Dr. Rajani Thiranagama (née Rajasingham) (23 February 1954 – 21 September 1989) was a
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 ...
human rights activist and
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
who was assassinated by
Tamil Tigers
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
cadres after she had criticised them for their atrocities.
At the time of her assassination, she was the head of the Department of Anatomy at the
University of Jaffna
The University of Jaffna ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணப் பல்கலைக்கழகம், translit=Yāḻppāṇap Palkalaikkaḻakam; si, යාපනය විශ්වවිද්යාලය, ''Yāpanaya Viśvavidyālaya''; ...
and an active member of
University Teachers for Human Rights
*''For the figure in Norse mythology, see Urðr''
The University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) or UTHR(J) was formed in 1988 at the University of Jaffna, Jaffna, in Sri Lanka, as part of the national organization University Teachers for Human ...
, Jaffna, and was is one of its founding members.
Biography
Early life and education
Rajani was born 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 ...
, in northern
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 ...
, to middle-class Tamil Christian parents. She was the second of four female children. She attended primary and secondary school in Jaffna, and in 1973, she entered the
University of Colombo
(Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate)
, mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens''
, established =
, endowment = Sri Lankan rupee, LKR 1.461 1,000,000,000 (number), billion to study medicine. In university, she became actively involved in student politics.
Marriage and children
During her stay at Colombo University she met a politically active student leader from
Kelaniya University named Dayapala Thiranagama. Dayapala was from a rural Sinhala Buddhist background. Rajani broke ethnic and religious barriers and married Dayapala in 1977. They had two daughters: Narmada (1978) and Sharika, 1980. Narmada now lives in Britain and works for the public sector union
UNISON
In music, unison is two or more musical parts that sound either the same pitch or pitches separated by intervals of one or more octaves, usually at the same time. ''Rhythmic unison'' is another term for homorhythm.
Definition
Unison or per ...
. Political Anthropologist
Sharika Thiranagama currently teaches at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
, and is married to fellow anthropologist
Thomas Blom Hansen
Thomas Blom Hansen (born 22 January 1958 in Frederiksvaerk) is a Danish anthropologist and leading contemporary commentator on religious and political violence in India.
Background
Hansen has a BA in Sociology and an MA in political theory from ...
. In 2005, Sharika portrayed the role of her mother in a documentary film on Rajani, ''No More Tears Sister''.
[
]
Medical profession
In 1978, Rajani began her first posting as an intern medical doctor at the Jaffna Hospital. After the completion of the internship in 1979, she travelled to Haldumulla, a small village near Haputale
Haputale ( si, හපුතලේ; ta, ஹபுதலே) is a town of Badulla District in the Uva Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. The elevation is 1431 m (4695 ft) above the sea level. The area has a rich bio-diver ...
, to work as a medical doctor. By 1980 she had returned to Jaffna as a lecturer in Anatomy at the newly formed Faculty of Medicine at the University of Jaffna. By then, Jaffna was a battle zone and in the early stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War. Many were leaving Jaffna for 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 ...
or migrating to other countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.
Links with LTTE
Inspired by her elder sister Nirmala, then a member of 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 ...
, Rajani became involved with the LTTE by administering care to those wounded in action. In 1983, Rajani travelled to England under Commonwealth scholarship for postgraduate studies in Anatomy at the Liverpool Medical School
The University of Liverpool School of Medicine is a medical school located in Liverpool, United Kingdom and a part of the University of Liverpool. It is one of the largest medical schools in the UK, and in 1903 became one of the first to be i ...
. There, she launched a major international campaign for the release of her sister, who was imprisoned in 1982 under Sri Lanka's Prevention of Terrorism Act. She also maintained her links with LTTE by joining its London Committee to educate human rights groups and other international organisations about the atrocities occurring in Sri Lanka. While continuing to write and publish scientific papers, she also became implicated in grassroots organisations fighting for women's rights and against the discrimination of Britain's black people and became involved in the international campaigns of other liberation groups.
Human rights activist
Over time, constant exposure to politically-motivated killings by armed groups on all sides caused Rajani to rethink her position on armed struggle. A determined idealist, she criticised the narrow nationalism of the LTTE and the atrocities committed by the LTTE, the Indian Peace Keeping Force
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 Lankan ...
and the Sri Lankan government forces upon the innocent Tamil civilian population in Jaffna. She began to collect evidence of human rights violations of the Indian Peace Keeping Force and the LTTE. At the University of Jaffna, Rajani and some of her teacher colleagues founded the Jaffna branch of the University Teachers for Human Rights
*''For the figure in Norse mythology, see Urðr''
The University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) or UTHR(J) was formed in 1988 at the University of Jaffna, Jaffna, in Sri Lanka, as part of the national organization University Teachers for Human ...
.
Having witnessed the evidence of human rights violations by the IPKF and the LTTE, Rajani co-authored a book, '' The Broken Palmyra''. The book documents the violence in Jaffna in the 1980s.
Assassination
A few weeks after the publication of her book ''The Broken Palmyra'', on 21 September 1989, she was shot dead at Thirunelvely, Jaffna in front of her house by a gunman while cycling back from work. University Teachers for Human Rights, Jaffna and Rajani's sister accuse the LTTE of her murder to retaliate against her criticism of its violent tactics.
Legacy and memorials
Documentary film
In a documentary released worldwide in 2005, '' No More Tears Sister'', produced by the National Film Board (NFB) of Canada, Rajani's life and her legacy are brought to life. This film is available in free streaming on the site of the NFB.
Book
The Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
novel ''Sugandhi Enna Aandal Devanayaki'', by the author T. D. Ramakrishnan, portrayed the life and times of Rajani. The author even paid tribute to Rajani by dedicating the novel to her and quoting '' No More Tears Sister''.
Quotes
Embracing feminism
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
and a belief in human rights, Rajani felt that women in particular were the primary casualties of war:
wrote Rajani in 1989, a few months before she was killed.
See also
* Sri Lankan Civil War
References
External links
Dr. Rajani Thiranagama: Her contribution to the University Teachers for Human Rights (U.T.H.R.)
No More Tears Sister – Documentary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thiranagama, Rajani
1954 births
1989 deaths
Academics of the University of Jaffna
Alumni of Jaffna College
Alumni of the University of Colombo
Assassinated Sri Lankan activists
Deaths by firearm in Sri Lanka
Minority rights activists
People murdered in Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan Christians
Sri Lankan human rights activists
Sri Lankan Tamil academics
Sri Lankan Tamil women
Sri Lankan women academics
Indian Peace Keeping Force