Murugesu Sivasithamparam (20 July 1923 – 5 June 2002) was a leading

Sri Lankan 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 ...

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 of ...

and

Deputy Speaker The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

Early life

Sivasithamparam was born 20 July 1923 in

Karaveddy Karaveddy is a town located 7 km from the City of Point Pedro, Jaffna District, Sri Lanka. In local Tamil Language it translates to ''Coastal Strip'', although it is few km from the coast. Karaveddy Pradeshya Sabha is the administrative ...

in northern province of

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 educated at Vigneswara College, Karaveddy and

St. Joseph's College, Colombo , motto_translation = In Knowledge and Virtue , location = T. B. Jayah Mawatha, Colombo 10 , country = Sri Lanka , coordinates = , caption = School Facade , pushpin_m ...

. He later studied at

Ceylon University College Ceylon University College was a public university college in Ceylon. Established in 1921, it was Ceylon's first attempt at university education. The college didn't award degrees under its own name but prepared students to sit the University of Lo ...

and

Colombo Law College Sri Lanka Law College (abbreviated as SLLC), formerly known as Ceylon Law College, is a law college, and the only legal institution where one can enroll as a attorney-at-law in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1874, under the then Council of Legal ...

. After graduation he joined the legal profession, becoming an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

. He appeared as

defence counsel In a civil proceeding or criminal prosecution under the common law or under statute, a defendant may raise a defense (or defence) in an effort to avert civil liability or criminal conviction. A defense is put forward by a party to defeat a s ...

in many criminal cases. Sivasithamparam married Sarathadevi, daughter of Ponnambalam. They had a son (Sathyendra) and a daughter (Niranjali).

Political career

Sivasithamparam came under the influence of

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

and

Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

while studying at Ceylon University College. He was a supporter of

P. Kandiah Ponnambalam Kandiah was a Ceylon Tamil ( ta, பொன்னம்பலம் கந்தையா; 1 July 1914 – September 1960) was a Ceylon Tamil academic, teacher, politician and Member of Parliament. Early life and family Kandiah was bo ...

, a leading communist from Karaveddy. His support for communism gradually declined and he took up Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism instead. Sivasithamparam 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 for

Point Pedro Point Pedro ( ta, பருத்தித்துறை, translit=Paruttittuṟai; si, පේදුරු තුඩුව, translit=Pēduru Tuḍuva) is a town, located in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka, at the northernmost point of the island. ...

at the 1956 parliamentary election but failed to get elected. He joined the

All Ceylon Tamil Congress All Ceylon Tamil Congress ( ta, அகில இலங்கைத் தமிழ்க் காங்கிரஸ்), is the oldest Tamil political party in Sri Lanka. History The ACTC was founded in 1944 by G.G. Ponnambalam. Ponnambalam ask ...

(ACTC) in 1958. A delimitation commission in the late 1950s created a new electoral district for Udupiddy from parts of Point Pedro. Sivasithamparam stood as the ACTC candidate in the new electoral district at the March 1960 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: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. He was re-elected at the July 1960 and

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

parliamentary elections. Sivasithamparam took part in the 1961

satyagraha Satyagraha ( sa, सत्याग्रह; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone w ...

organised by the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (Federal Party). He served as "postman" for the Tamil Postal Service set-up as part of the civil disobedience campaign, delivering by motorcycle a letter informing the Jaffna police superintendent of the illegal postal service. He was assaulted by soldiers whilst trying to women taking part in the satyagraha and was hospitalised for days. Sivasithamparam served as

between 1968 and 1970. He stood for re-election in Udupiddy at the 1970 parliamentary election but was defeated by the ITAK candidate. In 1972 the ACTC, ITAK and others formed the

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

(later renamed

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

). Sivasithamparam was elected vice president of TUF in 1972. Sivasithamparam was delivering leaflets along with other leading Tamil politicians ( A. Amirthalingam,

V. N. Navaratnam Vallipuram Nallathamby Navaratnam ( ta, வல்லிபுரம் நல்லதம்பி நவரத்தினம்; 5 June 1929 – 29 January 1991) was a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer, politician and Member of Parliament. Early lif ...

, K. P. Ratnam and K. Thurairatnam) in 1976 when they were all arrested on government orders. Sivasithamparam was released but the others were taken to Colombo and tried for

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...

. All the defendants were acquitted after a famous

trial at bar A trial at bar is a trial before two more judges. The procedure was often used in cases which raised novel points of law or for high-profile trials. Among famous trials at bar are the trials of Sir Roger Casement and Dr Leander Starr Jameson, In ...

case in which 72 Tamil lawyers including S. J. V. Chelvanayakam and

G. G. Ponnambalam Ganapathipillai Gangaser Ponnambalam ( ta, கணபதி காங்கேசர் பொன்னம்பலம்; 8 November 1901 – 9 February 1977) was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and cabinet minister. He was the founder and l ...

acted for the defence. Sivasithamparam was the TULF's candidate for Nallur at the 1977 parliamentary election which he won with the largest majority in the country. The TULF became the largest opposition party in Parliament and Sivasithamparam became deputy leader of the opposition. Sivasithamparam was elected president of the TULF in 1978. During the

Black July Black July ( ta, கறுப்பு யூலை, translit=Kaṟuppu Yūlai; si, කළු ජූලිය, Kalu Juliya) was an anti-Tamil pogrom that occurred in Sri Lanka during July 1983. The pogrom was premeditated,T. Sabaratnam, Pirapa ...

Sivasithamparam's home and cars in Norris Canal Road, Colombo were burnt. Sivasithamparam was away 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 ...

but his family were home. They escaped unharmed. Sivasithamparam and all other TULF MPs boycotted Parliament from the middle of 1983 for a number of reasons: they were under pressure from Sri Lankan Tamil militants not to stay in Parliament beyond their normal six-year term; the Sixth Amendment to the

Constitution of Sri Lanka The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව, Śrī Laṃkā āndukrama vyavasthāva, ta, இலங்கை அரசிய� ...

required them to swear an oath unconditionally renouncing support for a separate state; and the Black July riots in which up to 3,000 Tamils were murdered by

Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...

mobs. After three months of absence, Sivasithamparam forfeited his seat in Parliament on 22 October 1983. His refusal to take the oath under the Sixth Amendment also barred him from practising as a lawyer. Sivasithamparam and his family, like many families of leading Tamil politicians, fled to

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

(now Chennai),

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...

, the

Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu The chief minister of Tamil Nadu is the chief executive of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with th ...

, gave the family a flat to stay in. Whilst in India Sivasithamparam took part in numerous peace talks. After the signing of the

Indo-Sri Lanka Accord The Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord was an accord signed in Colombo on 29 July 1987, between Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J. R. Jayewardene. The accord was expected to resolve the Sri Lankan Civil War by enabling th ...

in 1987 Sivasithamparam returned to Sri Lanka. He was one of the TULF's candidates in Jaffna District at the 1989 parliamentary election but failed to get elected. Sivasithamparam survived an assassination attempt on 13 July 1989 but A. Amirthalingam and

V. Yogeswaran Vettivelu Yogeswaran ( ta, வெற்றிவேலு யோகேஸ்வரன்; 5 February 1934 – 13 July 1989) was a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer, politician and Member of Parliament. Early life and family Yogeswaran was born 5 Febr ...

, his fellow TULF leaders, were killed in the incident. Sivasithamparam had been shot in the chest and spent a long time in hospital recovering. He took on the leadership of the TULF following the assassination of Amirthalingam. He was one of the TULF's candidates in Vanni District at the 1994 parliamentary election but again failed to get elected. He took part in further peace talks in the late 1990s. Ill health and failure of peace talks forced him to return to Tamil Nadu. In 2001 the TULF, ACTC,

Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front The Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) is a series of Sri Lankan political parties and a former militant separatist group. Militant separatists The EPRLF was formed in 1980 by K. Pathmanabha (Padmanaba), Douglas Devananda, Su ...

and

Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization The Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) is an Eelam Tamil organisation which campaigned for the establishment of an independent Tamil Eelam in the northeast of Sri Lanka during 1972-1987 which later accepted the December 19th proposals. T ...

formed the

Tamil National Alliance The Tamil National Alliance ( ta, தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு ISO 15919: ''tamiḻt tēciyakkūṭṭamaippu''; TNA) is a political alliance in Sri Lanka that represents the country's Sri Lankan ...

(TNA). Sivasithamparam, the elder statesman of Sri Lankan Tamil politics, returned to Sri Lanka in 2001 when he was appointed as a

National List Member of Parliament A national list member of parliament (national list MP) is a nominated member of parliament who is appointed by a political party or an independent group to the Parliament of Sri Lanka. The number of national list MPs allocated to a contesting par ...

for the TNA in December 2001.

Death

Sivasithamparam died on 5 June 2002 after a brief illness. His funeral took place in Karaveddy on 9 June 2002.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sivasithamparam, M. 1923 births 2002 deaths All Ceylon Tamil Congress politicians Alumni of Saint Joseph's College, Colombo Alumni of the Ceylon University College Ceylonese advocates Deputy chairmen of committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka Deputy speakers and chairmen of committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 4th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 5th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 6th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 8th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 12th Parliament of Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Hindus Sri Lankan Tamil lawyers Sri Lankan Tamil politicians Tamil National Alliance politicians Tamil United Liberation Front politicians People of the Sri Lankan Civil War Indian Peace Keeping Force