No doubt the hands that murdered Rajiv have been brought to book. But then these hands were no more than mere robots, programmed to kill and in the process even destroy themselves, if necessary. Men and women who walk around with bombs tied to their waists and cyanide capsules around their necks, ready to blow up all and sundry, unmindful of their own lives can only belong to a sub-human or super-human realm, depending on whose side you are. To glorify them as heroes comes as naturally to their protagonists as the feeling of revulsion and horror experienced by the civilised and the non-violent.
That the LTTE and its maniacal chief were behind Rajiv’s assassination was never in dispute among the political intelligentia, the media and even the common man. The judicial stamp that has now sealed this widespread ‘knowledge’ as the only truth has come as an official confirmation. The very fact that the SIT and the learned judge have not confined themselves to convicting the immediate culprits, but have instead gone ahead with identifying the masterminds and their motives goes only to prove that there is a larger conspiracy behind the gruesome killing. The judgment, while bringing the curtains down on one aspect of the case, has opened the doors for more detailed investigation into that larger conspiracy. In fact such a detailed investigation has indeed been made, and it is no secret as to where the needle of indictment pointed. if only one bothered to pick the threads from the Jain panel revelations and the present judgment of the special court and tie the loose ends it would be easy to arrive at the logical conclusion.
When the din over the Jain findings reached the crescendo the main defence put up by those indicted was that they were not the only ones who pampered the LTTE, and that even the stain leader was playing to the latter’s tune. The special court has nailed this canard. While establishing the motive for the murder, the court in unequivocal terms says that the LTTE and its chief were incensed by Rajiv’s move to air the accord and send the IPKF to the island to help the Sri Lankan government restore peace, which actually meant controlling militancy. It pinpoints even the exact date on which Prabakaran developed this deep-seated animosity towards Rajiv, a hatred that became more pronounced when Rajiv’s comeback became imminent. He had to be stopped and he was, in the most brutal manner possible.
The significance of this cannot be missed. Even on the day of the accord Rajiv’s wish was that the LTTE should come to the negotiating table just as the other Tamil groups had done. But to be equated with the other groups irritated Prabhakaran. Rajiv’s refusal to recognise the LTTE chief as the sole custodian of Tamil interests ran contrary to the latter’s dream of a separate Eelam under his personal hegemony. From then on Rajiv and India became his sworn enemies. And on the day Rajiv signed the accord, Prabakaran wrote Rajiv’s death sentence.
But not all of India was persona non grata to the LTTE. There were cheer leaders and supporters here in Tamilnadu, who were under the influence of a heady ethnic wine that could blur even national frontiers and national interests. They too had an agenda, that of a larger Tamil homeland which merged with the LTTE’s scheme of things. Dictionaries would describe them as traitors, but they paraded themselves as visionaries in pursuit of a grand ambition.
The LTTE could no longer trust MGR. So these rationalists who also happened to be MGR’s enemies came in handy. Contact was established as early as September 1987 when the militants’ emissary met the Thaanai thalaivan and finalised their mutual commitments to each other and to a common cause. MGR’s death in December 1987 brought in its wake political turmoil in Tamilnadu, followed by elections. The LTTE’s cheer leader was now at the helm and Tamilnadu virtually belonged to them.
As Rajiv’s India fought the LTTE, DMK’s Tamilnadu allowed the militants to prosper. To quote Justice Jain: The LTTE sent personal emissaries to Karunanidhi for seeking his active support in their battle against the IPKF after the DMK leader took over as the Chief Minister in January 1989.
And to quote again: These overtures of the LTTE towards the DMK started a chain of events which led to LTTE’s survival and growth in Tamilnadu even after the hostilities between the IPKF and the LTTE in Sri Lanka.
And again: The year 1989 signified the perpetuation of the general political trend of indulging the Tamil militants on Indian soil and tolerance of their wide ranging criminal and anti-national activities.
Or this: The brutal murder of EPRLF leader Padmanabha along with 15 others in June 1990 showed the impunity with which the LTTE could operate in India. It is believed that the LTTE hit squad which killed Padmanabha was later detailed for the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.
Was it just coincidence that some elements here also hated the IPKF as much as Prabakaran did? Prabakaran was ready to kill for it. The parallel elements concurred, though not so violently. They just refused to welcome the IPKF when it landed in Madras after being called back by ‘their’ regime in Delhi. Commitment to a larger ideology got the better of even elementary protocol. But so what? Solidarity with a ’cause’ is supreme, even if it is against ‘narrow’ national interest.
It needs to be clarified that the LTTE mentioned above is the same as the one that has now been held responsible by the special court for Rajiv’s murder. Of course the DMK and its chief referred to by the Jain report are also the same as the present incumbents of the State gaddi. There is no confusion about that too, certainly. But we are not sure if the same camaraderie that saw the fruition of several visions still exists. We do know, however that the DMK chief is yet to name the LTTE and condemn it for killing Rajiv. Come to think of it, Karunanidni had steadfastly refused to point his finger at the LTTE even in the aftermath of the assassination when the whole world had little doubt about the latter’s culpability. Benefit of doubt, certainly. Innocent unless proved guilty. Right, sirs. But what stops him now? Probably old habits die hard.
Of course, he has hailed the judgment which punishes the ‘immediate’ killers, The glee and rebel is understandable. Even we are aware that the invisible mind and the criminal conscience can neither be jailed nor hanged!
Exoneration. Indeed.
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