Rajani Thiranagama facts for kids

Rajani Thiranagama (born Rajasingham) was a brave human rights activist and a strong supporter of women's rights from Sri Lanka. She was born on February 23, 1954, and sadly passed away on September 21, 1989. She was killed after speaking out against violence.

At the time of her death, Rajani was a professor at the University of Jaffna. She also helped start and was an active member of a group called University Teachers for Human Rights in Jaffna. This group worked to protect people's rights.

About Rajani's Life

Her Early Life and School Days

Rajani was born in Jaffna, a city in northern Sri Lanka. Her family was middle-class and Christian. She was the second of four daughters.

She went to school in Jaffna. In 1973, she started studying medicine at the University of Colombo. While at university, she became very involved in student groups and politics.

Marriage and Family Life

At Colombo University, Rajani met Dayapala Thiranagama. He was a student leader from another university. Rajani and Dayapala came from different backgrounds. She was Tamil and Christian, and he was Sinhala and Buddhist. They got married in 1977, showing that love can cross ethnic and religious lines.

They had two daughters: Narmada, born in 1978, and Sharika, born in 1980. Narmada now lives in Britain and works for a public service union. Sharika Thiranagama is a professor at Stanford University. She is also an anthropologist, which means she studies human societies and cultures. In 2005, Sharika played her mother in a film about Rajani's life called No More Tears Sister.

Her Medical Career

In 1978, Rajani began her first job as a doctor at the Jaffna Hospital. After finishing her training there in 1979, she worked in a small village called Haldumulla.

By 1980, she returned to Jaffna. She became a lecturer in anatomy at the new medical school at the University of Jaffna. At this time, Jaffna was becoming a dangerous place due to the start of the Sri Lankan Civil War. Many people were leaving Jaffna for safer cities or other countries.

Working for Human Rights

Rajani was inspired by her older sister, Nirmala. Nirmala was involved with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Rajani helped by giving medical care to people who were hurt.

In 1983, Rajani went to England for advanced studies in anatomy. While there, she started a big international effort to help her sister. Her sister had been put in prison in 1982. Rajani also worked with the LTTE's London group. She helped tell human rights organizations about the difficult situations in Sri Lanka.

Rajani also joined groups that fought for women's rights. She worked against unfair treatment of Black people in Britain. She also supported other groups fighting for freedom around the world.

Over time, Rajani saw a lot of violence from all sides of the conflict. This made her think differently about fighting with weapons. She was an idealist and believed in what was right. She began to speak out against the LTTE's narrow focus on their own group. She also criticized the terrible acts done by the LTTE, the Indian Peace Keeping Force, and the Sri Lankan government forces. These actions hurt innocent Tamil people in Jaffna.

She started gathering proof of human rights violations. At the University of Jaffna, Rajani and some fellow teachers created the Jaffna branch of the University Teachers for Human Rights.

Rajani saw many examples of human rights being violated by different groups. Because of this, she helped write a book called The Broken Palmyra. This book tells the story of the violence in Jaffna during the 1980s.

Rajani's Death

Just a few weeks after her book The Broken Palmyra was published, Rajani was killed. It happened on September 21, 1989. She was shot in front of her house in Thirunelvely, Jaffna, while riding her bicycle home from work.

The UTHR(J) and Rajani's sister believe the LTTE killed her. They think it was because she criticized their violent methods. However, another newspaper article in 1998 blamed a different group, the EPRLF. This article claimed a former EPRLF member confessed to the killing.

Even though there has been disagreement about who killed her, Rajani's daughters have said they believe LTTE members were responsible.

Remembering Rajani

A Film About Her Life

In 2005, a film called No More Tears Sister was released worldwide. It was made by the National Film Board of Canada. This film tells the story of Rajani's life and her important work. You can watch this film for free online. Helene Klodawsky wrote and directed the film. It is about 80 minutes long.

Books Inspired by Rajani

A novel called Sugandhi Enna Aandal Devanayaki by T. D. Ramakrishnan was inspired by Rajani's life. The author even dedicated the book to her. He also quoted from the film No More Tears Sister.

Rajani also inspired a character named Anjali Acca in the novel Brotherless Night. This book was written by V. V. Ganeshananthan. It was even considered for a major award, the Women's Prize for Fiction, in 2024.

Rajani's Powerful Words

Rajani believed strongly in women's rights and human rights for everyone. She felt that women were often the biggest victims of war. She once said:

Men in battle garb, whether they come with swords or guns, on a horse or in armored cars, the price of conquest seems heightened by the violation of women,

In 1989, just a few months before she was killed, Rajani wrote:

One day some gun will silence me and it will not be held by an outsider but by the son born in the womb of this very society, from a woman with whom my history is shared

See also

• Sri Lankan Civil War