Arul Pragasam
| Arul Pragasam | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | EROS founder |
| Spouse(s) | Kala Arulragasam |
| Children |
Kali Arulpragasam Mathangi Arulpragasam Sugu Arulpragasam |
Arul Pragasam (also known by the name Arular and A. R. Arudpragasam) is a Tamil activist and former revolutionary from Jaffna who had a part in forming the group Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students (EROS) in January 1975 in Wandsworth, England during the Tamil independence movements to secure an independent Tamil Eelam. He later left the conflict, after work as an independent peace negotiator between the two sides of the civil war. He currently heads the Global Sustainability Initiative in the United Kingdom. He is also the father of the musician M.I.A. and the jewellery designer Kali Arulpragasam.
Arulpragasam graduated from the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia in Moscow with a degree in Engineering.
Having created EROS in 1975 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. In March 1976, 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 1976 and from 1978 – 1986, 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. 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 1987, 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 1987, ultimately ending in failure.
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