Sathasivam Kanagaratnam ( ta, சதாசிவம் கனகரத்தினம்; born 28 December 1946) is a

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 and former Member of Parliament.

Early life and family

Kanagaratnam was born on 28 December 1946 Nallur, 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 Senkuntha Hindu College. He had two brothers (Chelvanayakam and Rajaratnam) and two sisters. Lieutinent Chelvanayakam (alias Amman, Chandran, Chellakili) was a member of the rebel

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

(LTTE) who was killed in the Thirunelvely ambush on the Sri Lankan military in July 1983. Kanagaratnam has two sons (Aathithan and Shanseevan) and a daughter (Niruththana).

Career

After school Kanagaratnam worked in various jobs including as a salesman and a chauffeur. He joined the Ceylon Transport Board in 1978 as a bus driver at the

Mattakkuliya Mattakkuliya is a suburb in Colombo, 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 D ...

depot. He transferred to the Mullaitivu depot in 1980. After retirement in 2000 he worked part-time for the Vanni Private Bus Operators’ Association. He lived in Suthanthirapuram near Udayarkaddu in Mullaitivu District. Kanagaratnam was selected by the rebel

(LTTE) to be one of 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 ...

's (TNA) candidates in Vanni District at the 2004 parliamentary election. He was elected 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 ...

. Kanagaratnam and his family were amongst the 300,000 civilians trapped in the ''No Fire Zone'' during the final months of the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. He disappeared after the end of the civil war in May 2009. He was picked by the

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

at the

Menik Farm The final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War created 300,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who were transferred to camps in Vavuniya District and detained there against their will. This process, together with conditions inside the camps a ...

IDP camp and taken to

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 ...

. He had been detained on the orders of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa for allegedly violating emergency regulations and assisting the LTTE. After eight months of detention Kanagaratnam was released in January 2010 in return for agreeing to support

Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...

in the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

. He was provided with a newly built bungalow inside the Northern Province Governor’s residential complex in

Vavuniya Vavuniya (, romanized: ''Vavuṉiyā'', , romanized: ''Vavuniyāva''). Vavuniya City is the capital of Vavuniya District in the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka and the largest city in the Northern Province. The municip ...

. Kanagaratnam left the TNA and joined Rajapaksa's

United People's Freedom Alliance The United People's Freedom Alliance (abbreviated UPFA; si, එක්සත් ජනතා නිදහස් සන්ධානය ''Eksath Janathā Nidahas Sandānaya''; ta, ஐக்கிய மக்கள் சுதந்திரக� ...

(UPFA). He contested the 2010 parliamentary election as one of the UPFA's candidates in Vanni District but failed to get elected after coming sixth amongst the UPFA candidates.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanagaratnam, S. 1946 births Living people Members of the 13th Parliament of Sri Lanka Politicians from Northern Province, Sri Lanka People from British Ceylon Sri Lankan Hindus Tamil politicians Tamil National Alliance politicians United People's Freedom Alliance politicians