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CaptainMiller
மில்லர்
Born	Vallipuram Vasanthan (1966-01-01)1 January 1966
Died	5 July 1987(1987-07-05) (aged 21) Nelliady, Sri Lanka
Nationality	Sri Lankan
Years active	1983–1987
Organization	Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Known for	First Black Tiger

Vallipuram Vasanthan (Tamil: வல்லிப்புரம் வசந்தன்; 1 January 1966 – 5 July 1987), commonly known by the nom de guerre Captain Miller, was a Sri Lankan Tamil member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist Tamil militant organisation in Sri Lanka. He was the LTTE's first Black Tiger.

Early life

Vasanthan was born on 1 January 1966. He was from Thunnalai in northern Sri Lanka. He was the son of a bank manager and had two siblings. He was educated at Hartley College in Point Pedro.

LTTE

Disturbed by the Black July anti-Tamil riots, Vasanthan joined the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 1983 as a driver. He became a full time member of the LTTE a year later. He was given the nom de guerre Miller (Millar).

During the Vadamarachchi Operation (Operation Liberation) the Sri Lanka Army took over Nelliady Madhya Maha Vidyalayam and turned it into a military base. The LTTE resolved to capture the base which was heavily reinforced and surrounded by barbed wire. Miller volunteered to drive a bomb filled vehicle into the heart of the base. Miller visited his family on 29 June 1987 and treated them and his friends to ice cream. On 5 July 1987 the LTTE filled a truck with explosives and wedged Miller's body into the driver's seat so that he couldn't move even if he wanted to. His hands were tied to the steering wheel and one foot to the accelerator. Fellow LTTE cadres started the truck which started moving. Miller steered the explosive filled truck into the army camp at Nelliady Madhya Maha Vidyalayam. Miller was most likely killed at the first barricades when soldiers opened fire but the truck kept going, ramming into the main school building and exploding. The explosion created a crater as big as a bus. Other LTTE cadres who were following Miller's truck launched an attack on the camp and captured it. Scores of soldiers were killed and wounded.

The incident was videotaped and Miller was posthumously promoted to captain. He became a revered figure in the LTTE and his face was on the insignia of the Black Tigers, the LTTE's suicide wing. 5 July became Karumpuli Naal (Black Tigers Day), a day for supporters of LTTE to commemorate Black Tiger suicide bombers. A shrine, including a golden statue of Miller, was built at Nelliady Madhya Maha Vidyalayam. After the Sri Lankan military re-captured the Vadamarachchi region in 1996 they destroyed Miller's shrine but locals managed to save and hide his statue. The statue and new memorial plaque were re-installed in 2002 during the Norwegian mediated Cease Fire Agreement. After war resumed, Miller's statue was attacked and destroyed by armed men on 23 August 2006. The remnants of the shrine – the dais on which Miller's statue stood and stone memorial plaque – were destroyed by the army on 4 July 2010.

In popular culture

His name inspired the title of a Tamil movie released in 2024 starring Dhanush; however, the movie is not about the real Captain Miller, but rather a fictional soldier-turned-rebel who fights against the British Raj in the 1930s.

Notes

1. Estimates of the number of soldiers killed at Nelliady Madhya Maha Vidyalayam vary – 17, 18, 20, 30, 40, 55.

References

1. Birtley, Tony (23 July 2007). "Sri Lanka's Black Tigers". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
2. "Tamil Tigers mark suicide attacks". BBC News. 5 July 2007. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
3. Karunakharan, P. (6 July 2004). "LTTE's senior leader killed". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
4. Athas, Iqbal (13 October 1996). "Censorship out: then events unfurled". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
5. ^ "Karumpuli Naal marked worldwide". Tamil Guardian. 5 July 2015. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
6. ^ Sri Kantha, Sachi. "Homage to the Black Tigers: A Review of the Sooriya Puthalvargal 2003 Memorial Souvenir". Ilankai Tamil Sangam. Archived from the original on 16 June 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
7. ^ Pleven, Liam (19 July 2005). "Secrets of their success (part 2)". Newsday. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007.
8. "Hartley College Milestones". Hartley College. Archived from the original on 20 December 2008.
9. "Vasanthan Vallipuram". Hartley College. Archived from the original on 16 June 2016.
10. ^ "Statue of Miller at Nelliady School". Sunday Leader. 10 July 2005. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
11. Weiss, Gordon (2011). The Cage (Weiss book). The Bodley Head. p. 65.
12. Barbagli, Marzio (2015). Farewell to the World: A History of Suicide. Polity Press. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-7456-6244-2.
13. ^ Pleven, Liam (19 July 2005). "Secrets of their success (part 1)". Newsday. Archived from the original on 14 August 2005.
14. ^ Lewis, Jeffrey William (2012). The Business of Martyrdom: A History of Suicide Bombing. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-61251-097-2.
15. ^ Athas, Iqbal (11 July 1999). "Lots of promises, but precious little". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 14 December 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
16. ^ Gunaratna, Rohan (5 February 2000). "The LTTE and suicide terrorism". Frontline. 17 (3). Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
17. ^ Athas, Iqbal (12 July 2004). "The End Of Peace?". Outlook. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
18. "Dying with enemy after dining with chief". The Nation (Sri Lanka). 9 July 2006. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
19. Perera, Amantha (12 July 2006). "Black Tigers bare their fangs". Asia Times. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
20. "LTTE leader pays homage to Black Tigers". TamilNet. 5 July 2006. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
21. Perera, Amantha (17 July 2003). "Suicide bombers feared and revered". Asia Times. Archived from the original on 17 December 2003.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
22. ^ "SLA destroys remnants of Black Tiger Miller monument in Vadamaraadchi". TamilNet. 5 July 2010. Archived from the original on 23 June 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
23. ^ "Armed men attack Black Tiger Miller statue in Vadamaradchi". TamilNet. 24 August 2006. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.

v t e Sri Lankan civil war (1983–2009)
Origins	Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism Sinhala Only Act 1956 1958 Vaddukoddai Resolution 1977 1981 Burning of Jaffna Library Black July
Combatants	Sri Lanka Army (LRRP) Navy Air Force Police Special Task Force Home Guards Attacks on civilians Assassinations LTTE Divisions Air Tigers Sea Tigers Black Tigers Attacks in the 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s Assassinations Suicide bombings Other militants (list) ENDLF ENLF EPRLF EROS PLOTE TELO  India Indian Peace Keeping Force Paramilitary groups EPDP TMVP
Phases	Eelam War I Indian intervention Eelam War II III IV Eastern / Northern theatres
Major battles	Kokkilai Vadamarachchi Poomalai Pawan Jaffna University Helidrop Balavegaya 1st Elephant Pass Pooneryn Riviresa 1st Mullaitivu Weli Oya Sath Jaya Vavunathivu Jayasikurui Thandikulam–Omanthai 1st Kilinochchi Oddusuddan A-9 highway 2nd Elephant Pass Bandaranaike Airport attack Point Pedro Jaffna Thoppigala Vidattaltivu 2nd Kilinochchi 2nd Mullaitivu Puthukkudiyirippu
Major events	Air Lanka Flight 512 Indo-Sri Lanka Accord Expulsions from Northern province Assassination of Lalith Athulathmudali Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi Assassination of Ranasinghe Premadasa Temple of the Tooth attack Lionair Flight 602 Bandaranaike Airport attack Expulsions from Colombo 2009 suicide air raid on Colombo
Leaders	Sri Lanka Military Army Tissa Weeratunga Nalin Seneviratne Hamilton Wanasinghe Cecil Waidyaratne G. H. De Silva Rohan Daluwatte Srilal Weerasooriya L. P. Balagalle Shantha Kottegoda Sarath Fonseka Navy Asoka de Silva H. A. Silva Clancy Fernando D. A. M. R. Samarasekara H. C. A. C. Thisera Daya Sandagiri Wasantha Karannagoda Air Force Dick Perera Andibuduge Fernando Makalandage Gunawardena Oliver Ranasinghe Jayalath Weerakkody Donald Perera Roshan Goonetileke Civilian J. R. Jayewardene Ranasinghe Premadasa Dingiri Banda Wijetunga Chandrika Kumaratunga Mahinda Rajapaksa LTTE Militant Velupillai Prabhakaran Pottu Amman Soosai Karuna Amman Political Selvarasa Pathmanathan Anton Balasingham S. P. Thamilselvan India Military Harkirat Singh Ashok K. Mehta Kulwant Singh Depinder Singh Dalvir Singh Krishnaswamy Sundarji Civilian R. Venkataraman Rajiv Gandhi V. P. Singh Jyotindra Nath Dixit J. Jayalalithaa M. Karunanidhi Vaiko
Aftermath	Genocide Films NPC resolution LLRC Reactions (Protests) Remembrance Day UN Panel on Accountability War crimes Chemical weapons
Related topics	Casualties Assassinations Massacres Child soldiers Disappearances Office on Missing Persons Human rights Popular culture Terrorism Non-state State PTA Sexual violence Sixth Amendment Thirteenth Amendment 1988 Maldives coup attempt 1987–1989 JVP insurrection
Sri Lankan civil war at Wiktionary    Source texts at Wikisource    Textbooks at Wikibooks   Images and media at the Commons    Quotations at Wikiquote    News stories at Wikinews

• 1966 births
• 1987 suicides
• 1987 deaths
• Alumni of Hartley College
• Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam members
• Suicide bombers
• People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka
• People killed during the Sri Lankan civil war
• Sri Lankan Tamil rebels
• Sri Lankan Tamil people
• Suicides in Sri Lanka