Neelan Tiruchelvam

Who was Neelan Tiruchelvam?

Neelan Tiruchelvam was a Sri Lankan Tamil politician and an internationally respected academic. He was assassinated by an LTTE suicide bomber in July 1999.

Neelan Tiruchelvam was a scholar, an international activist and a legislator, as well as a practicing lawyer, social scientist and politician. Dr. Tiruchelvam was assassinated on July 29, 1999. Before his assassination, he had worked with his childhood friend, President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prof. G. L. Peiris on a devolution package which he hoped would address the historical demands of the Tamils.

As a peacemaker, he worked to resolve the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka through non-violent political means, including consensus building, negotiation and constitutional reform. Dr. Tiruchelvam was the founder and Director of the International Centre for Ethnic Studies and the founder and Director of the The Law and Society Trust two of Sri Lanka's leading research and policy organisations.

In his career as a public intellectual, Dr. Tiruchelvam built bridges and sought common ground in a deeply divided society through scholarship, activism and politics. His thoughts and actions were animated by a personal philosophy of humanism, peace and non-violence. Firmly committed to change and reform for resolving deep-rooted problems of the Sri Lankan society, he sought to spearhead transformation through dialogue, tolerance and deliberation.