# Militant Tiger = Terrorist



## hill billy (Jan 10, 2006)

Article no. 1351 
Date 31 March 2004 
Symbolic Gestures: 'Tiger' and Militant Groups

N Manoharan
Research Officer, IPCS

What is the common denominator of the following militant/terrorist/insurgent groups?

All Tripura Tiger Force (Tripura);

Tripura Tiger Commando Force (Tripura);

Bodo Liberation Tiger Force (Assam);

Bengali Tiger Force (Assam);

Gorkha Tiger Force (Assam);

Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam (Assam);

Muslim Tiger Force (Assam);

Manipur Liberation Tiger Army (Manipur);

Eastern India Liberation Tigers Front (Arunachal Pradesh);

Bhindrawala Tigers Force of Khalistan (Punjab);

Allah Tigers (Kashmir);

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Sri Lanka);

Tigers of the Gulf (Saudi Arabia).

Nothing, except the word 'Tiger(s)' figuring in their names.

Why is 'Tiger' a popular nomenclature or symbol among the insurgent groups? The answer lies in exploring the characteristics of tigers. Generally speaking, tigers (Panthera tigris) are universally respected for their fiery passion, fearless actions and daring sudden attacks. They display an unpredictable personality with contradictions in their behaviour " from being fiery and fearless to calm and emotional " in a relatively short duration. They have little regard for rules and regulations that would hinder their free-spirit. They do not like restrictions and prefer giving orders rather than taking them. They are solitary and love to be independent. They control a territory in the wild and zealously guard it. The tigers' mode of attack "wait patiently, watch carefully and finally, strike by surprise " is what the insurgents adopt in their 'guerilla tactics' to take on superior state forces. These attributes cause the wild cats to terrorize the jungle and the people living around it. In China, tigers are the guardians of hunting and agriculture. In India, they are emblems of royalty and the Kshatriyas (a warrior caste). The tiger is the symbol of war in Japan (though no tigers are found in the country), where they are believed to enjoy a 1000 year life span. Mythological heroes, gods, and other immortals rode on their backs or wore their skins. The phrase to 'ride a tiger' is used to describe a heroic tangle with perilous and even demonic forces.

Not surprisingly these characteristics of tigers, sighted frequently and feared the most in the region, have impressed the militant groups of northeast India. It is for this reason perhaps that of the 13 militant/terrorist groups with 'tiger' in their name, eight belong to the northeast. Another important fact to note is that all militant groups with 'tiger' in their names are in Asia, perhaps because "tigers are strictly Asian cats"; no other continent has them except in zoos. The success of militant/terrorist groups with 'tiger' in their name may have led other groups to use it in their titles. For instance, successful military campaigns of the LTTE have enormous influence on the Indian insurgent groups.

The LTTE has adopted the 'aggressive jumping tiger' as its emblem to symbolize various facets of its militancy. The Tamil rebels were fascinated by the Chola Empire, which overran Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka under the tiger flag in the 10th and 11th centuries. It was felt appropriate to adopt the Chola emblem to "emphasize national resurgence among the Tamils of Sri Lanka." The root of the term 'eelam', in fact, can be traced from this period when Sri Lanka was ruled as the ninth province of the Chola Empire in the name of 'Eela Mandalam'. The LTTE wants a repeat of history. 'Tiger', moreover, was considered 'a perfect match' to the 'lion' of the Sinhalese, which has its own mythological significance. The LTTE chief wished to develop a fighting force of "incredible bravery, fearless heroism, ambition of freedom" and also to be 'agile and aggressive' , the qualities of a tiger. This prompted him to include 'Tigers' in the name of the organisation as well.

But do insurgent groups know that tigers are an endangered species and that captive tigers live longer than those in the wild?


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## Alaskan Brown Bear Killer (Feb 22, 2005)

hill billy said:


> Article no. 1351
> Date 31 March 2004
> Symbolic Gestures: 'Tiger' and Militant Groups
> 
> ...


His dady will lock this thread.


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## hill billy (Jan 10, 2006)

I wasnt talking about NODAK OUTDOORS Militant_tiger just merely the name :roll:


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## hill billy (Jan 10, 2006)

> His dady will lock this thread.


Who is his daddy?


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## Alaskan Brown Bear Killer (Feb 22, 2005)

hill billy said:


> I wasnt talking about NODAK OUTDOORS Militant_tiger just merely the name :roll:


:wink: I'm with ya


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## Militant_Tiger (Feb 23, 2004)

My Lord, you are a full grown man. Act like one.


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## hill billy (Jan 10, 2006)

Whats up with that MT, this thread has to do with an article I found, stating how ironic it is all those groups use a tiger, thats all. Not everything is about you. HA


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## Gun Owner (Sep 9, 2005)

Sorry, but this post has one intention, and that is a blaring insult to MT. You dont have to like the kid, but this is junior high school BS and it has no place on our forum.


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## hill billy (Jan 10, 2006)

It really has nothing to do with him... But I see where you draw the conclusion though....


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## Alaskan Brown Bear Killer (Feb 22, 2005)

hill billy said:


> It really has nothing to do with him... But I see where you draw the conclusion though....


Most of the threads get locked because of me; that is what someone said :bs:


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## wyogoose (Feb 11, 2006)

Great Post :beer:


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

Let's back off this one. I'll tell you a little story about how wrong I was. MT this one isn't nocking you, it's just how wrong a person can be with a name. I first seen Militant Tigers name, and seen he was from Michigan. The first thing I thought was "Michigan Militia" and that this guy was so far right he was going to make us conservatives look like a bunch of bigoted idiots. Didn't work out that way.


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## SlipperySam (Jan 17, 2006)

This type of post should get someone banned.....permanantly


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## hill billy (Jan 10, 2006)

If it were meant for the personal down grade of an individual, but the soul purpose was informative.....


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## Lvn2Hnt (Feb 22, 2005)

C'mon, don't try to act so innocent and naive. :eyeroll: Look at the title of the post for crying out loud. No where in the "article" did it specifically put Militant and Tiger together. I'd say you're treading on a slippery slope here.


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## always_outdoors (Dec 17, 2002)

hill billy: This was a terrible post and you know it.

Definition of hillbilly: n : a disparaging term for an unsophisticated person [syn: bushwhacker]

But I am not picking on you, see you have a space between your name and the definition one does not.

:eyeroll:


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## SlipperySam (Jan 17, 2006)

A Hill Billy is actually a term for Michigan farmer....a little ironic maybe?


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

I was hoping my post would end it, but I guess not. I often look at ages of people and give them a little more rope. Like MT for example. I am guessing hill billy is younger also, but I will take care of this the same way I take care of others. First a PM then if they don't get the hint on here. Anyway, lets not all get in on this and make it a free for all. Thanks.


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