Waithilingam_Duraiswamy

Waithilingam Duraiswamy

Waithilingam Duraiswamy

Ceylon Tamil lawyer and politician


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.

Quick Facts 3rd Speaker of the State Council of Ceylon, Preceded by ...

Early life and family

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

Sir Duraiswamy (Seated middle) as the Speaker of the Second State Council of Ceylon in 1936.

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

Duraiswamy died on 12 April 1966.[1] A commorative postage stamp in honour of Duraiswamy was issued on 14 June 1982.[1][3]


References

  1. "Mr. Speaker plays a vital role". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 11 June 2006.
  2. Wijesinghe, Sam (25 December 2005). "People and State Power". Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka).
  3. 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)
  4. 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)
  5. "Speakers". Handbook of Parliament. Parliament of Sri Lanka.
  6. "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1947" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  7. Russell, Jane; Communal politics under the Donoughmore Constitution 1931-1947;Tisara Prakasakayo Ltd; Sri Lanka 1982
  8. Jayasuriya, J.E; Education in Ceylon Before and After Independence 1939-1968; Colombo; 1969
  9. Muttucumaraswamy, V; Founders of Modern Ceylon (Sri Lanka): Eminent Tamils, Volume 1; Uma Siva Pathippakam; 1973

Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Waithilingam_Duraiswamy, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.