Govinthan Karunakaran ( ta, கோவிந்தன் கருணாகரன்; born 1 October 1963), also known by the alias Jana ( ta, ஜனா), is a
Sri Lankan Tamil
Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pr ...
politician, former provincial councillor and
Member of Parliament.
Karunakaran was born on 1 October 1963.
He was educated at Cheddipalayam Maha Vidyalayam and
St. Michael's College National School
St. Michael's College National School (SMC; ta, புனித மிக்கேல் கல்லூரி தேசியப் பாடசாலை; known as St. Michael's College) is a national school in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. It was foun ...
.
Following the
Black July anti-Tamil
riots
A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people.
Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targeted ...
he left school in August 1983 and in November 1983 he joined
Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), a
Tamil militant group.
He received
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or Irregular military, irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, Raid (military), raids ...
training and June 1987 became TELO's regional leader in
Ampara District and
Batticaloa District.
Later he became general-secretary of TELO.
Karunakaran contested the
1989 parliamentary election as one of the
ENDLF/
EPRLF/
TELO/
TULF electoral alliance's candidates in
Batticaloa District and was elected to the
Parliament.
He contested the
2012 provincial council election as one of the
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) electoral alliance's candidates in Batticaloa District and was elected to the
Eastern Provincial Council. Karunakaran and the other newly elected TNA provincial councillors took their oaths on 28 September 2012 in front of TNA leader and Member of Parliament
R. Sampanthan
Rajavarothiam Sampanthan ( ta, இராஜவரோதயம் சம்பந்தன்; si, රාජවරෝදියම් සම්බන්දන්; born 5 February 1933) is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician and lawyer who has led the Ta ...
.
Karunakaran contested the
2015 parliamentary election as one of the TNA's candidates in Batticaloa District but failed to get elected.
He contested the
2020 parliamentary election as a TNA candidate in Batticaloa District and was re-elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karunakaran, G.
1963 births
Alumni of St. Michael's College National School
Living people
Members of the 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka
Members of the 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka
Members of the Eastern Provincial Council
People from Eastern Province, Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan Hindus
Tamil politicians
Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization politicians
Tamil National Alliance politicians