A memorial observance for Poopathy Kanapathipillai, affectionately known as Annai Poopathy, who fasted unto death in pursuit of justice for the Eelam Tamil people, was commemorated at Arivagam, the Kilinochchi District office of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK).
Poopathy Kanapathipillai, affectionately known across the Tamil homeland as Annai Poopathy, meaning Mother Poopathy, was a member of the Navatkerny Mothers' Front, a grassroots collective of Tamil women in Batticaloa. The group had on multiple occasions attempted to negotiate a ceasefire between the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). When those efforts collapsed and the IPKF's violence against Tamil civilians continued unabated, Annai Poopathy volunteered to go on a hunger strike.
On 19 March 1988, she commenced her fast at the Mahmangam Pillayar temple in Batticaloa, putting forward two demands: an immediate unconditional ceasefire between the LTTE and the IPKF, and unconditional talks between the LTTE and the Indian government.
Indian authorities repeatedly refused. After thirty-one days of fasting, she died on 19 April 1988.
Her sacrifice came at a moment of profound personal loss. Two of her sons had already been killed by Sri Lankan state forces, one shot dead by the army and another by the Special Task Force. A third son had been arrested during sweep operations and subjected to severe torture at the Boosa army detention camp.
The IPKF, which had arrived in the North-East in 1987 as part of a peace accord between India and Sri Lanka, perpetrated widespread atrocities against Tamil civilians during its occupation, including massacres, enforced disappearances and sexual violence.
Indian military authorities, conscious of the symbolic danger her death posed, imposed curfew even during her funeral. More than five thousand people attended regardless.
The Indian army withdrew from the Tamil homeland in 1990, two years after her death, having suffered significant losses and facing widespread Tamil resistance.
Each year, Tamils across the North-East and in diaspora communities around the world mark the anniversary of her fast. Previous commemorations at the ITAK Kilinochchi office have brought together party members and members of the public to reflect on Annai Poopathy's life and the continuing relevance of the demands she died for.
