Velupillai Kumaraswamy (Tamil: வேலுப்பிள்ளை குமாரசுவாமி; 31 July 1919 – 10 March 1978)[1] was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and Member of Parliament.
V. Kumaraswamy | |
|---|---|
வே. குமாரசுவாமி | |
| Member of the Ceylonese Parliament for Chavakachcheri | |
| In office 1947–1956 | |
| Succeeded by | V. N. Navaratnam |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 31 July 1919 |
| Died | 10 March 1978 (aged 58) Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Alma mater | Ceylon Law College |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Ethnicity | Ceylon Tamil |
Early life and family
editKumaraswamy was born on 31 July 1919.[2] He was the son of Velupillai, a proctor from Chavakachcheri in northern Ceylon.[3] After school Kumaraswamy joined Ceylon Law College, qualifying as an advocate.
Kumaraswamy had a son (Vaheeswaran) and a daughter (Dushyanti).[3]
Career
editWhilst still studying law, Kumaraswamy stood as the All Ceylon Tamil Congress's (ACTC) candidate in Chavakachcheri at the 1947 parliamentary election.[3] He won the election and entered Parliament.[4] Kumaraswamy became a Parliamentary Secretary after the ACTC joined the United National Party dominated government in 1948.[3][5]
Kumaraswamy was re-elected at the 1952 parliamentary election.[6] The ACTC left the UNP government in 1953 but Kumaraswamy chose to remain with the UNP.[7] Kumaraswamy left the UNP in 1956 over the party's support of the Sinhala Only Act.[7]
Kumaraswamy stood for re-election in the constituency at the 1956 parliamentary election as an independent candidate but was defeated by the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (Federal Party) candidate V. N. Navaratnam.[3][8] He was the ACTC's candidate in the constituency at the March 1960 and 1970 parliamentary elections but on each occasion was defeated by Navaratnam.[9][10] He contested the 1977 parliamentary election as an independent candidate but was again defeated by Navaratnam.[11]
Kumaraswamy practised law in Colombo.[3]
References
edit- ^ "குமாரசாமி காலமானார்" (PDF). Eelanadu. Jaffna, Sri Lanka. 11 March 1978. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
- ^ "Directory of Past Members: Kumaraswamy, Velupillai". Parliament of Sri Lanka.
- ^ a b c d e f Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. p. 90.
- ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1947" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- ^ Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 14: Post-colonial realignment of political forces". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Archived from the original on 3 January 2002.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "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 Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 15: Turbulence in any language". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Archived from the original on 8 February 2002.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1956" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1960-03-19" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ^ "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.