Pottu Amman (Tamil militant)
| Pottu Amman | |
|---|---|
.jpg) |
|
| Native name | பொட்டு அம்மான் |
| Born |
S. Sivashankar 1962 |
| Died | 18 May 2009 (aged 46–47) |
| Years active | 1981 –2009 |
| Organization | Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam |
Shanmugalingam Sivashankar (Tamil: சண்முகலிங்கம் சிவசங்கரன்; 1962 – 18 May 2009; commonly known by the nom de guerre Pottu Amman) was a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel and leading member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a separatist Tamil militant organisation in Sri Lanka.
Sivashankar was born in 1962. He was from Nayanmaarkattu near Ariyalai in northern Ceylon. He was the son of Shanmugalingam (Shanmuganathan), a clerk working in the up-country region. He was educated at Maheswari Vidyalayam, Canagaratnam Madhya Maha Vidyalayam (Stanley College) and Jaffna Hindu College.
Sivashankar was a supporter of Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) MP V. Yogeswaran and once when they met Sivashankar slashed his forearm and daubed Yogeswaran's forehead with blood. Sivashankar started bleeding excessively, fainted and was taken to hospital. It is believed that he got the nickname "Pottu" (Tamil for tilak) from this incident.
Sivashankar married a woman from the Batticaloa region and had a son and daughter.
Sivashankar joined the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 1981 along with T. Sivanesan (Soosai). He took on the nom de guerre "Pottu". Seniority in the LTTE resulted in his nom de guerre "Pottu" being suffixed by "Amman" (uncle). After being trained he served briefly as LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran's bodyguard. He was then sent to Tamil Nadu, India to be in charge of the shore operations in the Vedaranyam area. In 1985, whilst he was in charge of the LTTE's camp in Vedaranyam, he was abducted by rival militant group People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE). Talks mediated by a former TULF MP failed to result in Pottu Amman's release and so the LTTE's Shankar abducted PLOTE member Jotheeswaran (alias Kannan) who was later exchanged for Pottu Amman.
...
Wikipedia