Professor Sivasubramaniam Pathmanathan (born 20 March 1940) is a Sri Lankan Tamil historian, academic, author and current chancellor of the

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

Early life and family

Pathmanathan was born on 20 March 1940 in

Araly Araly ( ta, அராலி) is a town in Northern Jaffna District, Sri Lanka. It is located 8.6 km (5.34 mi) North West from the city of Jaffna. Schools Temples * Araly Avarampitti Sri Muththumari Amman Kovil * Kalavathurai Vair ...

in northern Ceylon. He is the son of Sivasubramaniam, a teacher at Vaddukoddai Hindu College, and Sivapakkiyam. 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, Peradeniya from where he received a BA special degree in history in 1963. Pathmanathan in married to Pathmaleela. They have three sons (Hariharan, Sriharan and Sivasankar) and two daughters (Sudharshni and Sivadharshni).

Career

Pathmanathan joined the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya in 1963 as an assistant lecturer in history. He was promoted to lecturer (1969), senior lecturer (1975) and associate professor (1981). In 1969 he received a

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in South Asian history from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. He was also a

visiting lecturer In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

of history/Hindu civilisation at the

University of Ceylon, Colombo 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 ...

(1970–72) and visiting lecturer of history University of Sri Lanka Vidyalankara campus (1975–77). He joined the

in 1986 as professor of history, serving until 2004. He returned to the

University of Peradeniya The University of Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ta, பேராதனைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம்) is a public university in Sri Lanka, funded by the University ...

as professor of history in 1995, serving until 2006. He was head of the Department of History at Peradeniya between 2001 and 2002. He was a visiting professor at the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...

's Institute of Indology and Tamil Studies (2003–04) and

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

(2004). He retired in May 2006. After retirement Pathmanathan became an

emeritus professor ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of history at University of Peradeniya. He was a visiting professor at

Eastern University, Sri Lanka The Eastern University Sri Lanka (abbreviated as EUSL) is a public university in Vantharumoolai, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. It was established on 1 October 1986. The university was preceded by the Batticaloa University College established ...

(2007–08) where he helped establish the Hindu Civilisation discipline. In 2008 he served as a consultant in Hindu studies at the

South Eastern University of Sri Lanka The South Eastern University of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා අග්නිදිග විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ta, தென்கிழக்குப் பல்கலைக்கழகம், இலங்� ...

. He later became chancellor of the

. Pathmanathan has served in various positions including vice chairman of the University Grants Commission (1994–99) and a member of the National Education Commission (1991-2001). He was a consultant to the Ministry of Hindu Affairs between 2002 and 2003. Pathmanathan was awarded the Sri Lanka Sikhamani title in the

2017 Sri Lankan national honours In March 2017 President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena awarded national honours to 90 individuals for distinguished services. It was the first time in twelve years that awards were given out and there were 426 applicants. The awards ceremony w ...

Works

Pathmanathan is a prolific writer — he has written/edited several books and authored dozens of papers. * ''The Vanniyar'' (Tamil) (1970, Peradeniya) * ''The Kingdom of Jaffna, Part 1 (Circa A.D. 1250-1450)'' (1978, Arul M. Rajendran) * ''The Laws and Customs of the Sri Lankan Tamils'' (Tamil) (2001, Kumaran Press) * ''Hindu Culture in Sri Lanka, Volume 1: Temple Art & Architecture'' (editor) (Tamil) (2001, Department of Hindu Religious & Cultural Affairs, Sri Lanka) * ''Hindu Culture in Sri Lanka, Volume 2: Dances & Paintings'' (editor) (Tamil) (2002, Department of Hindu Religious & Cultural Affairs, Sri Lanka) * ''The Vanni Principalities in Sri Lanka'' (Tamil) (2003, Kumaran Press) * ''Tamil Literature and Historical Traditions in Sri Lanka'' (Tamil) (2004, Kumaran Press) * ''Hinduism in Sri Lanka'' (Tamil) (2004, Kumaran Press) * ''Tamil Inscriptions in Sri Lanka'' (Tamil) (2006, Department of Hindu Religious & Cultural Affairs, Sri Lanka)

References