From Ceylon Today
BY Sulochana Ramiah Mohan
Amidst stories of killings, abductions, horror and terror,
fleeing for life and bombardments which took place from the day one the rebels
(LTTE) took up arms to fight against the Army in the Northern peninsula, some
40 years back, even the owners of the oldest and famous, Subhas Hotel were not
spared. The family encountered the worst situations of hate, revenge,
abductions and looting during the same period.
Today, Subhas Hotel on Victoria Road in Jaffna, stands tall, after 19 years
(from 1995 – 2011) with 'no business'.
Aiyappan Sangaran family had to move out like the rest 'forced' by the LTTE,
from Jaffna and it was then the troops occupied the vacant hotel.
Ceylon Today spoke to Subhas Hotel Managing Director / proprietor, a Keralite,
S.Hariharan, 56, a simple man in a pair of sandals. He was seated amid a stack
of files and ledgers in his little office room of the hotel.
"It was purely a miracle to see the LTTE being defeated, and at the same
time never thought the government troops will hold on to our hotel for 19
years," Hariharan said at the beginning of the interview." Everything
was unexpected," he said.
History of Subhas Hotel family
One of many stories narrated by his father was that he had come with a half
ticket, as he was just 14. He sailed from Kerala to Colombo during the World
War II in the 1940s.
In his early teens he started working in a bus company at Kalutara as a cleaner
and thereafter he moved to Jaffna.
Having managed to buy a car Sangaran transported goods as there was a scarcity
of food due to the war that had affected Sri Lanka.
Sangaran had then purchased a small land in 1947 and ran a small café named
Subhas on the Hospital Street.
"My father admired India's freedom fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and
named his café 'Subhas'," Hariharan recalled.
After Sangaran's marriage in 1946 in Kerala he settled down in Jaffna with his
six sons who studied at Central College and his daughter at the Wembady Girls'
School.
After becoming the owner of Subhas Café and Subhas Ice Cream Parlour in 1956,
Sangaran bought a120 perch land behind the Jaffna hospital and built Subhas
Hotel with eight rooms. It later became an iconic hotel where many renowned
South Indian film stars such as
M. G. Ramachandran of Tamil Nadu, his best female partner on the silver screen,
Saroja Devi, and many playback singers stayed at the hotel. In 1970 the hotel
was upgraded to 24 rooms.
Insurgency
Sangaran and Alfred Duraiappah who were elected to Jaffna Municipal Council and
latter, the Mayor, were best friends, Hariharan added.
Recalling the spectre of terror, Hariharan said it was very peaceful till
Duraiappah was shot dead in 1975. Some student agitations were going on from
the beginning of 1970. The students' movement claimed that they had shot him
because he was politically too close to Sirimavo Bandaranaike and was not in
favour of the northerners.
The student agitation that began in 1970 had a Thamil Maanavar Peravai (Tamil
Students' Federation) and people had been talking about them that they may had
shot Duraiappah. It was later that people came to know that Velupillai
Prabhakran was the leader of a group called Tigers.
Hariharan who returned in 1970 from England after completing his higher
education witnessed all the shootings. The people justified them to be a good
move.
"Initially 30 per cent of the northerners were in favour of the group that
was rebelling but they cheered them after the 1983 riots that claimed Tamil
lives in the South and the upcountry.
Power and respect
"Actually, the LTTE only attacked people who mattered to them. But they
were welcomed in homes. LTTE was treated with respect and Prabhakaran gained
more power and respect after the 1983 riots.
"LTTE then began to wonder about Indian Peace Keeping Force's (IPKF)
intervention in 1987 because the latter was on a peace mission. IPKF wanted to
attract the LTTE to a democratic line. However, LTTE had only one agenda. To
create an Eelam.
When IPKF was in the North there were several LTTE hit and run cases.The LTTE
could not come out as they did before because of the IPKF, Hariharan pointed
out.
"Then came PLOTE and EPRLF which were not very efficient groups like the
LTTE. But they came to assist the LTTE.
"LTTE never allowed the people to suffer and all the time protected them.
Those who fought with them were treated well. Dry rations and food items were
provided to their families.
IPKF presence
The LTTE was weakened due to the IPKF presence and in wanting to send them back
to India, the LTTE approached the then President R. Premadasa who had the
mandate to send the IPKF back to India if he wanted to.
At a time the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) insurgency was creating problems
in the South. President Premadasa ordered the IPKF out. However, the LTTE
resumed fighting where both sides suffered heavy losses.
From 1990 to 1995 the war between the LTTE and the government forces was
intense. President Premadasa blocked all facilities to the North. There was
scarcity of medicines, water and the entire Jaffna and many other regions in
the North were in the dark without electricity. Transformers were blasted and
the North was completely isolated and the LTTE was in full control,"
recalled Hariharn.
In 1994 General Ratwatte was determined to recapture Jaffna and deployed the
army to enter the peninsula.
Due to the intense fighting, the Jaffna hospital was functioning under the
ICRC. A peace zone was declared and the hotel was also in it.
Peace zone
"From 1990 to1995 no one could come close to the peace zone except
civilians and patients. Nobody carrying arms and ammunitions could enter the
peace zone and we quite felt safe. There were no air raids, shelling, bombing
or gunning down people in that area" Hariharan said.
The Tigers having heard the fresh operations, made an announcement in Jaffna
that everyone should leave for Chavakachcheri so that they could fight the
enemies.
"They even announced that chemical bombs would be thrown in Jaffna and no
one could escape death. A massive exodus from Jaffna began in November1995.
"LTTE knew if the Jaffna hospital is shut down, the ICRC cannot remain
there according to the mandate, and there won't be a peace zone."
"My parents, myself and 90 Jaffna hospital doctors and nurses remained
there with the ICRC when the LTTE's Thamilchelvan came personally and said
everybody should leave the place if not they would face serious
repercussions."
"On 13 November 1995 at about 8.30 a.m. the last batch of the convoy left
Jaffna through a safe passage the ICRC had cleared for us.
Search operations
"I looked back at my hotel. I knew even to keep it under lock and key
would not be safe because IPKF in their search operation never opened the doors
but broke open them and barged in. I left the entire hotel open with nearly 89
teak beds, air conditioners and all the valuable furniture which was nearly
worth Rs 20m.
"In Chavakachcheri one of our friends gave us the store room of his house.
They gave a bed for my ailing mother and the rest of us slept on the floor.
"We waited for two months to see if we could leave for Colombo. However,
we had to wait for LTTE passes to cross the border.
On 15 December the Army occupied Subhas Hotel."I read that in the
newspapers. I also heard it on the radio. Within a few weeks of our absence, I
also heard that the LTTE had walked into our hotel and removed some furniture."However,
the biggest news was when the 52 brigade of the Army had marched into our hotel
and made it their base to fight terrorism. Hotel Gnanams and several big houses
that were abandoned were also occupied by the Army when they entered Jaffna".
A few days later Hariharan and his family left Chavakachcheri.
"We walked on the no man's land in Omanthai. My mother was ailing. We
walked several kilometres and took several buses and reached Colombo".
Hariharan said. Hariharan sent off his parents to Kerala, and for the rest 19
years he was jobless. He stayed at his residence in the Gampaha District.
"I never thought that the Army would occupy my hotel for 19 years. I even
thought the hotel would not be returned to me as I never dreamt that the war
would end," he opined.
Father's struggle
"My father struggled hard in building his business in Jaffna and witnessed
the war from its inception. He lived his life through a very important period
of Sri Lanka. He died in 1998 in Kerala and three years later, my mother also
passed away.
"Initially the Army said they captured the hotel from the LTTE and
therefore it was theirs. However, over the phone I argued that the IPKF
occupied several houses of the Tamils, but they paid a rent. I also argued
whether the entire Jaffna was theirs since they occupied many of the civilians'
buildings."
"Later they agreed to pay me a rent till they returned it in
2011,"Hariharan said.
The entire hotel has been totally damaged. There were no beds or air
conditioners. "The entire hotel had nothing but the walls and the
roof."
Hariharan is the only son who is taking care of Subhas Hotel which is
refurbished and upgraded, welcoming all communities to enjoy their hospitality.
Sporadic clashes
During the IPKF presence in Jaffna, there were sporadic clashes with the LTTE.
At that point, the LTTE was also in the habit of extorting money from the
people. It was done to create hatred among the people. LTTE would have been in
need of money, but the people could not do so as the war had taken a heavy toll
on them.
Today, Hariharan considers himself as one of the few people who lived in Jaffna
witnessing the LTTE's rise and fall.
"The LTTE in their initial stage earned the respect of the people. I
thought that they would realize their dream, but it was sad that they killed
their own prominent people and extorted money from their people. The
kidnappings and extortions also angered the people," he stressed.
"On the other hand," he said, "if the government had done some
mistakes, they too should admit them and move forward to win the trust of the
people. After all, we are Sri Lankans," said Hariharan.
The kidnap saga
"It was in the 90s, when three schoolboys came to our hotel on their
bicycles and said that someone wanted to meet me. Since IPKF was around, the
LTTE was in the habit of sending schoolboys to convey such messages.
"I saw a boy on the motorcycle. He told me to follow him. I got into my
car with my driver and we followed him.
"He told us to stop at a place under a tree behind Jaffna University.
"Later he told me to get on to his motorcycle. Then we rode for another
half a kilometre. My driver had parked the car under the tree and was waiting
for my return.
"When the motorcycle reached the spot, there was smoke and some tents had
been burnt down. Some boys came and told him that the IPKF had come there and
routed the Tigers.
"The boy on the motorcycle did not know it. He said, 'No one is here. They
have shifted elsewhere, so you can go today'.
When he dropped me back near the university, I found my driver had left the
place.
I returned home getting into a truck whose driver was known to me. I did not
tell the incident to anyone at home.
"The schoolboys reappeared to my surprise saying that someone wanted to
meet me but I chased them away.
However, after the IPKF left Jaffna, the LTTE approached Hariharan.
When Hariharan was at Subhas Café he saw a boy seated for a long time.
"I collected the day's revenue and told the caretaker to close the shop
once the work was over. But the boy who followed me asked me to get into the
car and follow his motorcycle.
"We reached Ariyalai and it was their tax collecting
office. I was asked to occupy a room in the upstairs and the boys were busy
doing their work and were seated with a few others who were abducted to extract
money. I saw a jewellery shop owner and talked to him. I was asked to pay Rs
10m as a ransom. "We were not tortured, but offered good food. Sometimes
when they attended a wedding function, they returned with food and offered it
us too.
"They shared what they ate and I remained there for a month.
One day, a lorry driver who came to pay tax saw me in that house and had later
conveyed it to my father.
My father rushed to the house pleading for my release. They asked him to pay Rs
10m and take me home.
"Another boy who was brought into the house managed to escape. He was the
son of a famous jewellery shop owner in Colombo. When he escaped, the LTTE
thought I was behind his jail break.
On the following day, they moved me to another place and kept me in isolation.
I stayed there for another month until they told me that I could go home.
"My father had been meeting a few LTTE members asking them how to get me
released. He was introduced to a 'master' in his 50s, an LTTE sympathizer who
had close connections with them.
He promised that he would 'talk to Prabhakaran' and took Rs 50, 000 from my
father.
However, there was no news from the 'master' and Hariharan's father had been
telling the people about the extortion by him. Apparently, on hearing the extortion
story some LTTE senior members got angry.
"They summoned my father for an inquiry and they felt ashamed that their
man had betrayed their movement's ideologies.
Finally the 'master' was brandaed a traitor. He was brought close to the Nallur
Temple and after the senior cadres announced the 'master's treason, he was shot
at point-blank range killing him instantly.
Sangran finally paid the LTTE Rs 1 m for the release of his son.
"I thought I will not return home, but my father was very bold to save
me."
