Thenmuli Rajaratnam
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Thenmuli Rajaratnam (1974-1991) was the assassin who killed Rajiv Gandhi, herself, and 16 others in a suicide bombing on May 21, 1991, in the Indian town of Sriperumbudur, near Madras. An associate of The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (the Tamil Tigers), Rajaratnam was also known as Dhanu. Her birth year is not known to anyone. If she was born in 1974, she would have been only 17 years in May 1991, when she gained her posthumous fame. But the purported photo released by the Indian investigators suggest that she should be older than 17.
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[edit] The Assassination
Rajiv Gandhi was campaigning in Tamil Nadu for upcoming parliamentary elections when the bombing occurred. The last time Rajiv Gandhi had been in power, he had sent Indian troops into Sri Lanka to help enforce a peace accord, and the Tamil Tigers wanted to keep him from doing it again. The troops he had sent in 1987 had fought the Tamil separatist guerrillas and harassed many Tamils. It has been reported that Rajaratnam's personal motivation for becoming a suicide bomber occurred from her alleged rape by Indian soldiers during that time. It is widely believed that she left LTTE after the rape incident by Indian soldiers. Others believe that the rape of Thenmuli is a myth perpetuated by the LTTE sympathisers.
Rajaratnam had the belt bomb with the explosive material in her lower back region and the power pack, two switches and the circuitry in front. One switch initiated the circuitry and the other activated the bomb. The explosive used was an RDX, or Research Department Explosive; about 10,000 2 mm steel balls were embedded in the bomb. After garlanding Gandhi, Rajaratnam evidently stooped to touch his feet and activated the explosive. Rajiv Gandhi must have tried to stop her; his face bore the impact of the blast.
Seven years later, an Indian court convicted twenty-six people in the conspiracy to assassinate Gandhi.
[edit] Dhanu
Dhanu is an inspiration for the LTTE, myth or not, Dhanu is meant to represent the plight of many Tamil Sri Lankans at the hands of Sri Lankan and Indian soldiers during the Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka, her story is famous among Tamils and has inspired many women to join the Tamil Tigers. (Almost 30% of the Tamil Tigers are female Cadre). Her alleged rape is seen to be an offence to the Tamil people as a whole and a source of passion for the Tamil Tiger Organisation.
