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C. Balasingham

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C. Balasingham
CCS
Born(1917-03-10)10 March 1917
Died15 July 2001(2001-07-15) (aged 84)
Connecticut, USA
Alma materKollankaladdy Tamil School
Mahajana College
Jaffna Hindu College
Ceylon University College
Ceylon Law College
OccupationCivil servant

Coomarasamy Balasingham (10 March 1917 – 15 July 2001) was a leading Ceylon Tamil civil servant.

Early life

Balasingham was born on 10 March 1917.[1][2] He was the son of V. Coomaraswamy, a proctor and Tamil scholar from Tellippalai.[1] He was educated at Kollankaladdy Tamil School, Mahajana College, Tellippalai and Jaffna Hindu College.[1][2] He gained Honours and a Distinction in Tamil when he sat the Cambridge Junior Examination.[2] He then passed the Cambridge Senior Exam.[2] After school he joined the Ceylon University College from where he graduated in 1937 with a BA degree English, Tamil and Philosophy.[1][2] He was too young to join the civil service so he enrolled at the Ceylon Law College, qualifying as an advocate of the Supreme Court in 1942.[2]

Balasingham married Sethu, a daughter of Gate Mudaliyar Naganather Canaganayagam.[1] They had two sons (Balagangeyan and Padmanabhan) and a daughter (Thillaisiva).[1]

Career

Balasingham joined the Ceylon Civil Service in 1940 after passing the Civil Service Exam in 1939.[1][2] He held several positions and served in a number of places. He was an Additional Magistrate at Matara and Puttalam; Assistant Telegraph Censor during World War II; Office Assistant in Jaffna and Kandy; Additional Assistant Government Agent in Horana; Assistant Government Agent in Kalutara; Deputy Controller of Labour in Hatton and Colombo; and Assistant Director of Land Development in Batticaloa.[2]

He became Controller of Supply, Cadre and Finance in the Treasury in 1958 and Deputy Secretary to the Treasury in 1961.[1][2][3] Balasingham was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health from 1964 to 1970.[1][2]

Later life

Balasingham was chairman of the committee revising the Government Financial Regulations and a member of the Salaries Review Committee.[1] He moved to the USA in 1984.[1] He died on 15 July 2001 in Connecticut.[2][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. p. 21.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Sankarakumaran, C. (4 October 2001). "C. Balasingham". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  3. ^ Somasundram, M. (8 November 1998). "Arm of treasury, PED benumbe". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  4. ^ "C Balasingham (1917 - 2001)". Ancient Faces.
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