Nagalingam Shanmugathasan ( ta, நாகலிங்கம் சண்முகதாசன், 1920 – 8 February 1993) was a trade unionist and

Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...

revolutionary leader 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 ...

. He was the General Secretary of the

Ceylon Communist Party (Maoist) Ceylon Communist Party (Maoist) is a political party in Sri Lanka. The party surged in 1964 following a split in the Ceylon Communist Party. Initially the party just called itself 'Ceylon Communist Party' as well, and was distinguished from the ...

Early life and family

Shanmugathasan hailed from a family of modest means in the town of

Manipay Manipay or Maanippaai ( ta, மானிப்பாய்) is an affluent town in the northern Jaffna District of Sri Lanka. The original name of Manipay is Periyapulam. It was a mission location when the American Ceylon Mission (ACM) came to S ...

in Jaffna District. He began studying history at the

University College Colombo Ceylon University College was a public university college in Ceylon. Established in 1921, it was Ceylon's first attempt at university education. The college didn't award degrees under its own name but prepared students to sit the University of Lo ...

in 1938, where he first came into contact with communist ideas and met supporters of the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPG ...

who had returned from studying at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. In 1939 he and two fellow students were suspended, but soon reinstated, from the university for distributing anti-imperialist flyers after the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Shanmugathasan gained notoriety among the students after this action and in 1940 won in the student election to become General Secretary of the University Union Society. The next year he was elected President of the Society. In the meantime, he was organising a group of Communists among the students that opposed both British imperialism and the Trotskyists of the

Lanka Sama Samaja Party The Lanka Sama Samaja Party, often abbreviated as LSSP (Literal translation, literally: Lanka Socialist Party, Sinhalese language, Sinhala: ලංකා සම සමාජ පක්ෂය, Tamil language, Tamil: லங்கா சமசமா� ...

. After graduating from the

University of Ceylon The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Univer ...

in 1943, Shanmugathasan joined the trade union movement, and became a full-time activist of the

Ceylon Communist Party The Communist Party of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ කොමියුනිස්ට් පක්ෂය, ''Sri Lankavay Komiyunist Pakshaya'' ta, இலங்கை கம்யூனிஸ்ட் கட்சி, trans ...

. He became the head of the Ceylon Trade Union Federation and led several strikes, including the general strike of 1947, the

Hartal Hartal () is a term in many Indian languages for a strike action that was first used during the Indian independence movement (also known as the nationalist movement) of the early 20th century. A hartal is a mass protest, often involving a total sh ...

(general strike) of 1953, and a transport strike in 1955. Shanmugathasan married with Parameswari, the widow wife of veteran Communist leader Hon. Pon Kandiah. Also Shanmugathasan adopted Hon. Pon Kandiah's daughter – Dr. Radha Thambirajah. She is a lecturer of

Acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientifi ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Anti-Soviet and pro-Chinese stand

In the aftermath of the Soviet-Chinese split of the Communist movement, he and Premalal Kumarasiri were expelled from the

's Politburo in 1963 for pro-Mao views and they formed a new Party with the same name as Ceylon Communist Party.China's Dilemma in Ceylon
, Radio Free Europe, 20 April 1971 In 1964 he became the general secretary of the Ceylon Communist Party (Peking Wing) (later CCP(Maoist)). He contested the 1965 general election as a Communist Party (Peking Wing) candidate, but was unsuccessful: he won only 0.5% of the vote.Radio Free Europe The party at its ninth Congress held in 1969 upheld Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse-tung Thought and the

Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

.Central Organizing Committee, Ceylon Communist Party (Maoist), 1993 Shanmugathasan visited China twice during the Cultural Revolution and was important enough to have addressed thousands of

Red Guards Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard lead ...

. After the formation of the

Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marxist–Leninist communist party in India and one of the nine national parties in the country. The CPI was founded in modern-day Kanpur (formerly known as Cawnpore) on 26 December 1925. His ...

, which conducted armed struggle with the

Communist Party of India (Maoist) The Communist Party of India (Maoist) is a Marxism–Leninism–Maoism, Marxist–Leninist–Maoist banned Communism, communist political party and militant organization in India which aims to overthrow the "semi-colonial and semi-feudal In ...

as a part of the Naxalite Insurgency, Shanmugathasan played the role of liaison between China and CPI(ML).Singh, Prakash. ''The Naxalite Movement in India''. New Delhi: Rupa & Co., 1999. p. 24. In 1971 Shanmugathasan was imprisoned for one year during a crackdown on revolutionaries following the

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP; ) is a Marxist–Leninist communist party and a former militant organization in Sri Lanka. The movement was involved in two armed uprisings against the government of Sri Lanka: once in 1971 (SLFP), and anot ...

(''People's Liberation Front'') rebellion. Shanmugathasan was targeted by the government for his espousal of armed revolution for political change and for being identified as one of the political mentors of

Rohana Wijeweera Patabendi Don Jinadasa Nandasiri Wijeweera ( si, පටබැඳි දොන් ජිනදාස නන්දසිරි විජෙවීර; 14 July 1943 – 13 November 1989, better known by his ''nom de guerre'' Rohana Wijeweera, was a ...

, the founding leader of the JVP. While detained in prison Shanmugathasan authored a book, ''A Marxist Looks at the History of Ceylon''. In 1973, Shanmugathasan's party was estimated by the

US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

to have approximately 500 to 800 cadre, and possessed "the ability to control the Ceylon Trade Union Federation and the Ceylon Plantation Workers' Union with a combined membership of some 110,000".

Anti-Chinese stand

In 1976, after the death of Mao Tse-tung and the defeat of the

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...

and the revolutionary pro-Mao forces in China, Shanmugathasan sided with the pro-Mao forces internationally. He played an important role in the foundation of the

Revolutionary Internationalist Movement The Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (RIM) was an international communist organization founded in France in March 1984 by 17 various Maoist organisations around the world. It sought to "struggle for the formation of a Communist Internation ...

, which he hailed as a "milestone in the history of the international communist movement".''On the Death of Comrade Sanmugathasan – Statement by the Committee of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement''
15 February 1993 In 1991 he convened a conference of the Communist Party of Ceylon (Maoist) to promote new leadership and assure the longevity of the party.

Political mentor

Sri Lankan former President

Maithripala Sirisena Maithripala Yapa Sirisena ( si, පල්ලෙවත්‍ත ගමරාළලාගේ මෛත්‍රීපාල යාපා සිරිසේන; ta, பல்லேவத்த கமராளலாகே மைத்திரி� ...

commenced his political career under Shanmugathasan in the

. S. K. Senthivel the General Secretary of the New-Democratic Marxist-Leninist Party has started his full time political career under Shanmugathasan in 1964 and worked closely with him till 1978. In 1965,

learned from Shanmugathasan to lead the revolutionary faction of the

. Later he formed the

or JVP.

Stand on the Tamil Nationalism

Shanmugathasan was one of few national level politicians of

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 ...

origin. He did not accept the Tamil Nationalism and the decision of the Tamils

self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...

till 1983, when the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

broke out. Still, he did not express support towards the

Separatists Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seeking greate ...

Final days

His last public appearance was at the first press conference of the International Emergency Committee to Defend the Life of Dr

Abimael Guzmán Manuel Rubén Abimael Guzmán Reynoso (; 3 December 1934 − 11 September 2021), also known by his '' nom de guerre'' Chairman Gonzalo ( es, Presidente Gonzalo), was a Peruvian Maoist revolutionary and guerrilla leader, considered a terrorist ...

in London. He died of natural causes on 8 February 1993 in England, where he had gone for medical treatment near the end of his life.

Works

This is a partial list of books and articles written by Shanmugathasan. * ''A Marxist Looks at the History of Ceylon'', 1974, Colombo: Sarasavi Printers * ''The Bright Red Banner of Mao Tse-tung Thought'', 1969, Colombo: Communist Party Publications, written to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China
excerpt from Chapter IV
* "Castro Joins Anti-China Chorus," ''Peking Review'', Vol. 9, No. 9, 25 February 1966

originally published in ''A World to Win'' magazine * ''How Can the Working Class Achieve Power? A Selection of Articles of Interest to the Working Class Movement'', 1963, Colombo: Worker Publications * ''The Lessons of the October Revolution'', 1964, Colombo: Workers' Pub. House * "N. Sanmugathasan on Indonesian Revolution," ''Peking Review'', Vol. 9, #37, 9 September 1966 * "Nurtured by Mao Tse-tung’s Thought, China Grows Young," ''Peking Review'', Vol. 9, #46, 11 November 1966 * ''Political Memoirs of an Unrepentant Communist'', 1989, Colombo
excerpts online
*

" ''Race & Class, A Journal for Black & Third World Liberation'', Volume XXVI, Summer 1984, No. 1: ''Sri Lanka: Racism and the Authoritarian State''
''Some Notes on Mao's Philosophy''
1986 *

" ''Peking Review'', Vol. 11, No. 43, 25 October 1968, pp. 22–23

References

External links

by M.N. Ravunni, Kerala Communist Party

statement by the Committee of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement, 15 February 1993

by the Central Organizing Committee, Ceylon Communist Party (Maoist)
''Sanmugathasan, the Unrepentant Left and the Ethnic Crisis in Sri Lanka''
by Ravi Vaitheespara {{DEFAULTSORT:Shanmugathasan, Nagalingam 1920 births 1993 deaths Alumni of the Ceylon University College Anti-revisionists Maoists Sri Lankan communists Sri Lankan revolutionaries Sri Lankan Tamil politicians Sri Lankan Tamil trade unionists