Coomarasamy Balasingham (10 March 1917 – 15 July 2001) was a leading Ceylon Tamil civil servant.
C. Balasingham | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 March 1917 |
| Died | 15 July 2001 (aged 84) Connecticut, USA |
| Alma mater | Kollankaladdy Tamil School Mahajana College Jaffna Hindu College Ceylon University College Ceylon Law College |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
Early life
editBalasingham 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
editBalasingham 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
editBalasingham 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
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. p. 21.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Sankarakumaran, C. (4 October 2001). "C. Balasingham". The Island (Sri Lanka).
- ^ Somasundram, M. (8 November 1998). "Arm of treasury, PED benumbe". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
- ^ "C Balasingham (1917 - 2001)". Ancient Faces. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2013-05-26.