Moving to New Zealand in 1997, his
achievement in enlightening that country in understanding the real
nature of the conflict in his home island was much greater than what the
establishment-guided activists in many other parts of the diaspora
could achieve.
Soft-spoken, always smiling, selflessly devoted,
humanitarian, socially conscious and an understanding personality at
heart, Theva Rajan became a silent community leader for Eezham Tamils in
New Zealand.
In conviction, honesty and
opinion making,
he was one of the true leaders of the entire Tamil diaspora and was a
role model to diaspora leadership. He belongs to a genre of
personalities who never thought of their life in terms of personal
materialistic pursuits.
Theva Rajan received the Queen’s Service
Medal (QSM) at the 2011 New Year’s Awards, in recognition of his
services to the Tamil community in New Zealand. This award comes from
the British Queen (who is also the Queen of New Zealand) on the
recommendation of the government in New Zealand.
New Zealand should be proud of hosting such a cultured Eezham Tamil.
While speaking to media in New Zealand on receiving the award, Theva Rajan was straightforward in telling them, "
What's happening in Sri Lanka is not war or even riot – it's genocide.”
He
never stood behind in telling to the face, whether it was the US President
Obama, British Prime Minister
David Cameron, UNHCR and
other UN organisations,
Commonwealth Meet conveners or ‘
South Africa’ model deviators that what they did was shielding and facilitating genocide. He
deconstructed the myth that Eezham Tamils were favoured under Colonial British.
Born
on 05 February 1934 in Puloali West of Vadamaraadchi, Jaffna, in a
milieu of Tamil scholarship, Theva Rajan became a self-made academic, to
whom even professional university academics paid much respect. He was
an old student of Hartley College, Point Pedro.
As a versatile scholar and writer in Tamil and English, a freelance journalist, he was long involved in valuable publications.
Since
1960s Theva Rajan was associated with the organization of a number of
societies such as the committee for the installation of the statue of
Arumuga Navalar in 1969, society remembering a Tamil scholar
Sathaavathaanam Kathiraivet Pillai and Fr. Thaninayagam Foundation.
Many
in Tamil Nadu today may not know the background of Kathiraivet Pillai
of Puloali West, Jaffna; his student Thiru Vi. Kalyanasundara Mudaliyar,
the pioneer of Tamil trade union activism and Dravidian Movement in
Tamil Nadu, and his student in turn, Krishnamoorthy, the indelible Tamil
novelist who founded 'Kalki'.
After 1997, Theva Rajan founded
New Zealand Tamil Studies and Humanitarian Trust, which was in the
forefront in helping the Eezham Tamil migrants in many ways, ranging
from helping the migrant retirees in getting their entitled pensions to
fighting for the rights of the migrants to swear on the religious text
of their choice in legal situations. Later, he was the coordinator of
the Tamil Action Front, New Zealand (TAFNZ).
Theva Rajan was one
of the first to study the Brahmi inscriptions of the island, since
their publication by S. Paranvitana in 1970. Theva Rajan brought out the
Tamil personal names and the other Dravidian elements in them to the
attention of scholars inside and outside.
He was one of the
founder members of the Jaffna Archaeological Society that was started in
1971, and has brought to light the presence of megalithic urns in
Vallipuram.
He worked closely with many academic doyens of his time.
His
research presentations and publications were on wide-ranging topics:
Murukan cult among the Sinhalese, Tamil language rights in Sri Lanka,
public servants and legal remedies, human rights, children’s literature
and many others.
Mr Theva Rajan was ailing for sometime. He spent
the last few months at a nursing home in Auckland. He leaves behind
his wife and two sons. The funeral is scheduled to take place on Sunday.
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