Mudaliar Mudaliar (alternatively spelled: Muthaliar, Mudali, Muthali, or Moodley ) is a Tamil title and surname. As title, it was historically given to high-ranking military officers and their descendants. The surname is most prevalent among Tamils from Tami ...

Al-Haj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried o ...

Meerakuddy Mohamed Ebrahim,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(2 October 1896 – 1957) was a former Muslim

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 ...

representing

Pottuvil Pottuvil ( ta, பொத்துவில், translit=Pottuvil; si, පොතුවිල, translit=Potuvil) is a town in the Ampara District of Sri Lanka, located in the Eastern Province on the eastern coast of the Island. It is situated ...

. At the 1st parliamentary election held in 1947 Ebrahim, 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 ...

, in the seat of

. He received 7,407 votes (55.9% of the total vote) defeating the only other candidate, A. R. A. Razik (representing 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), ...

), by 1,899 votes. Razik was a prominent Muslim leader and a founding member of the UNP, who had been denied the party's nomination for Colombo Central and was forced to contest Pottuvil, an area which he did not have a personal political base. In 1947 Razik was granted a seat in the

Senate of Ceylon The Senate was the upper chamber of the parliament of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Commission. The Senate was appointed and indirectly elected rather than directly elected. It was housed in the old Legislative Coun ...

and was subsequently elected to parliament in the next parliamentary election. Ebrahim was one of only six Muslims elected to the first

parliament of Ceylon The Parliament of Ceylon was the legislative body of British Ceylon & Dominion of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Constitution, prior to independence on 4 February 1948. Parliament replaced the State Council of Ceylon. ...

. Later in his first term of office he joined the UNP. He was awarded the honor of

(Mudaliyar) and in the

1952 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1952 were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire and Commonwealth. They were announced on 1 January 1952 for the British Empire, Austra ...

Ebrahim was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE), for his public service to the Pottuvil electorate. He was re-elected at the 2nd parliamentary election held in May 1952 but was only just successful in defeating M. M. Mustapha, the Federal Party candidate, by 559 votes. In 1954 Ebrahim was appointed parliamentary secretary to the Minister of External Affairs and Defence and in 1955 the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Local Government. He did not, owing to ill health, seek re-election at the 1956 parliamentary elections.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ebrahim, Meerakuddy Mohamed 1896 births 1957 deaths Parliamentary secretaries of Ceylon Members of the 1st Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 2nd Parliament of Ceylon United National Party politicians Ceylonese Members of the Order of the British Empire Mudaliyars of Ceylon