Jhonny Pedal Bomb and its history

Jhonny Pedal Bomb and its history

The war with Indian Army started 10th 1987. Next day – Special commanders of the Indian Army launched an attack targeting the national leader’s residence on Brambadi Road in Kokuvil. Their attempt was unsuccessful. The national leader changed his residence. The Indian forces continued the battle of Jaffna, known as ”Operation Bhavan”. “It will all be over in a day or two,” said the Indian leaders. But the ”Jaffna Battle” lasted for a month. The national leader changed base to continue the war. A few weeks later the Indian commanders also came to know about this. But where the national leader would have gone after leaving Jaffna remained a mystery to the Indian generals.

Has he gone to Perungadu in Mannar? Did he cross the Kokkalai river and go to Trincomalee? After unfolding the map, the Indian commanders began to panic. The Sinhala Intelligence Department also made great efforts to trace the whereabouts of the national leader. Apart from speculations regarding the national leader’s whereabouts, no evidence has been obtained. In search of the national leader, Indian forces roamed the Vanni Peninsula and southern Tamileelam. Meanwhile, Kiddu, who was staying in Tamil Nadu, was trying to negotiate a ceasefire with the Indian Army.

With the consent of the Government of India, Kiddu decided to send Lt. Col. Jhonny to the national leader and get his views and assignments. The Indian Army accepted Kiddu´s request. But it prevented Jhonny from secretly going to Tamileelam. The Indian commanders pretended that they would take Jhonny wherever he wanted to go and leave him safely. They plan to use Jhonny’s journey to find out the national leader’s whereabouts.

The intentions of the Indian generals were not unknown. Yet there was a need and compulsion to accept their command. Finally they came to a conclusion. It was agreed that the Indian Army would escort Jhonny to Vavunia and then leave him alone to meet the national leader and return to Vavunia Indian Army camp. Indian commanders also agreed to this.

Before taking Jhonny to Vavunia and dropping him off, Indian commanders made arrangements to monitor Jhonny’s journey in Vanni. Jhonny came to Vavuniya. He swung around and rushed to the national leader’s residence, avoiding the eyes of the anti-national gangs, their spies and the lurking Indian soldiers. He met the national leader. He memorized the things he had to say to Kiddu. He again started his journey towards Vavunia.

At one point in the journey he came to Puthukudiyiruppu and from there he was trying to cycle to Visvamadu. In a jungle near Devipuram, Jhonny’s bicycle falls within the gun range of the Indian soldiers who have ambushed him to find out his route. Despite a verbal promise by the Indian commanders that no military action would be taken in Vanni until he returned to Vavunia, Jhonny was shot dead.

Indian generals adopted the tactic of killing two birds with one stone.

One is to use Jhonny’s journey to pinpoint the national leader’s location and the other is to tactically kill the LTTE commander. Indian generals have achieved both. It didn’t take long for the Indian generals to find out that there was no national leader in Mannar, west side of Vavuniya or in South Tamileelam beyond the Kokkalai Vavi. They were sure now the national leader is in Manalaru. The national leader has been discovered. And now he cannot move anywhere, the Indian forces said “Checkmat”. After Jhonny was shot dead, the national leader guessed what was going to happen next.

The national leader expected Indian forces to launch a major military operation on Manalaru in a few weeks. The national leader also knows that it will not be easy to conduct conventional warfare with Indian soldiers who are going to enter the jungle like a flood. Back off for that – he doesn’t want to. Because he was convinced it would destroy the LTTE militarily. The national leader feared that if the military strength of the LTTE, which is the bulwark of Tamileelam nationalism, is destroyed, Tamilness will be politically oppressed.

So the national leader, knowing full well that he had a historic duty to take the war with the Indian Army to the next level, decided to achieve or die. The national leader had already prepared the forest – and the fighters – for a massive jungle battle from the very next moment they had leveled the sandbar. He also prepared a few hundred tigers in the Mullaitheevu district – inside the Manalaru fores – for a major battle. The national leader thought that some military feats could be achieved by disrupting the free movement of Indian troops about to enter the jungles, and thus many military feats could thwart the Indian Army’s military action. He also hoped that if these military feats were combined with a psychological war, it would be doubly effective.

What threatens an army soldier in his dreams are landmines. In such cases, every time a raised leg is put down, a soldier survives. These grenades can be used to good effect against Indian soldiers who are coming like an anthill.

But where do we go with such hi-tech manufactured and imported pedal bombs? This question arose in the national leader’s dream and memory and struggled to find an answer. One day, the national leader, who was thinking in his bed in the forest, woke up suddenly and went in search of the in-charges of the military technical unit who were staying in the forest. He then explained to them about the mechanism of making a pedal bomb that came to his mind.

The national leader was promising to make pedal bombs using the ”Kertabolin’” technology that children play with wooden milking machines and rubberbands available in the forest. Examination attempts have begun. Except for small amounts of ammunition, bentoch batteries and detonators, most of the items are local. Ultimately the effort was successful.

Now the Indian forces were rapidly massed in tens of thousands surrounding the sand dunes. They named it ”Operation Checkmate”. At a slow pace, the production of the grenade began. The national leader named it ”Jhonny Pedal Bombs”. Indian forces have started jungle warfare. After betraying Jhonny and entering the forest, the ”Jhonny Pedal Bombs” have started betraying the Indian army.

By now, the Indian forces were taking advantage of Jhonny’s journey to find the ”path”, and now, Jhonny’s landmines were taking the leg off. Indian forces could not destroy the national leader as they had hoped. Military action continued in ”Operation Checkmate” 1 – 2 – 3. 100 – 200 – 300 Indian troops were also amputated. ”Checkmate” ended in disgrace. Jhonny Pedal Bombs have been revived and have found new momentum. The backbone of the ”Checkmate” breakthrough is the Jhonny Pedal Bombs. A great history is hidden inside this pedal bombs and the name of it.

LTTE Magazine – 1994 August – September