[ Monday, 23 April 2012] Solomon Arulanandam David (S.A. David), popularly known as Gandhiyam David, who presided the Gandhian movement which spread simple agriculture, self-sustenance, and importance to early education as a way of life in the deprived villages of Tamil Eelam for nearly a decade from 1972, reaches 88-years Tuesday as he spends his older years among his friends in Chennai. TamilNet extends its wishes to Mr David as it recognizes his unique and selfless contribution to Northeast Tamils and the hill-country Tamils displaced by Sinhala intimidation, riots and pogroms in the 1970s and 80s. David was assisted by another humanist of the 70s, the late Dr Rajasundaram. Rajasundaram was killed in the Welikade prison massacre in 1983, whereas his friend, David, escaped, re-incarcerated in Batticaloa jail to escape again in the famous Batticaloa jail break. David’s contribution in the history of the struggle of Eezham Tamils is that at the inception of the armed struggle he had conceived the importance of a grassroot civil movement to accompany it. S.A. David at 88Threatened by the popularity of the spreading Tamil cultural consolidation and self-reliance in the most underdeveloped areas of the Northeast, and the opportunities presented to fleeing hill-country Tamils to begin life anew in the Northeast, Colombo framed charges against Mr David and Dr Rajasundaram under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and jailed both, according to reports. Dr Rajasunderam was killed in the Welikade Prison massacre of July 1983. Mr David escaped Welikade massacre, but was later taken to Batticaloa prison. Tamil prisoners decided to break out of the prison, and in the successful jail break, twenty prisoners escaped first, and Mr David was taken by a supporter through the jungles to Poonakari from where he found his way to Rameswaram by boat.