Thiagarajah Selvanithy (Tamil: செல்வநிதி தியாகராசா), also known as Selvi, was a Sri Lankan Eelam poet and a feminist. She was also an International PEN award winner in 1992. In 1991, She was abducted by the LTTE and got executed in 1997.[1][2]
Chelvy Thiyagarajah | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1954 Semamadu, Sri Lanka |
| Disappeared | 30 August 1991 (Abducted) |
| Status | Found |
| Died | 1997 |
| Cause of death | Execution |
| Education | University of Jaffna |
| Occupation | Poet |
Early life
editSelvi was born into a peasant family in Semamadu, a village about 80 miles south of Jaffna. She was deeply influenced by the socio-political environment around her. From a young age, she showed a keen interest in literature and the arts, which led her to pursue studies in Theater and Drama Arts at the University of Jaffna. Her early life was marked by her commitment to social justice and her passion for using poetry and drama to highlight the struggles of her community. This dedication eventually led her to establish the feminist journal Tholi, through which she voiced the concerns and aspirations of Tamil women during the turbulent times of the Sri Lankan civil war.[1][2]
Activism
editSelvi was a Tamil language poet from Jaffna in Sri Lanka.
She was the founder of a feminist journal called Tholi and was a gifted young poet who in her work deplored the carnage brought about by the Sri Lankan civil war. Selvi also produced two plays, one about dowry payments and the other about rapes.[3]
At the time of her kidnapping, Selvi was a third-year student in Theater and Drama Arts in the University of Jaffna.[4]
Contributions
editSelvi was also a playwright and actress. She served as the editor of the women’s literary magazine "Thozhi." Her poems were published in the anthology "Sollatha Sethigal," which featured voices of Eelam women poets. Her works appeared in various magazines such as "Manosai," "Mann," "Arangetram," "Osai," "Nangavathu Parimandam," "Sarinikar," and "Thisai." Some of her poems were translated into English and included in collections. She was a member of the Jaffna Women’s Study Circle, the Jaffna University Student Council, and the Literary Circle. She wrote two plays and was a member of the women’s center "Poorani Illam," which provided relief aid to those affected by the war and bombings in the north.[citation needed]
Selvi received the prestigious ‘Poetry International Award’ from the Poets, Essayists, and Novelists (PEN) organization.[3]
Abduction
editOn 30 August 1991, Selvi was arrested by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE, a rebel group fighting for independence for minority Sri Lankan Tamil people in Sri Lanka.[5] The day before her abduction she was about to star in a play about the role of women in the Palestinian intifada. She was a prominent member of Poorani Illam, a women's center in Jaffna, which gives support to women traumatized by government bombing raids and bereavement.[6]
Murder
editIn 1997, LTTE sources acknowledged that she was killed along with another dissident, one Manoharan, also a final year University student. Although their opposition to the LTTE was non-violent, they were both killed in the LTTE's prison camps.[7][8]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Sai, Veejay (15 January 2017). "Remembering Tyagaraja, the guardian saint of Carnatic music, on his 250th birth anniversary". The News Minute. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
- ^ "Thiagarajah Selvanithy ("Selvi")". PEN America. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
- ^ "Freedom to Write - PEN American Center". web.archive.org. 25 August 2006. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
External links
edit- "PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Awards". PEN American Center. Archived from the original on 25 August 2006. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
- UTHR(J) report on Selvy's death