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Sir Waithilingam Duraiswamy ( ta, வைத்திலிங்கம் துரைசுவாமி; 8 June 1874 – 12 April 1966) was a
After qualifying Duraiswamy worked as an advocate, becoming a crown advocate and leader of the Jaffna Bar.
Duraiswamy contested the 1921 Legislative Council election as a candidate in Northern Province and was elected to the Legislative Council. He contested the 1924 Legislative Council election as a candidate in Northern Province West and was re-elected unopposed. He was a leading member of the
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, politician and speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** In ...
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
Duraiswamy was born on 8 June 1874 inVelanaitivu
Velanai Island ( ta, வேலணை), also known as ''Leiden'' in Dutch, is a small island off the coast of Jaffna Peninsula in the North of Sri Lanka.
There are number of villages within the island such as Allaipiddy, Mankumpan, Velanai, Sa ...
, an island in the north 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 the son of Ayampillai Waithilingam, an engineer from Malaya
Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia:
Political entities
* British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...
. He was educated at Jaffna College __NOTOC__
Jaffna College is a private school in Vaddukoddai, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1871 as a successor to the Batticotta Seminary which had been established by American missionaries.
History
In 1816 American missionaries founded the ...
and 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 ...
. After school he joined University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...
, from where he graduated with a double honours degree. He then qualified 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, ...
from the Ceylon 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 ...
.
Duraiswamy was married to Rasammah from Maathakal, Jaffna. Duraiswamy had four sons (Yogendra
, image = Shri Yogendra.jpg
, caption = Yogendra in his early years, sitting in Siddhasana
, religion = Hinduism
, founder = The Yoga Institute (1918)
, known_for = Pioneering modern yoga
, alma_m ...
, Rajendra, Mahendra and Devendra) and four daughters (Maheswari, Nadeswari, Parameswari and Bhuvaneswari).
Career
After qualifying Duraiswamy worked as an advocate, becoming a crown advocate and leader of the Jaffna Bar.
Duraiswamy contested the 1921 Legislative Council election as a candidate in Northern Province and was elected to the Legislative Council. He contested the 1924 Legislative Council election as a candidate in Northern Province West and was re-elected unopposed. He was a leading member of the Jaffna Youth Congress
The Jaffna Youth Congress, was the first of Sri Lanka's Youth Leagues. It was influenced by the Indian Independence Movement, was secular and committed to Poorana Swaraj (Complete Self-Rule), national unity and the eradication of inequalities ...
which advocated the boycott of the 1931 State Council elections. The boycott ended in 1934 but Duraiswamy did not contest the ensuing by-elections. He did however contest the 1936 State Council 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 ...
unopposed. Duraiswamy was elected Speaker of the State Council on 17 March 1936. He held this position until the State Council was replaced in 1947. Duraiswamy was knighted by King George VI in London in the 1937 Coronation Honours
The 1937 Coronation Honours were awarded in honour of the coronation of George VI.
Royal Honours
Order of the Thistle
* The Queen
Royal Victorian Chain
* The Queen
* Queen Mary
* Clive, Baron Wigram
Royal Victorian Order (GCVO)
* The Queen ...
.
Duraiswamy contested in Kayts
Kayts ( ta, ஊர்காவற்துறை, translit=Ūrkāvaṟtuṟai'','' ), is one of the important villages in Velanai Island which is a small island off the coast of the Jaffna Peninsula in northern Sri Lanka. There are number of othe ...
at the 1947 election but failed to get elected to the new 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 ...
after coming fourth. A wave of Tamil nationalism represented by the Tamil Congress had swept away the old guard of the legislature at the 1947 elections.
Duraiswamy was one of the founders of the Hindu Board of Education and served as its president in 1923. He helped establish more than 150 Hindu schools. He was a founder and president of the Tamil Union. He was also president of the Vivekananda Society and a leading member of the Saiva Paripalana Sabhai.Muttucumaraswamy, V; Founders of Modern Ceylon (Sri Lanka): Eminent Tamils, Volume 1; Uma Siva Pathippakam; 1973
Death
Duraiswamy died on 12 April 1966. A commorative postage stamp in honour of Duraiswamy was issued on 14 June 1982.References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duraiswamy, Waithilingam 1874 births 1966 deaths Alumni of Ceylon Law College Alumni of Jaffna Central College Alumni of Jaffna College Ceylonese advocates Ceylonese Knights Bachelor Members of the Legislative Council of Ceylon Members of the 2nd State Council of Ceylon People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka People of British Ceylon Place of death missing Speakers of the Parliament of Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Tamil lawyers Sri Lankan Tamil politicians University of Calcutta alumni