Karumpulikal heading towards Palali air base!
Karumpulikal heading towards Palali air base!
One morning at the junction of Senthankulam, a tiger was lurking near the guards. Someone from a patrolling battalion accidentally shot a “roach” at a Sinhala soldier. The light bounced right off him. The guns started roaring, our hero jumped. He started running headlong. A unique thing about the enemy’s territory was that he had not had a regular meal for two days already. He ran away exhaustedly to escape the enemy who was firing at him. His body refused to cooperate. His legs were getting tired, but he suddenly disappeared somewhere, and his shadows slipped.
They could not catch him. They shot him as they saw him, leaving him helpless. The one who was hiding like that, when he got tired, he slowly started to crawl. The one who crawled with this disability, passed the enemy’s fortress and fainted within a short distance. When the enemy brought him to the camp and loaded him with ‘Saline’, he opened his eyes. It must be said that he escaped by a stroke of luck. The data brought by the many narrow escapes and fortunately recovered people formed the basis for us to target the center of the Palaly massif. If we want to understand the significance of the Palaly attack, we need to understand our spies. It was like all attacks! That was the victory achieved by the spies.
Our spies are rare people. Think of their bravery, who did not fear death. It is admirable. That courage to climb the enemy’s chest and spy and return is immense. It is an unparalleled courage! Think of how devoted they are to their ideal. Their sense of sacrifice, which is willing to throw away their own lives for that ideal, is magnificent. The love they had for their homeland and its people is there. It is not ordinary. It is an immeasurable love. An unwavering bond. Behind every movement of those freedom fighters, behind every decision they made while standing amidst the enemy’s nets, was the driving force that drove them. That is their “state of mind”.
The Palaly Tri-Group Army Base boasts of being the largest and most secure base of the Sinhalese forces occupying our motherland. It is also the main command headquarters of the Northern Theater of Operations. Like a lion lying in a solitary forest with its legs spread wide and fearless indifference….in an area of 30 square miles….that vast base stretches out like a river. These are not unknown facts. But, the surprise is… Our spies, having entered the tri-service base, which stands proudly with the slogan “No one can do anything to me”, targeted its heart. It is the central hub of the Sri Lanka Air Force, an important headquarters.
To surround this tri-service base, to penetrate its front defense line, which is like a strong steel armor, is a Himalayan task. Ten ‘battalions’ of the enemy soldiers are waiting without blinking. His firearms are ready to make any movement and make them fall. He has bought and sown landmines from all over the world. Mines field. His ‘night vision’ devices accurately show the movements of the Earth by the light of the celestial stars.
His search lights, available in various sizes, for use as needed. His barbed wire barriers, piled up like spiral barriers and curved above the ground. His dams, raised like high ramparts like the ponds of the Vanni side. His tin fence, rising from the ground to the sky, so that it is impossible to see from the outside to know what is inside. His ‘mobile sentries’, patrolling from place to place, from time to time.
Our enemy gathered strength with all these strengths and had the strength of the state. “There is a weakness in every strength, search for it,” said our national leader. Our spies, who searched for the eye of a needle through which a thread can enter, found that ‘death’.
They penetrated the ‘zone’ and entered the lion’s den. Outside, from his forward posts, the enemy was counting on his unshakeable strength. Inside, at his headquarters, about ten miles away, our fighters were walking along the airstrips, spying on the skies. Their efforts gave birth to the plan for a Karumpuli operation.
Their tireless hard work gradually developed and perfected that plan. Spying on the target of the attack. The attack team laid out a route to the city, found a ‘stopover’ on the attack journey, and on the day of the attack, the LTTE fighters stood ready to guide and support the Karumpulikal.
The attack plan was prepared. A grand mission. An operation that could gain political and military significance. Even if it involved the survival of our people. But it was a strong target. A center under maximum security.
Those who go can go, but they cannot turn back. It is like entering a lion’s den and facing it. However, an attack is necessary. The method of attack was decided based on intelligence reports. It was a Karumpuli operation. An attack team was prepared with those who stood in front of me and you in front.
Kennedy was its field commander. 6 other fighters were with him. They were standing around the Palaly air base and its runways, which were set up in a model form. Commander Gaddafi explained their attack methods. He showed each of them the targets. He told them how each of them should act. Their rehearsals began. “Make training hard. Make fighting easy” is a military principle.
They acted according to that principle. Ah…! You must have seen them at that time. You must have been moved. How much enthusiasm. How much interest. The heartfelt involvement they showed in the restless training! They left us who were thinking ‘How to live?’! They were rehearsing how to achieve victory after giving their lives.
Think of the patriotism that must have been in them. Think of the Tamil pride that must have been in them. That was the greatest feeling of superiority that our national leader instilled. In their last moments. Not about their lives being destroyed. They were always thinking about the destruction of their targets.
Brother Sornam said that we are going to form groups and select new people. Kennedy was confused. He could not accept it. He went to the commander and started a fight.
“I must go,” he insisted. “If he wants, let him change the other people. Don’t add the name of the group to the selection,” he said firmly.
All the arrangements were completed without any changes being made. Their day was approaching. When they finally went to the hideout, Jayam told Ashok. “We are going to do something different within the Karumpulikal. This is a new form. When we destroy these, the Sinhala commanders will be shocked.”
The national leader arrived and sent them off. It was a golden day for them. When the national leader, who had eaten together and hugged and kissed them goodbye, a shiver ran through the Karumpulikal.
“I am expecting with hope,” the national leader sent them off. Above, between the sky and the earth, with great joy, a ship was heading towards Palaly.
The Karumpulikal, waving their hands, disappeared into the darkness. Reaching the attack point and the attack center was considered a big deal. Carrying out the attack was another big deal. When they left, they had unwavering determination, unquenchable thirst, a defeater of all, unwavering self-confidence.
“Mother! I am your child, but I am a child of all the mothers of Tamileelam. Mother! My wish is that the people should live happily and freely. That is why I went to fight without thinking much about my life. Therefore, do not worry about me. You should also be happy. Our land should become free. For that to happen, all the people should be ready to give their lives for the homeland. This is my last wish.”
Monday, August 1st. The day was receding. Darkness engulfed the Jaffna peninsula, and the vast plain of Papaly was flooded with light. It was past 6.30 pm. They were moving towards their destination. The LTTE fighters were ahead. The Karumpulikal were behind. The main road connecting Mavitapuram and Tellipallai, and the cross road that meets it from Thachankadu were trampled by military boots, and speech was breathless. While the group was moving along the road, under Thachankadu, slowly, while they were crawling very carefully.
Suddenly, Tellipallai heard the roar of ‘trucks’ from the side. It was approaching with terrifying speed. Just when he thought, “He is going straight towards Mavitapuram,” he turned towards Thachankadu. The speed that came was not alone. Good times… Instead of drowning in the raging flood, everyone rushed into the land on the side at the same time and disappeared.
He went straight past them and stood under the guard at the intersection. Is he standing? He returned at that speed. Just when he thought, the two ‘trucks’ came right in front of them and suddenly stopped. The Sinhala soldiers jumped in a frenzy, raising dust with their rifles. Their muzzles were filled with gunfire. Everyone started running. It was not a place to fight. It was not the time to fight.
They didn’t go there for this. Where did they go wrong? Did a passerby see them somewhere? Did he look at them from a van? Did the army, who came to break into a house and take things, see them and report them? Whatever the case, the place they went to was ruined.
There was no “Sir” or “Rangan”. We don’t know what happened to the “Pulikkutty”. Rajesh was a guide. He was also missing. Our attack force was damaged. The others ran to one side, so they didn’t scatter, but united. The remaining ones realized that they had an inevitable obligation to immediately complete the task they had come for. With this fight, the enemy would be defeated.
The Karumpulikal urged the Tigers. “Get us to the attack point immediately.” Over the next few hours, as midnight approached, they were preparing near the barbed wire fence of the air base.
Kennedy contacted the main command. He reported the tragedy that had occurred. “Only four of the seven planned attack groups remain,” he said. “The enemy has completely overwhelmed us, so we must begin the attack immediately with the two groups,” he insisted. “Every minute of delay is a sacrifice we make to our targets,” he explained. “It is impossible to turn back and escape without carrying out the attack,” he added.
The main command consulted with another command that had been set up specifically to ask for some time. It was decided that Kennedy was right and that there was no other way. The attack was approved.
The LTTE soldiers who had cut the barbed wire fences paved the way, and the KArumpuli fighters entered the airfield in search of targets.
From the last page drawn by Navaratnam.
Mother! Father! Only if the race has an independent country, will we have a permanent home. I came to fight to establish an independent country. No more bombs should fall in Tamileelam. For this reason I am going today as a Karumpuli.
My wish, my dear!
I am leaving for a field that I have never dreamed of, so that your next generation, our future generation, can live happily. Long live Tamileelam!
They said goodbye to Ashok and Ranjan and went inside. After saying goodbye to them, they were returning outside. It was dawn and dusk. It was pitch dark. They could only see anything dimly within a very short distance. When they were returning from a short distance near Mavitapuram, it seemed like a single moment.
Darkness. Before them. What was that? It’s as if something is moving! He grabbed Ranjan’s hands. Before Ashok could finish speaking, the bullets that burst from the hot tubes tore the air and tore through Ashok’s tendons! His head. Or his neck. Or his chest. I don’t know exactly.
The bullets flew and shattered him. With a voice that didn’t come out completely, the fighter fell to the ground. The next minute. Ranjan was running into the adjacent field after using some semolina and a hand grenade, knocking Ashok out of the way.
The day before. One night, while he was on his way to the Mayiliddi side of the village, Ashok pointed out a school where the army was camped to Ranjan and said with a sigh, “This is the school I studied at. A Sinhalese man has come and lived here, brother. If even one person comes to fight for the house, we can take back this place, right?”
This memory came to Ranjan’s heart and stirred. Since it would be dangerous to continue moving, he sought out a nearby tree and hid there. Now he was alone. The memories of all the comrades who had gathered filled his heart and soul. Now he had to get out of there somehow. He was the only one left of those who had come. At least to tell what had happened, he had to escape safely from that deadly pit.
So, he had to be very careful from now on. It was getting late. As he continued to move and wanted to leave, a thought flashed through his mind. ‘Someone in the Thachankadu forest might have escaped by some miracle. They might have strayed from the path and gone to the place where they had stayed the first night when they entered, believing that the spies would return.
’It was a dream. He went with an impulse. He had to go there. What a miracle! Just as he had imagined. They… but not four of them. Only Ranga and the tiger cub were standing- There was no Rajesh, no ‘Sir’ either. Even after he passed by their boundless joy was like ‘a dead soul has returned’, such a joy.
“Take us immediately and leave Kennedy. We can stay here for the night,” they urged,
“We are the Tigers.”
A fight broke out.
They started running. The Sinhalese soldiers chased them away.
The battle took place over a considerable distance. The enemy’s tanks overtook them and roared.
Rangan suddenly shouted, “Hey! Don’t set off a bomb on the leg.”
Those who saw him running could see that it was his right leg. They didn’t know where.
Rangan ran, blood spurting from his leg.
They couldn’t do anything. He didn’t expect to do anything either.
“I can’t do anything. Shoot me.”
“Sajjara” is a bomb that attaches to the body. It was given to the Karumpulikal when they went out to attack. If the enemy got caught in the battlefield, it would be the last resort to protect them.
Rangan bit the bottle and pulled the safety pin of the “Sajjara” and threw it away.
Slowly, he fell behind, and the fighters who were disbanding approached him.
The sound of Sajjara and Rangan exploding reached the ears of those who were running. They looked back. The smoke and his life were mixing with the breeze of Tamileelam.
Confused and stumbling in the blast, they ran away before the enemy could start disbanding again.
Ranjan and the tiger cub came out slowly, moving out after everything was quiet.
Rajesh, who had been missing in Thachankadu for days, also arrived one way or another.
But Ashok did not come. Rangan did not come. Thiru did not come either.
Midnight passed.
The early hours of August 2nd were falling.
Kennedy reported the details to the headquarters.
“Now there are only four of us left. Jayam, Navaratnam, Thilakan, and I. We cannot delay. We do not know what has happened to the others. We cannot expect them to come. So, the four of us are going in. We are going to make it as successful as we can.”
The news of the Thachankadu battle spread everywhere.
The great hall, with its hairs quivering, trembled like a lion.
The soldiers were seized with fear that danger had entered their own home.
The guns were ready.
The soldiers were warned that the Tigers would enter at any moment and attack from any point.
The pilots were ordered to board the planes and be ready.
The guards protecting the air base and the guards belonging to the planes were put on alert.
When the security arrangements were at their peak and the enemy, who was perfectly prepared, stood in battle formation ready to face anything.
Our Karumpulikal, who had set out as warriors, crawled through the quivering hair of the Sinhalese and approached its face.
Kennedy’s voice came from the main command post on the “Voice.” Kennedy explained the situation.
“We’re getting pretty close.”
“Does anything look like it’s standing there?”
“Only one of the ones we were looking for is standing there. The one on the side is standing there.”
“Isn’t there anything else …?”
“A small one is running nearby.”
“The others you were looking for …?”
“There’s nothing to see from here, it might be standing there in the distance. It will be possible to search only after we land.”
“Are you standing there now as if you could land…?”
“We’ve come within striking distance. If you say so, we’ll strike.”
“If that’s the case, then you do as you please.”
The command post gave the go-ahead.
What would have happened after that?
Kennedy would have ordered.
“Start the attack”
As Navaratnam’s “Lo” rang out in “Bell 212” and caught fire, Kennedy would have hit it with his “Tonga” and thrown a grenade at it.
At the same time. Jayat’s “Lo” rang out, targeting the armored personnel carrier.
The center of the Palaly base would have trembled.
The enemy would have been stunned to see the Tigers breaking through all their armor and attacking the highly protected center.
The enemy would have been gathered, shouting with guns firing in a barrage of bullets. Kennedy’s “Tonga” would have fired missiles.
While Tilak’s “Ri-56” was running smoothly, they would have been running in search of their next target.
“Kennedy… Kennedy… tell us what the situation is.”
“A helicopter has been hit. Both are burning. They are screaming and shouting as they approach.”
“What about the other?”
“They are continuing to hit and are descending. Looking for bombs.”
But it was a wide path that stretched from 500 meters to 2600 meters. The pilots who were ready in the “Sia Massetti” bombers that were parked far away had already taken them over.
Kennedy’s connection was received after a long time.
“Kennedy. Tell us what the situation is.”
“A helicopter has been hit. They are burning. The whole thing is burning. The tigers’ thirst is the thirst of homeland Tamileelam.”
“Kennedy. You don’t have to rush. What about the other guys?”
“I and Thilakan are fine.”
“Kennedy. You don’t have to rush. Aren’t you able to do anything continuously?”
“Brother. I don’t have two legs.”
The tigers’ thirst is the thirst of homeland Tamileelam.
“Kennedy …….. Kennedy ……”
“Kennedy …….. Kennedy ……”
“Thilakam …….. Thilakam ……”
“Kennedy …….. Kennedy ……”
An old man let out a long sigh and….
“What is happening brother? I am getting old.” When he was worried.
Nearby, his wife, who was looking at their pictures in the “Eelanatham” newspaper, said wistfully.
“You are worried about getting old. Some kind of children never get old!”
Publication: Bio-Aid Part 01
“The tigers’ thirst is the thirst of homeland Tamileelam.”
(Translation by Tamilpriya)
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