{"id":138497,"date":"2023-11-22T18:11:20","date_gmt":"2023-11-23T01:11:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=138497"},"modified":"2023-11-22T18:11:20","modified_gmt":"2023-11-23T01:11:20","slug":"mahaveerar-naal-great-heroes-day-maaveerar-vaaram-great-heroes-week-is-it-a-ltte-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2023\/11\/22\/mahaveerar-naal-great-heroes-day-maaveerar-vaaram-great-heroes-week-is-it-a-ltte-event\/","title":{"rendered":"Mahaveerar Naal (Great Heroes Day) \/ \u2018Maaveerar Vaaram\u2019 (Great Heroes Week)\u2013 Is it a LTTE event?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shenali D Waduge<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n
\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mahaveerar Naal is a LTTE mourning event \u2013 it does not mourn Tamils & certainly not Tamils killed by LTTE. Mahaveerar Naal is an event annually organized by LTTE supporters to commemorate all LTTE who died for terrorist cause. Other Tamil militant groups are not allowed to commemorate their dead on this day \u2013 27 November. It is only dedicated to LTTE dead. All those gathered for Mahaveerar Naal commemorations are LTTE only. The LTTE families mourning LTTE dead are known as Maaveerar Kudumbangal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why 27<\/strong>th<\/sup><\/strong> <\/strong>November becomes Maaveerar Naal Day?<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is the day the first LTTE died fighting the Sri Lanka Army. He was Sathiyanathan or Shankar. He died on 27 November 1982. Shankar\u2019s sister is married to Sea Tiger Soosai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore it commemorates the first terrorist to be killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the background to 27 November Mahaveerar Naal commemoration!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shankar was a friend of Prabakaran. Shankar visited Nithiyanandan\u2019s residences in Jaffna to warn him & his wife Nirmala that the army was looking for those sympathetic to LTTE. Nithiyanandan was a lecturer at the Jaffna University & Nirmala was a teacher at a leading girls school. The army arrived while Shankar was inside & tried to shoot his way out but was shot. Nithiyanandans were arrested. Sivakumar (Anton Master) took Shankar by boat to Tamil Nadu for urgent treatment & left him in a safe house provided by Nedumaran (Member of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly). Sivakumar went to Madurai where Prabakaran & others were staying following court order after the shoot out with PLOTE leader Uma Maheshwaran at Pondi Bazaar in Chennai. Shankar died in Madurai on 27 November 1982.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, 7 years after Shankars death in 1989 \u2013 Prabakaran and around 600 LTTE gathered in the jungles of Nithikaikulam, Mullaitivu to declare the Great Heroes Day or Mahaveerar Naal day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When was the 1<\/strong>st<\/sup><\/strong> <\/strong>Mahaveerar Naal commemoration?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

27 November 1989 in Mullaitivu (7 years after Shankars death)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subsequently from 1991<\/strong> it was turned into a week-long commemoration (Great Heroes Week) from 21-27 November. It was turned into a week to cover Prabakaran\u2019s birthday which fell on 26 November (day before Shankar died)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There have been 34 Mahaveerar Naal (Great Heroes Day) since 1989<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There have been 32 Mahaveerar Vaaram (Great Heroes Week)  since 1991<\/p>\n\n\n\n