Major Suvarnan Today is the Memorial Day
Major Suvarnan Today is the Memorial Day 29.05.2000
Today is the Memorial Day of Major Suvarnan, who was martyred in a direct clash with the army in the Mannar area on 29.05.2000. It was a time when the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were waging a major war against the Sri Lankan government forces under the name of #Oyatha Alaikal – 3”. “Oyatha Alaikal”, which had begun to rage in the forests of Vanni in early November 1999, had now turned towards Jaffna. In its first phase, the LTTE had captured the Kattaikadu – Vetrilakeni beaches, and the Paranthan Army Base, which was located on the Yarlpanam Road. The he next phase of the move was preparing here.
One night, a LTTE attack party is preparing for a surprise attack on the enemy in Umayalpuram. A company led by Major Shankar of the Imran Pandian Regiment is preparing for the attack. It is an attack with the aim of seriously injuring some of the enemy. All this is being carried out with a team led by Suvarnan as its center. At the time of this attack plan, Suvarnan and his team has crossed the front lines of the army and is stationed in the southern Marathi region.
One day in 1996. We are busy working somewhere in the Vanni forest. It is the work of re-locking a power tower that had been removed from another place and brought to a place in the forest.
We have lowered the trench into the deep pit. Now we need to cover it with soil. The stone weighs tons. After pulling cables from three sides and making it straight, someone must fix the cadres on the pillar and stabilize it. Accordingly, when we had pulled the pillar from three sides and made it straight, Suvarnan, who was supposed to lock the cadre, was not doing it and was looking somewhere. “Hey Suvarnan! What are you doing? Lock the cadre,” it was Raghu brother. “I told you to call me Suvarnan Master. Do it and I will do my job.” This is Suvarnan.
“Hey! Master? Don´t joke and do the job! Our hands is getting tired,” the boy who was pulling the cable on one side shouted. Suvarnan did not move. Like a king holding a scepter, he was striking a pose and did not move. There were no other people there. Even if they want to beat him, they have to leave the cable and go.
“Suvarnan Master, oh Master, please lock it, Master.” Kumuthan, who was at one end, pleaded. Only then did Suvarnan do his job.
As punishment for his actions that day, we dragged him into the heavy muddy water.
This is how Suvarnan is. He started talking about being called Master right after basic training and special military training began. When he came to the dormitory in the burning sun, Suvarnan’s pranks would get even more heated.
He would never smile even when he was teased for calling him Master. Those who met him for the first time would think that he was talking seriously. There was always a buzz around him. But Suvarnan never smiled. He would talk about everything seriously. When Suvarnan’s team first arrived in the forest from Yarlpanam, they would never stop talking about the battle. We had very tough jobs. Digging wells, laying paths in the forest, setting up bases, and digging bunkers were very tough jobs. At that time, the pranks that Suvarnan would do would make others laugh out loud.
At one point, our company was reorganized. At that time, a new eight-man team was formed for the 50-caliber weapon. Suvarnan was one of them. Since Suvarnan was in a different team all this time, we had to experience his pranks now. One of them happened during the above-mentioned work of stopping the train. There are many such incidents. Every time he would do something new. No matter how many months pass, no matter how many times his ‘master’ bumblebee repeats itself, it will remain an unforgettable memory every time. Although the 50-caliber team has been selected, we have not been given the weapon for us. We were just wandering around under the name ‘Caliber Team’. It wasn’t a heavy weapons division, but rather a heavy-duty division.
When the work was divided, the most difficult tasks were given to our 50-caliber team. That is how the rubber lock work came about. We would say to ourselves, ‘You guys are not going to give us a caliber. You just split up because you needed a team to do the heavy work.’ What was the effect of having Suvarnan in the team doing this ‘heavy’ work? Later, when the team was split up for the GPMG weapon, we were the ones who were most happy. It was not because our company was getting a good heavy weapon, but because another team came to share our burdens.
The hard work for our caliber team was shared with them. Suvarnan’s sense of humor was amazing. While the teams in our company were staying in separate barracks in the forest, our 50-caliber team was staying a little further away, closer to the forest. We had a strong desire to walk a long distance. ‘Even if we give the Caliber and leave it next to the forest, it won’t matter. What’s the point of just keeping a rifle for everyone and staying next to the forest?’ Suvarnan would have said.
The Caliber, which had only been in the team’s name until then, came to our barracks one night. We had seen the 50 Caliber before that. We had seen it before joining the organization, and we had seen it after joining. A 50 Caliber team was also training at the special training base. At that time, we knew that weapon even more closely. We had seen it. Up until then, all we had seen was a Belgian-made .50 caliber weapon. A good item. A good weight. It requires a lot of physical strength and training to lift and operate. Just looking at the weapon creates a sense of fear and respect.
The image we had of a 50-caliber weapon did not match this weapon. It was a very undersized, thin weapon. Made in China. Those who came put it down and left. Kumuthan measured the barrel diameter in disbelief. It was 12.7 mm, so that was right. It was a 50 caliber. Suvarnan, who had previously irritated and delighted us as a ‘pistol guy’, had received a pistol as a reward for his skills.
The next morning, he had to carry the weapon and go to our base meeting. If we carried this, no one would believe it was a 50 caliber. Even if they did, it would not be of any value to us. Someone might joke, ‘A PK LMG is more powerful than this.’ The image that had been built up so far would be shattered. Suvarnan came up with a plan. He wrapped the weapon in mats and then a bed sheet to make it a slightly larger object. The next day, we showed our company the enlarged object as our 50 caliber. We made sure that no one came near our kennel.
We had gone to the reclaimed Mullaitheevu in the month of December 1997 for 50 caliber training. And there his pranks continued. Some people who had come for training from the Sea Tiger team made him think that he was really a training instructor. At the end of the training, there was a day for continuous firing practice. They gave us ten semolina and asked us to shoot at the bullet tied to our palm.
The fewer we shoot in one press, the higher the scores we can get. Not shooting more than three in one press will help us get good results. At the same time, the total shooting time will also be observed. We must shoot all ten within ten seconds. We all shot ten in three or four presses. The results were quite good.
It was Suvarnan´s turn. With one press, all ten flew away. The front leg of the tripod stood up and stood in the gap. At that moment, he turned and looked at us. ‘Buffalo!! Look, he is throwing everything in the air and posing like a big Rambo’. Raghu brother said.
The instructor in charge of the shooting training had a stern look on his face. But as far as Suvarnan was concerned, everything was going well. Suvarnan, who went straight to the instructor after shooting, looked at the stopwatch and saw that it was two seconds off. ‘Your mistake, Master, it takes less than a second to fire ten rounds at once. You are not on time’ he said.
You should have seen the instructor’s face. We had just finished the entire training and returned to our base from Mullaitheevu. At that time, about a hundred new people from another battalion had arrived at our base. When some of us, except Suvarnan, had gone out for a day on other duties and returned to the base, the new company was calling him ‘Master Suvarnan’. Suvarnan had achieved his goal without any loss of effort all this time. We patted him on the head.
Now he had moved to the next level. He had started saying that he was a ‘pistol guy’ and practicing it. We too traveled, enduring these atrocities. In the movement, a pistol was a weapon that determined one’s qualifications at that time. The idea that ‘pistol guy’ meant that he was a great commander. Suvarnan had started using himself as a pistol guy. With this new atrocity, we had escaped the ‘master’ atrocity.
Ganesh was the one who was beaten the most. Ganesh would call himself his bodyguard. Orders would come, ‘Ganesh! Did someone take your brother’s pistol?’ At that time, Ganesh would start throwing the sticks he found in his hand and replying, ‘Here is your pistol,’ after which Suvarnan changed his bodyguard. Without even a smile on his face, the number of blows he would inflict was innumerable.
The team would have been called in very urgently. When everyone was ready and lined up, only Suvarnan would be looking for something to wear. ‘Hey Suvarnan! What are you looking for?’ ‘Can’t find my pistol. Did you take it yourself?’ He would ask the entire team, kicking them. In an unexpected turn of events, the company manager made Suvarnan the team leader. We shouted with joy. Oh my! We sighed that there would be no more troubles from you. But after two days, it didn’t last. In the confusion over the pistol he had fired, he was again appointed as the old caliber shooter.
Suvarnan, who used to play dream games with a pistol and keep us entertained and amused, became a ‘Pistol Guy’. He also received a pistol as a gift from the national leader. When we were together and went on separate missions over time, Suvarnan served in the Lt. Col. Radha Air Guard.
Until the ceasefire agreement between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE in 2002, the Lt. Col. Radha Air Guard operated as a unit of Imran Pandian’s brigade.
Now let’s come to the prepared battle in Umayyalpuram. During the attack on the areas surrounding Elephant Pass, the Sri Lanka Air Force’s Bell helicopter was used to transport seriously injured soldiers to the Palaly Hospital. A plan was hatched to destroy the aircraft on its way there or on its way back. For this, a team carrying anti-aircraft missiles had infiltrated the southern region and positioned itself.
Suvarnan was the leader of the team and the operator of the missile. The route of the aircraft had already been spied on. A unit of the Imran Pandian Regiment, led by Major Shankar, was deployed to the field to bring down the target for Suvarnan. But the real reason behind the attack was unknown to anyone except a few.
The plan for the attack on the Umayyalpura military base was limited in scope. The primary objective was to bring in a specific helicopter by causing serious casualties on the military side. The attack was carried out as planned and caused damage to the enemy. The helicopter carrying the casualties arrived as planned. When it arrived, the attack was not carried out. Those who knew the plan were nervous. If the aircraft flew beyond the range of Suvarnan, who was stationed with missiles, there was a possibility of a failure in the plan. Or if the enemy forces saw the team stationed inside the enemy’s territory and attacked, there was a possibility of a failure. There was regular communication with Suvarnan. He was giving information that everything would go well.
The helicopter carrying back to Palaly came within Suvarnan’s range as expected. That day, the target was destroyed by Suvarnan. As a reward for carrying out that successful attack, a pistol was presented to Suvarnan by the national leader. Suvarnan, who had previously irritated and delighted us as a ‘pistol guy’, actually received a pistol as a reward for his skills.
Major Suvarnan, who continued to serve in the Lt. Col. Radha Air Guard in the struggle for the liberation of Eelam, later held his breath for the liberation of the homeland one day and became maveeran.
(Translation by Tamilpriya)
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