How Sri Lankan leader Senthil Thondaman saved Indians from mob in Nepal during Gen Z protests

Chennai: As the violence raged in Nepal and a luxurious five-star hotel in Kathmandu became the target of the ‘Gen Z’ protesters on September 8, one Sri Lankan national risked his life to save at least two dozen Indian tourists and other nationals by knocking on the doors of their rooms, helping them escape from the hotel, and moving them to safety.

The man is none other than Senthil Thondaman, President of the Ceylon Workers Congress and former governor of Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province.

After the daring act that saved the lives of several people, Thondaman quietly came to Delhi on September 12 to attend the swearing-in of Vice President C P Radhakrishnan and then returned to Colombo. Ceylon Workers Congress represents the Sri Lankan Tamils of Indian origin who were taken by the British to work in tea estates.

His benevolent act came to light only after Uma Bhattacharya, an entrepreneur, took to social media to express her heartfelt thanks to Senthil Thondaman for saving her family of five from the mob in Nepal.

“When the hotel was advising us not to leave our rooms, so that we could die in that fire and be beaten and looted by the mob, you (Senthil Thondaman) came like an angel, knocked on our door, and took us out of the hotel,” Bhattacharya wrote on her Facebook page.

“Deepest gratitude to you, Senthil Thondaman! Words cannot express how much your actions have meant,” Rwitwika Bhattacharya added.

Thondaman told DH over the phone from Sri Lanka on Wednesday that he met a group of tourists from India on the morning of September 8 in the hotel lobby when everyone was worried about the escalating violence and the closure of Kathmandu Airport.

They created a WhatsApp group to share information about the reopening of the airport so that they could reach their respective countries soon. It was this WhatsApp group that proved critical in saving many lives – at least one person who tried to escape the mob died after falling from the hotel on the same day.

At around 4:30 pm on September 8, Thondaman was in a restaurant inside the hotel when he saw huge mobs running into the premises of the luxury property.

“I was sure the mob would not stay silent. I knew the mob would turn violent as the hours went by. I could see the mobs tearing curtains, breaking window panes, glasses, televisions, and other appliances. They were unruly and were not listening to anyone,” Thondaman said.

Wearing a scarf over his face – as the protesters were also dressed – he fled the hotel with a group of protestors and sought refuge in a food outlet overlooking the hotel. “I saw people carrying appliances from the hotel and could see fire inside the lobby as the mob went unruly,” he said.

Thondaman then sent a message on the WhatsApp group informing the tourists about the impending danger. “These people were stuck inside their rooms and were worried about their safety,” Thondaman said.

The Sri Lankan politician didn’t stop there. Several people who were staying inside the hotel could not leave the premises because the emergency exits were jammed from outside even as the protesters entered the rooms of guests and began looting blocking many people from coming out.

He climbed the stairs and knocked on the doors of people with whom he was in touch on WhatsApp and helped them come out of their rooms and escape the hotel. Since the hotel premises were like a war zone, Thondaman sought help from two locals – Penzin and Sering -- to assist him to help people escape.

“It took hours for us to escape from the hotel through the garden. We could escape only at night, using the darkness as cover. Most of us used flashlights on our mobile phones to find the way. When I knocked on a few rooms, they alerted their relatives and acquaintances in other rooms who also needed help,” Thondaman said.

Even during the melee, a few asked the Good Samaritan his name, and that’s how Thondaman’s daring act became public. “The God on earth, our saviour in the Kathmandu disaster,” Bhattacharya described Thondaman in her post.

While Thondaman is happy that he could save the lives of at least 20 Indians and a few other nationals, he told DH that he views the incident as a chance to prove that not all politicians are bad.

“There is a general image among people, cultivated by movies, that all politicians are bad. One’s profession doesn’t change their character. I could prove myself, and I hope people understand that they shouldn’t judge character by profession,” he added.