Arumugam Thiagarajah ( ta, ஆறுமுகம் தியாகராஜா; 17 April 1916 – 25 May 1981) was a Sri Lankan Tamil teacher, politician and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

Early life

Thiagarajah was born on 17 April 1916. He was principal of Karainagar Hindu College.

Career

Thiagarajah stood as the All Ceylon Tamil Congress's candidate in

Vaddukoddai Vaddukoddai (also spelt Vattukkottai, Vatukotai, Vattukotai) ( ta, வட்டுக்கோட்டை, si, වඩුකෝඩයි) is small but important town in the minority Sri Lankan Tamil dominated Jaffna peninsula of Sri Lanka. I ...

at the 1970 parliamentary election. He won the election and entered

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. He later defected to the governing Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and voted for the new republican constitution. He was labelled a traitor by Tamil militants and Tamil nationalists. He was the target of an assassination attempt at his

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

home in 1972. Thiagarajah contested the 1977 parliamentary election as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

candidate but was resoundingly defeated by the

Tamil United Liberation Front The Tamil United Liberation Front ( ta, தமிழர் ஐக்கிய விடுதலை முன்னணி, translit=Tamil Onrupattatu Viduthulai Munnai, si, ද්‍රවිඩ එක්සත් විමුක්ති ප� ...

candidate

T. Thirunavukarasu Thamodarampillai Thirunavukarasu ( ta, தாமோதரம்பிள்ளை திருநாவுக்கரசு; 1 September 1933 – 1 August 1982) was a Sri Lankan Tamil politician and Member of Parliament. Early life Thirunavu ...

Assassination

The

United National Party The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...

chose Thiagarajah to be its lead candidate in Jaffna District at the 1981 District Development Council election. Tamil militant groups had warned candidates not to contest for the UNP. He was shot by the militant People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) on 24 May 1981 as he was addressing an election meeting in

Moolai Moolai'' ta, மூளாய் Moolaai) is a town in Northern Jaffna District, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), ...

. He died on the next day 25 May 1981 in hospital.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thiagarajah, A. 1916 births 1981 deaths All Ceylon Tamil Congress politicians Assassinated Sri Lankan politicians Members of the 7th Parliament of Ceylon People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka People killed by the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam People from British Ceylon Sri Lanka Freedom Party politicians Tamil politicians Sri Lankan Tamil teachers United National Party politicians 1980s assassinated politicians