Commemorations have been taking place across Jaffna as the Tamil nation marks the 36th Maaveerar Naal. Former Northern Provincial Council member N Shivajilingham and mother of Captain Pandithar lit a flame at the native home of Lt Shankar, the first LTTE cadre to sacrifice their life in the liberation struggle.
Today marks 36 years since the death of Lt Col Thileepan, a political wing leader of the LTTE who fasted to death, in a protest appealing to the Indian government to honour pledges made to the Tamil people. Thileepan began his fast on the September 15, 1987, with 100,000 people gathered around the historic Nallur Kandwaswamy Temple in Jaffna.
The 36th anniversary of Thiyagi Thileepan’s martyrdom is being commemorated throughout the North-East, with multiple organisations, groups and thousands of people participating in various commemorative events across the homeland.