From Saiva Temples to State Cells: The 1983 Welikada Massacre of Tamil Hindu Prisoners

Small Drops – Balananthini Balasubramaniam

Based on data collected by T. Thibakaran, M.A.

Published in remembrance | July 25–27, 2025

Introduction

Between July 25 and 27, 1983, during the genocidal progrom known as Black July, 53 unarmed Tamil prisoners were murdered inside Welikada Prison — one of the most protected spaces of the Sri Lankan state.

They were not killed in battle. They were not armed. They were already behind bars — held under Sri Lanka’s notorious Prevention of Terrorism Act.

And most of them were Hindu — specifically, Saiva Tamils, raised in the rhythms of temple worship, Jaffna’s Saiva Neri syllabus, and deep spiritual discipline. They were sons of a land that held Nallur, Trincomalee’s Koneswaram, and Batticaloa’s Thirukkovil sacred.

This was not just a political massacre. It was a civilizational strike against the bearers of an ancient tradition — against the people who refused to surrender their language, culture, or gods to the Sinhala-Buddhist state.

List of 35 Political Prisoners Murdered (25–27 July 1983):

1. Nadarajah Thangavel (Thangathurai)

2. Selvarajah Yogachandran (Kuttimani)

3. Ganesanandan Jeganathan (Jegan)

4. Sellathurai Sivasubramaniam (Devan)

5. Navaratnam Sivapatham (Sivapatham Master)

6. Vaitilingam Nadesudasan (Senthurar)

7. Sellathurai Jayaratnam (Arumaiyagam / Chinnarasa)

8. Sivanayagam Anpalagan (Anbran)

9. Ariyaputhiran Balasubramaniam (Rasan)

10. Kasipillai Sureshkumar (Suresh Master)

11. Chinnathurai Arundhavarajah

12. Thanabalasingham Devakumar (Devan / Arabath)

13. Mayilvaganam Chinnaiah

14. Chithiravel Singanandarajah

15. Kanapathipillai Mayilvaganam

16. Thambu Kandiah

17. Chinnappu Udayaseelan

18. Kathiraverpillai Eswaranathan (Ganesh / Ganeswaran)

19. Krishnapillai Nagarajah

20. Kanapathi Ganeshalingam (Ganesh)

21. Ambalam Sudhakaran

22. Ramalingam Balachandran

23. Pasupathi Mahendran

24. Kasinathan Thillainathan (Kannan)

25. Sellappa Kularajasegaram (Kulam)

26. Kumarasamy Udayakumar (Mohan)

27. Subramaniam Sivakumar (Rayan)

28. Kothandapillai Thavarajahlingam (Rajan / Rasan)

29. Karuppaiah Krishnakumar (Kozhumpan)

30. Yoganathan (Yohan)

31. Gnanasekaran Amirthalingam (Amuthan / Auda)

32. Antonypillai Udayakumar

33. Alagarajah Rajan

34. Velupillai Chandrakumar

35. Chittrambalam Santhakumar (Santhan)

List of 18 Youth Inmates Murdered (July 27, 1983):

1. Selvanayagam Baskaran

2. Ponnambalam Devakumar

3. Ponniah Thurairajah

4. Muthukumar Sreekumar

5. Amirthanayagam Philip Kutharakulasingham

6. Sellachamy Kumar

7. Kandasamy Sarveswaran

8. Ariyampillai Mariyampillai

9. Sivapalan Neethirajah

10. Gnanamuthu Navaratnasingham

11. Kandiah Rajendram

12. Dr. Rajasundaram

13. Somasundaram Manoranjan

14. Arumugam Seyon

15. Thamotharampillai Jeyamukundan

16. Chinnathambi Sivasubramaniam

17. Sellappa Rajarathnam

18. Kumarasamy Ganeshalingam

Why We Must Speak This Truth Clearly

1. Most Were Hindus

They prayed to Sivan, Murugan, and Amman. Their deaths are not just Tamil national losses — they are Saiva Hindu losses. Yet there has been no solidarity from global Hindu institutions — only silence.

2. This Was Not a Riot — It Was a State-Enabled Pogrom

Sinhalese prisoners were let loose. Prison guards withdrew. Lights were shut off. This was premeditated and planned with military precision. The state was complicit.

3. Erasure by the Global Narrative

Even today, most human rights groups say “Tamil prisoners.” Few say “Hindu prisoners.” Fewer still understand that the victims came from a long civilizational lineage that the state aimed to erase.

4. From Gandhi to Gaza, But Never Jaffna

How many who post “Free Palestine” have ever said “Free  Tamil Eelam”? Why do Muslim and Christian leaders talk about Gaza and Sudan — but go silent on Welikada and Mullivaikkal?

To the Martyrs of Welikada

You were slaughtered inside the walls of the state.

You were not forgotten.

Your blood has written in history the truth:

That Tamil Hindus stood unarmed, but with dignity.

That the prison could not crush your prayer.

That Saiva resistance will not die.

We light 53 lamps in your name.

We speak your names — not in fear, but in fire.

We honour you not only as Tamil martyrs, but as Hindu warriors of dharma.

The world will know.

Your silence will roar.

© 2025 Balananthini Balasubramaniam (Nila Bala) | Small Drops.

All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced without express written permission. This is an original philosophical reflection grounded in lived experience.

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