Tamil Nadu CM Vijay Pays Tribute to LTTE Chief Prabhakaran on Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and TVK chief C Joseph Vijay paid tribute today to V Prabhakaran, the founder of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), marking the anniversary of his death.

Remembering Mullivaikkal, the site in Sri Lanka where the Lankan army shot Prabhakaran dead on this day in 2009, Vijay expressed his solidarity on X. "We will carry the memories of Mullivaikkal in our hearts! We will always stand in solidarity for the rights of our Tamil kin living across the sea!"

The Legacy of the Sri Lankan Civil War

For the global Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora and sections of the Tamil community in India, May 18 is observed as Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day, also known as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day.

The day marks the tragic conclusion of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009. It honors the tens of thousands of Tamil civilians who lost their lives, suffered injuries, or went missing during the military's final offensive in the coastal village of Mullivaikkal.

What started as a movement demanding an independent homeland for Sri Lankan Tamils facing systemic discrimination eventually escalated into a full-scale armed conflict. This ethnic war endured for nearly three decades before its final, brutal phase.

In India, the LTTE remains a banned organization due to its involvement in the 1991 assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, a case in which Prabhakaran was named the primary accused.

Political Shifts and the Eelam Tamil Issue

Although the Sri Lankan Tamil crisis did not serve as a major talking point during the recent assembly elections, Vijay has previously leveraged the issue to connect with voters. During an address in the Nagapattinam district in September 2025, he explicitly referenced Prabhakaran's leadership. "Our umbilical-cord kin, the Eelam Tamils, whether they are in Sri Lanka or anywhere else in the world, are suffering after losing a leader who showed them motherly affection," Vijay stated at the time. "It is our duty to raise our voice for them".

Ruling parties in Tamil Nadu traditionally avoid open displays of support for the LTTE founder. However, Vijay’s minority government currently relies on the backing of the VCK, a political party well-known for its pro-LTTE stance.
 

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