Sri Ranga Jeyaratnam ( ta, சிறீ ரங்கா ஜெயரத்தினம்; born 22 January 1971), also known J. Sri Ranga, 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 ...

broadcaster, politician and former Member of Parliament.

Early life

Jeyaratnam was born on 22 January 1971. He was educated at

Vavuniya Tamil Madhya Maha Vidyalayam Vavuniya Tamil Madhya Maha Vidyalayam also Known as VTMMV ( ta, வவுனியா தமிழ் மத்திய மகா வித்தியாலயம் ''Vavuṉiyā Tamiḻ Mattiya Maha Vidhyālayam'') is a national school in V ...

and Jaffna Hindu College. He then entered the

University of Colombo (Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate) , mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens'' , established = , endowment = Sri Lankan rupee, LKR 1.461 1,000,000,000 (number), billion

where he was captain of the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team.

Career

After university Jeyaratnam joined MBC Networks, presenting the ''Erimalai'' (volcano) programme on Shakthi FM. He later moved to television, presenting the ''Minnal'' (lightning) programme on

Shakthi TV In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and rep ...

. This programme was very popular amongst the Up-country Tamils, particularly the youth. He is leader of the Citizen's Front (CF). Jeyaratnam has close ties with

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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 ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

and is a close friend of his son Namal Rajapaksa. During 2005 and 2006 Jeyaratnam and his family received several threats from unidentified persons. In November 2006, after Jeyaratnam's TV programme featured the assassination of

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 ...

Nadarajah Raviraj Nadarajah Raviraj ( ta, நடராஜா ரவிராஜ், translit=naṭarājā ravirāj, ; 25 June 1962 – 10 November 2006) was a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician. He was Mayor of Jaffna in 2001 and a Member of Parliament for J ...

, the police informed Shakthi TV that Jeyaratnam's life was in danger. On 3 February 2010 an unidentified group attacked the vehicle he was travelling in near Hatton. Jeyaratnam contested the 2010 parliamentary election as one of the United National Front's candidates in Nuwara Eliya District and was elected to

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 ...

. Jeyaratnam did not contest the 2015 parliamentary election but was instead placed on the

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� ...

's (UPFA) list of

National List The National List ( he, רשימה ממלכתית, ''Reshima Mamlakhtit''), sometimes translated as the State List, was a political party in Israel. Despite being founded by David Ben-Gurion, one of the fathers of the Israeli left, the party is ...

candidates. However, after the election he was not appointed to the National List.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeyaratnam, Sri Rangal 1971 births Alumni of Jaffna Hindu College Alumni of the University of Colombo Living people Members of the 14th Parliament of Sri Lanka People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Hindus Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan broadcasters Tamil politicians