Arumugam Canagaratnam ( ta, ஆறுமுகம் கனகரத்தினம்; 1873–1929)
was a
Ceylon Tamil
Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pr ...
lawyer and member of the
Legislative Council of Ceylon
The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of British Ceylon, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first f ...
.
Early life and family
Canagaratnam was born in 1873.
He was the son of Visuvanathan Arumugam.
[ Canagaratnam was educated at Jaffna Central College and Wesley College, Colombo.][ He had his higher education in ]Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
.[
Canagaratnam's nephew ]C. Sittampalam
Cathiravelu Sittampalam ( ta, கதிரவேலு சிற்றம்பலம்; 13 September 1898 – 3 February 1964) was a Ceylon Tamil civil servant, politician, Member of Parliament and government minister.
Early life and famil ...
was a government minister.
Career
Canagaratnam joined the legal profession after finishing his education.[
Canagaratnam became chairman of the Rural Education Development Board in the 1920s.][ He was also chairman of the Jaffna Local Board and Jaffna Urban Council.][ He was elected to the ]Legislative Council of Ceylon
The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of British Ceylon, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first f ...
as the member for the Northern Province South at the 1924 election.
Canagaratnam campaigned for the establishment of the University of Ceylon
The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Univer ...
and edited a nationalist journal called ''The Ceylon Patriot''.[ He built Stanley College, which was later renamed Canagaratnam Maha Vidyalayam, using his own funds.][ Canagaratnam Road is also named after him.][
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canagaratnam, A.
1873 births
1929 deaths
Alumni of Jaffna Central College
Alumni of Wesley College, Colombo
Local authority councillors of Sri Lanka
Members of the Legislative Council of Ceylon
People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka
People of British Ceylon
Sri Lankan Tamil journalists
Sri Lankan Tamil lawyers
Sri Lankan Tamil politicians