Mathivathani Erambu was the wife of Velupillai Prabhakaran, the founder and leader of the Sri Lankan Tamil militant organization Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). She was found dead on 20 May 2009.
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Wiki/Biography
Mathivathani Erambu, fondly called Mathi, was born in Sri Lanka. He is from Punkudutivu, an island located near the Jaffna peninsula. Reportedly, she was pursuing her higher education at the University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka in the early 80s.
Family
parents and siblings
Mathivathani was born to Erambu Master and his wife Sinnammal. His father was a teacher in the village while his mother was a housewife. She was the third child and had a younger brother, Balachandran, who was a member of the terrorist organization LTTE. He died in a battle with the Sri Lankan army in 1987.
husband and children
Mathivathani’s husband’s name is Velupillai Prabhakaran. He was a militant leader and founder of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Their marriage took place on 1 October 1984 at Thiruporur Murugan Temple in Tamil Nadu. He died while fighting against the Sri Lankan army on 18 May 2009. He had two sons and a daughter. His son Charles Anthony Prabhakaran was the head of the Information and Technology Department of the LTTE. Velupillai named him after his most trusted lieutenant, who was killed in a shootout with the Sri Lankan army. Charles was killed in an encounter with the Sri Lankan army on 18 May 2009. His younger son Balachandran Prabhakaran was twelve years old and was reportedly killed by the Sri Lankan military after their capture in May 2009; However, the Sri Lankan Army has denied shooting him. His daughter’s name is Duvaraga (deceased). His daughter’s body was recovered by the army on 20 May 2009.
Mathivathani with Velupillai Prabhakaran, daughter Duvaraga and youngest son Balachandran Prabhakaran
Mathivathani with his son Charles Anthony Prabhakaran and his family
relationships/affairs
Mathivathani met Prabhakaran during his college days, where Mathivathani and some of his friends actively participated in protests against the government. They were taken to Madurai where they met LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, who then sent the girl students to Balasingham’s Thiruvanmiyur residence. Prabhakaran was staying at the Madras Legislative Assembly members’ hotel at the time and had visited Adele’s Thiruvanmiyur residence on business. After celebrating Holi that year, his visits to Thiruvanmuir to meet Mathivathani became more frequent and they started dating. Since Thiruvanmiyur was an orthodox Brahmin suburb of Chennai, problems arose due to their love affair and the LTTE’s code of conduct, which prohibited marriage. Eventually, a compromise was reached and a new general rule was drawn up, which gave freedom to those who had served in the organization for five years, allowing couples to marry.
Marriage ceremony of Mathivathani and Prabhakaran at Thiruporur Murugan Temple, Tamil Nadu.
Death
Mathivathani Erambu was reportedly killed by the Sri Lankan army; However, the army later denied killing him and said they had no information about his whereabouts. On 20 May 2009, the bodies of Mathivati and her daughter Duvaraga were found by the Sri Lankan Army.
Facts/General Knowledge
- In T. Sabaratnam’s book Peerpaharan: Volume 2, which is a biography of LTTE chief Vellupillai Prabhakaran, he mentions Adele, who worked for the LTTE organization and was a close confidant of the LTTE leader, who offered to marry Prabhakaran. Later talked about the life of Mathivathani. In his book The Will to Freedom. He remembered and wrote,
In all these years of her marriage, Mathi has never been able to find a permanent home and secure family life. Nevertheless, she played the role of a guerrilla leader’s wife with great courage and dignity and struggled constantly to provide a stable life for her children.
- During his college days, Mathivathani along with some of his friends started a fast unto death against the government at Jaffna University on 9 January 1984.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn