V. Navaratnam | |
|---|---|
வி. நவரத்தினம் | |
 | |
| Member of theCeylonese Parliament forKayts | |
| In office 1963–1970 | |
| Preceded by | V. A. Kandiah |
| Succeeded by | K. P. Ratnam |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1910-10-25)25 October 1910 |
| Died | 22 December 2006(2006-12-22) (aged 97) |
| Alma mater | Ceylon Law College |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Ethnicity | Sri Lankan Tamil |
Vaithianathan Navaratnam (25 October 1910 – 22 December 2006) was aSri Lankan Tamil lawyer, politician andMember of Parliament.
Navaratnam was born on 25 October 1910.[1][2] He was the son of Vaithianathan fromKarampon on the island ofVelanaitivu in northernCeylon.[1] He was educated atKarampon Shanmuganathan Maha Vidyalayam,St. Patrick's College, Jaffna andAnanda College.[1] After school he joinedCeylon Law College, graduating as aproctor in 1936.[1][3]
Navaratnam married his first cousin Parameswari.[1] They had five sons (Chandra Mohan, Jagadishan, Jegan Mohan, Raj Mohan and Bala Mohan) and a daughter (Shyamala).[1][4]
Navaratnam became interested in politics followingCeylonese independence in 1948.[1] He was appointed joint secretary of theIllankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (Federal Party) when it was founded in 1949.[1]
Navaratnam stood as ITAK's candidate inKayts at the1952 parliamentary election but was defeated by theAll Ceylon Tamil Congress candidateAlfred Thambiayah.[5] He was ITAK's theoretician and played an important role in the formulation of theBandaranaike–Chelvanayakam Pact.[6][7] Navaratnam stood as ITAK's candidate in the constituency in the 1963by-election following the sitting MP V. A. Kandiah's death. He won the election and enteredParliament.[8] He was re-elected at the1965 parliamentary election.[9]
An ardentTamil nationlist, Navaratnam fell out with the ITAK leadership over its decision to joinDudley Senanayake'snational government and left the party in 1968.[1][6][10] In 1969 he founded theTamils Suyaadchchi Kazahagam (Tamil Self Rule Party) which campaigned for Tamilself-rule andindependence for the Tamil speaking provinces of Ceylon.[11][12][13] He stood as anindependent candidate in Kayts at the1970 and1977 parliamentary elections but on each occasion was defeated the ITAK/Tamil United Liberation Front candidateK. P. Ratnam.[14][15]
Navaratnam has written two books:Ceylon Faces Crisis (1956) andThe Fall and Rise of the Tamil Nation (1995).[3][16] He died on 22 December 2006 inMontreal, Quebec,Canada.[17][18] He wasposthumously conferred the title ofNaattu Patralar (patriot) by theLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.[19]
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