Operation Poomalai (''Pūmālai'', lit. "Flower Garland"), also known as Eagle Mission 4, was the codename assigned to a mission undertaken by the
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...
for airdropping supplies over the besieged town of
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 ...
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 ...
on 4 June 1987 to support the
Tamil Tigers
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
during the
Sri Lankan Civil War.
Jaffna was then under blockade by Sri Lankan troops as a part of
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
's offensive against the Tamil separatist movement. Concerned over alleged violations of interests of the
Tamils
The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...
, who had broader support among the Tamil population of
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
as well as the government, India attempted to negotiate a political settlement but the Indian offers had been rebuffed by Colombo. As civilian casualties grew,
[Sri Lanka in 1987: Indian Intervention and Resurgence of the JVP. Pfaffenberger B. Asian Survey, Vol. 28, No. 2, A Survey of Asia in 1987: Part II. (Feb., 1988), pp. 139] calls grew within India to intervene in what was increasingly seen in the Indian (and the Tamil) media as a developing humanitarian crisis, especially with reports of aerial bombardment against rebel positions in civilian areas.
[
The Indian government, under ]Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...
, decided to attempt to deliver aid to the northern area of Sri Lanka as a symbolic act of support to the rebels. The first of those efforts, a naval flotilla, was intercepted by the Sri Lanka Navy
ta, இலங்கை கடற்படை
, image = Sri Lanka Naval Seal.png
, image_size = 180px
, caption = Emblem of Sri Lanka Navy
, dates =
, c ...
and was ordered to withdraw. Two days later, India mounted the airdrop over Jaffna.
Background
The ethnic conflict 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 ...
can be traced to the independence of the island in 1948 from Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
. At the time a Sinhala majority government was instituted that passed legislation deemed discriminatory by the substantial Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
minority population. In the 1970s two major Tamil parties united to form the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) that started agitating for a separate state of Tamil Eelam
Tamil Eelam ( ta, தமிழீழம், ''tamiḻ īḻam''; generally rendered outside Tamil-speaking areas as தமிழ் ஈழம்) is a proposed independent state that many Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora as ...
within the system in a federal structure in northern and eastern Sri Lanka that would grant the Tamils greater autonomy. Outside the TULF, however, factions advocating more radical and militant courses of action soon emerged, and the divisions started flaring into a violent civil war.[
The first round of violence flared in 1983 when the ]Four Four Bravo
Four Four Bravo was the call sign of a fifteen-man Sri Lankan Army patrol, deployed in the Jaffna Peninsula on July 23, 1983. The patrol was ambushed and thirteen of its members were killed by the LTTE. This incident sparked the Black July ri ...
incident occurred, which sparked anti-Tamil riots in which nearly 3000 Tamil civilians were killed by state-sponsored mobs. The riots only aided in the deterioration of the already worsening ethnic strife. The militant factions, notably the LTTE
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
, at this time recruited in large numbers and continued building on popular Tamil dissent and stepped up the guerrilla activities. In May 1985, the guerrillas launched an attack in Sri Maha Bodhi shrine, a sacred site for Buddhists & it houses the world's oldest living human-planted tree, planted in 288 BC. This was followed by a massacre through the town. At least 150 civilians and monks died in the attack. This event is known as the Anuradhapura massacre
The Anuradhapura massacre occurred in Sri Lanka in 1985 and was carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. This was the largest massacre of Sinhalese civilians by the LTTE to date; it was also the first major operation carried out by t ...
. This was also seen as retaliation for the 1985 Valvettiturai massacre which occurred 2 days prior. In this incident, 70 tamil youths were forced by the Sri Lankan Army to gather within the town's library before it was blown up using high explosives.
The government stepped up its campaign against the insurgency, and the Sri Lankan army in 1987 laid siege to the town of 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 ...
, an LTTE stronghold, as part of its campaign against the Tamil bases known as the Vadamarachchi Operation.["India Airlifts Aid to Tamil Rebels"]
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. 5 June 1987 India, which had a substantial Tamil population in the southern part of the country, had been aiding the Tamil factions and particularly the LTTE
and called on the Sri Lankan government to halt the offensive, which was viewed to be against the sovereign rights of a nation. However, the Indian efforts were futile. Failing to negotiate an end to the crisis with Sri Lanka, India announced on 2 June 1987 that it would send a convoy of ships to northern Sri Lanka to provide humanitarian assistance.["Indians To Send convoy to Sri Lanka", '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. 2 June 1987 A convoy of 19 fishing boats carrying 38 tons of food, fuel, and medicine and an Indian Coast Guard
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is a maritime law enforcement and search and rescue agency of India with jurisdiction over its territorial waters including its contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone. The Indian Coast Guard was formally esta ...
vessel escorting them was sent. On 4 June 1987, the Sri Lanka Navy
ta, இலங்கை கடற்படை
, image = Sri Lanka Naval Seal.png
, image_size = 180px
, caption = Emblem of Sri Lanka Navy
, dates =
, c ...
intercepted and turned back the convoy. Several Sri Lankan patrol boats confronted the convoy as it entered Sri Lankan waters in the Palk Strait
The Palk Strait ( ta, பாக்கு நீரிணை ''Pākku Nīriṇai'', si, පෝක් සමුද්ර සන්ධිය ''Pok Samudra Sandhiya'') is a strait between the Tamil Nadu state of India and the Jaffna Distric ...
and after a four-hour standoff, the Indian convoy turned back.["Indian Flotilla is turned back by Sri Lankan Naval Vessels", '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. 4 June 1987
Following the failure of the naval mission, the decision was made of symbolic support for the Tamil rebels as well as an act to preserve the credibility of Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...
among the country's Tamil population—by the Indian Government
The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the Government, national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy lo ...
to carry out an airdrop of the humanitarian supplies to the LTTE, designated Operation Poomalai or Eagle Mission 4.
Operation
Mounted on the evening of 4 June 1987, the operation involved five An-32
The Antonov An-32 (NATO reporting name: Cline) is a turboprop twin-engined military transport aircraft.
Design and development
The An-32 is essentially a re-engined An-26. It is designed to withstand adverse weather conditions better than the s ...
s of the Paratroop Training School in Agra
Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...
, escorted by five Mirage 2000
The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force (''Arm ...
s of the No. 7 Squadron. At 2200 on 2 June, 7 Squadron was directed to send a six aircraft detachment to Bangalore Airport
Kempegowda International Airport is an international airport serving Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka, India. Spread over , it is located about north of the city near the suburb of Devanahalli. It is owned and operated by Bengaluru Inte ...
, where they were re-directed to Yelahanka
Yelahanka is now a suburb of Bangalore in the state of Karnataka and one of the zones of BBMP. It is the oldest part of present Municipal Bengaluru (Bangalore) city and is in the north of the city. It is Nadaprabhu Kempegowda I, of the Yelaha ...
airbase north of the city. At the same time, under the supervision of the (then) Vice-Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal S. Raghavendran, five An-32s were loaded with the relief supplies and took off for Bangalore at 0800. These were to fly out—led by Gp. Capt. B.K. Sunder, CO of Paratroop Training School—after dawn and carry out the supply drop under the cover of the Mirages, which were led by Wg. Cdr. Ajit Bhavnani, CO of No. 7 Squadron.[ A group of 35 national and international journalists also joined the flight. The Mirages were armed with two Matra Magic II AAMs and 2× 30 mm DEFA 554 revolver cannon with 125 rounds each as a measure against any opposition by the ]Sri Lanka Air Force
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) ( si, ශ්රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව, Śrī Laṃkā guwan hamudāva; ta, இலங்கை விமானப்படை, Ilaṅkai vimāṉappaṭai) is the air arm and the yo ...
, and also carried three drop tanks
In aviation, a drop tank (external tank, wing tank or belly tank) is used to describe auxiliary fuel tanks externally carried by aircraft. A drop tank is expendable and often capable of being jettisoned. External tanks are commonplace on modern ...
.
Sri Lankan High Commissioner to New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
Bernard Tilakaratna
Bernard Tilakaratna, SLOS (1927–2004) was a senior diplomat and bureaucrat of the Sri Lankan government. He was an ambassador to many countries and prior to retirement was the permanent secretary to Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Early life
He w ...
was summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs at 15:00, where the message was conveyed by Minister of External Affairs Natwar Singh that the Indian Air Force would be flying a mission at 16:00 to drop supplies over Jaffna. He was told that the aircraft were expected to complete their mission unhindered and any opposition by the Sri Lankan Air Force "would be met by force" by the escorting Mirage 2000s.[
The first of the flights left Bangalore at 15:55 and flew towards the Coramandel coast, where they were met by four Mirage escorts. One Mirage stayed back acting as radio relay, along with two additional An-32s over ]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 ...
, which acted as radio relay to Bangalore. The An-32s carried almost 25 tons of relief supplies, consisting of rice, milk powder, vegetables, and kerosene.INDIAN AIR FORCE DROPS SUPPLIES TO SRI LANKAN TAMILS
/ref>
The flight leader attempted radio contact with Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
ATC over the civilian air traffic radio channel at 16:47, but was unable to establish contact. The mission approached Jaffna peninsula at about 16:50 and sighted Jaffna Town itself at 17:00. The aircraft descended from 12000 feet to about 1500 feet and carried out the drop at the drop zone about 7 km from the town of Jaffna. The aircraft then turned in a western direction, flying over Palay airbase before turning north and heading for the Indian coast.
The mission arrived back to over Bangalore at 18:13.
Aftermath
In the wake of Operation Poomalai, Sri Lanka accused India of violating its sovereignty.["IAF drops relief supplies over Jaffna". '']The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'', 5 June 1987. However, India defended its actions as a mercy mission in aid of what were termed as the deteriorating conditions of the civilian population, refusing at the time to rule out further missions.[
Within India, the actions were endorsed across the political diaspora] In India, it was seen at the time as an act of support against the beleaguered and besieged Tamil population of the north – an opinion that was destined to undergo a drastic reversal after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...
by the LTTE in 1991. At that time, Colombo deemed it as a blatant show of support for the Tamil Tigers. The total supply air dropped by India during the operation amounted to little over 25 ton
Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses.
Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean
* the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds
...
s, and this was clearly not sufficient to sustain a besieged city.
See also
*Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...
* No. 7 Squadron IAF
* Sri Lankan Civil War
*IPKF
Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was the Indian military contingent performing a peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990. It was formed under the mandate of the 1987 Indo-Sri Lankan Accord that aimed to end the Sri Lank ...
*LTTE
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
*Raid on Jaffna University
The Jaffna University Helidrop was the first of the operations launched by the Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF) aimed at disarming the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by force and capturing the town of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, in the openi ...
References
{{coord missing, Sri Lanka
1987 in Sri Lanka
History of the Indian Air Force
1987 in India
Poomalai
''Poomalai'' () is 1965 Indian Tamil-language woman's film, directed by P. Neelakantan and written by M. Karunanidhi. The film was produced by Murasoli Maran under Karunanidhi's production company Meghala Pictures, which also distributed the f ...
Poomalai
''Poomalai'' () is 1965 Indian Tamil-language woman's film, directed by P. Neelakantan and written by M. Karunanidhi. The film was produced by Murasoli Maran under Karunanidhi's production company Meghala Pictures, which also distributed the f ...
Poomalai
''Poomalai'' () is 1965 Indian Tamil-language woman's film, directed by P. Neelakantan and written by M. Karunanidhi. The film was produced by Murasoli Maran under Karunanidhi's production company Meghala Pictures, which also distributed the f ...
Poomalai
''Poomalai'' () is 1965 Indian Tamil-language woman's film, directed by P. Neelakantan and written by M. Karunanidhi. The film was produced by Murasoli Maran under Karunanidhi's production company Meghala Pictures, which also distributed the f ...