Ponnambalam Coomaraswamy (7 December 1849 – 7 June 1906) 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 ...

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 ...

Early life and family

Coomaraswamy was born on 7 December 1849. He was the son of Gate Mudaliyar

A. Ponnambalam Gate Mudaliyar Arunachalam Ponnambalam, Unofficial magistrate, JP, UM (1814 – 4 September 1887) was a Ceylonese colonial-era government functionary, businessmen and philanthropist. He was the cashier at the Colombo Kachcheri and was appointed ...

. He was the brother of

P. Ramanathan Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan, Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, CMG, King's Counsel, KC ( ta, பொன்னம்பலம் இராமநாதன், translit=Poṉṉampalam Irāmanātaṉ; 16 April 1851 – 26 November 19 ...

and P. Arunchalam. Coomaraswamy was educated at

Colombo Academy 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 ...

, Colombo and

Presidency College, Madras Presidency College is an art, commerce, and science college in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. On 16 October 1840, this school was established as the Madras Preparatory School before being repurposed as a high school, and then a gra ...

Career

Coomaraswamy joined the legal profession after finishing his education. Coomaraswamy was a member of

Colombo Municipal Council The Colombo Municipal Council is the municipal governing body of Colombo, the largest city and financial centre in Sri Lanka. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of Colombo, current elect is Rosy Senanayake, and 119 elected 119 muni ...

from January 1873 to October 1879 and from November 1885 to December 1889. He was appointed to the

in 1893 as the unofficial member representing

Tamils The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...

, replacing his brother Ramanathan. Coomaraswamy was a Tamil scholar and a publisher of Tamil literature. He was president of Jaffna Saiva Paripalana Sabai and helped establish

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

. He also established a Hindu temple on

Slave Island Slave Island ( si, කොම්පඤ්ඤ වීදිය, ta, கொம்பனித்தெரு) also known as Kampong Kertel and Kompanna Veediya is a suburb in Colombo, Sri Lanka, located directly south of the Fort. The suburb contain ...

. Coomaraswamy died on 7 June 1906 in Colombo. P. COOMARA SWAMY had the honor of welcoming Swami Vivekananda and delivering the welcome address on the 15th of January, 1897, after the latter's return from the West. This lecture can be seen in Swami Vivekananda's Lectures from Colombo to Almora.

References

1849 births 1906 deaths Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Colombo municipal councillors P Members of the Legislative Council of Ceylon Mudaliyars of Ceylon People from British Ceylon Presidency College, Chennai alumni Sri Lankan Tamil lawyers Sri Lankan Tamil politicians {{WesternLK-politician-stub