A Saga of
IPKF-LTTE conflict
Dr AP Ranga
Rao the advisor IPKF in Sri Lanka
Vanam Jwala
Narasimha Rao
Hans India
(29-11-2020)
For
evaluating the needs of civilians in the then conflict between (Indian Peace
Keeping Force) IPKF and (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam)
LTTE Late Dr AP Ranga Rao was deputed by Ajit Bhowmick, the then Secretary
General of Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS), to Sri Lanka in the third week of
October 1987. At that time Dr Ranga Rao, a medical professional was working in
State TB Centre, Hyderabad. Dr Rao flew
to Delhi and after obtaining a survival Kit and a camera from IRCS flew to
Chennai along with three nurses and two assistants from Central Red Cross.
After
waiting for two days in Chennai he could fly in an army chopper that was
transporting goats, vegetables and poultry. He was one of three passengers on
board. It took 40 minutes to reach Palely air base in northern Sri Lanka. It
was raining. He got off the chopper and looked around. And it was like a scene
in a war film around there. Everyone was in uniform except Rao.
Dr
Rao took out his Red Cross badge and pinned it on his shirt. He introduced himself
to an officer who led him to the nearby army medical core first aid post and
asked them to accommodate him for the night. Next morning, he flew in a chopper
to Jaffna and reached Jaffna General and Teaching Hospital in an army truck.
On
the way he could see devastation. There were burnt out vehicles, corpses of few
days old, eagles and dogs around them all over the place. He could only see the
faces of army personnel with their helmets, guns pointed behind makeshift sand
bag shields. He could hear occasional gun fire. Except these, roads were
deserted.
On
reaching the Hospital he wanted to go and meet doctors in the OP block, but
Jawan guarding gestured him towards the other side. There he met a person who
introduced himself as Colonel (Dr) Puri and asked Rao to follow him. Both moved
towards the Emergency Area Operation theatre. Colonel Puri along with two other
army Doctors and staff were living in a room in theatre block.
While
they were conversing a Jawan came to inform that few civilian causalities were
brought, and no one was attending on them. Rao could hear the wailing and
crying in the corridor. Then with the consent of Colonel Puri Ranga Rao went to
a ward nearby where he met one young lady Doctor, a doctor past his middle age
and another male doctor in his thirties. They all looked very haggard.
There
was no electricity in the hospital and even in the town. There was curfew in
the town. With reluctance the Doctors attended to the cases. During the course
of chat Rao understood that the main problem was shortage of man power and
medical supplies and electricity. Together they prepared an inventory of
requirements and went back to Colonel Puri and requested him to arrange to send
the indent to the Secretary General IRCS at Delhi.
That
night Dr Ranga Rao rested in a labour room. He stretched on the labour table.
Except few hard chapattis and two cups of black tea he did not have anything to
eat whole day. He was hungry, tired and fretful. It was dark and sultry. It was
a nightmare. He was frequently disturbed by mosquitoes and sounds of gunfire
and distant explosion of bombs. After a formal bath in the morning at a nearby
well and morning routine, Dr Rao went back to Col Puri. During conversation
with him he realised that death may strike one from any corner any time and it
was futile to be afraid of it. He decided that he should be a real Red Cross
worker and maintain his neutrality. He should first win the confidence of the
three Civil doctors so that he could help those in need.
Next
morning Col Venugopal arrived along with two General Duty Doctors and three
nurses and two assistants. All of them were from Delhi. In the afternoon a
truck load of medicines and supplies arrived from Delhi. The truck unloaded
them and left. All of the medical team carried them and stored them in the
stores of the hospital and handed over them to the Civilian Doctors.
Two
days earlier to Dr Rao’s arrival there were some serious skirmishes between
LTTE and IPKF forces. It is alleged that LTTE was firing from the hospital
premises at the advancing IPKF. IPKF bombed the hospital areas. The gaping
holes in the roofs of the emergency ward were still seen. Since the firing from
hospital has not stopped even after the bombing IPKF forces entered the
hospital premises. They rushed into the OP block which was suspected to be the
area from which LTTE was suspected to be firing. In the resulted firing it is
said that totally 70 persons were killed, and the number included patients, two
junior doctors, three nurses, and a senior doctor and some LTTE activists and
sympathisers. The bodies of the dead were still lying in the OP block which was
sealed after sanitisation.
Civilian
Doctors Dr Shashi Sabha Ratnam, Dr Ponnampalam and the other doctor thanked Dr
Ranga Rao for the supplies. Colonel Venugopal found some accommodation within
the hospital for the Red Cross team to stay and all moved into it. All slept on
floor in the same room. Col Venugopal made some arrangements for food to be
cooked in a hotel nearby "Subash Hotel".
Curfew
was lifted for few hours after a week after its imposition. There was a chaos.
The general market which was close to the hospital was looted. Even the
patients left their beds and returned with whatever they could lay their hands
on. There was a barter between people and they exchanged the required goods. Ranga
Rao could procure some cigarettes as he was running out of his stock.
Next
morning, they decided to visit some camps where people congregated to know
their requirements. The camps were well stocked with food supplies and clothes
etc. The demand was more for sanitary napkins, soaps, toiletries, milk powder
and anti-hypertensive and anti-Diabetic medicines.
Dr
Ranga Rao and his team tried to establish clinics in the camps. Very few
attended and those attended were asking for medicines which at that time were
not available in India. Ranga Rao sent a report requesting for Tamilian Doctors
and staff to be deputed. In response few more Red cross members arrived to take
care of the distribution. Dr Ranga Rao made a courtesy call on the newly
appointed town commandant Brigadier Callahan. Dikshit who was Indian Ambassador
visited Jaffna and the hospital.
Days
passed by and there was no let-up in the fighting. It spread to new areas.
Total curfew with relaxation for few hours was imposed throughout the northern
peninsula. Curfew in Jaffna lasted for 21 days. Ranga Rao could not contact his
family during the period. On his request and suggestion, a team consisting of
thirty-five with 8 doctors was deputed. The team was divided into four groups
the bigger group staying back at Jaffna and others were sent to Batticaloa,
Vavuniya, and Trincomalle and to point Pedro.
The
Red Cross used to receive many enquiries from various countries in regards the
safety and whereabouts of persons said to be living in Jaffna peninsula. Slowly
the life was returning to normalcy. After intimating IRCS Ranga Rao withdrew
and returned to Hyderabad to re-join his regular duty.
Dr
Ranga Rao recollected that often he wondered what were the aspects that led to
civil strife in Sri Lanka. Jaffna peninsula was mostly inhabited by Tamils and
Keralites, whereas southern Sri Lanka was mostly inhabited by Buddhists who
migrated from north India during Ashoka time. While Tamilian in Jaffna
Peninsula consisted 20% of population the Southern were 80%. The northern areas
are not fit for agriculture and the people were mostly occupied in the service
sector. Education was the industry in northern areas.
Every
alternate house was an educational institute. During the period of rule of
Bandaranaike in Sri Lanka there was massive agitation against the predominant
occupation and domination of Tamilian in Government jobs and professional
courses. This led to legislation of reservation in Government jobs and
professional courses for the majority. The country was taken as a unit for its
application.
Suddenly
Tamilian population found themselves in minority in Government jobs and
Professional courses. Tamilian student who secured marks and stood fourth in
the country could not secure a seat in Jaffna medical college and was
accommodated in Colombo. Such sudden shift in their prospects led to strikes
and agitations, which were effectively suppressed by the ruling Sinhalese
majority.
To
make a living majority of young educated Tamilian population migrated to other
countries while the older members of family stayed back in northern Sri Lanka.
Since there were many cheaper educational opportunities in northern Sri Lanka
their children stayed back with their grandparents. There was a tremendous
vacuum of age groups of 20 to 60 in northern Sri Lanka for decades. The
migrated population used to send money from abroad to support their parents and
children. The small group of uneducated Tamilian population mostly living on
fishing and allied activity soon took control of the local situation.
There
was a big scope for them to indulge in smuggling activity to neighbouring
countries like India where a sympathetic Tamil population lived. The young
children living with their grandparents were soon lured to the adventurism and
under the guise of culture and fight against exploitation joined the cadres of
LTTE. The grandparents who lost the earlier opportunities and suffered the
majority rule stayed as silent mute spectators.
(Source:
Hopping Memories, an autobiography of Late Dr AP Ranga Rao)
