Expatriate Tamils in London last weekend held a remembrance ceremony for Rohan Rajasingham, an accomplished sportsman who strove against institutionalized Sinhala majoritarianism to better the conditions for aspiring Tamil sportsmen and women in Sri Lanka. Rajasingham passed away on January 8, 2008 after a brief battle with cancer, aged 50.
Described as outstanding student by his former classmates at Mahajana College, Tellippalai, Rajasingham represented his college at football, hockey, cricket and in athletics, and captained the teams to championship wins in football and hockey.
Led by Rajasingham, Mahajana College team won the all island Singer Shield football tournament at Sugathasa stadium, Colombo, under flood lights in front of a large crowd in 1978, classmates recalled. In 1980, Rajasingham joined Grasshoppers Sports Club, one of the best hockey team in the island.
In 1994, Rajasingham completed his Diploma in Athletics. In 1996 he travelled to Brazil where he acquired a Diploma in Brazilian Football. That year he also gained a Diploma in Coaching and Training in India.
However, in Sri Lanka itself, Rajasingham, along with other Tamil sports players, struggled against entrenched anti-Tamil chauvinism in national sports bodies.
“He was amongst the first to experience the darker side of sports in Sri Lanka; his experience is very much that of today’s youngsters,” classmates at the Mahajana Old Students Society said.
Rajasingham’s ability to speak all three languages – Tamil, Sinhala and English – allowed him to overcome hurdles other Tamil youths could not.
Starting his carrier as a Sports officer in 1986, Rajasingham attended the Sports Officers programme offered by the National Institute of Sports Science (NISS).
The nine-month course was conducted in Sinhala as prescribed in the 1973 Sports Law which specifies that the medium of instruction should be Sinhala.
Along with others, Rajasingham agitated for changes. It was only a decade later, in 1996, that the NISS agreed to hold its examinations in Tamil as well. However lectures and field instruction are in Sinhala still.
His experiences of discrimination spurred Rajasingham to strive for the development of sports training in the Northeast. “His dedication to improve the education of sports officers and physical education teachers continued until his untimely passing away,” a classmate said.
In the early nineties, Rajasingham coached Northeastern teams in netball, football, hockey and athletics, many taking championship trophies.
In 1997 he took up a role in the Sports Planning Office in the North, at the same time coaching the Northeast football team which took third place in national competitions in1998, 2001 and 2002.
The period coincided with the height of President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s ‘War for Peace’.
Rajasingham also sought to establish the Sports Science Institute (SSI) in military-occupied Jaffna with the intention it would be affiliated to the NISS.
In 1999 he submitted a proposal to the Director of NISS. After two years of silence, Sri Lanka’s Director General of Sports rejected the proposal.
Dismayed, Rajasingham turned to battling other aspects of the state discrimination that aspiring Tamil sportspeople were facing, notably the lack of facilities, funding and opportunities in the Northeast.
He reached out to the Tamil Diaspora for support and encouragement and was welcomed.
In 2002 he helped to put together a cricket team from the University of Jaffna to visit Britain.
The next year, he trained and brought a netball team from the Northeast to the UK; it sparkled, beating all rivals pitted against it.
Rajasingham was instrumental in establishing a sports academy for Northeast. The initiative was enthusiastically supported by the Tamil School Sports Association (TSSA), UK, which welcomed the idea and worked on a comprehensive plan and budget.
As a consequence, the Sports Academy of the NorthEast (SANE) was registered as an NGO in Jaffna and later in Kilinochchi.
After 2004’s devastating tsunami, SANE, with the help of international NGOs, established sports fields near the clusters of temporary shelters in the coastal areas in Vadamarachchi East and Mullaitivu.
Planning began for permanent sports facilities next to proposed sites of permanent resettlement.
Amid the scramble for international reconstruction funding, Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Sports came up with a proposal to build a stadium in Kilinochchi. But nothing came of it.
In 2006, Rajasingham took up the position of District Sports Officer in Kilinochchi and moved there with his wife and three young children. He designed and built a modest building to host all of SANE’s operations. The project was funded by TSSA(UK).
Rajasingham trained sports officers as well as athletics and netball teams and organized sports tournaments. The goal, he insisted, was to develop sports in the Northeast to an international level and for that, a foundational cadre of dedicated and well trained instructors was essential.
Described as outstanding student by his former classmates at Mahajana College, Tellippalai, Rajasingham represented his college at football, hockey, cricket and in athletics, and captained the teams to championship wins in football and hockey.
Led by Rajasingham, Mahajana College team won the all island Singer Shield football tournament at Sugathasa stadium, Colombo, under flood lights in front of a large crowd in 1978, classmates recalled. In 1980, Rajasingham joined Grasshoppers Sports Club, one of the best hockey team in the island.
In 1994, Rajasingham completed his Diploma in Athletics. In 1996 he travelled to Brazil where he acquired a Diploma in Brazilian Football. That year he also gained a Diploma in Coaching and Training in India.
However, in Sri Lanka itself, Rajasingham, along with other Tamil sports players, struggled against entrenched anti-Tamil chauvinism in national sports bodies.
“He was amongst the first to experience the darker side of sports in Sri Lanka; his experience is very much that of today’s youngsters,” classmates at the Mahajana Old Students Society said.
Rajasingham’s ability to speak all three languages – Tamil, Sinhala and English – allowed him to overcome hurdles other Tamil youths could not.
Starting his carrier as a Sports officer in 1986, Rajasingham attended the Sports Officers programme offered by the National Institute of Sports Science (NISS).
The nine-month course was conducted in Sinhala as prescribed in the 1973 Sports Law which specifies that the medium of instruction should be Sinhala.
Along with others, Rajasingham agitated for changes. It was only a decade later, in 1996, that the NISS agreed to hold its examinations in Tamil as well. However lectures and field instruction are in Sinhala still.
His experiences of discrimination spurred Rajasingham to strive for the development of sports training in the Northeast. “His dedication to improve the education of sports officers and physical education teachers continued until his untimely passing away,” a classmate said.
In the early nineties, Rajasingham coached Northeastern teams in netball, football, hockey and athletics, many taking championship trophies.
In 1997 he took up a role in the Sports Planning Office in the North, at the same time coaching the Northeast football team which took third place in national competitions in1998, 2001 and 2002.
The period coincided with the height of President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s ‘War for Peace’.
Rajasingham also sought to establish the Sports Science Institute (SSI) in military-occupied Jaffna with the intention it would be affiliated to the NISS.
In 1999 he submitted a proposal to the Director of NISS. After two years of silence, Sri Lanka’s Director General of Sports rejected the proposal.
Dismayed, Rajasingham turned to battling other aspects of the state discrimination that aspiring Tamil sportspeople were facing, notably the lack of facilities, funding and opportunities in the Northeast.
He reached out to the Tamil Diaspora for support and encouragement and was welcomed.
In 2002 he helped to put together a cricket team from the University of Jaffna to visit Britain.
The next year, he trained and brought a netball team from the Northeast to the UK; it sparkled, beating all rivals pitted against it.
Rajasingham was instrumental in establishing a sports academy for Northeast. The initiative was enthusiastically supported by the Tamil School Sports Association (TSSA), UK, which welcomed the idea and worked on a comprehensive plan and budget.
As a consequence, the Sports Academy of the NorthEast (SANE) was registered as an NGO in Jaffna and later in Kilinochchi.
After 2004’s devastating tsunami, SANE, with the help of international NGOs, established sports fields near the clusters of temporary shelters in the coastal areas in Vadamarachchi East and Mullaitivu.
Planning began for permanent sports facilities next to proposed sites of permanent resettlement.
Amid the scramble for international reconstruction funding, Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Sports came up with a proposal to build a stadium in Kilinochchi. But nothing came of it.
In 2006, Rajasingham took up the position of District Sports Officer in Kilinochchi and moved there with his wife and three young children. He designed and built a modest building to host all of SANE’s operations. The project was funded by TSSA(UK).
Rajasingham trained sports officers as well as athletics and netball teams and organized sports tournaments. The goal, he insisted, was to develop sports in the Northeast to an international level and for that, a foundational cadre of dedicated and well trained instructors was essential.
