Velupillai Ambalavanar Kandiah (3 September 1891 – 4 June 1963) was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and Member of Parliament.

Early life and family

Kandiah was born on 3 September 1891. He was from the island of Velanaitivu 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 Jaffna Hindu College and St. Joseph's College, Colombo. After school Kandiah joined the Ceylon University College, graduating in 1922 with a B.Sc. degree. Kandiah married and had two sons and three daughters.

Career

Kandiah taught science at St. Joseph's College, Colombo for about eight years before joining the legal profession and becoming 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, ...

. He practised law in Colombo. Kandiah stood as a candidate in Colombo Central at the 1947 parliamentary election but was unsuccessful. He was the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (Federal Party)'s candidate in Kayts at the 1956 parliamentary election. He won the election and entered Parliament. He was re-elected at the

March 1960 The following events occurred in March 1960: March 1, 1960 (Tuesday) * NASA established an Office of Life Sciences to work on exobiology, based on Dr. Joshua Lederberg's ideas that space vehicles should be sterilized before and after t ...

and

July 1960 The following events occurred in July 1960: July 1, 1960 (Friday) *The Army Ballistic Missile Agency at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, became the Marshall Space Flight Center, a field center of the civilian National Aeronautic ...

parliamentary elections. Following the

1958 riots The 1958 anti-Tamil pogrom and riots in Ceylon, also known as the 58 riots, refer to the first island-wide ethnic riots and pogrom to target the minority Tamils in the Dominion of Ceylon after it became an independent dominion from Britain in 1 ...

ITAK and the Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna (National Liberation Front) were banned. ITAK's leaders, including Kandiah, were arrested on 4 June 1958 as they left Parliament and imprisoned. Kandiah played a leading role in the 1961 satyagraha campaign organised by ITAK. Early on the morning of 20 February 1961 a group of 55 to 75 persons staged a satyagraha at the Jaffna Kachcheri in Old Park. Among them were ITAK MPs

A. Amirthalingam Appapillai Amirthalingam ( ta, அப்பாப்பிள்ளை அமிர்தலிங்கம்; si, අප්පාපිල්ලෙයි අමිර්තලිංගම්; 26 August 1927 – 13 July 1989) was a leading ...

S. J. V. Chelvanayakam Samuel James Veluppillai Chelvanayakam ( ta, சாமுவேல் ஜேம்ஸ் வேலுப்பிள்ளை செல்வநாயகம், translit=Cāmuvēl Jēms Vēluppiḷḷai Celvanāyakam; 31 March 1898 – 26 Ap ...

V. Dharmalingam Visvanathan Dharmalingam ( ta, விஸ்வநாதர் தர்மலிங்கம்; 5 February 1918 – 2 September 1985) was a Sri Lankan Tamil politician and Member of Parliament. Early life and family Dharmalingam was born o ...

, Kandiah,

E. M. V. Naganathan Elangai Murugesu Vijayaretnam Naganathan ( ta, இலங்கை முருகேசு விஜயரத்தினம் நாகநாதன்; 31 January 1906 – 16 August 1971) was a Ceylon Tamil physician, politician, senator an ...

V. N. Navaratnam Vallipuram Nallathamby Navaratnam ( ta, வல்லிபுரம் நல்லதம்பி நவரத்தினம்; 5 June 1929 – 29 January 1991) was a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer, politician and Member of Parliament. Early lif ...

and

K. Thurairatnam Kathiripillai Thurairatnam ( ta, கதிரிப்பிள்ளை துரைரத்தினம், 10 August 1930 – 23 September 1995) was a Sri Lankan Tamil teacher, lawyer, politician and Member of Parliament. Early life Thur ...

. A large group of policemen arrived in riot gear, wearing helmets and carrying batons and shields. The police started removing the protesters by lifting and carrying them away. Those who resisted were dragged away. Later, as Government Agent

M. Srikantha Mylvakanam Srikantha, Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE (17 September 1913 – 4 February 1982) was a leading Ceylon Tamil civil servant. Early life and family Srikantha was born on 17 September 1913. He was the son of Mylvakana ...

and Superintendent of Police Richard Arndt tried to leave Old Park in a jeep the protesters blocked their way. The police reacted with brutality, beating he protesters with batons and pulled them out bodily. Palaniyappan, a young man who had thrown himself in front of the jeep was pulled away by the police and beaten severely with batons. Five ITAK MPs were amongst the protesters blocking the jeep. Kandiah was carried out and dumped on the ground, Dharmalingam and Thurairatnam were dragged out by their hands and legs whilst Amirthalingam and Naganathan were baton charged. The police also baton charged a crowd of around 5,000 who had gathered to watch the satyagraha. Kandiah was a founding member of the Hindu Educational Society which established a number of schools, including the Colombo Hindu College. He died on 4 June 1963.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kandiah, V. A. 1891 births 1963 deaths Alumni of Jaffna Hindu College Alumni of Saint Joseph's College, Colombo Alumni of the Ceylon University College Ceylonese advocates Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi politicians Members of the 3rd Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 4th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 5th Parliament of Ceylon People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka People from British Ceylon Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan lawyers Tamil politicians Sri Lankan teachers