Arul Pragasam Arul Pragasam ( also known by the name Arular and A . R . Arudpragasam ) is a Tamil activist and former revolutionary from Jaffna who had a part in forming the group Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students ( EROS ) in January 1975 in Wandsworth , England during the Tamil independence movements to secure an independent Tamil Eelam . He later left the conflict , after work as an independent peace negotiator between the two sides of the civil war . He currently heads the Global Sustainability Initiative in the United Kingdom . He is also the father of the musician M . I . A . and the jewellery designer Kali Arulpragasam . Life . Education . Arulpragasam graduated from the Peoples ' Friendship University of Russia in Moscow with a degree in Engineering . Politics . Having created EROS in 1975 in Wandsworth , England the group staged demonstrations at the inaugural Cricket World Cup that year , prompting clashed between Tamil and Sinhalese cricket supporters , and bringing the conflict in Sri Lanka to international attention for the first time . In March 1976 , he moved to Vavuniya and was one of three EROS members selected to train for six months in Lebanon with Palestinian militant s associated with the Fatah wing of the PLO . He left after three months of training , returning to Jaffna , Northern Sri Lanka with his family . Arulpragasam moved back to Vavuniya in late 1976 and from 1978 – 1986 , he lived and worked in Tamil Nadu where India , through its intelligence agency supported and trained EROS , one of six Tamil revolutionary groups against the Sri Lankan state . He made sporadic visits to Jaffna where his family lived , introducing himself to his children as their uncle . Although never himself a member of the LTTE , Arulpragasam was an old friend of the group ' s military leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran during the early years of the Tamil rebellion . His wife and three children left Jaffna in the late 80s and were granted political asylum in the United Kingdom , while he remained behind . Arul Pragasam left his group EROS and the conflict in 1987 , becoming an independent peace mediator between the two sides of the civil war , and he was instrumental in bringing in more direct Indian intervention to the conflict in 1987 , ultimately ending in failure . M . I . A . has stated in interviews her father shared revolutionary ideals , and that he was a politician , although she has had no contact with him since the early 1990s . Rarely speaking about her father publicly , in an interview with " The Guardian " in 2005 , M . I . A . stated " He never had a practical , physical influence " in her family ' s life . On his involvement in the war and some writers referring to him as a former Tiger rebel , she has said " People write it because it ' s easy . The Tigers were big in numbers but my dad was too selective . The Tigers had machetes and said , ' They killed my mum so I ' m going to fucking fight them . ' And my dad was like , ' No no no no , read this amazing book about revolution . Let ' s sit down and draw up a manifesto . " 1997 – present . In 1997 , he set up an Institute of Sustainability Development at Trincomalee on the Eastern Province ' s coast . The same year , he wrote a seminal book on Tamil history , and was based in the island ' s north east and Tamil Nadu until the mid - 2000s . He contacted his daughter following the release of her debut album in 2004 , telling her to change its name , however she refused . His house was flooded after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami . Arulpragasam moved to Britain and now heads the Britain - based Global Sustainability Initiative , which has overseen inventions such as a redesigned bullock cart , a motorised wheelbarrow and a car that consumes less petrol . Arulpragasam has explained " GSI ' s mission is to develop a program with a global perspective . " Family . Arul Pragasam is the father of jewellery designer , Kali Arulpragasam , musician / filmmaker / visual artist , [ Mathangi " Maya " Arulpragasam ( better known by her stage name , M . I . A . ) and Sugu Arulpragasam . His family moved back to Sri Lanka when Maya was six months old . M . I . A . named her debut album " Arular " in 2005 after this name , partly for him to get in contact with her . " Arular " was his nom de guerre during the civil war . M . I . A . said of her upbringing : " I only had my mum . I never grew up with my dad so I don ’ t know what he ’ s like . I think I ’ m a mixture of both . My mum ’ s really passive , quiet and she ’ s not feisty . She cared about bringing in food and getting us to school and stuff but that ’ s as far as it went . Growing up without a dad , I was going to school and turning up at parents ’ meetings on my own . At the time everyone was like , “ Oh if you had a dad he ’ d pay for your school and you ’ d have a better future . ” At the time , my mom was bringing us up and she was like , “ The only thing your father gave you was a name . ” So that ’ s why I used [ his name “ Arular ” ] on my album to turn it into a statement that my mom always made . If the only thing he ’ s going to give me is a name , then that ’ s what I ’ m going to use . " In 2005 , M . I . A . told EGO Magazine that despite her father ' s involvement in the conflict , she felt no affiliation to either armed party in the war , noting her work to be the voice of " civilians and refugees that get caught up in the cross fire of politics " and shocking enough to invoke discussion in young people that felt they had no right to talk . Following the 2009 Vanni massacre , M . I . A . condemned the Government of Sri Lanka for engaging in systematic genocide against Tamils . In a 2010 feature for " The Fader " , she stated of the US and Sri Lankan government ' s behaviour towards her following her rise in prominence : " He negotiated peace processes , brought in the new army , and when he goes to Sri Lanka , it ’ s the government who gives him security against the Tigers , ” she explains . “ They used it the other way and told the world my dad ’ s a Tiger which got me to this point . It ’ s like , ‘ Wow I didn ’ t know this guy , and this guy has been working for you for 20 fucking years , and when you feel like it you want to use my own dad against me to discredit what I do . ’ ” Further reading . Arulpragasam , Maya ( 2002 ) . " M . I . A . No . 10 " ( Paperback ed . ) . Pocko Editions . ISBN 1 - 903977 - 10 - X