Balraj
| Balasegaram Kandiah | |
|---|---|
| Born |
27 November 1965 Kokkuththoduvai, Sri Lanka |
| Died | 20 May 2008 (aged 42) Mullaithivu, Sri Lanka |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Other names | Balraj |
| Occupation | Tamil militant |
| Known for |
Conventional warfare Psychological warfare Attack on Elephant Pass |
| Spouse(s) | Varathaa (deceased) |
Balasegaram Kandiah also known as Balraj was the senior commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Balasegaram Kandiah was born to Kandiah and Kannagi. Balraj was the youngest of a family of four boys and one girl. Balraj had his primary education at Kokkuthoduwaai in Mullaitheevu district and secondary education at Pulmoddai in the Trincomalee district. Balraj passed his O levels and his parents were very keen to send him to university but this didn't work out as there too many riots in the country. Balraj could speak Tamil, Sinhala and English fluently. None of his siblings joined the Tigers but some of his nephews and nieces did.
Balraj married a woman cadre Varathaa, one of Velupillai Prabhakaran's relative making him a relative of the LTTE leader. Velupillai Prabhakaran trusted him very much and proposed the wedding himself. Varathaa like Balraj had injured her leg in a battle. Balraj soon had problems with his wife and they soon separated. Balraj never had children. His wife was bitten by a Russel's viper and died; even though they had separated Balraj was emotionally affected.
When Balraj was a student when he was recruited by Suntharam who was one of the top leaders in PLOTE until he was shot by LTTE in a press conference. PLOTE didn't believe in hit and run tactics which was one LTTE's main tactics against the Sri Lankan Army. Instead PLOTE formed sleeper cells everywhere so that they can carry out a massive onslaught. Therefore, Balraj didn't fight against the army. Balraj was an impatient person, he was prepared to fight any time. When the 1983 riots began he thought of LTTE than PLOTE and opted for it. He went to a school teacher who was recruiting members for LTTE. Even though he had a PLOTE background he was accepted. In 1983 he was a part-time member and became a full-time member in 1984.
He was soon recognised for his talent by Mahattaya who was killed in 1993 for leaking information to RAW, an Indian intelligence agency who planned to kill LTTE supremo. Velupillai Prabhakaran suspected him because of his background in PLOTE and kept him as a helper than a fighter. When the fight began with the IPKF, most of the LTTE leadership went into the deep jungles. This is where Prabhakaran found out how valuable Balraj was.
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