Anton Balasingham, the LTTE ideologue, has claimed that former Chief Minister, the late M G Ramachandran, assiduously promoted the interests of his organisation and even gave it as much as Rs 6 crore from out of his personal funds—and hard cash at that. In an anthology of articles titled Viduthalai (Liberation), brought out recently in the United Kingdom, Balasingham has made several startling claims, including the gift of an AK-47 to MGR by Prabhakaran. His almost unrestrained eulogy to MGR and a tacit admission that LTTE leaders played on his ego are quite revealing. Balasingham claims that in 1984, MGR, in a bid to unite several Lankan militant groups, called a meeting. But Karunanidhi, in an attempt to show off his own commitment to the Lankan Tamil cause, called a meeting of his own, just a day earlier. Not wanting to get caught in the internal politics of Tamil Nadu, the LTTE apparently kept out of the meeting convened by Karunanidhi and decided not to meet to MGR either. But when a meeting between three rebel leaders and Karunanidhi made a splash in the media, a cutup MGR is said to have cancelled the meeting he had called and sent a senior police official to persuade LTTE leaders to meet him at his residence. Balasingham writes that he agreed but only on the condition that no other rebel leader would be present at the meeting. Balasingham and his associates quickly managed to strike a rapport with the Chief Minister, two key factors being their badmouthing rival Karunanidhi for ‘‘playing politics’’ and flattering MGR over his social concerns. His face lit up when they described him as a ‘‘social revolutionary,’’ equating him with Prabhakaran himself, Balasingham writes. And as the conversation proceeded, he slipped in his request for money for training cadres and for arms. MGR asks, ‘‘How much?’’ Rather hesitantly, Shankar, a senior leader of the LTTE, mumbles, ‘‘Rs 2 crore.’’ The response is prompt—‘‘Come tomorrow and collect it.’’ Later the LTTE team wonder whether they should not have asked for more. The next evening, Balasingham says he arrives at MGR’s residence in a van, is taken to the basement where he finds ‘‘boxes’’ stacked to a height of ten feet. MGR tells the security guards in Malayalam to take out 10 of the boxes and pile them up in the van. It is late in the night, and the LTTE folk are worried about the security and possible police interception. ‘‘No problem,’’ MGR is quoted as saying and the team goes to its destination under police escort. Thus the foundation for a historic friendship was laid, Balasingham remarks, and says that at the time it was essentially MGR’s money that kept the LTTE’s wheels moving. Still later, Prabhakaran demanded Rs 5 crore. This time MGR chose to dip into funds collected by the government for the rehabilitation of the Lankan Tamils affected by the 1983 riots. A project for their health care, to be managed by an LTTE-front organisation, was to be the cover. After some hassles, Balasingham was handed a cheque for Rs 4 crore at the secretariat. But the media exposed the transaction, and all hell broke loose. (Incidentally Balasingham mentions The Indian Express in that connection.) The then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi spoke to MGR rather sharply. The LTTE spokesman says not wishing to lock horns with the Centre, MGR got the cheque back and compensated the rebels with cash from his basement. It was not just monetary help that MGR was rendering. He went out of his way to go to their rescue whenever they were caught in one crisis or other. Once, a consignment of arms meant for the PLOTE, a rival organisation, was seized by the Madras Port authorities. Wiser by that experience, the LTTE promptly sought the Chief Minister’s help when its own shipment, worth thousands of dollars, docked. ‘‘No problem,’’ was the answer again. It was as a token of his gratitude that Prabhakaran gifted an AK-47 to MGR, who was, of course, delighted at his new toy, says Balasingham. Again when the then MGR’s most trusted police chief, Mohandas, ordered a crackdown on all militant outfits and seized their arms and communication equipment—and Prabhakaran went on a fast—the Chief Minister personally intervened and ordered the return of whatever had been seized. Strangely, Balasingham is silent on MGR’s failure to raise his voice against the IPKF offensive and Karunanidhi’s vociferous protests. It should indeed be galling to DMK chief M Karunanidhi that there is no reference at all to his role, except for an occasional dig or two.
