“Capt. Miller” the LTTE’s first Black Tiger suicide bomber

It must be remembered that 37 years ago the phenomenon of a Black Tiger suicide attack was something strange and new. In subsequent years, Black Tiger suicide attacks became quite common. Most major LTTE attacks had one or more Black Tiger suicide operations as definite prerequisites. At that point of time in July 1987, the whole concept was something new. Therefore Miller was viewed as some “superhuman” personality. The whole exercise became highly emotional in content and tone

“Captain Miller” is the name of an Indian film released on 12 January 2024. The blockbuster Tamil movie had popular actor Dhanush acting in the lead titular role of Captain Miller. The film was a fictional tale about a heroic rebel who fought against British colonial rule. Reports state that the film is the highest ever grossing film starring Dhanush.

One reason for the film’s success was its title which evoked much interest and curiosity. “Captain Miller” was the nom de guerre of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber who drove an explosive laden truck into an army camp in the north on 5 July 1987. This was the first time the LTTE had deployed a suicide bomber called “Black Tiger” or “Karumpuli” in a military attack. The name of Capt. Miller the first “Black Tiger” strikes a responsive chord among many Tamils. 5 July was annually observed as Black Tigers Day by the LTTE till May 2009.

It is against this backdrop that this column focuses this week in a two-part article on the first ever Black Tiger attack launched by the LTTE. The LTTE is no more and Black Tigers Day fades into memory nowadays. Nevertheless the birth and growth of the Black Tigers is an important element in the military annals of guerrilla warfare in general and the military campaign history of the LTTE in particular. I shall begin with a brief outline of the first Black Tiger operation.

Vallipuram Vasanthan

Thirty-seven years ago on the night of 5 July, a 22-year-old Tamil youth drove an Isuzu Elf truck into the premises of a college situated at Nelliaddy, an important town in the Vadamaratchi division of the Jaffna peninsula. The college was the Nelliaddy Madhya Maha Vidyalayam where the Tamil youth named Vallipuram Vasanthan had schooled during his formative years. The Youth was there to fulfil a deadly mission and not to discharge his debt of gratitude to his former school. He was a Lieutenant in the LTTE known by the nom de guerre Miller.

The truck driven by him was laden with explosives. Nelliaddy M.M.V. was now an army camp. Miller rammed the vehicle on to the main building and blew himself up along with it. The reverberations of that explosion which rocked Nelliaddy on that fateful day of July continued to echo for a long time. Lt. Miller promoted posthumously as Captain was the first of a long line of suicide killers known as “Black Tigers” or “Karumpuligal” in Tamil. 

Vasanthan alias Capt. Miller was a native of Thunnalai south in Karaveddi in the Vadamaratchy area. Incidentally my mother too is from this place but Vasanthan was not a relative. Vasanthan’s father Paranchothy Vallipuram was a staff officer at the Bank of Ceylon. Vasanthan had his early education at Nelliaddy M.M.V. Later he went on to Hartley College in Point Pedro from where he sat for his “A” Levels.

Vasanthan’s former classmates remember him as one who indulged in sports. He was a good athlete and also played soccer. Vasanthan was also fond of playing truant from school and going for sea baths. He was also a big prankster. It is said that he used to drive his father’s car as a schoolboy at a time when he was underage to obtain a driving license.

The political bug bit Vasanthan rather early and he became a “helper” of the LTTE during his Advanced Level days. His opting to be a helper of the Tigers was a rare occurrence as most youth of Thunnalai joined movements such as TELO and EPRLF and not LTTE in those days. During his days as a helper he once drove an LTTE owned “Elf” truck without permission and met with an accident. He was reprimanded for it by then Vadamaratchy LTTE commander Soosai. LTTE cadres in the area nicknamed him “Elf” thereafter.

After getting preliminary local training at the Varany training camp Vasanthan was selected for advanced training in India. He was in the ninth batch of LTTE recruits trained by Yogaratnam Kugan alias Ponnamman in Madurai district, Tamilnadu. Vasanthan returned to Jaffna after training with the nom de guerre “Miller’’. Senior Tigers continued to call him by his earlier nickname Elf.

Once Miller had been speeding recklessly on a Vadamaratchy road in an Elf van. Unfortunately for him the LTTE leader Prabhakaran happened to see this exhibition of dangerous driving. Miller was summoned by Prabhakaran who chastised him for it. Ironically the young man called Elf ultimately courted death while driving an explosive laden Elf truck. It was as if fate had decreed that Vasanthan and “Elf” be intertwined in life and death.

Vadamaratchy 

Operation Liberation known popularly as the Vadamaratchy operation was executed by then Brigadier Denzil Kobbekkaduwe and Colonel Vijaya Wimalaratne in May-June 1987. Substantial portions of the Vadamaratchi division came under Sri Lankan army control as a result of it. This was a big blow then to the LTTE as the Vadamaratchy division was considered to be the impregnable fortress of the Tigers then. 

A host of LTTE leaders including Prabhakaran, Mahathaya and Kittu hailed from the Vadamaratchy area. So the fall of Vadamaratchy was a prestige issue for the Tigers. Miller also from the Vadamaratchy like most Vadamaratchy cadres was under emotional strain because of it.

More importantly the fall of Vadamaratchy had also dented the confidence the people had in the LTTE. Although classical guerrilla warfare deems that it is the people who protect the guerrillas (people are the ocean and the guerrillas the fish) the LTTE had always projected an image that it was the Tigers who protected the people. The people of Jaffna had been saturated with assurances that the Tigers would confine the army to the barracks thereby keeping most areas in Jaffna devoid of a military presence. 

With the fall of Vadamaratchy the confidence of the people in the ability of the Tigers also fell. If Vadamaratchy the LTTE citadel could be captured then the rest of Jaffna too could be captured by the army, felt the people.

The fall of Vadamaratchy was an embarrassment for the Tigers. The Tigers faced a crisis of confidence in the minds of the people. The LTTE had to do something quickly to salvage the situation.

Nelliaddy

LTTE supremo Prabhakaran conferred at Thirunelvely with his senior leaders about the situation. It was decided to attack one of the newly established army camps in Vadamaratchy. Nelliaddy 18 miles from Jaffna on the Point Pedro road was the selected venue. The major camp set up at Nelliaddy Madhya Maha Vidyalayam (earlier Nelliaddy Central College) was the target. It was decided that a vehicle full of explosives be driven into the camp premises and blown up.

It was at this point that LTTE leader Prabhakaran made a suggestion that was to have far reaching consequences. The LTTE leader said that if an LTTE cadre drove right up to the camp building and triggered the explosion then more destruction could be inflicted. This meant that the driver of the vehicle too would be blown up. Prabhakaran also pinpointed two earlier instances where the LTTE had used explosive packed vehicles in their attacks.

One was the attack on the telecommunication building camp at Jaffna town. The other was in Pooneryn. In both cases the Tiger cadres had driven the vehicle and jumped off safely before the explosion. Although the vehicles did explode it the full effect was not there. This was because one vehicle had exploded prematurely in one incident while in the other the truck had veered off course. 

Prabhakaran explained that to cause maximum damage it was imperative that a Tiger cadre sat at the wheel until the very end blowing himself up along with the vehicle. All LTTE cadres were in a sense prepared to die in action but this was not a case of awaiting death but boldly embracing it voluntarily.

Volunteers

As news trickled down to the rank and file about the leader’s intention there were several volunteers. Members from the Vadamaratchy group were now living outside Vadamaratchy. Most of them were suffering in silence over the fact that they had to withdraw from their areas. So they staked first claim for staging the attack. Vasanthan alias Miller was the most vociferous in claiming the privilege of courting death voluntarily. 

Since Vasanthan was an old student of Nelliaddy M.M.V. he knew the school geography well and so would be most effective, he argued. Prabhakaran, Mahathaya and Kittu then having injuries caused by a bomb blast agreed to let Miller drive the vehicle. Subsequently the Black Tiger procedures became different but the first attack was a trail blazing venture.

“Karumpuli”

It was Prabhakaran himself who coined the term “Black Tiger” for the cadres who went on suicide attacks. Miller was dubbed the first Black Tiger. When Prabhakaran chose the description Black Tiger he was thinking of it in Tamil as “Karumpuli” (Karum – Black; Puli – Tiger) Of course the exact English for Karumpuli would have been Panther but Prabhakaran wanted the term Tiger to be mentioned in English. So it was Black Tiger.

In 1993 the LTTE commemorated Black Tiger Week for the first time. This was from 5 July when Miller was killed to 11 July. Earlier only 5 July was observed as Black Tigers Day.

The LTTE supremo issued a statement on the occasion in 1993. In that he explained and interpreted the term Black Tiger. Black according to Prabhakaran denoted strength of will and steadfastness of purpose. Black also depicted darkness or blackness of the night. It was also symbolic of secrecy. The Black Tigers were people with steadfast purpose and strength of will. They struck mostly in the night and in secrecy. Moreover they preferred anonymity of action. As such the term Black Tiger had depths of meaning at various levels, stated Prabhakaran then.

Interestingly the term Black Tiger first gained prominence in the Sri Lankan media in May-June 1986. This was the time of the attack on an Air-Lanka flight by the Tigers. After the explosion the investigating authorities discovered a cap with the words Black Tiger embossed on it. This led to great speculation that a unit of the LTTE called Black Tigers were responsible. This line of thought ceased when it was found that the cap belonged to a harmless Western tourist.

“Capt.” Kamal 

A son of former Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) Parliamentarian for Point Pedro K. Thurairatnam was also in the LTTE. His rank and nom de guerre then was Capt. Kamal. He had returned to Jaffna after serving in the east for several years. Kamal was entrusted with the responsibility of leading an assault on the Nelliaddy camp. His mission was to destroy the various impediments and obstacles set up in the vicinity of the camp so that Miller could drive the explosives truck speedily into the camp premises. Incidentally Thurairatnam hailed from Valvettithurai and was a maternal uncle of Gopalaswamy Mahendrarajah alias Mahathaya one-time deputy leader of the LTTE.

The explosive packing operation was to be overseen by Kutti Praba who had earlier assisted Victor the Mannar area commander. After Radha became Mannar commander Kuttipraba became his deputy. He had come along with Radha to Jaffna after Kittu lost a leg in a bomb explosion. Kuttipraba was to load the explosives into the vehicle and travel in it. He was however expected to jump off before Miller drove into the army camp.

Second truck

Another little-known fact about the Nelliaddy attack was that a second truck full of explosives was also used in that operation. This truck was to be driven by a Tiger cadre Rafeek. (He was Tamil and not Muslim). Rafeek was to follow Miller and trigger off a second explosion. But when Rafeek drove it, the vehicle fell into a crater and overturned way ahead of its target destination. Rafeek jumped out and ran to safety. The timing device in the vehicle went off and the truck was blown to bits. But it did not make an impact being far away from the target.

Ironically the same Rafeek who courted death on a Black Tiger suicide mission left the movement a few weeks later following a difference of opinion with Mahathaya the LTTE deputy leader of the time. The pendulum in Rafeek’s case swung from one end to the other in a matter of weeks.

Unusual request

Vasanthan alias Miller the chosen Black Tiger made an unusual request to the LTTE hierarchy a few days before the Nelliaddy attack. He wanted several thousands of rupees to be given to him without any questions asked. Such behaviour was unheard of in the tightly disciplined LTTE then. Since Miller was about to face certain death, an exception was made. He was given the money he wanted. It was like a condemned man on death row being granted his last request. 

Miller’s unusual request was acceded to by the LTTE leadership which granted him a large amount of money. Vasanthan alias Miller however did not utilise a cent of that money for himself. Instead he distributed that money in equal shares to all his comrades at arms with the comment: “This is my farewell present. Remember me when we achieve Thamil Eelam.” Most LTTE members including the LTTE hierarchy were touched by Miller’s behaviour and somewhat taken aback by its melodramatic overtones.

It must be remembered that 37 years ago the phenomenon of a Black Tiger suicide attack was something strange and new. In subsequent years, Black Tiger suicide attacks became quite common. Most major LTTE attacks had one or more Black Tiger suicide operations as definite prerequisites. At that point of time in July 1987, the whole concept was something new. Therefore Miller was viewed as some “superhuman” personality. The whole exercise became highly emotional in content and tone.

Some Tiger friends spent part of the money given by Miller in buying extra food and having a feed. Miller himself joined them on some occasions. The LTTE camp atmosphere except at times of combat or training generally resembled a boarding school. The cadres were mostly very young and naturally endowed with voracious appetites. As is customary in boardings or hostels, the daily food quota was almost always not enough. So any opportunity to have an extra feed was most welcome.

After Miller’s death most cadres returned the remainder of the money given by him to the leadership. Some wanted to pool the cash and give it to Miller’s family. With the sanction of the leadership that was done. When this money was collected together and given to Miller’s family the parents refused to accept it. They asked the LTTE to keep the money as a donation from them. Such was the mood and regard of the people for the LTTE then. 

Miller’s father

An anecdote about Miller’s father Paranchothy Vallipuram reveals something about the man’s nature. Miller’s father a bank officer was fond of imbibing toddy in the evenings. A customary practice those days was for toddy drinking middle classes to return home from office, discard their Western attire, bathe and then don their verties. They would then cycle to their favourite watering holes. 

In the rural areas these were mainly in the homes of toddy tapping families. Each tapper family would have a regular clientele from the so called upper classes. The regulars all known to each other would meet in a “clublike” environment and chat among themselves. They would crunch the crispy “Paruthithurai thattai vadai” delicacy and gulp down the fresh toddy. The notion of “caste” would not prevail during that time.

In 1986 the LTTE declared a ban on toddy and arrack being sold privately in homes and cottages. Everyone had to sip and gulp their liquor in licensed taverns, bars and restaurants only was the Tiger decree. This action was instigated by the restaurant owners and bar and tavern keepers who promised to pay the LTTE higher taxes if this ban was enforced. Notwithstanding this ban the devotees of Bacchus continued their habit of drinking toddy at unlicensed joints.

Therefore the LTTE decided to issue a warning. Drinking toddy was not a dangerous offence so there was no serious punishment. What the Tigers did was to “arrest” those drinking in a “round up” and take them around the area in vehicles. They were exhibited to the people at various junctions as miscreants who had defied the LTTE diktat. The poor souls were also asked to declare loudly that they would not disobey the Tigers again.

Miller’s father too was subjected to this humiliation but he never revealed his identity to the LTTE cadres. He went through the ordeal with a bowed head. Subsequently a spectator informed the Tigers that “so and so” was the banker father of Miller. 

The embarrassed Tigers wanted to release Miller’s father saying he should have told them who he was in the first place itself. But the man refused preferential treatment and be released alone. So the entire group was released with profuse apologies to Vallipuram. Later when Miller heard about the incident he was furious with the Tigers who had released his father because of who he was.

Farewell

After bidding farewell to leader Prabhakaran, deputy leader Mahathaya and Jaffna Commander Kittu in Jaffna, Miller, Kutti Praba, Rafeek and others made their way to Karaveddi on the night of 4 July 1987. What happened thereafter would be narrated in detail in the second part of this article.

(The writer can be reached at [email protected].)