Cathiravelu Sittampalam ( ta, கதிரவேலு சிற்றம்பலம்; 13 September 1898 – 3 February 1964) 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 ...

civil servant, politician,

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 ...

and government minister.

Early life and family

Sittampalam was born on 13 September 1898. He was the son of A. Cathiravelu, a proctor and member of the Jaffna Local Board. He was educated at

Jaffna Central College Jaffna Central College ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணம் மத்திய கல்லூரி ''Yāḻppāṇam Mattiya Kallūri'', JCC) is a national school in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Founded in 1816 by British Methodist missionaries, it ...

and Royal College, Colombo. He won many prizes at Royal College including the English Essay Prize, the De Zoysa Science Prize and the Mathematics Prize. Aged 15 he passed the

Senior Cambridge The Senior Cambridge examinations were General Certificate of Education examinations held in India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Singapore. They were preceded by the Junior Cambridge and Preliminary Cambridge examinations. History India The ...

with first class honours and distinction in mathematics. After school Sittampalam joined St. Peter's College, Cambridge on a science scholarship and graduated with a degree in mathematics. Sittampalam was a member of a distinguished family. His brother C. Ponnambalam and brother-in-law C. Casipillai were

Mayors of Jaffna In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

. His uncle A. Canagaratnam was a member of the Legislative Council. His great-uncle V. Casipillai was a crown proctor and one of the founders of

Jaffna Hindu College Jaffna Hindu College ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணம் இந்துக் கல்லூரி, translit=Yāḻppāṇam Intuk Kallūri; si, යාපනය හින්දු විද්‍යාලය, translit=Yāpanaya Hindu Vidyāl ...

. Sittampalam married Kamalambikai. They had four daughters (Devalakshmi, Pushpalakshmi, Yogalakshmi, and Mallikalakshmi) and one son ( Arjuna).

Career

Sittampalam was called to the Bar from

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

. He joined the civil service in 1923 and served in various positions including Assistant Government Agent and District Judge. He later left the civil service and practised as an advocate. Sittampalam stood 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 in

Mannar Mannar may refer to the following places: India * Mannar, Alappuzha, a town in Chengannur Taluk, Kerala Sri Lanka * Mannar District, one of 25 districts in Sri Lanka ** Mannar Island, an island within the district **Mannar Bridge, a bridge connect ...

at the 1947 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 was persuaded to join 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), ...

led

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

and on 26 September 1947 he was sworn in as Minister of Posts and Telecommunication. He was made Minister of Industries, Industrial Research and Fisheries after

George E. de Silva George Edmund de Silva (8 June 1879 - 12 March 1950) was a Ceylonese lawyer and politician. He was the first Cabinet Minister of Industries, Industrial Research and Fisheries in independent Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) (1947–1948), a Member of Parli ...

was unseated by an election petition. Sittampalam was re-elected at the May 1952 parliamentary election but lost his cabinet position. He was defeated at the 1956 parliamentary election by the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (Federal Party) candidate V. A. Alegacone. Sittampalam died on 3 February 1964. In February 2004 Sri Lanka Post issued a commemorative stamp of Sittampalam.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sittampalam, C. 1898 births 1964 deaths Alumni of Jaffna Central College Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Ceylonese advocates Fisheries ministers of Sri Lanka Industries ministers of Sri Lanka Members of the 1st Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 2nd Parliament of Ceylon Members of the Middle Temple People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka People from British Ceylon Posts ministers of Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan civil servants Sri Lankan Tamil lawyers Tamil politicians Telecommunication ministers of Sri Lanka

Early life and family

Career

See also

References