Professor Karthigesu Indrapala (born 22 October 1938) is a Sri Lankan academic, historian, archaeologist, author and former dean of the Faculty of Arts,

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

Early life and family

Indrapala was born on 22 October 1938. He was the son of K. Karthigesu and Kanakambikai Ambal from

Vaddukoddai Vaddukoddai (also spelt Vattukkottai, Vatukotai, Vattukotai) ( ta, வட்டுக்கோட்டை, si, වඩුකෝඩයි) is small but important town in the minority Sri Lankan Tamil dominated Jaffna peninsula of Sri Lanka. I ...

in northern Ceylon. He was educated at

Jaffna College __NOTOC__ Jaffna College is a Education in Sri Lanka#Private schools, 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 18 ...

. 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 Unive ...

, Peradeniya in 1956, graduating with a first class honours degree in ancient history. Indrapala married Priyadarshani, daughter of C. Somasundeeram from Navaly. They have two daughters (Harini and Dharini).

Career

Indrapala was interested in epigraphy and studied Tamil and other language inscriptions. He joined the faculty at the Department of History, University of Ceylon, Peradeniya in 1960. He started researching the history of Tamils on the island, paying particular attention to Tamil inscriptions. He continued his studies in London, receiving a PhD after producing a thesis titled ''Dravidian Settlements in Ceylon and the Beginnings of the Jaffna Kingdom''. Indrapala then returned to Peradeniya to continue his research into Tamil inscriptions. He underwent epigraphy training in

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

. Between 1966 and 1974 Indrapala explored the jungles of Northern, North Central and

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

, discovering new Tamil inscriptions and Hindu temples. Indrapala was appointed dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the Jaffna campus of the

University of Sri Lanka The University of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ta, இலங்கைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம்) was the public university system of Sri Lanka from 1972 to 1978. Est ...

in 1974. He was a visiting professor at the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project b ...

in 1976. Later he became Foundation Professor of History at the newly created

. He established courses in archaeology and epigraphy and the archaeological museum at the university. He then carried out various archaeological excavations on the Jaffna peninsula, discovering the ancient burial site at Anaikoddai. He was dean of the Faculty of Arts at the university from December 1982 to July 1984. Indrapala joined the new

Tamil University The Tamil University is a public state university located in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. It was established to provide higher research in the Tamil language. Location The university is situated in a campus of about , granted by the ...

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...

in 1984. Later he moved to Australia.

Published Books

* K Indrapala ''The Evolution of an Ethnic Identity: The Tamils of Sri Lanka C. 300 BCE to C. 1200 CE'' (Ohm Books Publishing, 2015 - ISBN 978-1511674126) * K Indrapala ''Ancient Tamil Nadu: Glimpses of the Past'' (Ohm Books Publishing, 2021 - ISBN 979-8590567386) * K Indrapala ''Ancient Sri Lanka: Glimpses of the Past'' (Ohm Books Publishing, 2022 - ISBN 979-8436812137)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Indrapala, K. 1938 births Academics of the University of Ceylon Academics of the University of Jaffna Academics of the University of Sri Lanka Alumni of Jaffna College Alumni of the University of Ceylon Living people People of British Ceylon Sri Lankan archaeologists Sri Lankan Tamil historians 20th-century Sri Lankan historians University of Tokyo faculty Australian people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent Historians of Sri Lanka 21st-century Sri Lankan historians