna Andal Devanayaki.’
The novel has already won high critical acclaim in Malayalam and its English and Tamil versions are fast getting ready.
A senior official with Southern Railway, Mr. Ramakrishnan has translated a number of Tamil literary works to Malayalam and constantly followed the ethnic strife in Sri Lanka for several years.
“Sri Lanka’s contemporary history is the background of my novel. I have taken a different approach in the novel with historical facts as solid background for weaving fantasy,” he says.
“It was Rajani’s assassination that forced me to look into the complexities of the ethnic divide in Sri Lanka. Inspired by her elder sister Nirmala, a LTTE member, Rajani also involved with the ultra nationalist group mainly by administering care to those wounded in action.
“In 1983, Rajani travelled to England under a Commonwealth scholarship for postgraduate studies in anatomy at Liverpool Medical School. Even that shifting from the troubled nation to a far better living atmosphere had not deterred her from raising her voice against injustice.’’
She was sympathetic to the LTTE.
But, she later realised the futility of armed struggles and became a critic of the Tigers’ atrocities.
“What really moved me was her return to the war-torn Jaffna to rebuild the university and work there for her own people. I am not sure it was LTTE that killed her. But it was her sincerity to the cause and boldness to say the truth that resulted in her murder and that had inspired my novel,’’ says Mr. Ramakrishnan.
K.A. Shaji
T.D. Ramakrishnan’s Suganthi Enna Andal Devanayaki wins acclaim in Malayalam literary circles .
