Why him, ask VC's family

Prof. Raveendranath abduction

Rajmi Manatunga

BATTICALOA: It was with a heavy heart that Prof. Sivasubramanium Raveendranath, Vice Chancellor of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka (EUOSL), moved to Colombo last October from his residence in Batticaloa. After being at the University for 25 years, first as a lecturer and then as the VC, Batticaloa had become his home, surpassing his hometown Kokkuvil in the Jaffna district.

The decision had to be taken as a result of a series of unpleasant incidents that took place in the preceding months, commencing from the abduction of his Arts Faculty Dean Dr. B. Sukumar by an unidentified group on September 30.

The group demanded that Prof. Raveendranath resigns from the VC position, failing which they threatened to harm Dr. Sukumar. Not wanting to put his colleague's life in peril, the Professor tendered his resignation on October 2, following which the Dean was released unharmed.

"Appa was very much attached to the University. Being there from the day it was established in 1981, he saw it flourishing into one of the leading universities in the country. He worked hard to improve it and derived immense pleasure in witnessing the service it rendered to the youth in the East.

We cannot even imagine as to why anybody would want to harm him," a tearful Abiramy Raveendranath, the youngest daughter of Prof. Raveendranath says.

Prof. Raveendranath, a hypertensive heart patient and a father of two, was abducted on December 15 by an unidentified group in the heart of Colombo, after he left home in the morning for attending a conference.

Shocked and aggrieved, the Raveendranath family is still unable to come to grips with the reason why anybody would want to abduct the mild-mannered professional who made the development of the East the prime goal in his life.

According to family members, the release of the Dean in October did not put an end to the trouble faced by the VC, for the University Grants Commission (UGC) refused to accept the resignation of the erudite academic who was also a founding member of the University.

Consequently, Prof. Raveendranath continued to receive death threats over his official mobile phone, from the same voices that threatened him after the abduction of the Dean. It was the pressure caused by these persisting threats that made the VC move, though grudgingly, to his daughter's residence in Dehiwala and discharge his duties from there, on the request of the UGC.

Although the change of scenes did not reduce the amount of threats received by Prof. Raveendranath, the tight security measures in Colombo gave the 55-year-old academic a sense of security, so much so that he would often take public transport or a three-wheeler to travel to the numerous conferences and other academic work he was engaged in.

However, that self-assurance was short lived. On December 15, the VC went missing after leaving home in the morning to attend the annual conference of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science (SLAAS) at Vidya Mawatha, Colombo 7.

The professor had been driven to Vidya Mawatha that day in the official vehicle of the University Rector, since the latter was on an overseas visit.

Although there is no witness to corroborate it, the VC's wife and children strongly believe that the Professor was abducted, most probably by the group who threatened him throughout the last three months.

"We say it is an abduction because this disappearance occurred against a background of threat. Although father did not have any enemies to our knowledge, the continuing threats he received over the phone are clear proof that somebody wanted to harm him. We also believe it happened on or around Vidya Mawatha because although he had been seen participating in the conference, nobody has seen him leaving SLAAS," the VC's son-in-law Dr. M. Malaravan says.

Whatever the motives behind his abduction are, the sole concern of the Raveendranath household today is the life and health of their relative who had been taking daily medication for high blood pressure and a heart disease for over five years.

"Ever since Appa was found missing we have been undergoing untold misery and anguish because we know that his life would be in jeopardy if he is deprived of the medication. Therefore, we humbly appeal to whoever abducted him to release him without delay, on humanitarian grounds. He was a kind human being who was much loved and respected by the entire university community," Abiramy laments.

According to them, prior to his abduction, Prof. Raveendranath has refused several invitations from local as well as foreign universities to join their staff, owing to the strong bond he had with the East and its people.

"Despite his international recognition, he never wanted to give his service to another country. Even after moving to Colombo he received a number of invitations from the Ruhunu, Sabaragamuwa and Peradeniya universities which he kindly turned down. Such was his attachment to the University and people of the East".

There are many reasons as to why the abduction of Prof. Sivasubramanium Raveendranath should not go down in history as just another case of 'disappearance' which has been part of the culture of violence Sri Lanka has experienced over the last two decades.

The most disturbing of these reasons is the implications such abductions have on our academia, whose support and contribution are vital for the future development of the country.

The migration of outstanding Sri Lankans to foreign countries owing to various threats is not a novel experience for our country, the most recent being Prof. Hoole, the VC of the Jaffna University and Dr. Sukumar, the Arts Faculty Dean of the Eastern University who migrated to the United Kingdom soon after his bitter experience in September.

Therefore it is vital that swift measures are taken to address this situation, for if not, who knows how many more jewels of Mother Lanka would follow suit?