Prof S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole
Sinhalese Tendency to give Impunity to Political Supporters
In urging our government to acknowledge the suffering of Tamils during the 1983 riots by the Sinhalese government, Raj Sivanathan writes poignantly and with right feelings that “Forty-three years after Black July, Sri Lanka cannot change its past. It can, however, determine how that past shapes its future.” The refusal to acknowledge the cruelty visited upon the Tamil people by the state and the broad tendency of the state not to punish any Sinhalese for exercising cruelty of any sort on Tamils including the massacres and necrophilia of Mullivaikal is to Sri Lanka’s great and indelible shame. Erasing this blot on our escutcheon is what Sivanathan and I too want the NPP to do and be a shining example to all future governments.
Inasmuch as I refer to the strong tendency of Sinhalese governments to give a blanket impunity to Sinhalese criminality against Tamils (and as CIABOC is now bringing out) and thievery by governing politicians), Tamils too have tended to back Tamil militant violence against what they perceive as being against nationalism. That blind loyalty to Tamil nationalism was partly broken by the NPP government at the last general elections. It is a positive development.
I move to another positive change in Tamil attitudes – to grant blanket impunity to leading figures in society for the harassment of children and women, most notably to Christian priests.
Tamil Attitude to Sexual Exploitation of Children and Women
This attitude of tolerance of sexual deviants is deeply rooted in Jaffna society and comes from the gods – almost all of them. Both Paedophilia and Incest are examples to us from Brahma, the Creator God . As described in the Dalit Voice (Vol. 29, No. 15, 1 Aug 2020):
“On seeing his daughter Padma, Brahma was very much moved. He looked at the beauty of his daughter. He wooed his daughter and wanted to have intercourse. How could a daughter give consent to one’s own father? Padma refused. Brahma did not give up his desire. He began to quote the Vedas to his daughter to make her realise that there is nothing wrong in enjoying with anyone, anytime, anywhere for the sake of giving birth to a child.”
Child marriage was an entrenched Hindu custom. For example, when the British colonial government introduced the Age of Consent Bill of 1891–92, seeking to raise the age of consent for girls from ten to twelve, several prominent Hindu leaders, including Bal Gangadhar Tilak, opposed the reform on the grounds that it violated Hindu customs. Tilak was one of the first and strongest advocates of “self-rule.” He famously said: “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it!”. How can a ten- or even twelve-year old girl forced into marriage to an old man enjoy the freedoms of swaraj?
Similarly, we have the story in the Natya Sastram of how Brahma was sexually excited by his daughter Saraswati who sits on a lotus with her legs open in sexual invitation. The over-charged god of creation in heat kept ogling at the voluptuous Saraswati and when her brothers got angry, to avoid showing he was ogling, he grew a face on every side of his head so he could see her without turning his head.
Such stories do not make for a chaste society.
Then we have version of Siva seducing the wives of sages (rishipatnis) in the pine forest (Darukavana) and subsequently losing his lingam. (I have given another version elsewhere of Siva being having his Lingam scorched by Munivar whose wife Snushya was seduced by Siva). It is a classic Puranic narrative recounted in texts like the Siva Purana and Linga Purana. According to the The Darukavana Legend, the sages of Darukavana relied heavily on rituals and ego, forgetting the supreme reality behind them. To humble them, Siva assumed the form of Bhikshatana (an alluring, naked beggar), while Vishnu took the form of Mohini. Upon seeing the enchanting form of Siva, the wives of the sages became completely infatuated and abandoned their household duties to follow him. Enraged by this perceived immorality, the ignorant sages cursed Siva, causing his generative limb (lingam) to fall to the ground. Once the lingam detached, it began to burn and sink into the earth, causing chaos across the three worlds until Brahma and Vishnu intervened, advising the sages to worship the formless lingam with devotion to restore cosmic balance.
Hence, we have Siva’s erect black penis bathed in milk and stroked by young girls, reminding us of how Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, trained young girls to massage Epstein.
Then we have Krishna who runs about seducing young girls and running off with their clothing while they bathe nude in ponds. These stories our women sing with religious devotion. The most galling to me is when our Tamil women call their little sons Kanna (an endearing name for Krishna) as if to say, “May you grow up into a successful womaniser.” The habit is so ingrained that I have seen Christian women wishing this dirty quality on their sons.
Jaffna University and Exploitation
With the above culture, Jaffna University is a paradise for predators. If you are a big man in society and want to indulge your sexual weaknesses, you have absolute impunity. A case in point is that of Prof. V.T. Ganeshalingam – guilty of both paedophilia and sexual exploitation of women. He had his wife going on pilgrimage to India leaving a child servant with him “to tend to his needs.” Women’s groups, says Saroja Sivachandran of the Centre for Women and Development, pressed hard for the child-abuser’s punishment and he was temporarily jailed. The LTTE could not afford it. They had too much to lose if he was exposed because he was in charge of their Pongu Thamil rally. They used their influence and got him released. Many years since then, few know his past. He is so rehabilitated that he was even invited to deliver a lecture at St. James’ Church Nallur inside the main worship area from the Lectern, which is prohibited for non-worship activities including church meetings.
There are many others like Ganeshalingam who regularly are chief guests at Jaffna functions. We hear of them. We hear of inquiries and court cases about them, but are in the dark as to if anyone was ever convicted or otherwise punished.
A most exceptional case involved a long-haired Vice Chancellor appropriately nick-named Umma by the students because when an assignment is given to him by a girl-student he says Umma like a kiss and pinches the student as he takes the assignment. Most shocking is how he went to Colombo on work with a female staff member and had to share a trishaw, ending up in the senior staff member jumping out of the moving three-wheeler. Despite her seniority, she saw it as pointless to file a complaint. Students protest and hold marches. They produce lists of the bad eggs. Nothing happens.
From Student Protesters against Sexually abusive Academic Staff
The Semen Motif
The semen motif in this cesspool culture is entrenched in us through religious literature where a god enjoys watching another god’s frolicking with an apsara, a celestial divine nymph. During this divine voyeurism, semen drips down the god’s thighs.
This culture is now part of every Hindu marriage ritual where the bride is shown the Arundhati star as a guide to her chastity. The Rigveda and later Vedic commentaries like the Brihaddevata mention the deities Mitra and Varuna whose names are given even to Christians.
Upon seeing the celestial nymph Urvasi, Mitra and Varuna discharged their semen in excitement. Their dripping semen fell into a water-jar, out of which the sage Vasishtha and sage Agastya were born. The legend is found in epics like the Mahabharatha, with the wives of the seven great sages.
The seven great sages, besides Vashista, are the sons of Brahma, and represent the stars of the Big Dipper: Kashyapa, Atri, Vashistha, Vishvamitra, Gautama Maharishi, and Jamadagni (the author of Tholkapiyam). They willingly violated their father Agni’s bed.
The goddess Svaha assumed the forms of six of the sages’ wives to sleep with Agni. However, she could not take the form of Arundhati (Vasishtha’s wife) because Arundhati’s spiritual power, unblemished chastity, and devotion to her husband were too strong to imitate. Pointing to the star is telling a new bride that she must follow the example of Arundhati and not the other six who willingly slept with Agni.
Despite the teaching, Arundati did sleep with six men: Arundhati, Vashishta’s wife, and seduced Agni, Agni realized it was a trick. This is because Arundhati is really devoted to Vashishta. Thus, every wedding invokes the motif of adultery and paternal incest by the gods.
Expansionist Culture
A culture with contradictions will naturally be intolerant because it cannot afford an open discussion. It becomes necessary to suppress alternative views, any other presence that can raise questions as this article does.
Barista is a restaurant by a Sinhalese serving a mixed menu opposite Jaffna’s Municipal Council which would have been just outside the barrier during the soon-to-begin Kandasamy festival. Massive protests were organized by Hindus, many of whom are meat eating hypocrits. Barista agreed to a vegetarian fare and soon shut its doors unable to make money when the area is full of vegetarian shops.
As the next move of the Jegannath enterprise that the Saivites of Jaffna have become trampling over everything in its way, the Mayoress of Jaffna, Mathivathani Vivekanantharajah, gave a press conference on 19 July 2026 announcing that no business activities will be permitted within the boundary during the festival and only religious music will be permitted; and anyone in violation would be punished and have the musical instruments confiscated. She is a close associate of C.V.K. Sivagnanam who last time opposed Arnold being Mayor because he is a Christian.
As if in knee-jerk reaction, Manuel Mangalanesan, an Anglican from the Valluvar Community, posted that Tamil nationalism is a disguise for asserting Vellalas’ caste dominance and religious assertion on which the caste- and sexual exploitation rests. Sexual exploitation is usually of the lower castes by the higher castes.
A former EPDP Jaffna Municipal Council Mangalanesan earned the highest preference vote in the 2010 local government elections and later took the side of the SLFP. As election monitors testify, he was assaulted by rivals including the TULF. Jaffna needs more Mangalanesans to challenge Jaffna’s burgeoning nationalism.
The Latest from the Putrid Haven that Jaffna is for Sexual Predators
In the safe haven for sexual predators that University of Jaffna is, bathed in this terrible milieu, the latest player is Professor Sivasubramaniam Raguram, until recently Head of the Department of Media Studies and Dean of Arts.
Let me in disclosure state that generally I find Raguram a likeable acquintance. He is well-mannered and speaks good English in a university where I have found more than three VC’s unable to write decent English. I have visited his parents in Nedunkerny supporting the salary of a teacher as the school’s results were falling. I will never forget the coconut water freshly from their garden of coconut trees regularly raided by elephants. They are noble people but perhaps because of Tamil culture Mrs. Raguram is one of the stoutest defenders of her husband.
Raguram’s Detractor: Sivatharshini Paranjothi.
In 2020 Sivatharshini completed the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree programme. And during 2020–2021 worked as a Demonstrator and upgraded in 2021–2024 to Visiting Lecturer. She applied, I believe, to a master’s degree programme at Peradeniya under the supervision of Raguram.
In April 2024, she filed a sexual abuse and exploitation complaint. She tried telling many hoping for redress, namely to Senior Lecturer Thiruwarangan, Lawyer Guruparan, Ranious Selvin, Judge Gayathiri Saylajan, Lawyer K Sugash and journalist Thesam Jeyabalan from the UK. She also attempted to lodge a complaint with the police, but the police refused to register it.
The latter had already taken a healthy interest in the rights of women in the University of Jaffna being exploited and had already published a successful 98-page book
Thambirajah Jeyabalan, University of Jaffna: Thesamnet Publications, London, Nov. 2010.
During that time, he also wrote an article on the ThesamNet website under the title: “பாலியல் சுரண்டல், பாலியல் இலஞ்சம் கோரும் யாழ் பல்கலை நிர்வாகம் கிளீன் செய்யப்பட வேண்டும்” – that is, “Sexual harassment and soliciting sexual bribery must be cleansed out of the Jaffna University Administration.”
In the third week of June, an audio recording was leaked. It is in two parts. It was between Raguram and Sivatharshini. This precipitated the filing of a suit in the Magistrate’s Court of Jaffna date-stamped 16 July 2026 by Raguram as the sole Plaintiff. The case reference is PPD/MC/OS/02306/26. On 13 July,(1st July) Raguram filed a case against six individuals and a social media group. His affidavit which should have accompanied the Petition was strangely dated 26 July, 2026.
On 13 July the court hearing was postponed to 17 July when an interim order was issued by court. The affidavit was still not signed. On 27 July 2026, the defendants are scheduled to argue that the interim order should not be made permanent.
His affidavit filed with the case is dated 26 June 2026 from which the unchallenged side of Raguram’s story transpires and is used here. There is a lot of laxity in this case. Many reporters are students of Raguram in media studies and have not raised these matters with the sharp interest they deserve.
Some filings are to the Magistrate and others to the District Ccourt. The judge handling the case is the Magistrate, Induja Sivalingam, said to be young and about 35 years in age.
A Poorly Trained and Ill-Informed Judiciary
These are days when there are innumerable complaints against the judiciary and lawyers. Even from the Supreme Court I have seen ungrammatical judgements that cannot be made any meaning of.
Even the lawyers in Jaffna are horrible for the most part. They represent me and send someone else without telling me. The then magistrate once shouted at me rudely saying I cannot speak with my lawyer present. I said no, my lawyer had not come and the judge pointed to a stranger standing with a bunch of lawyers present, saying he is my lawyer. That case I had filed essentially died when the AG asked for the file and held on to it and the Magistrate said he cannot set the next date without the file. This is a conspiracy I say.
In another most horrible breach of ethics, a lawyer had written the same property to many people on the same day. When the police filed charges, some 5 of Jaffna’s senior lawyers weak on ethics – named by the press as Guruparan, Thirukumaran, Thavapalan, Sayanthan and Celestine – had met the AG (Rajaratnam) and PM (Wickremesinghe) and threatened them that if lawyers are prosecuted, they would give a hard time during cross examination in drugs-dealing and other criminal matters through harsh cross-examination. Lawyers are safeguarding criminals and not defending the innocent.
The Jaffna bar almost resembles a cesspool. I am aware that lawyers representing the other side were paid to withdraw! Both lawyers made good money.
In this particular Court case, there are 14 Respondents, but only the first 3 are identifiable persons on whom papers may be served; these being Sivatharshini Paranjothi (1st), VC (Jaffna) (2nd), and Kanga Jeyabalan (3rd). The next three, Thesam Jeyabalan (4th), Dr. Srithayalan Sribrintharan (5th) and Paramasivam Pavatharani (6th) have only email addresses. Because of the widespread use of malaware, we are advised not to open an email when we do not know the sender. When we so fail to open an email how does the judge expect us to read and carry out his order? She cannot.
The judge in her order says the Respondents must remove the objectionable postings from their websites. Nowhere does she lay down a condition although she calls it a “Conditional Order.” There is no such order to obey.
The Respondents Ganga Jeyabalan (7th), Ganesh Kumaran (8th), Thesam Jeyabalan (9th) and Tharani Paramasivan (10th) are Facebook Accounts, not account-holders. How does the judge propose any action such as removal of a posting from an inanimate account that may be shared by. Multiplicity of users, rather than on account-holder. It is like the judge accepting a suit against a family when there is no one head-of-family responsible for that family. Worse, Respondents 4 and 9 have some duplication.
The judge, not familiar with computer jargon, calls the 11th to 14th Respondents Internet Intermediaries when they really are Internet Service Providers. If the judge had properly read the Peqtition, she would have seen the Petitioner using the right and educated term for service provider and would have learnt from it.
The judge’s service of papers and orders have no standing in my humble opinion because of the way they are addressed and receipt cannot be verified.
From the Petitioner’s Affidavit
The affidavit tells us, inter alia, the following of interest here to readers
1. The Petition is so badly drafted and garbled that it would take hours to read and be a miracle for the judge to understand and rule credibly on the matters raised. The substance is from paragraph 17 onwards titled “The Aftermath of the Case.”
2. The Plaintiff Raguram misleads court by saying he earned his PhD degree from the Gandhigram Rural University when there is no such university. There is however a second-rate Gandhigram Rural Institute that is “deemed to be a university.” That his bachelor’s degree is not listed in his resume raises suspicions as to credibility.
3. The leaked audio’s contents are suspicious and indiscreet. Raguram asks her twice in the course of the recording if it is safe to talk. Her parents are there but she says ok because she is at the back of her house.
4. Raguram says he does not think of her as a sex object but badly wants to rest his face on her neck and confide in her. Sivatharshini says she would support Raguram and give anything he asks for.
5. Respectfully addressing her as “Ammah,” he says he is afraid that he would exploit her. She responds that he can confess all her worries to her and that is not of any worry to her. He replies he cannot call her any time because there are limitations like calling her at night.
6. She wants to be married to him and refuses to leave house until the Valvettithurai police take her away. As Brahma says, it is fine if it is to have children.
7. Raguram complains that the inquiry was promised to be confidential but that promise was not honored and the leaked audio tape from Sivatharshini could have come only from the inquiry officers, the VC in particular (paragraph 32). He alleges that alterations have been made.
8. The preliminary report of the inquiry was withdrawn by the Council and the submissions given to 2 persons to verify their authenticity.
Because of her court order on her silence, I have reliable information from the university that she would be offered Rs. 2 crores as settlement and she is firm that she will never accept. University Council sources also say that a charge sheet was approved today 25 July and it would be served on Monday which also is a court date.
Conclusion
Women and children must be safeguarded from sexual exploitation, regardless of the example of the gods. The law must prevail even if it entails great men of Jaffna.