V. Navaratnam
V. Navaratnam | |
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வி. நவரத்தினம் | |
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Member of the Ceylonese Parliament for Kayts | |
In office 1963–1970 | |
Preceded by | V. A. Kandiah |
Succeeded by | K. P. Ratnam |
Personal details | |
Born | 25 October 1910 |
Died | 22 December 2006 Montreal, Quebec, Canada | (aged 97)
Alma mater | Ceylon Law College |
Profession | Lawyer |
Ethnicity | Sri Lankan Tamil |
Vaithianathan Navaratnam (25 October 1910 – 22 December 2006) was a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer, politician and Member of Parliament.
Early life and family
[edit]Navaratnam was born on 25 October 1910.[1][2] He was the son of Vaithianathan from Karampon on the island of Velanaitivu in northern Ceylon.[1] He was educated at Karampon Shanmuganathan Maha Vidyalayam, St. Patrick's College, Jaffna and Ananda College.[1] After school he joined Ceylon Law College, graduating as a proctor in 1936.[1][3]
Navaratnam married his first cousin Parameswari.[1] They had five sons (Chandra Mohan, Jagadishan, Jegan Mohan, Raj Mohan and Bala Mohan) and a daughter (Shyamala).[1][4]
Career
[edit]Navaratnam became interested in politics following Ceylonese independence in 1948.[1] He was appointed joint secretary of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (Federal Party) when it was founded in 1949.[1]
Navaratnam stood as ITAK's candidate in Kayts at the 1952 parliamentary election but was defeated by the All Ceylon Tamil Congress candidate Alfred Thambiayah.[5] He was ITAK's theoretician and played an important role in the formulation of the Bandaranaike–Chelvanayakam Pact.[6][7] Navaratnam stood as ITAK's candidate in the constituency in the 1963 by-election following the sitting MP V. A. Kandiah's death. He won the election and entered Parliament.[8] He was re-elected at the 1965 parliamentary election.[9]
An ardent Tamil nationlist, Navaratnam fell out with the ITAK leadership over its decision to join Dudley Senanayake's national government and left the party in 1968.[1][6][10] In 1969 he founded the Tamils Suyaadchchi Kazahagam (Tamil Self Rule Party) which campaigned for Tamil self-rule and independence for the Tamil speaking provinces of Ceylon.[11][12][13] He stood as an independent candidate in Kayts at the 1970 and 1977 parliamentary elections but on each occasion was defeated the ITAK/Tamil United Liberation Front candidate K. P. Ratnam.[14][15]
Navaratnam has written two books: Ceylon Faces Crisis (1956) and The Fall and Rise of the Tamil Nation (1995).[3][16] He died on 22 December 2006 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[17][18] He was posthumously conferred the title of Naattu Patralar (patriot) by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.[19]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. p. 121.
- ^ "Directory of Past Members: Navaratnam, Vaithianathar". Parliament of Sri Lanka.
- ^ a b "Doyen of FP, uncompromising on Tamil National question". TamilNet. 6 October 2005.
- ^ "Navaratnam's funeral in Montreal, Tuesday". TamilNet. 25 December 2006.
- ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1952" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ^ a b Wilson, A. Jeyaratnam (2000). Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Its Origins and Development in the 19th and 20th Centuries. C. Hurst & Co. p. 95. ISBN 0-7748-0759-8.
- ^ Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (22 July 2007). "Fiftieth anniversary of the aborted Banda-Chelvaÿpact". The Sunday Leader.
- ^ "Summary of By-Elections 1947 to 1988" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
- ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1965" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ^ Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (25 November 2007). "Murugeysen Tiruchelvam: Strategist-Statesman of the Federal Party". The Nation (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 17 December 2014.
- ^ Wilson, A. Jeyaratnam (1975). Electoral Politics in an Emergent State: the Ceylon General Election of May 1970. Cambridge University Press. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-521-20429-3.
- ^ D. B. S. Jeyaraj, D. B. S. Jeyaraj (22 November 2014). "Life and Times of Tiger Supremo Veluppillai Prabhakaran". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka).
- ^ Rajabalan, S. Raymond (5 February 2007). "On V. Navaratnam: A man ahead of his time". Ilankai Tamil Sangam/Monsoon Journal.
- ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1970" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
- ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1977" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ^ Sri Kantha, Sachi (26 December 2006). "On V. Navaratnam (1910-2006)". Ilankai Tamil Sangam.
- ^ "Navaratnam, the doyen of Federal Party, passes away". TamilNet. 22 December 2006.
- ^ "V. Navaratnam, ex-MP, dies in Canada". The Island (Sri Lanka). 24 December 2006.
- ^ "Tigers confer 'Patriot' title on Navaratnam". TamilNet. 24 December 2006.
- 1910 births
- 2006 deaths
- Alumni of Ananda College
- Alumni of Ceylon Law College
- Alumni of St. Patrick's College, Jaffna
- Canadian people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent
- Ceylonese proctors
- Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi politicians
- Members of the 5th Parliament of Ceylon
- Members of the 6th Parliament of Ceylon
- People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka
- People from British Ceylon
- Sri Lankan Tamil people
- Sri Lankan lawyers
- Tamil politicians
- Sri Lankan Tamil writers