Senathirajah, a veteran politician and stalwart figure in Tamil nationalist politics, passed away in Jaffna last week, aged 82 years old.
Somasundaram Senathirajah, commonly known as ‘Mavai’, was born in Maviddapuram, Jaffna on 27th October 1942. His political activism started when he was just a teenager, as he joined the 1961 Satyagraha campaign. The movement saw Tamils engage in peaceful civil disobedience across the North-East, protesting against the brutality of the Sri Lankan state. The campaign, led by the Federal Party’s S.J.V. Chelvanayakam, radically shaped the young Mavai.