Written by:
Eelaththu Nilavan
> “Every bulletin he read resonated like the heartbeat of our liberation dream. His voice still lingers in our ears, as a living echo of a fallen nation.”
The passing of Sathya (Sivasubramaniam Gnanakaran), the famed voice behind the Voice of the Tigers radio of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), due to cardiac arrest, has cast a heavy veil of grief over the Tamil nation across the world.
It was he who read out the very first broadcast of the Voice of the Tigers radio in 1990, introducing the transmission with the line:
> “News of the Voice of the Tigers, read by Sathya.”
From that moment on, his voice became synonymous with the pulse of Tamil Eelam’s liberation struggle. From 1990 to 2003, Sathya served as a news editor and announcer, delivering bulletins that were not just news but messages of life, death, resistance, and hope.
▣.A Voice That Defined a Nation’s Resistance
The Voice of the Tigers was not just a rebel radio. It was the soundscape of a people’s struggle. Each word that echoed through the airwaves carried the weight of freedom, sacrifice, and cultural identity. Sathya’s voice, in its clarity and controlled intensity, carried the emotional cadence that connected the diaspora to their homeland and reminded the world of a cause that refused to die.
He was also the voice of “Viduthalai Theeppori” (The Spark of Liberation), a major documentary interview of Tamil Eelam National Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, produced by the Nidharshanam media unit, and contributed regularly to the “Samakala Paarvai” (Contemporary View) video magazine.
He lent his voice to the commemorative documentary “Thalinimirvu 50” (Head Held High – 50), created by Nidharshanam for the 50th birthday of the National Leader, and many other major documentary productions. His contributions are considered central to the aural memory of the Eelam Tamil struggle.
▣Documenting History Through the Microphone
Sathya was also one of the co-creators and narrators of the historical radio series “Kaalachakkaram” (The Wheel of Time), written and voiced together with the late artist Sanganathan, forming an invaluable archive of Tamil Eelam’s modern history.
He further wrote and narrated “ManmuttRam”, a program focused on agricultural life, and produced and conducted “Oor Suttrum Olivaangi”, a roving interview series that captured the unfiltered voices of the people.
Even after 2003, when he stepped away from the media, he continued his service as an English part-time teacher and later became a full-time educator, continuing to serve society through knowledge.
▣Honored By the Leadership, Rooted Among the People
Before displacement, Sathya met National Leader Prabhakaran on two occasions—once in Jaffna, and later in Mulliyavalai, where he was officially commended for his service. His contribution was not just functional—it was deeply emotional and symbolic.
Sathya’s voice remained on air until the night of May 16, 2009, when the final broadcast of the Voice of the Tigers fell silent amid the final days of the war. That moment marked the end of an era, and with his death today, we mourn yet another piece of that era lost forever.
▣.A Voice May Die, But a Revolution Echoes Forever
Sathya’s death is not merely the passing of a journalist. It is the silencing of a revolutionary voice, a pillar of a movement that still breathes in the hearts of Tamils.
His was the voice that read out news of assassinations, battles, martyrdom, negotiations, and even dreams of peace—yet it always carried the unshaken conviction that liberation was our right.
He was not a broadcaster. He was the voice of a people who fought, fled, and fell but never gave up.
▣In Conclusion…
Though Sathya has passed on, his voice remains alive in us.
It is the sound of commitment, of a homeland still yearned for, of history told without fear.
It is the heartbeat of a nation silenced, but not forgotten.
> “The voice has fallen silent — but the flame still burns.”
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Written by: Eelaththu Nilavan | 14/07/2025
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Amizhthu’s editorial stance.
