[6][7] On 27 November 1989 around 600 LTTE cadres gathered secretly in the jungles near Nithikaikulam in Manal Aru, Mullaitivu District, to remember their fallen comrades who at that time numbered around 1,300.

[5] Following the withdrawal of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in 1990 the LTTE gained controlled of large areas of territory in the north and east of Sri Lanka.

[5] Over the years the commemorations became more elaborate, involving meetings, religious rituals, processions and exhibitions with cut-outs, posters and handbills of the dead cadres being distributed widely.

[5] The culmination of the commemorations was a great function at a special location at which the reclusive Prabhakaran gave a speech which started at 6.05pm, the precise time Lt. Shankar died.

[5][12][13][14] After the Sri Lankan military recaptured the Jaffna peninsula in 1995 they destroyed LTTE cemeteries, thuyilum illam, in the area including those at Chaadi, Ellangkulam, Kodikamam and Kopay.

[21][22] Following the end of the civil war in May 2009 the Sri Lankan government and its security forces have clamped down on any attempt at commemorating Maaveerar Naal and destroyed the remaining LTTE cemeteries.

[34] In 2020 according to Defence Secretary and retired Major General Kamal Gunaratne celebration would be allowed as long as they do not disrupt peace and avoid statements that instigate hatred among communities.

[43][44][45] In cities such as Toronto, London, Paris, Oslo, New Jersey, and Sydney, thousands of supporters come to honour those who lost their lives fighting for Tamil Eelam.

[46] In November 2014 Canadian New Democratic Party MP Rathika Sitsabaiesan was criticised for comparing Maaveerar Naal with Remembrance Day, a holiday which commemorates soldiers from Commonwealth countries who died since the First World War during a speech in the House of Commons.