M. Canagaratnam

{{Short description|Sri Lankan Tamil politician and Member of Parliament}}

{{Infobox officeholder

|honorific-prefix = Hon.

|name = M. Canagaratnam

|native_name =

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|constituency_MP = Pottuvil

|parliament = Sri Lankan

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|term_start1 = 1977

|term_end1 = 1980

|predecessor1 =

|successor1 = Ranganayaki Pathmanathan

|birth_date = {{Birth date|1924|04|15|df=yes}}

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|death_date = {{Death date and age|1980|04|20|1924|04|15|df=yes}}

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|party = United National Party

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|blank1 = Ethnicity

|data1 = Sri Lankan Tamil

}}

Mylvaganam Canagaratnam (15 April 1924 – 20 April 1980) was a Sri Lankan Tamil politician and Member of Parliament.{{cite web|title=Canagaratnam, Mylvaganam|url=http://www.parliament.lk/en/members-of-parliament/directory-of-past-members/viewMember/2117|publisher=Parliament of Sri Lanka}}

Canagaratnam stood as the Tamil United Liberation Front's candidate for Pottuvil at the 1977 parliamentary election. He came second and entered Parliament as the second member for Pottuvil.{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/General%20Election%201977.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717002624/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/General%20Election%201977.PDF |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-07-17 |title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1977 |publisher=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka }} In December 1977, he defected to the United National Party-led government and was rewarded by being appointed District Minister for Batticaloa.{{cite web|title=Appapillai Amirthalingam V. Piyasekera, M. A. Commissioner of Elections and Others|url=http://www.lawnet.lk/docs/case_law/slr/HTML/1980SLR2V285.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130811093324/http://www.lawnet.lk/docs/case_law/slr/HTML/1980SLR2V285.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-08-11|publisher=LawNet}}{{cite book|last=Rajasingham|first=K. T.|title=Sri Lanka: The Untold Story|url=http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DB02Df03.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020416074026/http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DB02Df03.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=2002-04-16|chapter=Chapter 25: War or peace?}}

Canagaratnam was shot outside his home in Kollupitiya, Colombo on 24 January 1978.{{cite web|last=Sri Kantha|first=Sachi|title=Kasi Ananthan at 70|url=http://www.sangam.org/2009/06/Kasi_Ananthan.php|publisher=Ilankai Tamil Sangam|date=6 April 2009}} The attack was blamed on V. Prabhakaran and Uma Maheswaran of the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.{{cite book|last=Rajasingham|first=K. T.|title=Sri Lanka: The Untold Story|url=http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DB16Df06.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020622185747/http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DB16Df06.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=2002-06-22|chapter=Chapter 27: Horsewhip Amirthalingham}} He died of his injuries on 20 April 1980.