The heroic historical memories of Lt. Col. Piraiyalan (Sutta)
The heroic historical memories of Lt. Col. Piraiyalan (Sutta) The administrative officer of the Navam Arivukoodam
Lt. Colonel Piraiyalan (Sutta)
Kayasin Bol Silvasrar
Tamileelam: Thiriconamalai District
Birth: 12.09.1969
Death: 24.09.2005
24.09.2005 – on the morning of that day. The national flag was flying at half-mast at the Lt. Colonel Navam Institute of Science. What happened to whom? The faces of the fighters were dark. Sutta, the father, became maveeran. Those words could sink in, there was nothing left to do. We all suffered like children separated from our father. Because he was a father to all of us.
Sutta’s early life was tragic. His family lived in Sambaltheevu, Thiriconamalai. That was the time when the Sinhalese invaded our villages. It was a time when Tamil lives were being taken away without reason by the Sri Lankan forces. Sutta’s elder brother also became a victim of this cruelty. Sutta had three sisters and a younger brother. The family was run by his father’s labor. His father was injured in a car accident and could not work, so Sutta was responsible for supporting the family. Sutta learned carpentry at a young age and took care of the family.
It was during these days that Sutta came to Yarlpanam from Thiriconamalai for work. He also had a passion for tailoring. When he got an opportunity to work in the tailoring section of the Imran Pandian Regiment, he accepted it and worked as a tailor. During this work, Sutta got acquainted with many fighters. Eventually, Sutta became interested in becoming a fighter in this national liberation struggle and joined the movement in 1992.
Sutta trained in the Sarathbabu-7 training group and became a freedom fighter. Imran Pandian was appointed as the head of the sewing room due to his skill in tailoring. Sutta accepted the command of the movement. After receiving training, he felt a desire to see the battlefield like other fighters and left for the battlefields with the permission of the Special Commander in the regiment.
Sutta had gradually become an expert in battles by seeing many battlefields such as Operation Thavalai in 1993, Pulipaychal in 1995, Operation Oyatha Alagail-01 in 1996, the operation against the troops landed in Alampil, and the attack against Operation Satjaya. As witnesses to this, he had borne many scars on his body. The scars were all over his body.
It was during this period that the Sinhalese nation was preparing for a massive military move against our areas. This military movement was planned with heavy reliance on armored vehicles. At the same time, our national leader also prepared fighters to thwart these cunning plans of the Sinhalese. A new brigade was formed to destroy the armor on which the Sinhalese relied heavily training was provided for it. The training was very tough.
Sutta undertook all the hard training such as long-distance running with weapons, obstacle course training, and exercising in the scorching sun in the afternoon. His body was already suffering from injuries from falling on the battlefields. Although it was difficult to do the training, the motivation to fight armed battles in the future was the reason for his success in these trainings.
All the training was over and the team under the name of Lt. Col. Vikram’s Special Anti-Armor Team was ready to face the enemy’s armored forces. The teams went to our defensive areas located in the Vavuniya and Omanthai areas and took up positions. Sutta was also in charge of one of these teams. While waiting for the enemy’s arrival, the enemy’s forward positions were observed, and it was decided to attack and destroy an enemy guard post with an R.P.G. projectile.
08.03.1997 – In the daytime of that day, the team led by Sutta approached the enemy’s guard post and took up position. The R.P.G. projectiles flew towards the enemy’s guard post and exploded. The two subsequent projectiles exploded and scattered, leaving the guard post destroyed. The militants retreated from that place. Seven soldiers were killed, and some soldiers were injured in this attack. There was no loss on our side. The first attack of the new team was successfully carried out under the leadership of Sutta.
On 13.05.1997, as expected, the Sinhalese army began a massive military operation named “Jayasikuru”. A major clash broke out. The sound of war was heard all over the place. As the Sri Lankan forces advanced, the freedom fighters fought against the enemy with new strategies. The advancing armored vehicles were attacked and destroyed and damaged by the special forces. The fighting continued for long days. The battlefield spread to Omanthai, Thandikulam, Irambaikulam, Periyamadu, Puliyankulam. During these long battles, the fighters had very little time to rest. For Sutta, the fighters should always be happy. He is ready to do anything for their happiness. Whenever he gets the chance, he will tell stories to the fighters in his team. He will tell old battles and enlighten the fighters. If he can make something for the fighters to eat with what is available, he will do it himself. Whatever he tells, there will be humor in it and good advice. Not only that, if he needs to get something for the fighters, he will talk to someone and get it.
If you are with Sutta, the feeling that you are standing on the battlefield will be forgotten for a while. His words will be a source of excitement for the body and mind. The fighters will gather to seek Sutta’s protection.
Sutta’s hostel is always lively. Even the fighters in the neighboring hostel will be with him. No one can surpass this talent of Sutta. It belongs to him alone. From now on, Sutta will be at the forefront of preparing delicious food for the fighters. Along with this, he will also go to all the training that the other fighters take. After the night training, the fighters will go to bed. Only Sutta’s hostel will be lit. Since Sutta can sew well, the fighters will surround Sutta. At that time, they will not see Sutta as responsible. He will not shy away from this work. He will stay awake with full desire and sleep and sew ‘collars’ for the weapons. Even though the fighters have a separate place for this, they will like Sutta’s sewing.
It is this wonderful nature of Sutta that led him to be sent to the initial training college while standing on the battlefield. It is a place where new recruits are trained. Even if they realize the need of this country and become fighters, since they have lived in a family environment for a long time, that separation and the new way of life will cause mental distress in the beginning. This is inevitable. These days, the fighters who are leading them should understand this properly and act accordingly. Sutta is very suitable for this. He does not need to be taught about this. He is like that by nature. The gap that separated the fighters from their parents disappeared because of Sutta. Sutta would go to every hostel where the fighters stayed, talk to the fighters, listen to their needs and fulfill them. He would tell the new fighters about the old historical events of the movement. Everyone knew that whenever they heard a commotion in a hostel somewhere, Sutta would be there.
Sutta got married during these days. But Sutta rarely stayed at home. Although Sutta had a lot of love for his family, he would spend more time with his family of fighters. He always had the idea of doing something for the fighters under him and for this country. Due to this, the relationship between Sutta and the fighters was very close.
Sutta oversaw a training camp and later was appointed as the administrative head of all the primary training camps. This was a time when fighting was going on all over the battlefield of the Vanni. Sutta did not even have a vehicle. He did not expect anything. At that time, the movement had only a green cart to give him. He would happily travel to the camps in different places in the Vanni in that cart. Sometimes if the cart broke down, he would even go on foot. He always wanted to be natural. His policy was to do what our leader expected rather than what the movement expected of him. Therefore, he willingly accepted the movement’s request and willingly took up this task.
More than a thousand fighters were formed under this warm upbringing of Sutta. It was very rare for fighters to leave the training camps where Sutta stood. Because the fighters united with him.
Now the fighting had stopped, and the memorandum of understanding had been signed. It was during these days that Sutta received a call for a new assignment. It was the Lt. Col. Navam Arivukoodam. An educational center for fighters who had been trained in war. What they needed most was love and warmth. Sutta was very good at this. He had already been wounded in the battlefield. He had lost his only remaining brother in the battlefield. He had the memories of his brother, Captain Iniyavan, and the pain of that loss. He could easily understand their minds. This task was also dear to him.
Lt. Col. Sutta was appointed as the administrative head of the Navam Arivukoodam. Sutta had a lot of work to do here. Every veteran fighter was under different influences. He had to act with an open mind in every matter, be it basic facilities, medicine, or food. This was not new to Sutta. He worked hard for these veteran fighters with his long academic life.
He would stand alone in all the work. From fulfilling the needs of the fighters to providing them with good food, he would be on the move at any time. There would be no place for Sutta in the camp. He would either stand in the kitchen or stand with the fighters or stand in the farm that was set up for the fighters’ food needs. He would always be on the move.
His face would always be cheerful. There was no severity in his face. The fighters joined him. Regardless of whether they were men or women, everyone would affectionately call him ‘Sutta Appa’.
Even if any of the fighters made a mistake, they would listen to him and correct him, and no one would get angry with him. His punishment would be forgotten in his loving embrace. No fighter would hesitate to ask Sutta anything. Because he was their father. He acted like this without looking at anything.
He had been ill for some time. When his body was examined in the hospital, his kidneys were not functioning. Everyone was worried. When would Sutta get well? His kidneys needed to be transplanted. His elder sister came forward. She gave one of her kidneys to her brother.
The surgery was successful. Sutta needed rest. Sutta could no longer work as before. He should be at peace. He had a family of his own. He had a child. He had a home before. Even on those rare days when he was there, he was never idle. He would cultivate his household and raise useful crops, cement the land, and spin the straw. He would also take care of the child in the remaining time. It was Sutta who fed the child during the days when he was at home. Because, he had so much patience.
Even if there was a problem with the neighbors, he would solve what he could during his time off. When he learned that the land of the children’s school next to his house was not cemented, Sutta called the parents of the children one day to tell them about it, made them raise funds, and helped them in whatever way he could to cement the land of the children’s school.
Sutta, who had been at peace for a while, returned to the Navam Arivukoodam when he was able to function. All the fighters were happy. But Sutta could not function as before. He had to be a little careful. The person in charge had told him not to do hard work.
But little by little Sutta began to function as before. He had always been one of the fighters and did the work forgetting himself. He could not stand and watch the other tired fighters work. The fighters would stop him. But the only words that came out of his mouth were “I don’t have a problem. I can do it.” He had become the old Sutta again. He never showed the pain of his body to others. He would always say that he had a lot to do for this country.
24.09.2005 – On the morning of that day, Lt. Col. Navam Arivukkoodam´s father left us. We all left in a state of shock. All the fighters cried. Only when he was gone did his pride become clear. That is why Col. Aathavan, who was the special commander of the Imran Pandian Regiment that day, where he had served for ten years, mentioned him when he recalled, “He was a good team leader who faced difficult circumstances and worked efficiently in the face of difficult circumstances.”
That is the truth. He was a good leader, a talented artist who entertained the fighters, a brave warrior, a good tailor, a great cook, and a great lover. He was certainly a unique man. It is true that death took his life. But he will live forever in our hearts.
S. Puratchimaran
Viduthailaippuligal (September – October 2005)
(Translation by Tamilpriya)
நவம் அறிவுக்கூட நிர்வாகப் பொறுப்பாளர் லெப்.கேணல் பிறையாளன்(சுட்டா)
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