Sarawanabavanandan Shanmuganathan (16 May 1960 – 15 July 1998; known as Vasanthan) was a Sri Lankan Tamil militant, politician and Member of Parliament. Shanmuganathan was born on 16 May 1960. He was a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

. He was a senior member of the militant People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam, serving as its commander in

Vavuniya Vavuniya (, romanized: ''Vavuṉiyā'', , romanized: ''Vavuniyāva''). Vavuniya City is the capital of Vavuniya District in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka and the largest city in the Northern Province. The municipality is administered by Va ...

. Shanmuganathan was member of

Vavuniya Urban Council Vavuniya Urban Council ( ta, வவுனியா நகர சபை ''Vavuṉiyā Nakara Capai''; VUC) is the Local government in Sri Lanka, local authority for the city of Vavuniya in northern Sri Lanka. VUC is responsible for providing a vari ...

. He contested the 1994 parliamentary election as one of the

Democratic People's Liberation Front Democratic People's Liberation Front−DPLF (), a registered political party in Sri Lanka and a front of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE). History DPLF was established in 1987. While People's Liberation Organisation of ...

's candidates in Vanni District and was elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. Shanmuganathan was killed by a

claymore mine The Claymore mine is a directional anti-personnel mine developed for the United States Armed Forces. Its inventor, Norman MacLeod, named the mine after a large medieval Scottish sword. Unlike a conventional land mine, the Claymore is command-de ...

in Irambaikkulam,

Vavuniya District Vavuniya (, romanized: ''Vavuṉiyā'', , romanized: ''Vavuniyāva''). Vavuniya City is the capital of Vavuniya District in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka and the largest city in the Northern Province. The municipality is administered by Va ...

on 15 July 1998. The assassination was blamed on the rival rebel

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 ...

. However, the pro-LTTE

TamilNet TamilNet is an online newspaper that provides news and feature articles on current affairs in Sri Lanka, specifically related to the erstwhile Sri Lankan Civil War. The website was formed by members of the Sri Lankan Tamil community residing ...

claimed that Shanmuganathan had been the victim of an internal conflict within the PLOTE.

References

1960 births 1998 deaths Democratic People's Liberation Front politicians Local authority councillors of Sri Lanka Members of the 10th Parliament of Sri Lanka Assassinated Sri Lankan politicians People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka People killed during the Sri Lankan Civil War People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam militants Sri Lankan Hindus Sri Lankan Tamil politicians Sri Lankan Tamil rebels Sri Lankan terrorism victims Terrorism deaths in Sri Lanka {{NorthernLK-politician-stub