By M.R. Narayan Swamy    When the Tamil Tigers were waging a do-or-die battle in April/May 2009, a section of the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora was seriously worried about Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Chief Velupillai Prabhakaran’s health.  Fanatical in their belief that Prabhakaran would either change the military scenario which was going against the LTTE or he would escape somehow, these Tamils were relatively less concerned about his safety.  What had them banging their heads in despair was how to get anti-diabetic medicines that Prabhakaran so badly needed, into his lair in Northern Sri Lanka even as supplies from Tamil Nadu were being choked in an unprecedented manner.  With the Sri Lankan military machine unleashing a frenzy to destroy the LTTE, India was not providing overt military support. But covert support – very crucial too – had been extended, without making much noise.  Indian security agencies had virtually strangled the LTTE supply network which had been active for decades in Tamil Nadu, posing severe problems of logistics to the insurgent group.  There was a time when the Tigers got from Tamil Nadu, virtually everything they needed to sustain themselves. These included goods meant for both combatant as well as non-combatant needs.  The long list included petrol and diesel, medicines, clothes, battle fatigues, shoes, socks, slippers, uniforms, spare parts, batteries, electronic items, food items, etc. Consequently, a virtual smugglers’ industry came into existence in Tamil Nadu.  With Indian security agencies choking the LTTE supply lines, moving anything out of Tamil Nadu to the war theatre had become virtually impossible.  This is when the section of the diaspora decided to use all its resources to buy the badly needed medicines for Prabhakaran and dispatch them to Sri Lanka.  In the early part of May 2009, this consignment left the Indian shore, accompanied by a strong band of Sea Tigers, the so-called naval wing of the LTTE.  The most important part of the lot were the anti-diabetic medicines for Prabhakaran, who had become a sugar patient a long time ago, thanks mainly to lack of adequate physical exercise and his love for good food.  It will remain a matter of speculation whether the Indian security agencies turned a blind eye after realising that they contained only medicines or whether the LTTE did manage to pull a fast one on the Indians.  Amid the relentless fighting in Northern Sri Lanka, the medicines reached Prabhakaran at Mullivaikkal in the Mullaitivu District where the Tigers were virtually surrounded by the Sri Lankan military after savage fighting left thousands dead.  The date of delivery was 8 May 2009. And herein hangs another tale.  Although born on 26 November, with two plus six totalling eight, Prabhakaran had always considered eight, 17, and 26 (all of which correspond to eight) as unlucky. Unless forced to, the LTTE refrained from conducting military operations on these dates.  So, there was plenty to cheer that the medicines reached the LTTE Leader on a supposedly unlucky day!  But that realisation was tempered by the fact that a whopping 26 LTTE fighters (again adding up to eight), including Sea Tigers, had to give up their lives, as they fought their way across the sea dividing India and Sri Lanka to ensure that the medicines made it to what turned out to be Prabhakaran’s last hideout.  Prabhakaran and his band of guerrillas would not have known on 8 May that the Tamil Tiger Leader had only 10 more days to live.  In that sense, 8 May 2009 marked Prabhakaran’s last hurrah.    (The writer is a historian of the LTTE)