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Sri Lankan Tamil revolutionary (–)

"Arulpragasam" redirects here. For the British rapper, see M.I.A.

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(rapper). For the Ceylonese civil servant, see A. Arulpiragasam.

Arul Pragasam
Born	Arulappu Richard Arulpragasam ()13 April Jaffna, Ceylon
Died	3 December () (aged&#;71) Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Occupation	Tamil Eelam independence activist
Spouse	Kala Pragasam
Children	3, including Kali and Mathangi

Arulappu Richard Arulpragasam^[1] (13 April – 3 December ), also known as Arular and A.

R. Arulpragasam, was a Sri Lankan Tamil activist and former revolutionary from Jaffna who had a part in forming the group Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students (EROS) in January in Wandsworth, England during the Tamil independence movements to secure an independent Tamil Eelam.^[2][3][4] He later left the conflict, after work as an independent peace negotiator between the two sides of the civil war.

At the time of his death, he headed the Global Sustainability Initiative in the United Kingdom. He was also the father of the musician M.I.A. and designer Kali Arulpragasam.

Education

Arulpragasam graduated from the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia in Moscow with a degree in Engineering.^[5]

Political career

Having created EROS in in Wandsworth, England the group staged demonstrations at the inaugural Cricket World Cup that year, prompting clashes between Tamil and Sinhalese cricket supporters, and bringing the conflict in Sri Lanka to international attention for the first time.^[6] In March , he moved to Vavuniya and was one of three EROS members selected to train for six months in Lebanon with Palestinian militants associated with the Fatah wing of the PLO.

He left after three months of training, returning to Jaffna, Northern Sri Lanka with his family. Arulpragasam moved back to Vavuniya in late and from – , he lived and worked in Tamil Nadu where India, through its intelligence agency supported and trained EROS, one of six Tamil revolutionary groups against the Sri Lankan state.

He made sporadic visits to Jaffna where his family lived, introducing himself to his children as their uncle. Although never himself a member of the LTTE, Arulpragasam was an old friend of the group's military leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran during the early years of the Tamil rebellion.^[7] His wife and three children left Jaffna in the late 80s and were granted political asylum in the United Kingdom, while he remained behind.

Arul Pragasam left his group EROS and the conflict in , becoming an independent peace mediator between the two sides of the civil war, and he was instrumental in bringing in more direct Indian intervention to the conflict in , ultimately ending in failure.^{[citation needed]}

M.I.A. has stated in interviews her father shared revolutionary ideals, and that he was a politician, although she had no contact with him since the early s.^[8][9] Rarely speaking about her father publicly, in an interview with The Guardian in , M.I.A.

stated "He never had a practical, physical influence" in her family's life. On his involvement in the war and some writers referring to him as a former Tiger rebel, she has said "People write it because it's easy. The Tigers were big in numbers but my dad was too selective. The Tigers had machetes and said, 'They killed my mum so I'm going to fucking fight them.' And my dad was like, 'No no no no, read this amazing book about revolution.

Let's sit down and draw up a manifesto."^[10]

Later years

In , he set up an Institute of Sustainability Development at Trincomalee on the Eastern Province's coast. The same year, he wrote a seminal book on Tamil history, and was based in the island's north east and Tamil Nadu until the mids.^[7][11] He contacted his daughter following the release of her debut album, named Arular after him, in , telling her to change its name, however she refused.

His house was flooded after the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.^[12] Arulpragasam moved to Britain and, at the time of his death, headed the Britain-based Global Sustainability Initiative, which has overseen inventions such as a redesigned bullock cart, a motorised wheelbarrow and a car that consumes less petrol.

Mia biography wikipedia Shouldn't have apologized". Archived from the original on September 24, Archived from the original on March 6, Announces New Song "Babylon" ".

Arulpragasam explained "GSI's mission is to develop a program with a global perspective."^[7] Pragasam died on 3 December , aged ^[13]

Personal life

Arul Pragasam was the father of jewellery designer Kali Arulpragasam, musician/filmmaker/visual artist Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam (better known by her stage name, M.I.A.), and Sugu Arulpragasam.

His family moved back to Sri Lanka when Maya was six months old. M.I.A. named her debut album Arular after her father, partly for him to get in contact with her. "Arular" was his nom de guerre during the civil war.^[7] M.I.A. said of her upbringing: "I only had my mum. I never grew up with my dad so I don’t know what he’s like.

I think I’m a mixture of both. My mum’s really passive, quiet and she’s not feisty. She cared about bringing in food and getting us to school and stuff but that’s as far as it went. Growing up without a dad, I was going to school and turning up at parents' meetings on my own. At the time everyone was like, "Oh if you had a dad he’d pay for your school and you’d have a better future".

Singer mia biography: Archived from the original on 1 November Archived from the original on October 9, The Numbers. Los Angeles.

At the time, my mom was bringing us up and she was like, "The only thing your father gave you was a name". So that's why I used [his name "Arular"] on my album to turn it into a statement that my mom always made. If the only thing he's going to give me is a name, then that's what I'm going to use."^[14] In , M.I.A.

told EGO Magazine that despite her father's involvement in the conflict, she felt no affiliation to either armed party in the war, noting her work to be the voice of "civilians and refugees that get caught up in the cross fire of politics" and shocking enough to invoke discussion in young people that felt they had no right to talk.^[15] Following the end of the armed conflict in , M.I.A.

condemned the Government of Sri Lanka for engaging in systematic genocide against Tamils. In a feature for The Fader, she stated of the US and Sri Lankan government's behaviour towards her following her rise in prominence: "He negotiated peace processes, brought in the new army, and when he goes to Sri Lanka, it’s the government who gives him security against the Tigers", she explains.

Kiara mia biography wikipedia Archived from the original on 17 December She said that her children were affected by the rumor because they were being questioned about it. Meyers, Michael; Emig, Rainer She also appeared as part of a humanitarian mission there, hosting a 4Real TV-series documentary on the post-war situation in the country with activist Kimmie Weeks.

"They used it the other way and told the world my dad’s a Tiger which got me to this point. It’s like, 'Wow I didn’t know this guy, and this guy has been working for you for 20 fucking years, and when you feel like it you want to use my own dad against me to discredit what I do.'"^[16]

References

Further reading

Arulpragasam, Maya ().

M.I.A. No. 10 (Paperback ed.). Pocko Editions. ISBN&#;X