by Prof.Kopan Mahadeva

(Rasiah Parthiban alias Thileepan Fasted unto Death 25 Years ago in Nallur)

He passed away in full view of
a hundred thousand or more
pairs of tear-filled eyes,
Fasting in steadfast defiance
of violence of seventy thousand
misguided gun-toting guys,
Consuming not even water
for eleven whole days, not just his rice,
Bettering the Gandhian device
to recapture human liberty
through self-sacrifice.

His nation had tried for forty years
not once, not twice, not thrice
but umpteen times to entice
the oppressors with compromise plans, interim pacts, sensible advice,
but all these were frozen like inert ice.
Thileepan’s was pacifism against vice,
with arms withheld as a last resort,
as the ultimate face in the political dice.

He exhaled national fire in slow breaths
and passed vigour and fierce velocity to Tamil cubs,
once timid and shy as mice,
And now lives as the sinew and blood
of armies of pouncing tigers
pursuing national pride and peace and a national paradise.

(Courtesy: Hot Spring Oct’98)