Charles Lucas Anthony ( ta, சாள்ஸ் லூக்காஸ் அன்ரனி; 11 December 1960 – 15 July 1983; commonly known by the nom de guerre Seelan) was a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel and leading member of the

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

(LTTE), a separatist Tamil militant organisation in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Early life and family

Anthony was born on 11 December 1960. He was from

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

in eastern

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and a Roman Catholic. He was educated at Sri Koneswara Hindu College in Trincomalee. He is said to have participated in the burning of the

Sri Lankan flag The flag of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ජාතික කොඩිය, translit=Śrī Laṃkāvē jāthika kodiya; ta, இலங்கையின் தேசியக்கொடி, translit=Ilankaiyin teciyakkoṭi ...

when it was hoisted at the school on republic day in 1972.

LTTE

Anthony was one of the founding members of the

militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...

(LTTE). He took on the

nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

"Seelan". Seelan was a close friend and confidante of LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran. Whilst Prabhakaran was India, Seelan, together with

Mahattaya Gopalaswamy Mahendraraja (1956 – 28 December 1994), also known as Mahattaya was a member of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam who was killed for leaking secrets to India's RAW. Personal life Gopalaswamy Mahendraraja was related to Velu ...

and Ragu, were in charge of the LTTE in Sri Lanka. Later Seelan served as military chief of the LTTE. Seelan is credited with transforming the LTTE into the leading Tamil militant group. The first attack on the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

by Tamil militants took place on 15 October 1981 when the LTTE ambushed an army jeep the KKS Road in

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...

and Seelan shot dead two soldiers (H. G. W. Hewawasam and H. M. P. Thisera). Seelan is also believed to have been responsible for the shooting dead of Sivashanmugamoorthy (alias Sundaram), deputy leader of People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam and editor of the ''Puthiya Pathai'' (New Way) magazine, at the Chitra Press in Jaffna on 2 January 1982. On 27 October 1982 Seelan led a group LTTE cadres (Aruna, Bashir Kaka Mahattaya, Pulendran, Raghu, Santhosam and Shankar) who attacked the police station in

Chavakachcheri Chavakachcheri ( ta, சாவகச்சேரி Cāvakaccēri, si, ජාවකච්චේරි Jāvakachchēri) is a large town in the Jaffna peninsula of Jaffna District, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It may have Javanese origins, as ...

, killing three police officers (Kandiah, Karunanandan and Tilakaratne) and stealing a large amount of arms and ammunition. Seelan was seriously wounded after being shot in the knee. He was driven to the house of

University of Jaffna The University of Jaffna ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணப் பல்கலைக்கழகம், translit=Yāḻppāṇap Palkalaikkaḻakam; si, යාපනය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ''Yāpanaya Viśvavidyālaya''; ...

lecturer M. Niththyanandan and his wife Nirmala in

for medical treatment. He was then moved to

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

for further medical treatment and didn't return to Sri Lanka until February 1983. Niththyanandan and Nirmala were arrested on 18 November 1982. On 6 July 1983 a group of LTTE cadres, including Seelan and Sellakili (Sathasivam Chelvanayakam), stole five exploders from Kankesanthurai Cement Factory. Brigadier

J. G. Balthazar Brigadier Jerome Gautier "Lyle" Balthazar was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer who served as Commander, Security Forces Jaffna and Chief of Staff of the Army. Early life and education Born in the east coast town of Batticalo, Balthazar was educat ...

, the commander of the Sri Lankan security forces in the north, received a tip-off from a police officer on 15 July 1983 that Seelan, the most wanted Tamil militant after Prabhakaran, was operating from a house in a coconut grove at Meesalai near Chavakachcheri. As the army arrived at the house that evening, Seelan and three other LTTE cadres (Anand, Aruna and Ganesh) fled on bicycles. As the soldiers pursued the LTTE cadres and opened fire, Seelan, who was handicapped by the injuries sustained at Chavakachcheri police station, abandoned his bicycle and ran through a paddy field. The soldiers continued the pursuit and kept firing, killing Anand and injuring Seelan in the knee. As Aruna went to help Seelan, who was struggling to keep up, Seelan asked Aruna to shoot him and escape. Aruna protested but Seelan ordered him to shoot. Aruna placed the barrel of his rifle on Seelan's forehead and shot him dead before escaping in a hijacked car. The LTTE

ambush An ambush is a long-established military tactics, military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbru ...

on the army on 23 July 1983 which killed 15 soldiers and several LTTE members is believed to have been revenge for Seelan's death. The Charles Anthony Brigade was named after Seelan. Prabhakaran's eldest son Charles Anthony was also named after Seelan. A memorial to Seelan and a children's park named after Seelan were built at Meesalai-Allarai. After the Sri Lankan military re-captured the

Thenmarachchi Thenmarachchi is one of the three historic regions of the Jaffna peninsula in northern Sri Lanka. The other two regions are Vadamarachchi and Valikamam. Thenmarachchi is sometimes spelt Thenmarachi, Thenmaraachi or Thenmaraadchi. This area, lik ...

region in 1995 they destroyed the memorial and children's park. The memorial was re-built in 2003 during the Norwegian mediated Cease Fire Agreement.

References

External links

Eelam View

Veeravengaikal.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seelan 1960 births 1983 deaths Alumni of R. K. M. Sri Koneswara Hindu College Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam members Place of birth missing People from Trincomalee Sri Lankan Roman Catholics Sri Lankan Tamil rebels