Kathiravetpillai Balasingam ( ta, கதிரவேற்பிள்ளை பாலசிங்கம் ; 23 June 1876 – 4 September 1952) was a Ceylon Tamil 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 ...

and

Executive Council of Ceylon The Executive Council of Ceylon was the Executive Council created in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) by the British colonial administration on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission along with the Legislative Council of Ceylon in March ...

Early life and family

Balasingam was born on 23 June 1876 in

Udupiddy Udupiddy is a small town in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic ...

in northern

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. He was the son of Kathiravetpillai. Balasingam was educated at Jaffna College and

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...

. Balasingam had a son (Cumaraswamy) and a daughter.

Career

Balasingam joined the legal profession after finishing his education. He practised law in Colombo and became a District Judge.

Later life

After retirement Balasingam was appointed to the

in 1914 as the second

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

member. He was appointed to the

in 1924. He played a key role in the establishment of the College of Ayurvedic Medicine, Hospital of Indigenous Medicine, State Mortgage Bank, Judicial Services Commission and the Public Trustee's Department. He was also one of the earliest proponents of diverting the waters of the Mahaweli River to assist farming. Balasingam died on 4 September 1952. A 60 cents commemorative stamp honouring Balasingam was issued on 22 May 1984.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balasingam, K. 1876 births 1952 deaths Alumni of Jaffna College Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Members of the Executive Council of Ceylon Members of the Legislative Council of Ceylon People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka People from British Ceylon Sri Lankan Tamil lawyers Sri Lankan Tamil politicians