Ponnuthurai Sivakumaran

Who was Ponnuthurai Sivakumaran?

Ponnuthurai Sivakumaran, also known as Sivakumaran or Urumpirai Sivakumaran, was from Urumpirai, Sri Lanka. He was one of the early militant of the Tamil Eelam struggle. He was a progressive man with reformist ideas for the Tamils. He held Alfred Duraiappah Jaffna Mayor, responsible for the after 1974 Tamil conference deaths. He was looking for an opportunity to assassinate Duraiappah.

However on June 5, 1974 he was surrounded by the Sri Lankan Police. Fearing torture he swallowed cyanide and killed himself. Hence was born the cyanide culture in the Tamil militancy. It is claimed Sivakumaran is the first Tamil militant to die for the cause. During the early days Sivakumaran associated with Nadarajah Thangathurai, but later he formed his own group by the name Sivakumaran's Group.

See below list for other early days Tamil militants.

History

Ponnuthurai Sivakumaran, also known as Sivakumaran or Urumpirai Sivakumaran, was from Urumpirai, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. He was one of the pioneers of the Tamil Eelam struggle. He held Alfred Duraiappah, the then Jaffna Mayor, responsible for the 1974 Tamil conference deaths. He was looking for an opportunity to assassinate Duraiappah.