Waithilingam Duraiswamy
Waithilingam Duraiswamy | |
|---|---|
வைத்திலிங்கம் துரைசுவாமி | |
 | |
| 3rd Speaker of the State Council of Ceylon | |
| In office 17 March 1936 – 4 July 1947 | |
| Preceded by | Forester Augustus Obeysekera |
| Member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon for Northern Province | |
| In office 1921–1924 | |
| Member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon for Northern Province West | |
| In office 1924–1930 | |
| Member of the State Council of Ceylon for Kayts | |
| In office 1936–1947 | |
| Preceded by | Nevins Selvadurai |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 June 1874 Velanaitivu, Ceylon |
| Died | 12 April 1966 (aged 91) |
| Alma mater | Jaffna College Jaffna Central College University of Calcutta Ceylon Law College |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Ethnicity | Ceylon Tamil |
Sir Waithilingam Duraiswamy (Tamil: வைத்திலிங்கம் துரைசுவாமி; 8 June 1874 – 12 April 1966) was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and speaker of the State Council of Ceylon.
Early life and family
[edit]Duraiswamy was born on 8 June 1874 in Velanaitivu, an island in the north of Ceylon.[1][2] He was the son of Ayampillai Waithilingam, an engineer from Malaya.[2] He was educated at Jaffna College and Jaffna Central College.[1] After school he joined University of Calcutta, from where he graduated with a double honours degree.[1] He then qualified as an advocate from the Ceylon Law College.[1]
Duraiswamy was married to Rasammah from Maathakal, Jaffna. Duraiswamy had four sons (Yogendra, Rajendra, Mahendra and Devendra) and four daughters (Maheswari, Nadeswari, Parameswari and Bhuvaneswari).
Career
[edit]
After qualifying Duraiswamy worked as an advocate, becoming a crown advocate and leader of the Jaffna Bar.[1][3]
Duraiswamy contested the 1921 Legislative Council election as a candidate in Northern Province and was elected to the Legislative Council.[1][4] He contested the 1924 Legislative Council election as a candidate in Northern Province West and was re-elected unopposed.[1][3][5] He was a leading member of the Jaffna Youth Congress which advocated the boycott of the 1931 State Council elections. The boycott ended in 1934 but Duraiswamy did not contest the ensuing by-elections. He did however contest the 1936 State Council election as a candidate in Kayts and was elected to the State Council unopposed.[1][3][6] Duraiswamy was elected Speaker of the State Council on 17 March 1936.[1][3][7] He held this position until the State Council was replaced in 1947.[3][8] Duraiswamy was knighted by King George VI in London in the 1937 Coronation Honours.[9]
Duraiswamy contested in Kayts at the 1947 election but failed to get elected to the new Parliament after coming fourth.[3][10] A wave of Tamil nationalism represented by the Tamil Congress had swept away the old guard of the legislature at the 1947 elections.[11]
Duraiswamy was one of the founders of the Hindu Board of Education and served as its president in 1923.[2][3] He helped establish more than 150 Hindu schools.[12] He was a founder and president of the Tamil Union.[3] He was also president of the Vivekananda Society and a leading member of the Saiva Paripalana Sabhai.[3][13]
Death
[edit]Duraiswamy died on 12 April 1966.[1] A commorative postage stamp in honour of Duraiswamy was issued on 14 June 1982.[1][3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Mr. Speaker plays a vital role". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 11 June 2006.
- ^ a b c Maniccavasagar, Chelvatamby (4 February 2003). "Great men that freed their motherland from British rule". Daily News (Sri Lanka).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. p. 50.
- ^ Wijesinghe, Sam (25 December 2005). "People and State Power". Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka).
- ^ Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 5: Political polarization on communal lines". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Archived from the original on 25 October 2001.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 8: Pan Sinhalese board of ministers - A Sinhalese ploy". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Archived from the original on 24 December 2001.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Speakers". Handbook of Parliament. Parliament of Sri Lanka.
- ^ Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (25 April 2004). "The 16th Speaker of independent Sri Lanka". The Sunday Leader.
- ^ "Supplement". The London Gazette. 11 May 1937.
- ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1947" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
- ^ Russell, Jane; Communal politics under the Donoughmore Constitution 1931-1947;Tisara Prakasakayo Ltd; Sri Lanka 1982
- ^ Jayasuriya, J.E; Education in Ceylon Before and After Independence 1939-1968; Colombo; 1969
- ^ Muttucumaraswamy, V; Founders of Modern Ceylon (Sri Lanka): Eminent Tamils, Volume 1; Uma Siva Pathippakam; 1973
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| Nominated Members (13) |
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| Elected Members (17) |
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| Eastern Province (2) | |||||||||||
| Northern Province (5) | |||||||||||
| North Central Province (1) | |||||||||||
| North Western Province (5) | |||||||||||
| Sabaragamuwa Province (5) | |||||||||||
| Southern Province (7) | |||||||||||
| Uva Province (3) | |||||||||||
| Western Province (14) | |||||||||||
| Appointed (8) |
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- 1874 births
- 1966 deaths
- Alumni of Ceylon Law College
- Alumni of Jaffna Central College
- Alumni of Jaffna College
- Ceylonese advocates
- Ceylonese Knights Bachelor
- Members of the Legislative Council of Ceylon
- Members of the 2nd State Council of Ceylon
- People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka
- People from British Ceylon
- Speakers of the Parliament of Sri Lanka
- Sri Lankan Tamil people
- Sri Lankan lawyers
- Tamil politicians
- University of Calcutta alumni