Rajini Rajasingham Thiranagama
Encyclopedia
Dr. Rajini Thiranagama (February 23, 1954-September 21, 1989) was a Tamil human rights activist and feminist
who was allegedly shot dead by Tamil Tigers cadres after she 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
and an active member of University Teachers for Human Rights
, Jaffna branch of which she is one of the founding members.
, in northern Sri Lanka
, to middle-class Tamil Christian
parents. She was the second child of the four female children. She followed her primary and secondary school education in Jaffna and in 1973, she entered the University of Colombo
to study medicine. At university, she became actively involved in student politics.
1977. They had two daughters: Narmada, (1978), and Sharika, 1980. At present Rajini's husband and Narmada live in England
. Sharika is currently living in California and is teaching at Stanford University. In 2005 Sharika portrayed her mother's role in the documetary film on Rajini called No More Tears Sister.
to work as a medical doctor. By 1980 she returned to Jaffna as a lecturer in anatomy in the newly-formed Faculty of Medicine at the University of Jaffna. By this time, Jaffna was a battle zone in the early stages of Sri Lanka's civil war. Many were leaving Jaffna for Colombo
or migrating to other countries including the United Kingdom
, Canada
, and Australia
.
, Rajini became involved with the LTTE, administering care to those wounded in action. In 1983, Rajini traveled to England
under Commonwealth scholarship for postgraduate studies in anatomy at Liverpool Medical School. There she launched a major international campaign for the release of her sister who was imprisoned in 1982 in under Sri Lanka's Prevention of Terrorism Act. She also maintained her links with LTTE by joining its London Committee in order to educate human rights groups and other international organizations about the atrocities occurring in Sri Lanka. While continuing to write and publish scientific papers, she also became implicated in grassroots organizations 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.
and the Sri Lankan government forces upon the innocent Tamil civilian population in Jaffna. She began to collect evidence of human rights violations of IPKF and LTTE.
At the University of Jaffna, Rajini and some of her teacher colleagues founded the Jaffna branch of the University Teachers for Human Rights
.
Having witnessed the evidence of human rights violations by the IPKF and LTTE, Rajini co-authored a book entitled The Broken Palmyra . The book documents the violence in Jaffna in the 1980s.
, Jaffna in front of her house by a gunman while cycling back from work. University Teachers for Human Rights, Jaffna and Rajini's sister accuse the LTTE of her murder, retaliating against her criticism of their violent tactics.
, produced by the National Film Board of Canada
, Rajini's life and her legacy are brought to life.
and a belief in human rights
, Dr, Rajini felt that women in particular were the primary casualties of war;
wrote Dr. Rajini in 1989, a few months before she was killed.
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
who was allegedly shot dead by Tamil Tigers cadres after she 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
University of Jaffna
Jaffna University is a public university in the city of Jaffna, Sri Lanka.- Overview :Jaffna University has four campuses; Thirunelveli, Marathanamadam, Kaithady and Vavuniya...
and an active member of University Teachers for Human Rights
University Teachers for Human Rights
For the figure in Norse mythology, see UrðrThe University Teachers for Human Rights or UTHR was formed in 1988 at the University of Jaffna, Jaffna in Sri Lanka as part of the national organization University Teachers for Human Rights. Its public activities as a constituent part of university life...
, Jaffna branch of which she is one of the founding members.
Early life and education
Rajini was born in JaffnaJaffna
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...
, in northern Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, to middle-class Tamil Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
parents. She was the second child of the four female children. She followed her primary and secondary school education in Jaffna and in 1973, she entered the University of Colombo
University of Colombo
The University of Colombo is a public research university located primarily in Colombo, Sri Lanka...
to study medicine. At 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 Thirangama. Dayapala was from a rural Sinhala Buddhist background. Rajini broke ethnic and religious barriers and married Dayapala in1977. They had two daughters: Narmada, (1978), and Sharika, 1980. At present Rajini's husband and Narmada live in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Sharika is currently living in California and is teaching at Stanford University. In 2005 Sharika portrayed her mother's role in the documetary film on Rajini called No More Tears Sister.
Medical Profession
1978 Rajini begins her first posting as an intern medical doctor at Jaffna Hospital. After the completion of the intern, in 1979 she traveled to Haldumulla, a small village situated near HaputaleHaputale
Haputale is a town in Badulla District, Sri Lanka. The elevation is 1431 m above the sea level. The area has a rich bio-diversity dense with numerous varieties of flora and fauna. The town has a cooler climate than its surroundings, due to its elevation. The Haputale pass allows views across the...
to work as a medical doctor. By 1980 she returned to Jaffna as a lecturer in anatomy in the newly-formed Faculty of Medicine at the University of Jaffna. By this time, Jaffna was a battle zone in the early stages of Sri Lanka's civil war. Many were leaving Jaffna for Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
or migrating to other countries including the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Links with the LTTE
Inspired by her elder sister Nirmala, then a member of Liberation Tigers of Tamil EelamLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a separatist militant organization formerly based in northern Sri Lanka. Founded in May 1976 by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, it waged a violent secessionist and nationalist campaign to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Tamil...
, Rajini became involved with the LTTE, administering care to those wounded in action. In 1983, Rajini traveled to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
under Commonwealth scholarship for postgraduate studies in anatomy at Liverpool Medical School. There she launched a major international campaign for the release of her sister who was imprisoned in 1982 in under Sri Lanka's Prevention of Terrorism Act. She also maintained her links with LTTE by joining its London Committee in order to educate human rights groups and other international organizations about the atrocities occurring in Sri Lanka. While continuing to write and publish scientific papers, she also became implicated in grassroots organizations 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.
As a human rights activist
Over time, constant exposure to politically motivated killings by armed groups on all sides caused Rajini to rethink her position on armed struggle. A determined idealist, she criticized the narrow nationalism of the LTTE, and the atrocities committed by the LTTE, the Indian Peace Keeping ForceIndian Peace Keeping Force
Indian Peace Keeping Force was the Indian military contingent performing a peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990...
and the Sri Lankan government forces upon the innocent Tamil civilian population in Jaffna. She began to collect evidence of human rights violations of IPKF and LTTE.
At the University of Jaffna, Rajini and some of her teacher colleagues founded the Jaffna branch of the University Teachers for Human Rights
University Teachers for Human Rights
For the figure in Norse mythology, see UrðrThe University Teachers for Human Rights or UTHR was formed in 1988 at the University of Jaffna, Jaffna in Sri Lanka as part of the national organization University Teachers for Human Rights. Its public activities as a constituent part of university life...
.
Having witnessed the evidence of human rights violations by the IPKF and LTTE, Rajini co-authored a book entitled The Broken Palmyra . The book documents the violence in Jaffna in the 1980s.
Assassination
A few weeks after the publication of book The Broken Palmyra, on September 21, 1989, she was shot dead at ThirunelvelyThirunelveli (Sri Lanka)
Thirunelveli is a town in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka. Some say in Tamil it translates to God's-paddy-field. It is located about 5 km from Jaffna. This is the location of an LTTE attack that killed 13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers in July 1983, triggering the Sri Lankan Civil War....
, Jaffna in front of her house by a gunman while cycling back from work. University Teachers for Human Rights, Jaffna and Rajini's sister accuse the LTTE of her murder, retaliating against her criticism of their violent tactics.
Documentary film
In a documentary released worldwide in 2005, No More Tears SisterNo More Tears Sister
No More Tears Sister is a 2005 documentary film about the leftist revolutionary Dr.Rajini Thiranagama who joined the guerrilla group the Tamil Tigers in reaction to a brutal government crackdown in Sri Lanka...
, produced by the National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
, Rajini's life and her legacy are brought to life.
Quotes
Embracing feminismFeminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
and a belief in human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, Dr, Rajini felt that women in particular were the primary casualties of war;
wrote Dr. Rajini in 1989, a few months before she was killed.