Hosta

by | Mar 16, 2018 | Hosta

How Can We Help?
You are here:
< Back

Cathiravelu Sittampalam (Tamil: கதிரவேலு சிற்றம்பலம்; 13 September 1898 – 3 February 1964) was a Ceylon Tamil civil servant, politician, Member of Parliament and government minister.

Early life and family

Sittampalam was born on 13 September 1898.[1][2][3] He was the son of A. Cathiravelu, a proctor and member of the Jaffna Local Board.[1] He was educated at Jaffna Central College and Royal College, Colombo.[2][4] He won many prizes at Royal College including the English Essay Prize, the De Zoysa Science Prize and the Mathematics Prize.[2] Aged 15 he passed the Senior Cambridge with first class honours and distinction in mathematics.[1][2] After school Sittampalam joined St. Peter's College, Cambridge on a science scholarship and graduated with a degree in mathematics.[1][2][5]

Sittampalam was a member of a distinguished family. His brother C. Ponnambalam and brother-in-law C. Casipillai were Mayors of Jaffna.[2] His uncle A. Canagaratnam was a member of the Legislative Council. His great-uncle V. Casipillai was a crown proctor and one of the founders of Jaffna Hindu College.[2]

Sittampalam married Kamalambikai.[1] They had four daughters (Devalakshmi, Pushpalakshmi, Yogalakshmi, and Mallikalakshmi) and one son (Arjuna).[1]

Career

Sittampalam was called to the Bar from Middle Temple.[1][2] He joined the civil service in 1923 and served in various positions including Assistant Government Agent and District Judge.[1] He later left the civil service and practised as an advocate.[1]

Sittampalam stood as an independent candidate in Mannar at the 1947 parliamentary election. He won the election and entered Parliament.[6] He was persuaded to join the United National Party led government and on 26 September 1947 he was sworn in as Minister of Posts and Telecommunication.[7][8] He was made Minister of Industries, Industrial Research and Fisheries after George E. de Silva was unseated by an election petition.[8]

Sittampalam was re-elected at the May 1952 parliamentary election but lost his cabinet position.[9] He was defeated at the 1956 parliamentary election by the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (Federal Party) candidate V. A. Alegacone.[10]

Sittampalam died on 3 February 1964.[1] In February 2004 Sri Lanka Post issued a commemorative stamp of Sittampalam.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. p. 198.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Stamp to honour Cathiravelu Sittampalam". Daily News (Sri Lanka). 26 February 2004. Archived from the original on 26 May 2005.
  3. ^ "Directory of Past Members: Sittampalam, Cathiravelu". Parliament of Sri Lanka.
  4. ^ "C. Sittampalam". Sittampalam Family History.
  5. ^ Martyn, John H. (1923). Notes on Jaffna - Chronological, Historical, Biographical. Tellippalai: American Ceylon Mission Press. p. 332. ISBN 81-206-1670-7.
  6. ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1947" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015.
  7. ^ Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 12: Tryst with independence". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Archived from the original on 3 January 2002.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ^ a b "First cabinet had only 14 ministers". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 23 September 2007.
  9. ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1952" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015.
  10. ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1956" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015.
Categories
Table of Contents