Nevins Selvadurai ( ta, நெவின்ஸ் செல்வதுரை; 15 October 1863 – 28 April 1938) 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 ...

teacher, principal of

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

and a member of the

State Council of Ceylon The State Council of Ceylon was the unicameral legislature for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), established in 1931 by the Donoughmore Constitution. The State Council gave universal adult franchise to the people of the colony for the first time. It r ...

Early life and family

Selvadurai was born on 15 October 1863. He was the son of William Nevins Sithamaparapillai, headmaster of Jaffna Wesleyan Central School (present day

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 ...

). He was educated at Vaddukoddai Primary School and Jaffna Wesleyan Central School. Aged 15 he joined Presidency College in

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 ...

, from where graduated in science with honours. Selvadurai married Margaret Annie Papapammah, daughter of Muutusamy Watson, in 1889. They had several children.

Career

After graduating Selvadurai became a teacher at Jaffna Wesleyan Central School. In 1892 he became principal of

, a position he held until at 1926. He was also principal of

Trinity College, Kandy "Look to the End" , mottoes = , founder = John Ireland Jones , established = , type = Independent Private , affiliation = Church of Ceylon, Anglican , grade ...

for a brief period. In the

1923 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1923 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the off ...

he was made 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 ...

for his services to education.

Later life

Selvadurai became a member of several organisations after retirement including the Board of Education and University College Council. He was president of the Jaffna Association chairman of the Rural Education Committee. Selvadurai contested the 1934 State Council by-election as a candidate in Kayts and was elected to the

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...

. He contested the 1936 election as a candidate in Jaffna but was defeated by incumbent

Arunachalam Mahadeva Arunachalam Mahadeva, KCMG ( ta, அருணாசலம் மகாதேவா, translit=Aruṇācalam Makātēvā; 5 October 1885 – 15 April 1966) was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and diplomat. He served as Minister of Home Affairs ...

. Selvadurai died on 8 April 1938 after a heart attack.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selvadurai, Nevins 1863 births 1938 deaths Alumni of Jaffna Central College Ceylonese Members of the Order of the British Empire Faculty of Jaffna Central College Members of the 1st State Council of Ceylon People associated with Trinity College, Kandy People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka People from British Ceylon Principals of Jaffna Hindu College Sri Lankan Tamil politicians Sri Lankan Tamil teachers