Ponnambalam Arunachalam
Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam MLC CCS | |
---|---|
பொன்னம்பலம் அருணாசலம் | |
Member of the Executive Council of Ceylon | |
In office 1912–1913 | |
Member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon | |
In office 1912–1913 | |
President of the Ceylon National Congress | |
In office 1919–1920 | |
Personal details | |
Born | P. Arunachalam 14 September 1853 Ceylon Tamil |
Ponnambalam Arunachalam (Tamil: பொன்னம்பலம் அருணாசலம், romanized: Poṉṉampalam Aruṇācalam; 14 September 1853 – 9 January 1924) was a Ceylonese civil servant and a member of the Executive Council of Ceylon and Legislative Council of Ceylon.
Early life and family
Arunachalam was born on 14 September 1853 in
Arunachalam married Svarnambal, daughter of Namasivayam, in 1883.
Career
Arunachalam was
Early on his career, Arunachalam's quality of work was noticed by
Arunachalam was entrusted with managing the 1901 census by being appointed Superintendent of Census in 1900.[1][3][12] He started codifying Ceylon's law but only managed to produce the first volume of A Digest of the Civil Law of Ceylon.[13][14] Arunachalam was an official member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon and a member of the Executive Council of Ceylon between 1912 and 1913.[1][7][13][15][16][a] He retired from the civil service in 1913.[1][7][18] He was knighted in February 1914.[19][20][1][7][18][21]
Arunachalam's became interested in politics during his university days.[22] He agitated for political reform whilst still working in the civil service.[23] In retirement Arunachalam became involved in politics, founding the Ceylon National Association and the Ceylon Reform League, of which he was chairman, in 1917.[1][4][18] He was one of the founders of the Ceylon National Congress (CNC) in 1919 and served as its first president from 1919 to 1920.[1][4][7][18] Arunachalam left the CNC in 1921 following disputes about communal representation in the Legislative Council, which Arunachalam opposed, and the connivance of Sinhalese politicians which resulted in no Tamils being elected from Western Province at the 1921 legislative council election.[1][4][5][24] He founded the Ceylon Tamil League in 1923.[25][26]
In 1917 he became the first Ceylonese to be elected president of the
Works
- A Revel in Bliss (1895).[citation needed]
- A Few Hymns of Manikka Vachaka and Thayumanavar (1897).[citation needed]
- Sketches of Ceylon History (1906, Ceylon National Review)[27][34]
- A Digest of the Civil Law of Ceylon[13][14]
- Studies and Translations from the Tamil [citation needed]
- Studies and Translations – Philosophical and Religious (1937)[35]
Footnotes
- ^ Other sources say Arunachalam was a member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon from 1906 to 1913.[7][17]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon (PDF). pp. 17–18.
- ^ a b c d Muttucumaraswamy 1973, p. 1.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Jayewardene, Don Adrian St. Valentine. "Constitution and Law". In Wright, Arnold (ed.). Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon (PDF). Asian Educational Services. p. 97.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Gooneratne, Brendon (14 February 2009). "Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam (1853–1924): The Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam Memorial Oration, delivered on 19 January, 2009". The Island.
- ^ Daily Mirror.
- ^ a b c Muttucumaraswamy 1973, p. 2.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "A Cambridge Alumni Database". University of Cambridge.
- ^ a b c Muttucumaraswamy 1973, p. 23.
- ^ a b Rutnam 1988, p. 24.
- ^ a b c d Muttucumaraswamy 1973, p. 3.
- ^ a b c Rutnam 1988, p. 3.
- ^ Muttucumaraswamy 1973, p. 5.
- ^ a b c Muttucumaraswamy 1973, p. 6.
- ^ a b Rutnam 1988, p. 6.
- ^ "The London Gazette". The London Gazette (28587): 1659. 5 March 1912.
- ^ "The London Gazette". The London Gazette (28593): 2209. 26 March 1912.
- ^ Rutnam 1988, p. 11.
- ^ a b c d Muttucumaraswamy 1973, p. 7.
- ^ "Ponnambalam Arunachalam". christs.cam.ac.uk. Christ's College, Cambridge. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
- ^ "THE LOiNDOK GAZETTE, 24 FEBRUARY, 1914". thegazette.co.uk. The London Gazette. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
- ^ "The London Gazette". The London Gazette (28806): 1546. 24 February 1914.
- ^ Rutnam 1988, p. 7.
- ^ Rutnam 1988, p. 10.
- ^ Wijesinha, Sam (26 September 1999). "DP: A man who was one with the people". The Sunday Times.
- ^ Muttucumaraswamy 1973, p. 16.
- ^ Rutnam 1988, p. 25.
- ^ a b Muttucumaraswamy 1973, p. 13.
- ^ a b Muttucumaraswamy 1973, p. 17.
- ^ Muttucumaraswamy 1973, p. 10.
- ^ Rutnam 1988, p. 16.
- ^ Rutnam 1988, p. 17.
- ^ a b Muttucumaraswamy 1973, p. 11.
- ^ Rutnam 1988, p. 18.
- ^ Rutnam 1988, p. 21.
- ^ Muttucumaraswamy 1973, p. 15.
References
- Muttucumaraswamy, V. (1973). Founders of Modern Ceylon (PDF). Uma Siva Pathippakam.
- Rutnam, James T. (1988). Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam 1853–1924 (PDF) (2nd ed.).