T. Maheswaran

Thiyagarajah Maheswaran (10 January 1966 – 1 January 2008) was a Tamil Sri Lankan Member of Parliament (MP) from Colombo. He belonged to the main opposition United National Party and was a critic of Mahinda Rajapakse government's war against Tamil rebels. A former Hindu Affairs minister and a former Member of Parliament for Colombo District, he escaped an assassination attempt on the final day of the 2004 election campaign in Colombo. He was assassinated by a gunman on 1 January 2008 while worshipping at a Hindu temple with his family.

Early life and education T. Maheswaran was born on 10 January 1966 in Karainagar, Jaffna. He was from Thangodai area in Karainagar. His ancestral home was near the place called Sinna Aaladi. Maheswaran studied at Yarlton College Karainagar and later at St.John's College, Jaffna.

Political career He was a successful businessman before becoming a politician with the United National Party. He was one of the first minority Tamil politician to join a majority Sinhalese dominated political party from the south after the commencement of the Sri Lankan civil war. During the UNP rule he was known for not following party regulations regarding voting for emergency regulations. He always voted to rescind it. He was also known for his efforts to high light the Human rights situation affecting the minority Sri Lankan Tamils both in the parliament and to the local media. Generally he had voiced support for the war effort against the LTTE but had highlighted the civilian repercussions.

Maheswaran made emotional speeches in Parliament. Some dismissed them as theatrics, while others felt he was speaking from the heart. He was accused by D. B. S. Jeyaraj of being a Hindu chauvinist and eroding "Tamil religious unity" by supporting the anti-Conversion bill espoused by Sinhalese Buddhist politicians during his term as Hindu affairs minister.

Assassination Maheswaran left his residence B32, 36th Lane, Wellawatte on the morning of the New Year's Day to worship at the Shree Ponnambalaneswaran Sivan Temple at Kotahena. Maheswaran had inducted some trusted Tamil youths to be his unofficial bodyguards. These youth did not carry firearms but generally surrounded Maheswaran when he moved about. In actual terms they provided body cover. Only L Dharmasiri, a 38 year old policemen assigned as his official bodyguard carried a gun. Maheswaran's 4-year-old daughter also accompanied her father to the temple. To the accusation that Douglas Devananda a cabinet minister and leader of the EPDP political party was involved in his murder and had previously threatened T. Maheswaran, Douglas had denied any responsibility.

According to the spokesperson of Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence, the gunman was wounded when Maheswaran's bodyguard returned fire and had been arrested and hospitalized. He is the third prominent minority Tamil parliamentarian to be killed. Joseph Pararajasingham and Nadarajah Raviraj were the other parliamentarians who were critical of the war effort who were killed during the years 2006 to 2008. On 27 August 2012, Colombo High Court Judge, Sunil Rajapaksa sentenced the main accused John Pauline Wellington, who is a former LTTE intelligence carder worked for Director of Military Intelligence Major General Kapila Hendawitharana should be hanged to death within the four walls of the Welikade Prison on a date ordered by the President.

Reactions United National Party According to the United National Party spokesperson, Maheswaran was killed as he was about to divulge the names of the paramilitary operatives who are responsible for daily killings of civilians in the minority dominated Jaffna Peninsula as part of the ongoing Sri Lankan Civil War. In June 2007, he was very vocal in his opposition to the Expulsion of non-resident Tamils from Colombo.

Family His widow Vijayakala Maheswaran succeeded him and was elected to parliament in 2010 and 2015.