S. J. V. Chelvanayakam

Chelvanayakam was born on 31 March 1898 in Ipoh, Malaya.{{cite book|last=Arumugam|first=S.|title=Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon|location=London, UK|url=http://noolaham.net/project/19/1810/1810.pdf|year=1997|page=36|author-link=S. Arumugam|archive-date=9 October 2022|access-date=7 January 2017|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://noolaham.net/project/19/1810/1810.pdf|url-status=live}}{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=1}}{{cite web|title=Directory of Past Members: Samuel James Velupillai Chelvanayakam|url=http://www.parliament.lk/en/members-of-parliament/directory-of-past-members/viewMember/2124|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|publisher=Parliament of Sri Lanka|access-date=3 May 2017}} He was the son of Visvanathan Velupillai, a businessman, and Harriet Annamma Kanapathipillai.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=1}}{{cite news|title=Thanthai Chelva remembered on his 31st anniversary|url=http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=25436|work=TamilNet|date=26 April 2008|access-date=3 May 2017}} Velupillai had been a school teacher in Tholpuram in northern Ceylon before migrating to Malaya as a contractor.{{cite journal|last1=Sri Kantha|first1=Sachi|author-link1=Sachi Sri Kantha|title=Parkinson disease of ranking lawyer and legislator SJV Chelvanayakam: a hypothesis|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|journal=Ceylon Medical Journal|date=December 2003|volume=48|issue=4|pages=133–135|doi=10.4038/cmj.v48i4.3331|pmid=15125406 |doi-access=free}} Chelvanayakam had two brothers (Ernest Velupillai Ponnuthurai and Edward Rajasundaram) and a sister (Atputham Isabel). The family later moved from Ipoh to Taiping.

Malaya had few schools and most of these catered for rich Malays.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=1}} It was common for expatriate Ceylon Tamils to send their children to schools in Ceylon.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=1}} Aged four, Chelvanayakam, his mother, sister and two brothers were sent to Ceylon for the children's schooling.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=1}}{{Efn|According to another source Chelvanayakam's sister died aged two, before the family went to Tellippalai.}} Velupillai remained in Malaya to provide for his family. The family lived in Tellippalai, Harriet's home town, close to Harriet's siblings and their families.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=1}} Harriet's brother S. K. Ponniah, a Church of England minister, became Chelvanayakam's guide and adviser.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=1}}

Chelvanayakam was educated at Union College, Tellippalai and St. John's College, Jaffna.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=1}}{{cite news|last1=Vivekananthan|first1=C. V.|title=Chelva was the Tamil people; Tamils were Chelva|url=http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Chelva-was-the-Tamil-people-Tamils-were-Chelva-108637.html|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|work=The Daily Mirror|date=26 April 2016|access-date=3 May 2017}}{{Efn|Leading schools in colonial Ceylon were called "colleges".{{cite book|last1=Dharmadasa|first1=K. N. O.|title=Language, Religion, and Ethnic Assertiveness: The Growth of Sinhalese Nationalism in Sri Lanka|date=1992|publisher=University of Michigan Press|isbn=0-472-10288-5|page=193|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x8NQrTmjpRcC}}}} After school he joined S. Thomas' College, Mutwal and obtained an external degree in science from the University of London in 1918.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=1}}{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=2}}{{sfn|Rajendran|1978|p=1}} At St. Thomas Chelvanayakam was a contemporary of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, future Prime Minister of Ceylon.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=1}}{{sfn|Rajendran|1978|p=9}} After graduation Chelvanayakam visited his father in Malaya in 1918{{Efn|Another sources states that Chelvanayakam visited his father in 1922.{{sfn|Rajendran|1978|p=15}}}} shortly before his death.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=5}}{{sfn|Rajendran|1978|p=20}}

Chelvanayakam married Emily Grace Barr-Kumarakulasinghe (Rathinam), daughter of R. R. Barr-Kumarakulasinghe, in 1927.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=2}} The Barr-Kumarakulasinghes were an influential family from Tellippalai who served the Dutch and British administrations in Ceylon.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=2}} R. R. Barr-Kumarakulasinghe was Maniagar (British appointed administrative chief) for the Valikamam region.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=2}}{{cite book|last=Arumugam|first=S.|title=Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon|location=London, UK|url=http://noolaham.net/project/19/1810/1810.pdf|year=1997|page=25|author-link=S. Arumugam|archive-date=9 October 2022|access-date=7 January 2017|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://noolaham.net/project/19/1810/1810.pdf|url-status=live}} The Chelvanayakams had four sons (Manoharan, Vaseekaran, Ravindran and Chandrahasan) and a daughter (Susila).{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=2}}

Chelvanayakam was a Protestant Christian and a member of the Church of South India (CSI).{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=4}} While studying in Colombo he became a member of the Church of England as the CSI had no presence in the capital.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=4}} Later, when the CSI established a church in Colombo, Chelvanayakam worshipped there.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=4}} Though a Christian, Chelvanayakam absorbed many of the values of Hinduism, claiming to be a Christian by religion and a Hindu by culture.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=4}}

After graduating Chelvanayakam started teaching at St. Thomas but resigned when the warden William Arthur Stone refused him leave to visit his dying brother Edward Rajasundaram.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=2}}{{sfn|Rajendran|1978|p=1}}{{sfn|Rajendran|1978|pp=9–10}}{{cite news|last1=Vivekananthan|first1=C. V.|title=Tamil language provisions, provincial councils and 16th Amendment|url=http://www.nation.lk/2008/03/30/newsfe4.htm|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|work=The Nation|date=30 March 2008|access-date=3 May 2017|archive-date=8 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108094119/http://www.nation.lk/2008/03/30/newsfe4.htm|url-status=live}} He then joined Wesley College, Colombo as chief science{{Efn|Another sources states Chelvanayakam taught mathematics at Wesley College and was head of the science department.{{sfn|Rajendran|1978|pp=28–29}}}} master.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=2}}{{sfn|Rajendran|1978|pp=4–5}} During this period he studied law at Ceylon Law College and became an advocate of the Supreme Court in 1923.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=2}}{{sfn|Rajendran|1978|p=10}} He started practising law in Hulftsdorp, specialising in civil law, and was made a King's Counsel on 31 May 1947.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=2}}{{sfn|Rajendran|1978|p=5}}{{sfn|Rajendran|1978|p=30}} Chelvanayakam was twice offered a position on the Supreme Court by Chief Justice John Curtois Howard.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|pp=6–7}}

Chelvanayakam was part of a syndicate which purchased a controlling stake in the Pettiagalla Estate plantation in Balangoda.{{sfn|Rajendran|1978|p=4}} He also owned a printing press which, though not profitable, was used to print ITAK's newspaper Suthanthiran (Freedom).{{sfn|Rajendran|1978|p=4}}{{cite news|last1=Jeyaraj|first1=D. B. S.|author-link1=|title=The benign parliamentarian from Batticaloa|url=http://www.thesundayleader.lk/archive/20060101/issues.htm|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|work=The Sunday Leader|date=1 January 2006|access-date=3 May 2017|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053156/http://www.thesundayleader.lk/archive/20060101/issues.htm|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|last1=Hoole|first1=Rajan|author-link1=Rajan Hoole|title=Federal Party: Gain and Loss of the Moral High Ground|url=http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=143913|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|work=The Island|date=21 April 2016|access-date=3 May 2017}}

With the annexation of the Kingdom of Kandy in 1815 the British brought the whole island of Ceylon under their control and in 1829 appointed the Colebrooke–Cameron Commission to assess the administration of the island.{{cite book|last1=Feith|first1=David|editor1-last=Cabestan|editor1-first=Jean-Pierre|editor2-last=Pavković|editor2-first=Aleksandar|title=Secessionism and Separatism in Europe and Asia: To Have a State of One's Own|date=2013|location=Abingdon, UK|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-66774-6|page=165|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=32NrGV22WPMC|chapter=Separatism in Sri Lanka}}{{cite book|last1=Coperahewa|first1=Sandagomi|editor1-last=Kaplan|editor1-first=Robert B.|editor2-last=Baldauf|editor2-first=Richard B.|title=Language Planning in the Asia Pacific: Hong Kong, Timor-Leste and Sri Lanka|date=2011|location=Abingdon, UK|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-61851-9|page=188|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dk5dAgAAQBAJ|chapter=The Language Planning Situation in Sri Lanka}} Among the recommendations of the commission were the end of the separate administration along ethnic/cultural lines for Low Country Sinhalese, Kandyan Sinhalese and Tamils and the introduction of communal representation whereby Ceylonese members of the Legislative Council were appointed along ethnic lines.{{cite book|last1=Nubin|first1=Walter|title=Sri Lanka: Current Issues and Historical Background|date=2002|location=New York, US|publisher=Nova Publishers|isbn=159033-573-2|page=113|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Iudi2JJLaUAC|archive-date=3 December 2024|access-date=30 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241203064905/https://books.google.com/books?id=Iudi2JJLaUAC|url-status=live}}{{cite book|last1=Peebles|first1=Patrick|title=The History of Sri Lanka|date=2006|location=Westport, US|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=0-313-33205-3|page=52|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SxO0eISluqEC}}{{cite book|last1=Nuhman|first1=M. A.|editor1-last=Holt|editor1-first=John Clifford|title=Buddhist Extremists and Muslim Minorities: Religious Conflict in Contemporary Sri Lanka|date=2016|location=New York, US|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780190624385|page=25|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_SsAkAEACAAJ|chapter=Sinhala Buddhist Nationalism and Muslim Identity in Sri Lanka: One Hundred Years of Conflict and Coexistence|author-link=M. A. Nuhman}} The Donoughmore Commission of 1931 introduced universal suffrage and replaced communal representation with territorial representation, thereby introducing majority (Sinhalese) rule.{{cite book|last1=Biziouras|first1=Nikolaos|title=The Political Economy of Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka: Economic Liberalization, Mobilizational Resources, and Ethnic Collective Action|date=2014|location=Abingdon, UK|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-74233-7|page=59|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BEUsAwAAQBAJ}}{{cite book|last1=Wickramasinghe|first1=Nira|author-link1=Nira Wickramasinghe|editor1-last=Brass|editor1-first=Paul R.|title=Routledge Handbook of South Asian Politics: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal|location=Abingdon, UK|date=2010|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-43429-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UJJ8AgAAQBAJ|chapter=Sri Lanka's Independence: Shadows Over a Colonial Graft}} Following the 1936 state council election an all-Sinhalese Board of Ministers was established, stoking fears amongst the island's minorities about Sinhalese domination.{{cite book|last1=Wickramasinghe|first1=Nira|author-link1=Nira Wickramasinghe|title=Sri Lanka in the Modern Age: A History of Contested Identities|date=2006|location=Honolulu, US|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=0-8248-3016-4|page=150|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y-xQ8qk9mgYC}}{{cite book|last1=Gunawardana|first1=R. A. L. H.|author-link1=R. A. L. H. Gunawardana|editor1-last=Deegalle|editor1-first=Mahinda|title=Buddhism, Conflict and Violence in Modern Sri Lanka|date=2006|location=Abingdon, UK|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-415-35920-1|page=182|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=83qhTJ_0i-8C|chapter=Roots of the Conflict and the Peace Process}} Ceylon's Tamils, led by G. G. Ponnambalam, responded by demanding balanced representation (half of seats in legislature for Sinhalese with the remaining half for the combined minorities).{{cite book|last1=Peebles|first1=Patrick|title=Historical Dictionary of Sri Lanka|date=2015|location=Lanham, US|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4422-5584-5|page=57|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=50igCgAAQBAJ}}{{cite book|editor1-last=Bartholomeusz|editor1-first=Tessa J.|editor2-last=de Silva|editor2-first=Chandra|editor2-link=Chandra de Silva|title=Buddhist Fundamentalism and Minority Identities in Sri Lanka|date=1998|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=0-7914-3833-3|page=13|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VrwrO-GgOxUC}} When the British appointed Soulbury Commission to look into constitutional reform in 1944, Ceylon's Tamils formed the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) to represent Tamil interests.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=6}}

As a young lawyer Chelvanayakam was not involved in politics but when the ACTC was established in 1944 he became one of its principal organisers.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=6}} Ponnambalam was the ACTC's president and Chelvanayakam was effectively his deputy.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=6}}{{cite news|last1=Vivekananthan|first1=C. V.|title=Federalism: Sweet yesterday, sour today|url=http://nation.lk/2011/04/24/newsfe2.htm|work=The Nation (Sri Lanka)|date=24 April 2011|access-date=3 May 2017}} Chelvanayakam was part of the delegation, led by Ponnambalam, to the Soulbury Commission which argued unsuccessfully for balanced representation.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=6}} Chelvanayakam stood as the ACTC candidate for Kankesanthurai in the 1947 parliamentary election. He won the election and entered Parliament.{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/web/images/pdf/general-election-results/general-election-1947.pdf|title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1947|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|publisher=Election Commission of Sri Lanka|access-date=3 May 2017|archive-date=14 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614074838/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/web/images/pdf/general-election-results/general-election-1947.pdf|url-status=live}}

In the 19th and 20th centuries the British recruited large numbers of South Indians, primarily Indian Tamils, to work in tea, coffee, rubber and coconut plantations in Ceylon.{{cite book|last1=Bjorkman|first1=J. W.|editor1-last=Groves|editor1-first=Paul A.|title=Economic Development and Social Change in Sri Lanka: A Spatial and Policy Analysis|date=1996|location=New Delhi, India|publisher=Manohar Publishers|isbn=81-7304-100-8|page=328|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F_3OCQ3jDgsC|chapter=On Lions, Tigers and Peacocks: Indo-Lankan Ethno-Political Relations}}{{cite web|title=Assessment for Indian Tamils in Sri Lanka|url=http://www.mar.umd.edu/assessment.asp?groupId=78001|publisher=Minorities at Risk/University of Maryland, College Park|access-date=3 May 2017}} Ceylon's majority Sinhalese viewed Indian Tamils with deep suspicion, fearing that they would dominate the island's central highlands and ally themselves with the indigenous Ceylon Tamils, increasing the latter's political strength.{{cite book|last1=de Silva|first1=K. M.|author-link1=K. M. de Silva|title=A History of Sri Lanka|date=1981|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=0-520-04320-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_dByI_qil26YC/page/n514 493]|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_dByI_qil26YC}}{{cite book|last1=Peebles|first1=Patrick|title=The Plantation Tamils of Ceylon|date=2001|location=London, UK|publisher=Leicester University Press|isbn=0-7185-0154-3|page=225|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EYeoXrsn8lIC}} Following independence from Britain in February 1948, Ceylon's Sinhalese dominated government introduced the Ceylon Citizenship Bill which had the effect of denying citizenship and making stateless the country's Indian Tamils, who by now accounted for 11 per cent of the population.{{cite book|last1=Heynes|first1=Stephen|title=The Bleeding Island: Scars and Wounds|date=2016|publisher=Partridge Publishing|isbn=978-1-4828-7478-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_OVEDAAAQBAJ}}{{cite news|last1=de Alwis|first1=Sarath|title=Can a two-thirds majority determine moral rectitude?|url=http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=82732|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|work=The Island|date=4 July 2013|access-date=3 May 2017}}{{cite web|last1=Khan|first1=Gerrard|title=Citizenship and statelessness in South Asia|url=http://www.unhcr.org/3bf0ff124.pdf|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|page=6|date=October 2001|access-date=3 May 2017}} The bill provided for citizenship by descent or registration but both required documentary proof, something that was difficult for most Indian Tamils, many of whom were illiterate.{{cite book|last1=Wickramasinghe|first1=Nira|author-link1=Nira Wickramasinghe|title=Sri Lanka in the Modern Age: A History of Contested Identities|date=2006|location=Honolulu, US|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=0-8248-3016-4|page=171|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y-xQ8qk9mgYC}}{{cite book|last1=Kanapathipillai|first1=Valli|title=Citizenship and Statelessness in Sri Lanka: The Case of the Tamil Estate Workers|date=2009|location=London, UK.|publisher=Anthem Press|isbn=978-1-84331-791-3|page=42|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QI7HNNa48WMC}} The ACTC opposed the bill which was passed by Parliament at its second reading on 20 August 1948.{{cite news|last1=Vinayagamoorthy|first1=A.|author-link1=A. Vinayagamoorthy|title=103rd Birth Anniversary today : G. G. Ponnambalam - Founder of ACTC|url=http://archives.dailynews.lk/2003/11/08/fea08.html|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|work=Daily News|date=8 November 2003|access-date=3 May 2017|archive-date=11 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211053359/http://archives.dailynews.lk/2003/11/08/fea08.html|url-status=live}}{{cite book|last=Rajasingham|first=K. T.|title=Sri Lanka: The Untold Story|chapter-url=http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CK10Df03.html|chapter=Chapter 14: Post-colonial realignment of political forces|access-date=3 May 2017|archive-date=14 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130614111429/http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CK10Df03.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite book|last1=Peebles|first1=Patrick|title=Historical Dictionary of Sri Lanka|date=2015|location=Lanham, US|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4422-5584-5|page=xxxi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=50igCgAAQBAJ}} Shortly afterwards Ponnambalam decided to join the United National Party (UNP) led government which caused a split in the ACTC. Eventually the ACTC dissidents, led by Chelvanayakam, E. M. V. Naganathan and C. Vanniasingam formed the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK, Federal Party) on 18 December 1949.{{sfn|Wilson|2000|p=82}}

ITAK had four main aims: creation of a federal union in Ceylon with two states — a Tamil state in the Northern and Eastern provinces and a Sinhalese state in the remaining seven provinces; cessation of state-sponsored colonisation in the two Tamil provinces; unity amongst the Tamil speaking peoples of Ceylon—Ceylon Tamils, Indian Tamils and Muslims; and equal status for Sinhala and Tamil languages.{{sfn|Wilson|2000|p=82}} Chelvanayakam lost his seat in the 1952 parliamentary election but regained it in the 1956 parliamentary election.{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/web/images/pdf/general-election-results/general-election-1952.pdf|title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1952|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|publisher=Election Commission of Sri Lanka|access-date=3 May 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/web/images/pdf/general-election-results/general-election-1956.pdf|title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1956|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|publisher=Election Commission of Sri Lanka|access-date=3 May 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Vivekananthan|first1=C. V.|title=Misinterpreted statesman|url=http://dailynews.lk/2016/04/26/features/79788|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|work=Daily News|date=26 April 2016|access-date=3 May 2017}} As Ceylon's two main parties, the UNP and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), introduced policies which further discriminated against the country's minorities, such as the Sinhala Only Act which made the Sinhala language the sole official language of Ceylon, ITAK's Tamil nationalism became more popular than the ACTC's conservatism. In the 1956 parliamentary election the ITAK overtook the ACTC as the most popular party amongst Ceylon Tamils.{{cite book|last1=Reddy|first1=L. R.|title=Sri Lanka Past and Present|date=2003|location=New Delhi, India|publisher=A. P. H. Publishing Corporation|isbn=81-7648-449-0|page=85|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JsRmJrqo5qQC}}{{cite book|editor1-last=Ross|editor1-first=Russell R.|editor2-last=Savada|editor2-first=Andrea Matles|title=Sri Lanka : A Country Study|series=Area handbook series |date=1990|location=Washington D.C., US|publisher=Library of Congress|page=45|url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/frdcstdy.srilankacountrys00ross/?sp=87|access-date=3 May 2017}} On 5 June 1956 a group of Tamil activists and parliamentarians, led by Chelvanayakam, staged a satyagraha (a form of non-violent resistance) against the Sinhala Only Act on Galle Face Green opposite the Parliament.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=80}} The satyagrahis were attacked by a Sinhalese mob as the police looked on, and ITAK MPs E. M. V. Naganathan and V. N. Navaratnam were thrown in Beira Lake.{{cite news|last1=Jeyaraj|first1=D. B. S.|author-link1=|title=Imperative Need to Support Tamil Moderates in the Struggle Against Extremists|url=http://www.dailymirror.lk/65673/imperative-need-to-support-tamil-moderates-in-the-struggle-against-extremists|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|work=The Daily Mirror|date=6 March 2015|access-date=3 May 2017}}{{cite book|last1=Sabaratnam|first1=T.|title=The Murder of a Moderate: Political Biography of Appapillai Amirthalingam|date=1996|location=Dehiwela, Sri Lanka|publisher=Nivetha Publishers|pages=71–72|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XmNuAAAAMAAJ}}{{cite book|last1=DeVotta|first1=Neil|title=Blowback: Linguistic Nationalism, Institutional Decay, and Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka|date=2004|location=Stanford, US|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=0-8047-4924-8|page=95|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6RSHzj2EU-cC}}

File:Official Photographic Portrait of S.W.R.D.Bandaranayaka (1899-1959).jpg, Prime Minister of Ceylon from 1956 to 1959]]

With escalating discrimination against Tamils and anti-Tamil riots the Tamil political leadership became convinced that the way forward was to have a separate and sovereign Tamil state.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=83}} At its fourth annual convention in Trincomalee on 19 August 1956 ITAK passed four resolutions: autonomy for Tamil provinces within a federal structure; equal status for Sinhala and Tamil languages; restoration of citizenship and voting rights for Indian Tamils; and cessation of state-sponsored colonisation of Tamil land.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|pp=83–84}}{{sfn|Wilson|2000|p=85}}{{sfn|ITAK|2000|p=244}} Chelvanayakam gave Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, leader of the SLFP, until 20 August 1957 to meet ITAK's demands, stating that otherwise a campaign of non-violent civil disobedience would be launched.{{sfn|Wilson|2000|p=85}}{{sfn|Wilson|1994|pp=84–85}} Initially Bandaranaike was indifferent to ITAK's demands but, following campaigns by some parts of the English language media and advice by prominent Ceylonese, entered into negotiations with ITAK in April 1957.{{sfn|Wilson|2000|p=85}}{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=86}} The Bandaranaike–Chelvanayakam Pact (B-C Pact) was signed on 26 July 1957.{{sfn|Wilson|2000|p=85}}{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=86}} The pact provided the establishment of regional councils (Draft Regional Council Bill) with powers over specified subjects (e.g. agriculture, colonisation, cooperatives, education, electricity, fisheries, health, housing, industries, lands and land developments, roads, social services and water schemes) and powers of taxation and borrowing; amalgamation and division of regions; and allowing regional councils to allocate land in colonisation schemes to residents from their regions.{{cite book|last1=Shastri|first1=Amita|editor1-last=Brown|editor1-first=Michael Edward|editor2-last=Ganguly|editor2-first=Sumit|title=Government Policies and Ethnic Relations in Asia and the Pacific|date=1997|location=Cambridge, US|publisher=MIT Press|page=144|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v-4c1-6kgHEC|chapter=Government Policy and the Ethnic Crisis in Sri Lanka|isbn=9780262522458}}{{cite book|last1=Welhengama|first1=Gnanapala|last2=Pillay|first2=Nirmala|title=The Rise of Tamil Separatism in Sri Lanka: From Communalism to Secession|date=2014|location=Abingdon, UK|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-85486-3|page=204|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Aob8AgAAQBAJ}} Chelvanayakam wasn't entirely happy with the pact, which he considered an "interim adjustment" towards a federal state.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=86}}

The B-C Pact was opposed by Sinhalese nationalists, led by the opposition UNP, who considered it to be division of the country.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=87}} There was even more opposition from Sinhalese civil servants who undermined every concession given to Tamil civil servants by the pact.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=87}} Civil servants from the Ministry of Transport sent state-owned Ceylon Transport Board buses bearing number plates with the Sinhalese prefix "Sri" to Tamil speaking areas, intentionally provoking a reaction from the Tamil population.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=87}}{{sfn|Wilson|2000|p=88}} Chelvanayakam led campaigns against the "Sri" number plates in Jaffna and Batticaloa, in March 1958 and April 1958 respectively, during which he spread tar over the "Sri".{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=87}}{{sfn|Wilson|2000|p=88}} In Batticaloa he was arrested and charged for defacing number plates and imprisoned for one week.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|pp=87–88}} On 9 April 1958 hundreds of people, including Buddhist monks, staged a protest against the B-C pact on Bandaranaike's lawn at Rosemead Place, Colombo demanding abrogation of the pact.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=88}} Bandaranaike obliged, publicly tearing the pact into pieces.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=88}}

At its sixth annual convention in Vavuniya on 25 May 1958 ITAK resolved to launch a non-violent campaign of civil disobedience to achieve its goals.{{sfn|Wilson|2000|p=89}}{{sfn|ITAK|2000|p=256}} In May and June 1958 Ceylon witnessed anti-Tamil rioting.{{cite book|last1=Wickramasinghe|first1=Nira|author-link1=Nira Wickramasinghe|title=Sri Lanka in the Modern Age: A History of Contested Identities|date=2006|location=Honolulu, US|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=0-8248-3016-4|page=272|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y-xQ8qk9mgYC}}{{cite book|last1=Wijeyeratne|first1=Roshan de Silva|title=Nation, Constitutionalism and Buddhism in Sri Lanka|date=2014|location=Abingdon, UK|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-46266-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MZyLAgAAQBAJ}} Bandaranaike blamed ITAK for precipitating the violence and banned the party along with the Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna (National Liberation Front).{{cite book|last1=Vittachi|first1=Tarzie|author-link1=Tarzie Vittachi|title=Emergency '58 the Story of the Ceylon race Riots|date=1958|location=London, UK|publisher=André Deutsch|page=44|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rm8dAAAAMAAJ}}{{cite book|last1=Athale|first1=Anil|title=Counterinsurgency and Quest for Peace|date=2012|location=New Delhi, India|publisher=Vij Books|isbn=978-9381411919|page=58|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QfqpCQAAQBAJ}}{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=89}} ITAK's leaders, including Chelvanayakam, were arrested on 4 June 1958 as they left Parliament and imprisoned.{{cite book|last1=Vittachi|first1=Tarzie|author-link1=Tarzie Vittachi|title=Emergency '58 the Story of the Ceylon race Riots|date=1958|location=London, UK|publisher=André Deutsch|page=90|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rm8dAAAAMAAJ}} The ITAK leaders were placed under house arrest which meant that Chelvanayakam could not communicate with the public until late 1958 when the detention order was lifted.{{sfn|Rajendran|1978|p=10}}{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=89}}

Chelvanayakam was re-elected in the March 1960 parliamentary election which resulted in a hung parliament.{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/web/images/pdf/general-election-results/general-election-1960-03-19.pdf|title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1960-03-19|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|publisher=Election Commission of Sri Lanka|access-date=3 May 2017}}{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=90}} The new Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake tried to get ITAK's support for his minority government but refused to give into ITAK's demands to end state-sponsored colonisation of Tamil-majority areas by Sinhalese, regional autonomy and the rights of Indian Tamils.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|pp=91–92}} As a result, ITAK started negotiations with the opposition SLFP who agreed to introduce the provisions of the B-C pact as bills in parliament.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=93}} During the negotiations on forming an alternate stable government Chelvanayakam informed the Governor-General that ITAK would support a SLFP government for a full term and as result the Governor-General dissolved parliament.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=93}}

Chelvanayakam was re-elected in the July 1960 parliamentary election in which the SLFP and its leftist allies achieved a majority in parliament.{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/web/images/pdf/general-election-results/parliamentary-general-election-1960-07-20.pdf|title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1960-07-20|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|publisher=Election Commission of Sri Lanka|access-date=3 May 2017}}{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=94}} No longer needing ITAK's support in parliament, the SLFP reneged on its pledges to honour the B-C pact and commenced enacting anti-Tamil policies, announcing the full operation of the Sinhala Only Act from January 1961 and using Sinhala in courts of law throughout the country.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=94}} ITAK launched a campaign of civil disobedience in January 1961, beginning in Jaffna.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=94}} Chelvanayakam started distributing leaflets outside Jaffna Kachcheri in Old Park urging Tamil civil servants to boycott government offices and cease using Sinhala.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=95}} The campaign was hugely successful and large crowds, including ITAK MPs, gathered in front of the Kachcheri and staged a protest rally.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=95}}

Early on the morning of 20 February 1961 dozens of ITAK volunteers staged a satyagraha at the Jaffna Kachcheri.{{cite book|last1=Sabaratnam|first1=T.|title=The Murder of a Moderate: Political Biography of Appapillai Amirthalingam|date=1996|location=Dehiwela, Sri Lanka|publisher=Nivetha Publishers|pages=121–122|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XmNuAAAAMAAJ}}{{cite news|last1=Thavarajah|first1=S.|title=The voice of conscience– III|url=http://www.island.lk/2007/06/01/features2.html|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|work=The Island|date=1 June 2007|access-date=3 May 2017}} Among them were several ITAK MPs including Chelvanayakam. As Government Agent M. Srikantha and Superintendent of Police Richard Arndt tried to leave Old Park in a jeep the protesters blocked their way. The police baton charged the protestors, kicking and dragging them away. Several protestors, including ITAK MPs A. Amirthalingam, V. Dharmalingam, V. A. Kandiah, E. M. V. Naganathan and K. Thurairatnam were injured. The police fired tear gas to disperse a large crowd that had gathered to watch the satyagraha. At the end of the day Chelvanayakam issued a press statement saying that it was "a great day for the Tamil-speaking people of Ceylon. This was the day we resorted to direct action to win our freedom".

As the civil disobedience campaign spread to other parts of the north-east, Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike accused ITAK of trying to establish a separate state.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=96}} In April 1961 the satyagrahas were removed by the army using brutal force.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=97}} A state of emergency was declared on 18 April 1961. ITAK was banned, and its MPs and other leading members arrested and imprisoned at Panagoda Cantonment.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=97}}{{sfn|Rajendran|1978|p=11}} Chelvanayakam was allowed to leave the camp and return home due to his deteriorating health.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=98}} Chelvanayakam suffered from Parkinson's disease and his hearing had been gradually failing.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=98}} After initially refusing, Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike allowed Chelvanayakam to travel to the UK to undergo surgery in Edinburgh at the hands of a neurosurgeon Francis John Gillingham.{{sfn|Rajendran|1978|p=11}}{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=99}} The operation was successful and after a few months recuperating in London Chelvanayakam returned to Ceylon.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=99}}

The detention order on the ITAK leaders was lifted in October 1961.{{sfn|Rajendran|1978|p=11}}{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=99}} As a compromise the Bandaranaike government proposed the District Councils Bill to devolve powers to districts but following protests from Sinhalese Buddhist nationalists dropped the bill in June 1964.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=99}} In 1964, as ITAK started preparing for a second civil disobedience campaign, the government started collapsing.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=102}} As several SLFP MPs defected to the opposition, the government sough ITAK's support but ITAK chose instead to support the opposition and on 3 December 1964 the government was unable to prove its majority in parliament, precipitating an election.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=102}}

File:Dudley Shelton Senanayaka (1911-1973).jpg, who served as Prime Minister of Ceylon on three occasions]]

Chelvanayakam was re-elected in the 1965 parliamentary election which resulted in a hung parliament.{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/web/images/pdf/general-election-results/parliamentary-election-1965.pdf|title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1965|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|publisher=Election Commission of Sri Lanka|access-date=3 May 2017}}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=103}} After the election Chelvanayakam met with UNP leader Dudley Senanayake who agreed to Chelvanayakam's conditions for supporting a UNP led government.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=104}} The agreement, known as the Dudley-Chelvanayakam Pact (D-C Pact), was put down on paper and signed by Chelvanayakam and Senanayake on 24 March 1965.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=104}} Under the Dudley-Chelvanayakam Pact, which was a modified version of the B-C pact, Senanayake agreed to make Tamil the language of administration and of record in the Northern and Eastern provinces (Tamil Language Special Provisions Act); amend the Languages of Courts Act to allow legal proceedings in the Northern and Eastern provinces to be conducted and recorded in Tamil; establish District Councils vested with powers over mutually agreed subjects; amend the Land Development Ordinance to provide allotment of land to citizens; and grant land under colonization schemes in the Northern and Eastern provinces to landless people in the district, to Tamil-speaking residents from the two provinces, and to other citizens with preference being given to Tamils from other provinces.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=90}}{{cite book|last1=Peebles|first1=Patrick|title=Historical Dictionary of Sri Lanka|date=2015|location=Lanham, US|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4422-5584-5|page=318|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=50igCgAAQBAJ}}{{cite book|last1=Manogaran|first1=Chelvadurai|title=Ethnic Conflict and Reconciliation in Sri Lanka|date=1987|location=Honolulu, US|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=0-8248-1116-X|page=190|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4IdR9N9R7T4C}} Senanayake kept the contents of the D-C Pact a secret which allowed Sinhalese nationalists to allege that he had agreed to the division of the country.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=105}} Even the leftist Lanka Sama Samaja Party and Communist Party of Ceylon joined the Sinhala nationalist SLFP in propagating this claim.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=105}}

ITAK joined the UNP-led seven party national government (hath haula).{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=90}}{{cite news|last1=Jeyaraj|first1=D. B. S.|author-link1=|title=How a Seven Party National Government was Formed Fifty Years Ago|url=http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/how-a-seven-party-national-government-was-formed-fifty-years-ago-83593.html|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|work=The Daily Mirror|date=14 August 2015|access-date=3 May 2017|archive-date=8 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108121024/http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/how-a-seven-party-national-government-was-formed-fifty-years-ago-83593.html|url-status=live}} ITAK was offered three cabinet posts in the national government but, as the party had pledged that none of its MPs would accept ministerial positions until federalism had been achieved, it asked that M. Tiruchelvam be appointed to the Senate and given the Home Affairs portfolio.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|pp=106–107}} Senanayake refused to give the Home Affairs portfolio to ITAK and instead gave Tiruchelvam the Local Government portfolio.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=107}} The Tamil Language (Special Provisions) Regulation 1966, which made Tamil the language of administration in the Northern and Eastern provinces, was passed by Parliament in July 1966.{{cite book|last1=Jeyaratnam Wilson|first1=A. Jeyaratnam|author-link1=A. Jeyaratnam Wilson|title=The Break-up of Sri Lanka: The Sinhalese-Tamil Conflict|date=1988|location=London, UK|publisher=C. Hurst & Co.|isbn=1-85065-033-0|page=123|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5kfK34Y7mYkC}}{{cite book|last1=Coperahewa|first1=Sandagomi|editor1-last=Kaplan|editor1-first=Robert B.|editor2-last=Baldauf|editor2-first=Richard B.|title=Language Planning in the Asia Pacific: Hong Kong, Timor-Leste and Sri Lanka|date=2011|location=Abingdon, UK|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-61851-9|page=209|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dk5dAgAAQBAJ|chapter=The Language Planning Situation in Sri Lanka}} The District Councils Bill, which was presented to Parliament in June 1968, met with opposition from UNP backbenchers and was abandoned.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|pp=107–109}}{{cite book|last1=Peebles|first1=Patrick|title=Historical Dictionary of Sri Lanka|date=2015|location=Lanham, US|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4422-5584-5|page=78|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=50igCgAAQBAJ}}

Tiruchelvam resigned from the government in November 1968 when Senanayake over-ruled Tiruchelvam's decision to appoint a committee to look into declaring Fort Fredrick, including the historic Koneswaram temple, a Hindu sacred area.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=110}} Senanayake's decision had come after the Buddhist high chief priest of Tammankaduwa had objected to such a declaration, stating that it would result in the area getting "into the hands of those who are neither Sinhalese nor Buddhists".{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=110}} Chelvanayakam informed Senanayake that ITAK would withdraw from the national government.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=110}} Thereafter ITAK sat as an independent group in Parliament, supporting or opposing the government based on the issue in question.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=110}}

Chelvanayakam was re-elected in the 1970 parliamentary election which resulted in the Sinhala nationalist SLFP and its leftist allies winning a large majority in Parliament.{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/web/images/pdf/general-election-results/general-election-1970.pdf|title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1970|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|publisher=Election Commission of Sri Lanka|access-date=3 May 2017|archive-date=5 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200505210620/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/web/images/pdf/general-election-results/general-election-1970.pdf|url-status=live}}{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=114}} Sensing that life was going to get even worse for Tamils under the United Front government, Chelvanayakam declared "Only God can help the Tamils".{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=114}}{{cite book|last=Rajasingham|first=K. T.|title=Sri Lanka: The Untold Story|chapter-url=http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DA12Df03.html|chapter=Chapter 22: 'Only God Can Save the Tamils'|access-date=3 May 2017|archive-date=7 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110907051245/http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DA12Df03.html|url-status=dead}} Some Tamil youth, who felt that they had no other choice, started resorting to violence.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=115}} Chelvanayakam, who still commanded respect among Tamil youth, urged them to renounce violence and continue with their education.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=115}}

Following the 1971 JVP insurrection the United Front started implementing policies aimed at the causes of the insurrection but which further discriminated against Tamils. Jobs and land in the newly nationalised plantations were given to Sinhala youth, to the exclusion of Tamils.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=121}} Chelvanayakam labelled the nationalisation "highway robbery".{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=121}} The policy of standardisation replaced the merit based system for university entrance with one based on ethnicity, discriminating against Tamil youths.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|pp=121–122}}

Using its large majority in Parliament, the United Front government started the process of replacing the "British imposed" Soulbury Constitution.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=114}} The government's proposed new constitution was seen as a Sinhala-Buddhist document by ITAK which mobilised Tamil public support against it.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=115}} The proposals to constitutionally enshrine Sinhala as the sole official language, give special provision for Buddhism and repeal the protection for minorities particularly alarmed ITAK.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=115}} ITAK believed that if Tamils did not participate in the constitution setting process they could demand self determination and a revert to the pre-British structures which existed before 1833.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=116}} On 7 February 1971 Tamil parties held an all-party conference in Valvettithurai at which they issued a six-point memorandum of demands on regional autonomy, language rights, colonisation, employment discrimination and citizenship for Indian Tamils.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=116}}{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=124}} The government rejected the demands and refused to invite the ITAK MPs to give evidence before the constituent assembly.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=116}} Chelvanayakam vowed to resume civic protests and in February 1972, while visiting Madras, declared that ITAK would launch a non-violent struggle to agitate for a separate state.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|pp=117–118}}{{cite book|last1=Sabaratnam|first1=T.|title=The Murder of a Moderate: Political Biography of Appapillai Amirthalingam|date=1996|location=Dehiwela, Sri Lanka|publisher=Nivetha Publishers|page=206|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XmNuAAAAMAAJ}}

There was growing resentment amongst Tamils at the monopolisation of political and economic power by the Sinhalese.{{cite book|last1=Kingsbury|first1=Damien|title=Sri Lanka and the Responsibility to Protect: Politics, Ethnicity and Genocide|date=2012|location=Abingdon, UK|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-58884-3|page=56|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OhupAgAAQBAJ}}{{cite book|last1=Kingsbury|first1=Damien|editor1-last=Fernandes|editor1-first=Clinton|title=Hot Spot: Asia and Oceania: Asia and Oceania|date=2008|location=Westport, US|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=978-0-313-35412-0|page=231|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6mrU4FBGqCAC|chapter=Sri Lanka|archive-date=7 October 2024|access-date=7 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241007094717/https://books.google.com/books?id=6mrU4FBGqCAC|url-status=live}} As a result, Tamil parties started coming together and on 14 May 1972 the ITAK, ACTC, Ceylon Workers' Congress, Eelath Thamilar Otrumai Munnani and All Ceylon Tamil Conference met in Trincomalee and formed the Tamil United Front (TUF) with Chelvanayakam as its president.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=124}}{{cite book|editor1-last=Ross|editor1-first=Russell R.|editor2-last=Savada|editor2-first=Andrea Matles|title=Sri Lanka : A Country Study|date=1990|location=Washington D.C., US|publisher=Library of Congress|page=51|url=http://cdn.loc.gov/master/frd/frdcstdy/sr/srilankacountrys00ross/srilankacountrys00ross.pdf|access-date=3 May 2017|archive-date=15 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215191148/http://cdn.loc.gov/master/frd/frdcstdy/sr/srilankacountrys00ross/srilankacountrys00ross.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite book|last1=Chattopadhyaya|first1=Haraprasad|title=Ethnic Unrest in Modern Sri Lanka: An Account of Tamil-Sinhalese Race Relations|date=1994|location=New Delhi, India|publisher=M. D. Publications|isbn=81-85880-52-2|page=33|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MRU6QKPBTFQC}}{{cite book|last1=Amarasinghe|first1=Samanga|title=Independence to Referendum|date=2011|location=Hillsborough, US|publisher=Lulu Enterprises|isbn=978-1-105-01908-1|page=188|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iV6AAwAAQBAJ}}{{cite book|last=Rajasingham|first=K. T.|title=Sri Lanka: The Untold Story|chapter-url=http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DA19Df06.html|chapter=Chapter 23: Srimavo's constitutional promiscuity|access-date=3 May 2017|archive-date=13 February 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020213084644/http://atimes.com/ind-pak/DA19Df06.html|url-status=dead}} The TUF MPs boycotted the ceremonial opening of the National State Assembly (NSA) on 22 May 1972, the day the new constitution was promulgated. In October 1972 Chelvanayakam informed the NSA that he was resigning his parliamentary seat and would seek re-election on the issue of the new constitution which he claimed had been rejected by the Tamils.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=118}} The government delayed holding a by-election in Chelvanayakam's constituency, citing the possibility of violence, which resulted in Chelvanayakam being exiled from Parliament for nearly two and half years.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=118}} Chelvanayakam wrote to Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike on 4 November 1973 stating that the election would be peaceful and that the government's supporters could campaign freely.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=123}} Bandaranaike did not respond.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=123}}

In the meantime, Tamil political opinion started shifting as a result of the government's perceived apathy and the Prime Minister's apparent inability to recognise the consequences of the growing ethnic tension in the country.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=124}} At its 12th annual convention in Mallakam in September 1973 ITAK passed a resolution seeking self-determination for Tamils.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=124}}{{sfn|ITAK|2000|pp=282–283}} Tamils now established their claim to be a sovereign nation-state and Chelvanayakam was considered the father of the nation.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=125}} For his part Chelvanayakam ingrained the concept of a "traditional homeland for the Tamil people" in the mindset of the Tamils.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=125}} Violence between Tamil militant youth and the government also escalated.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=126}}

The by-election in Kankesanthurai was eventually held on 6 February 1975 and Chelvanayakam was re-elected with a large majority.{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/web/images/pdf/general-election-results/elections1947-1988.pdf|title=Summary of By-Elections 1947 to 1988|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|publisher=Election Commission of Sri Lanka|access-date=3 May 2017}}{{Dead link|date=November 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite book|last=Rajasingham|first=K. T.|title=Sri Lanka: The Untold Story|chapter-url=http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DA26Df04.html|chapter=Chapter 24: Tamil militancy - a manifestation|access-date=3 May 2017|archive-date=3 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503231851/http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DA26Df04.html|url-status=dead}} At a meeting in Jaffna in 1975 the TUF's action committee resolved to change the TUF's name to Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF).{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=125}} Chelvanayakam, G. G. Ponnambalam and S. Thondaman would be the TULF's co-leaders.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=125}} The TULF held its first national convention in May 1976 in Vaddukoddai and on 14 May 1976, under Chelvanayakam's chairmanship, passed the Vaddukoddai Resolution calling for the "restoration and reconstitution of the free, sovereign, secular, socialist state of Tamil Eelam".{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=128}}{{cite book|last1=Fuglerud|first1=Oivind|editor1-last=Six-Hohenbalken|editor1-first=Maria|editor2-last=Weiss|editor2-first=Nerina|title=Violence Expressed: An Anthropological Approach|date=2011|location=Abingdon, UK|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-754-67884-7|page=72|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vwiOCwAAQBAJ|chapter=Aesthetics of Martyrdom: The Celebration of Violent Death among the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam}}{{cite news|title=Thanthai Chelva's 109th anniversary commemorated|url=http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=21725|work=TamilNet|date=31 March 2007|access-date=3 May 2017|archive-date=12 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170712210928/http://tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=21725|url-status=live}} On 19 November 1976, in one of his last speeches in the NSA, Chelvanayakam acknowledged that his quest to obtain the "lost rights of the Tamil speaking people" through federalism had failed.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=129}} "We have abandoned the demand for a federal constitution" he stated, "We know that the Sinhalese people will one day grant our demand and that we will be able to establish a state separate from the rest of the island."{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=129}}

On 21 May 1976 several Tamil politicians (A. Amirthalingam, V. N. Navaratnam, K. P. Ratnam, M. Sivasithamparam and K. Thurairatnam) were delivering leaflets when they were all arrested on government orders.{{cite news|last1=Jeyaraj|first1=D. B. S.|author-link1=|title=Life and times of Sivasithamparam|url=http://www.thesundayleader.lk/archive/20020609/issues.htm|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|work=The Sunday Leader|date=9 June 2002|access-date=3 May 2017|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235135/http://www.thesundayleader.lk/archive/20020609/issues.htm|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Rajasingham|first1=K. T.|title=Amirthalingham Era – A book review|url=http://www.asiantribune.com/amirthalingham-era-%E2%80%93-book-review|work=Asian Tribune|date=26 August 2005|access-date=3 May 2017}} Sivasithamparam was released but the others were taken to Colombo and tried for sedition. All the defendants were acquitted on 10 February 1977 after a high-profile trial-at-bar{{Efn|A trial-at-bar is a trial before three or more judges.}} case in which around 70 prominent Tamil lawyers, including Chelvanayakam and G. G. Ponnambalam, acted for the defence.{{cite news|last1=Sumanthiran|first1=M. A.|author-link1=M. A. Sumanthiran|title=13A: To be or not ... |url=http://www.ceylontoday.lk/78-15546-news-detail-13a-to-be-or-not-.html|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|work=Ceylon Today|date=28 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923224359/http://www.ceylontoday.lk/78-15546-news-detail-13a-to-be-or-not-.html|archive-date=23 September 2015}}

The last years of Chelvanayakam were personally difficult.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=131}} He had financial problems as a result of the government not paying him compensation for the nationalisation of two plantations in which he had shares.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=131}} Two of his sons and daughter had moved abroad.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=131}} He had frequent falls as a result of his Parkinson disease.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=131}}

In March 1977 the government sought the TULF's support for extending the life of Parliament.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=130}} Chelvanayakam and other TULF leaders did not trust the SLFP but felt that they had to take part in the discussions which were halted when Chelvanayakam fell ill.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|pp=130–131}} He was left unconscious after falling heavily.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=131}} Chelvanayakam died on 26 April 1977.{{cite news|last1=Eelaventhan|first1=M. K.|author-link1=M. K. Eelaventhan|title=S. J. V. Chelvanayakam: The man and his mission|url=http://archives.dailynews.lk/2005/03/31/fea04.htm|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|work=Daily News|date=31 March 2005|access-date=3 May 2017}}{{Efn|According to another source Chelvanayakam died on 27 March 1977.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=131}}}} At his funeral oration Bishop of Jaffna D. J. Ambalavanar said of Chelvanayakam "like Moses, Mr. Chelvanayagam showed us the promised land, but failed to reach it on his own".{{cite news|last1=Eelaventhan|first1=M. K.|author-link1=M. K. Eelaventhan|title=Chelvanayagam – man of vision, courage and conviction|url=http://www.nation.lk/2008/03/30/newsfe4.htm|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|work=The Nation|date=30 March 2008|access-date=3 May 2017}}

Chelvanayakam has been described as a father figure to Ceylon's Tamils, to whom he was known as "Thanthai Chelva" (Father Chelva).{{cite news|title=Obituary: John Gillingham|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/john-gillingham-1-789934|location=Edinburgh, UK|work=The Scotsman|date=9 February 2010|access-date=3 May 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Dimanno|first1=Rosie|title=Sri Lanka election shows Tamils reject the status quo|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/09/22/sri_lanka_election_shows_tamils_reject_the_status_quo.html|work=Toronto Star|date=22 September 2013|access-date=3 May 2017}}{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=viii}}{{cite news|title=Thanthai Chelva remembered on his 112th Birthday in Jaffna|url=http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=31466|work=TamilNet|date=31 March 2010|access-date=3 May 2017}} Ceylon Workers' Congress leader S. Thondaman said of him, "Chelvanayakam was the Tamil people; and the Tamil people were Chelvanayakam". He was noted for his integrity and respected by both allies and opponents.{{cite book|last1=Wriggins|first1=William Howard|author-link1=William Howard Wriggins|title=Ceylon: Dilemmas of a New Nation|date=1960|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=1400876907|page=334|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pCfWCgAAQBAJ}}{{cite book|last1=Vittachi|first1=Tarzie|author-link1=Tarzie Vittachi|title=Emergency '58 the Story of the Ceylon race Riots|date=1958|location=London, UK|publisher=André Deutsch|page=89|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rm8dAAAAMAAJ}} Known as the "Trousered Gandhi" by Tamils, Chelvanayakam was compared with Gandhi for his commitment to using non-violent methods to achieve his political goals.{{cite book|last1=Ackerman|first1=Peter|last2=DuVall|first2=Jack|title=A Force More Powerful: A Century of Non-violent Conflict|date=2000|location=New York, US|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=0-312-22864-3|page=461|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LMe2CgAAQBAJ}}{{sfn|Rajendran|1978|p=26}} Critics, however, faulted him for naively believing that the Ceylon Tamils' political demands could be achieved through Parliamentary institutions.{{cite book|last1=Navaratnam|first1=V.|author-link1=V. Navaratnam|title=The Fall and Rise of the Tamil Nation: Events leading to the Tamil war of independence and resumption of Eelam sovereignty|date=1991|location=Madras, India|publisher=Kaanthalakam|page=115|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jEduAAAAMAAJ}} While many of Ceylon's political leaders gave up Christianity for reasons of political expediency, Chelvanayakam remained a Christian which led to opponents questioning his right to lead Tamils, the majority of whom were Hindu.{{sfn|Rajendran|1978|p=29}}{{cite book|last=Gunawardena|first=Charles A.|title=Encyclopedia of Sri Lanka|year=2005|location=Elgin, US|publisher=Sterling Publishers|isbn=1-932705-48-1|page=69|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hWLQSMPddikC}}

Chelvanayakam's non-violent methods proved to be ineffective against Sinhalese-Buddhist nationalism and failed to secure Tamils' rights from successive governments.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=134}}{{cite book|last1=Manogaran|first1=Chelvadurai|title=Ethnic Conflict and Reconciliation in Sri Lanka|date=1987|location=Honolulu, US|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=0-8248-1116-X|page=12|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4IdR9N9R7T4C}}{{cite book|last1=Pinto|first1=Leonard|title=Being a Christian in Sri Lanka: Historical, Political, Social, and Religious Considerations|date=2015|location=Bloomington, US|publisher=Balboa Press|isbn=978-1-4525-2863-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ifVMCgAAQBAJ}} With his death the era of non-violent protest was replaced by violent militancy.{{sfn|Wilson|1994|p=132}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{cite book|script-title=ta:இலங்கைத் தமிழ் அரசுக் கட்சி வெள்ளி விழா மலர் 1949-1974 - Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi Silver Jubilee Volume|date=2000|publisher=ITAK|url=http://noolaham.net/project/96/9539/9539.pdf|ref={{harvid|ITAK|2000}}}}
• {{cite book|title=S.J.V. Chelvanayakam: A Tribute|date=1978|first=Arul M.|last=Rajendran|location=Colombo, Sri Lanka|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AHcLAAAAMAAJ}}
• {{cite book|last1=Wilson|first1=A. Jeyaratnam|title=S. J. V. Chelvanayakam and the Crisis of Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism, 1947–1977: A Political Biography|date=1994|location=London, UK|publisher=C. Hurst & Co.|isbn=1-85065-130-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_2jvhndxPzQC|author-link=A. Jeyaratnam Wilson}}
• {{cite book|last1=Wilson|first1=A. Jeyaratnam|title=Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Its Origins and Development in the 19th and 20th Centuries|date=2000|location=Vancouver, Canada|publisher=University of British Columbia Press|isbn=0-7748-0759-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W3aAB9IFVdkC|author-link=A. Jeyaratnam Wilson}}

{{Refend}}

{{Commons category|S. J. V. Chelvanayakam}}

{{Archival records|title=S.J.V. Chelvanayakam fonds}}

• [http://tamilnation.co/hundredtamils/chelva.htm One Hundred Tamils of the 20th Century, Tamil Nation]
• [https://discoverarchives.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/samuel-james-velupillai-s-j-v-chelvanayakam-fonds S. J. V. Chelvanayakam fonds at University of Toronto Scarborough Library Archives]

{{Members of the 1st Parliament of Ceylon}}

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{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chelvanayakam, S. J. V.}}

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