V. Kumaraswamy | |
---|---|
வே. குமாரசுவாமி | |
Member of the
Ceylonese Parliament for Chavakachcheri | |
In office 1947–1956 | |
Succeeded by | V. N. Navaratnam |
Personal details | |
Born | 31 July 1919 |
Died | 10 March 1978 Colombo, Sri Lanka | (aged 58)
Alma mater | Ceylon Law College |
Profession | Lawyer |
Ethnicity | Ceylon Tamil |
Velupillai Kumaraswamy ( Tamil: வேலுப்பிள்ளை குமாரசுவாமி; 31 July 1919 – 10 March 1978) [1] was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and Member of Parliament.
Kumaraswamy was born on 31 July 1919. [2] He was the son of Velupillai, a proctor from Chavakachcheri in northern Ceylon. [3] After school Kumaraswamy joined Ceylon Law College, qualifying as an advocate.
Kumaraswamy had a son (Vaheeswaran) and a daughter (Dushyanti). [3]
Whilst still studying law, Kumaraswamy stood as the All Ceylon Tamil Congress's (ACTC) candidate in Chavakachcheri at the 1947 parliamentary election. [3] He won the election and entered Parliament. [4] Kumaraswamy became a Parliamentary Secretary after the ACTC joined the United National Party dominated government in 1948. [3] [5]
Kumaraswamy was re-elected at the 1952 parliamentary election. [6] The ACTC left the UNP government in 1953 but Kumaraswamy chose to remain with the UNP. [7] Kumaraswamy left the UNP in 1956 over the party's support of the Sinhala Only Act. [7]
Kumaraswamy stood for re-election in the constituency at the 1956 parliamentary election as an independent candidate but was defeated by the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (Federal Party) candidate V. N. Navaratnam. [3] [8] He was the ACTC's candidate in the constituency at the March 1960 and 1970 parliamentary elections but on each occasion was defeated by Navaratnam. [9] [10] He contested the 1977 parliamentary election as an independent candidate but was again defeated by Navaratnam. [11]
Kumaraswamy practised law in Colombo. [3]
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