E. M. V. Naganathan | |
|---|---|
இ. மு. வி. நாகநாதன் | |
 | |
| Member of theSenate of Ceylon | |
| Member of theCeylonese Parliament forNallur | |
| In office 1960–1970 | |
| Succeeded by | C. Arulampalam |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1906-01-31)31 January 1906 |
| Died | 16 August 1971(1971-08-16) (aged 65) |
| Political party | Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi |
| Alma mater | Madras Medical College |
| Profession | Physician |
| Ethnicity | Ceylon Tamil |
Elangai Murugesu Vijayaretnam Naganathan (Tamil:இலங்கை முருகேசு விஜயரத்தினம் நாகநாதன்; 31 January 1906 – 16 August 1971) was aCeylon Tamil physician, politician, senator andMember of Parliament.
Naganathan was born on 31 January 1906 inMadras,India.[1][2][3] He was the son of John Jebaratnam Hensman, registrar of theUniversity of Madras.[1] The Hensman family were fromCeylon but moved to South India for education and work.[4] Naganathan's father (John Jebaratnam Hensman), grandfather (Charles Hensman) and great-grandfather (Rev. John Hensman) had all been born in Ceylon.[3] After school Naganathan joinedMadras Medical College, qualifying as a medical doctor.[3] He then went to the United Kingdom, obtained theMRCP andFRCS qualifications and practised medicine for a period.[3]
Naganathan married Retnavathi, daughter of John Wirt Ponniah Senathirajah fromAlaveddy. They had three daughters (Mary Lukshmi, Anne Nirmala and Carmel Indhira) and two sons (Elangai Anthony and John).[1]
After returning to Ceylon Naganathan worked as a private medical practitioner inColombo.[1][3]
Naganathan was an active member of theAll Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) and served as its secretary in 1947.[1] He was elected to theSenate of Ceylon in 1947.[1][5] In 1948 division arose amongst ACTC members over the party leadership's decision to join theUnited National Party (UNP) led government. Naganathan was one of those who opposed joining the UNP government. The dissidents, led byS. J. V. Chelvanayakam,C. Vanniasingam and Naganathan, eventually left the ACTC and formed theIllankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (Federal Party) in 1949.[6] Naganathan was ITAK's secretary for a period and became the party's president in 1966.[1]
Naganathan stood as the ITAK's candidate inJaffna at the1952 and1956 parliamentary elections but on each occasion was defeated by the ACTC leaderG. G. Ponnambalam.[7][8] Naganathan stood as the ITAK's (Federal Party) candidate inNallur at theMarch 1960 parliamentary election. He won the election and enteredParliament.[9] He was re-elected at theJuly 1960 and1965 and parliamentary elections but lost out to the ACTC candidateC. Arulampalam at the1970 parliamentary election.[10][11][12]
On 5 June 1956 a group of Tamil activists and parliamentarians, including Naganathan, staged asatyagraha against theSinhala Only Act onGalle Face Green opposite theParliament.[13] The satyagrahis were attacked by aSinhalese mob as the police looked on, and Naganathan andV. N. Navaratnam were thrown in the lake.[14][15] Following the1958 riots ITAK and the Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna (National Liberation Front) were banned.[16] ITAK's leaders, including Naganathan, were arrested on 4 June 1958 as they left Parliament and imprisoned.[17]
Naganathan played a leading role in the 1961 satyagraha campaign organised by ITAK.[18] Early on the morning of 20 February 1961 a group of 55 to 75 persons staged a satyagraha at the JaffnaKachcheri inOld Park.[18][19] Among them were ITAK MPsA. Amirthalingam, S. J. V. Chelvanayakam,V. Dharmalingam,V. A. Kandiah, Naganathan, V. N. Navaratnam andK. Thurairatnam.[18][19] A large group of policemen arrived in riot gear, wearing helmets and carrying batons and shields.[18][19] The police started removing the protesters by lifting and carrying them away.[18][19] Those who resisted were dragged away.[18][19] Later, asGovernment AgentM. Srikantha and Superintendent of Police Richard Arndt tried to leave Old Park in a jeep the protesters blocked their way.[18][19] The police reacted with brutality, beating the protesters with batons and pulled them out bodily.[19] Palaniyappan, a young man who had thrown himself in front of the jeep was pulled away by the police and beaten severely with batons.[18][19] Five ITAK MPs were amongst the protesters blocking the jeep. Kandiah was carried out and dumped on the ground, Dharmalingam and Thurairatnam were dragged out by their hands and legs whilst Amirthalingam and Naganathan were baton charged.[18][19] The police also baton charged a crowd of around 5,000 who had gathered to watch the satyagraha.[19]
Naganathan died on 16 August 1971.[1]
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