Twist in track: Brothers of Prabhakaran behind TN blast

Immediately after the blast that could have led to derailment of a train,the police claimed to have recovered handwritten LTTE pamphlets from the spot. But not all are convinced....

The LTTE is down but not out,if a section of the intelligence establishment is to be believed. Over a year since the end of its military campaign in Sri Lanka,the LTTEs name has been revoked by the intelligence circles here after the June 12 blast on a railway track in Tamil Nadu that destroyed a few feet of the track.

Immediately after the blast near Villupuram that could have led to derailment of at least one express train and also to a major tragedy,the police named pro-LTTE elements for the explosion. According to investigating officials,there were handwritten pamphlets,purportedly written by the brothers of (LTTE chief Velupillai) Prabakaran,recovered from the spot.

There are a number of outfits that have been supportive of the LTTE and the issue of separate homeland for the Tamils in Lanka,but investigators seem to be considering the extremely vocal ones who have been organising a string of protests against the Lankan,Indian and Tamil Nadu administrations. Sources said the police are also looking at the involvement of lesser known outfits who intentionally keep a low profile like the Tamil Desiya Viduthalai Iyakkam,an outfit that became notorious after a case pertaining to the burning of the national flag last year.

Since the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi by LTTE cadres,the security apparatus has taken an unambiguous view on these organisations and its supporters due to a variety of reasons. Even as they have seemingly different goals and methods,there are many similarities and connections between the Tigers and some of the other banned organisations in the state,including Tamil extremists and the Naxals. For instance,Tamil Nadu Liberation Army (TNLA),an extremist outfit formed in the 80s,has its beginnings in the Naxal movement from which many leaders and cadres split to form the TNLA,now banned by the Union Government. If official versions are to be believed,its cadres were responsible for a blast on a railway bridge at Marudayar near Tiruchi in March 1987,which led to the derailment Rockfort Express killing 25 persons the same train that narrowly missed a repeat last week.

But not all are convinced about the LTTE angle that has been painted by the authorities. Academic and social commentator M S S Pandian,even while admitting not to have all the sides of the incident,pointed at the flaws in the theory. There has always been a democratic space in Tamil Nadu to raise such issues,and there are many organisations who have been doing it. The outfits here are not working clandestinely they are very vocal,and organise protests on the street. That being the situation,the police will have to prove this allegation against the pro-LTTE groups, he said.

The Madras High Court is hearing a Habeas Corpus petition against the detention of a number of persons in connection with the case. The petition has prompted the police to release 10 of the suspected persons who were detained for questioning. The court directed the police to file their reply when the case came up for hearing recently.

Tamil Nadu is not new to such causes,and had,in the past,given birth to and nurtured many organisations with rebellious leanings. In fact,at one point,almost every political party in the state most importantly the DMK and the AIADMK were fully supportive of the cause raised by the Tigers,and extended support through various means,allegedly not all of them legal. There are a number of smaller political parties,including the MDMK,VCK,PMK,Puthiya Thamizhagam,who openly advocate a pro-LTTE line.

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Other than politicians,there are also very small,non-political outfits that have cropped up in the recent past like the May 17 Movement the day when the rebels admitted military defeat after decades of conflict with the Lankan Government and its army - who were in the forefront against the IIFA programme organised in Colombo. This is a group of educated youngsters who have been using a variety of means and platforms to make their presence felt,and IIFA event was one such occasion.

The one string that connects these organisations,especially the nascent ones,is their displeasure towards the anti-LTTE AIADMK and Congress and the DMK that has been quite ambiguous in its stance about the whole issue in the recent past.

The DMK has been a champion of the Tamil cause till recently. Chief Minster M Karunanidhi had even resigned from the Legislative Council in 1983 over the issue. But now,working with the Congress in a coalition arrangement,there have been only lip-service and gimmicks, pointed out V Suryanarayanan,former director of the South and Southeast Asian Studies,Madras University.

It is true that the leading parties have changed their stance over the Lankan Tamil issue,but the cause,a just one,still finds resonance among all the Tamils across the world. Despite propaganda and media manipulation to the contrary,it did cost some of the top Congress leaders like E V K S Elangovan,TNCC president K V Thangkabalu and Mani Shankar Aiyer their seats in the last general election, said P Nedumaran,one of the pioneers among the pro-Tiger groups in Tamil Nadu,claiming that the issue has not lost its relevance and would only grow in the coming years.