C. Suntharalingam

{{Infobox officeholder

|honorific-prefix = Hon.

|name = C. Suntharalingam

|native_name = செ. சுந்தரலிங்கம்

|native_name_lang = ta

|honorific-suffix = MP CCS

|image = Chellappah Suntharalingam.jpg

|imagesize =

|office1 = Minister of Trade and Commerce

|term_start1 = 1947

|term_end1 = 1948

|predecessor1 =

|successor1 = H. W. Amarasuriya

|constituency_MP2 = Vavuniya

|parliament2 = Ceylonese

|majority2 =

|term_start2 = 1947

|term_end2 = 1960

|predecessor2 =

|successor2 = T. Sivasithamparam

|birth_name = Chellappah Suntharalingam

|birth_date = {{Birth date|1895|08|19|df=yes}}

|birth_place =

|death_date = {{Death date and age|1985|02|11|1895|08|19|df=yes}}

|death_place = Vavuniya, Sri Lanka

|citizenship =

|nationality =

|party = Unity Front of Eelam Tamils

|otherparty =

|spouse =

|partner =

|relations =

|children =

|residence =

|alma_mater = University of London
Balliol College, Oxford

|occupation =

|profession = Academic

|religion =

|website =

|footnotes =

|blank1 = Ethnicity

|data1 = Ceylon Tamil

}}

Chellappah Suntharalingam ({{langx|ta|செல்லப்பா சுந்தரலிங்கம்}}; 19 August 1895 – 11 February 1985) was a Sri Lankan Tamil academic, politician, Member of Parliament and government minister.

Early life and family

Suntharalingam was born on 19 August 1895.{{cite book|last=Arumugam|first=S.|title=Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon|url=http://www.noolaham.org/wiki/index.php?title=Dictionary_of_Biography_of_the_Tamils_of_Ceylon|year=1997|page=214|authorlink=S. Arumugam}}{{cite news|last=Bertram|first=Bastiampillai|title=C. Suntharalingam – reminiscences|url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2005/08/20/fea12.htm|newspaper=Daily News (Sri Lanka)|date=20 August 2005|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018095713/http://www.dailynews.lk/2005/08/20/fea12.htm|archive-date=18 October 2012|df=dmy-all}}{{cite web|title=Directory of Past Members: Suntheralingam, Chellappah|url=http://www.parliament.lk/en/members-of-parliament/directory-of-past-members/viewMember/2726|publisher=Parliament of Sri Lanka}} He was the son of Chellappah and Meenachchi from Urumpirai in northern Ceylon. He was educated at St. John's College, Jaffna and St. Joseph's College, Colombo. In 1914 he entered the University of London from where he graduated with a B.Sc. honours degree in mathematics. He then went on to Balliol College, Oxford from where he was awarded a double first in mathematics tripos.

Suntharalingam hailed from a distinguished family and had four eminent brothers: C. Nagalingam, a Supreme Court judge, was acting Governor-General of Ceylon in 1954; C. Panchalingam was a medical doctor; C. Amirthalingam was Director of Fisheries; and C. Thiagalingam was a leading lawyer.{{cite journal|last=Rajabalan|first=Raymond|title=First Among Us – Part 3A|journal=Monsoon Journal|date=March 2009|volume=3|issue=10|pages=40–41|url=http://www.monsoonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/03_Archive_1-Mar-2009.pdf}}

Suntharalingam married Kanagambikai Ambal, daughter of M. Kanagasabi. They had two sons (Gnanalingam and Sathyalingam) and four daughters (Lingambikai, Lingavathy, Lingamani and Lingeswari).

Career

File:First Cabinet of Ceylon.jpg

Suntharalingam was selected by the Indian Civil Service but chose instead to join the Ceylon Civil Service in 1920. He resigned from the civil service to become vice principal of Ananda College.{{cite web|last1=Sivanayagam|first1=S.|authorlink1=S. Sivanayagam|title=One Hundred Tamils of the 20th Century: C.Suntharalingam|url=http://tamilnation.co/hundredtamils/suntharalingam.htm|publisher=Tamil Nation}}{{cite news|last1=de Silva|first1=Pramod|title=Ananda College at 125: A beacon to society|url=https://archives.sundayobserver.lk/2011/10/30/imp01.asp|work=Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka)|date=30 October 2011|access-date=21 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402120822/http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2011/10/30/imp01.asp|archive-date=2 April 2015|url-status=live}} He then joined Ceylon University College as professor and first chair of mathematics.{{cite book|title=Ceylon University College Prospectus 1936–37|year=1936|publisher=Ceylon University College|url=http://www.noolaham.org/wiki/index.php?title=Ceylon_University_College_Prospectus_1939_-_37|page=6}} He was called to the Bar from Gray's Inn in 1920, becoming an advocate and practising law in Ceylon.

Becoming interested in politics, Suntharalingam retired in 1940 and entered politics. He tried unsuccessfully to enter the State Council during by-elections in 1943 and 1944. He stood as an independent candidate in Vavuniya at the 1947 parliamentary election. He won the election and entered Parliament.{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1947%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1947 |publisher=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924115557/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1947%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |archive-date=24 September 2015 |df=dmy }} He was persuaded to join the United National Party led government and on 26 September 1947 he was sworn in as Minister of Trade and Commerce.{{cite book|last=Rajasingham|first=K. T.|title=Sri Lanka: The Untold Story|url=http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CJ27Df05.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020103155748/http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CJ27Df05.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=2002-01-03|chapter=Chapter 12: Tryst with independence}}{{cite news|title=First cabinet had only 14 ministers|url=http://www.sundaytimes.lk/070923/FunDay/heritage.html|newspaper=The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)|date=23 September 2007}} He supported the controversial Ceylon Citizenship Act of 1948 which deprived citizenship to 11% of the Ceylon's population but when division was called on the second reading of the Indian and Pakistani Residents Citizenship Bill on 10 December 1948, Suntharalingam walked out of Parliament.{{cite book|last=Rajasingham|first=K. T.|title=Sri Lanka: The Untold Story|url=http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CK03Df05.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011104153618/http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CK03Df05.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=2001-11-04|chapter=Chapter 13: A nightmarish British legacy}} Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake asked for an explanation but Suntharalingam resigned from his ministerial position instead.{{cite book|last=Rajasingham|first=K. T.|title=Sri Lanka: The Untold Story|url=http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CK10Df03.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020103152932/http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CK10Df03.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=2002-01-03|chapter=Chapter 14: Post-colonial realignment of political forces}} Suntharalingam became a champion for the rights of Ceylon's Indian Tamils who had been made stateless and disenfranchised by Sinhalese dominated governments after independence. He observed that "if the Buddha were to come to the country today, he himself would be deported" (Buddha was from India, the Sinhalese were Buddhists).{{cite book|last1=Wilson|first1=A. Jeyaratnam|authorlink1=A. Jeyaratnam Wilson|title=S. J. V. Chelvanayakam and the Crisis of Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism, 1947–1977: a Political Biography|date=1994|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|page=48|url=http://www.noolaham.org/wiki/index.php/S.J.V.Chelvanayakam_and_the_Crisis_of_Sri_Lankan_Tamil_Nationalism,_1947-1977?uselang=en}}

Suntharalingam resigned from Parliament in 1951 as a protest against the adoption of the Sinhala kodiya (flag) as the national flag. He was the only candidate in the ensuing by-election and consequently returned to Parliament.{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/ByElections1947-1988.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091209231939/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/ByElections1947-1988.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2009-12-09|title=Summary of By-elections 1947 to 1988|publisher=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka}} He was re-elected at the 1952 parliamentary election.{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1952%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1952 |publisher=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924115603/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1952%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |archive-date=24 September 2015 |df=dmy }} Suntharalingam vehemently opposed the attempts to make Sinhala the sole official language of Ceylon, stating during the June 1955 throne speech that, if the changes went ahead, Tamils would demand "a separate independent autonomous state of 'Tamil Ilankai' composed of Tamil speaking peoples in Ceylon".{{cite book|last=Rajasingham|first=K. T.|title=Sri Lanka: The Untold Story|url=http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CK17Df01.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020208193722/http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CK17Df01.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=2002-02-08|chapter=Chapter 15: Turbulence in any language}} He boycotted Parliament from August 1955 in protest against the Sinhala Only Act. After three months of absence he forfeited his seat in Parliament. He won the ensuing by-election and returned to Parliament. He was re-elected at the 1956 parliamentary election.{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1956%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1956 |publisher=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924115606/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1956%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |archive-date=24 September 2015 |df=dmy }}

Suntharalingam founded the Eela Thamil Ottrumai Munnani (Unity Front of Eelam Tamils) in 1959.{{cite news|title=Do we need to be told what to do?|url=http://www.ceylontoday.lk/59-6769-news-detail-do-we-need-to-be-told-what-to-do.html|work=Ceylon Today|date=23 May 2012}} At the March 1960 parliamentary election Suntharalingam, contesting as an independent as the Eela Thamil Ottrumai Munnani wasn't a registered party, was defeated by T. Sivasithamparam, another independent candidate.{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1960_03_19%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 19 March 1960 |publisher=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712194326/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1960_03_19%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |archive-date=12 July 2015 |df=dmy }}

Suntharalingam published Eylom: Beginning of the Freedom Struggle; Dozens Documents in 1963 in which he became one of the first Ceylon Tamils to call for an independent Tamil state, which he called Eylom:{{cite book|last=Rajasingham|first=K. T.|title=Sri Lanka: The Untold Story|url=http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CL22Df03.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020416075330/http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CL22Df03.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=2002-04-16|chapter=Chapter 20 – Tamil leadership lacks perspicuity}}{{cite web|title=The Prophesy of Mr. C. Suntheralingham|url=http://www.sangam.org/ANALYSIS/CSuntha12_20_63.htm|publisher=Ilankai Tamil Sangam}}

{{cquote|I propose to invite those Eyla [Eelath Thamils] Thamils who accept the policy that the time has come for the partition of Ceylon and for the restoration of the Thamil state that existed before the Treaty of Amiens of 1802, to come forward and join the fight for the Freedom and Independence of the Eyla Thamil Nation.}}

Suntharalingam contested the 1965 parliamentary election as an independent candidate but was defeated by the All Ceylon Tamil Congress candidate T. Sivasithamparam.{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1965%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091209231813/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1965%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-12-09 |title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1965 |publisher=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka |df=dmy }} He contested the 1970 parliamentary election as an independent candidate in Kankesanthurai but was defeated by the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi candidate S. J. V. Chelvanayakam.{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1970%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091209231958/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1970%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-12-09 |title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1970 |publisher=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka }}

Suntharalingam spent his later years in Vavuniya where he died on 11 February 1985.

Maviddapuram Temple Entry Movement Incident

Only high caste Hindus had been allowed to worship in the temple.{{cite book |last1=Welhengama |first1=Gnanapala |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Aob8AgAAQBAJ |title=The Rise of Tamil Separatism in Sri Lanka: From Communalism to Secession |last2=Pillay |first2=Nirmala |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |page=211|isbn=9781135119713 }} In 1968 several hundred low caste Hindus, mainly Pallar and Nalavar, staged a non-violent protest outside the temple gates but were met with violence from a group of high caste Hindus.{{cite book |last1=Wickramasinghe |first1=Nira |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1sCHCwAAQBAJ |title=Sri Lanka in the Modern Age: A History |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-415-85486-3 |page=289}} In June 1968 low caste Hindus stormed the temple.{{cite news |last1=Jayaweera |first1=Neville |date=23 January 2011 |title=Without 1956 and 1983 as triggers – would the Tamil uprising have occurred anyway? |work=The Island (Sri Lanka) |url=http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=16542}} They were given access to the temple following the intervention of Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK, Federal Party).{{cite news |last1=Hoole |first1=Ratnajeevan |author-link1=Ratnajeevan Hoole |date=14 July 2013 |title=Jaffna's Upcoming Elections: Caste Ramifications |work=The Sunday Leader |url=http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2013/07/14/jaffnas-upcoming-elections-caste-ramifications/}}

Suntharalingam, who had led the high caste resistance to opening the temple up to the "low" castes, was prosecuted under the Prevention of Social Disabilities Act and fined Rs. 50 by the Supreme Court.{{cite news |last1=Jayaweera |first1=Neville |date=16 November 2008 |title=The wretched of the earth |work=The Island (Sri Lanka) |url=http://www.island.lk/2008/11/16/features4.html}} This act, which had been brought in as a private member's bill by ITAK in 1957, made the denial of entry into a place of worship on grounds of caste an offence.