Kalasuri Ratnadurai Sivagurunathan was a (7 October 1931 – 9 August 2003)

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 Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n journalist, lawyer, academic and editor of '' Thinakaran''.

Early life

Sivagurunathan was born on 7 October 1931 in Kantharamadam 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 educated at

St. John's College, Jaffna '' , motto_translation = Light Shines in the Darkness , location = , streetaddress = Main Street, Chundikuli , region = , city = Jaffna, Jaffna District , state = , p ...

, Jaffna Hindu College and

Zahira College, Colombo Zahira College (commonly known as Zahira) ( si, සහිරා විදුහල, ta, சாஹிரா கல்லுரி) is an Islamic school at Colombo in Maradana, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1892 as Al Madrasathul Zahira by notab ...

. After school he joined the

University of Ceylon The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Univer ...

, Peradeniya. He then entered Ceylon Law College, qualifying as 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, ...

Career

Sivagurunathan joined the '' Thinakaran'' in 1955 and worked as a reporter, sub-editor and lobby correspondent. He also worked for the '' Dinamina'', another newspaper published by the

Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL), also known as Lake House. It publishes three daily, three weekend, five weekly, two monthly and three annual publications in Sinhala, English and Tamil. Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited is ...

. He was appointed news editor of the ''Thinakaran'' in 1957, becoming its chief editor in 1961. He held this position until 1994. Sivagurunathan obtained a MA degree from the

University of Jaffna The University of Jaffna ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணப் பல்கலைக்கழகம், translit=Yāḻppāṇap Palkalaikkaḻakam; si, යාපනය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ''Yāpanaya Viśvavidyālaya''; ...

whilst working as a journalist. He was president of Working Journalists Association of Sri Lanka and a member of the Press Council.

Later life

Sivagurunathan was a visiting lecturer at

Sri Lanka 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 ...

and the Open University of Sri Lanka. Sivagurunathan was president of Colombo Tamil Sangam and was awarded the

Kalasuri The Kala Suri ( si, කලා සූරී; ta, கலாசூரி, translit=Kalācūri) is a Sri Lankan national honour awarded "''for special contributions to the development of the arts''". It is conventionally used as a title or prefix to ...

title, a Sri Lankan national honour, for his services to journalism. Sivagurunathan died on 9 August 2003 in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sivagurunathan, R 1933 births 2003 deaths Academic staff of Sri Lanka Law College Academic staff of the Open University of Sri Lanka Alumni of Jaffna Hindu College Alumni of St. John's College, Jaffna Alumni of the University of Ceylon Alumni of the University of Jaffna Alumni of Zahira College, Colombo Ceylonese advocates Kala Suri People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Tamil academics Sri Lankan Tamil editors Sri Lankan Tamil journalists Sri Lankan Tamil lawyers