Waithilingam Duraiswamy | |
|---|---|
வைத்திலிங்கம் துரைசுவாமி | |
 | |
| 3rd Speaker of the State Council of Ceylon | |
| In office 17 March 1936 – 4 July 1947 | |
| Preceded by | Forester Augustus Obeysekera |
| Member of theLegislative Council of Ceylon for Northern Province | |
| In office 1921–1924 | |
| Member of theLegislative Council of Ceylon for Northern Province West | |
| In office 1924–1930 | |
| Member of theState Council of Ceylon for Kayts | |
| In office 1936–1947 | |
| Preceded by | Nevins Selvadurai |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1874-06-08)8 June 1874 |
| Died | 12 April 1966(1966-04-12) (aged 91) |
| Alma mater | Jaffna College Jaffna Central College University of Calcutta Ceylon Law College |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Ethnicity | Ceylon Tamil |
Sir Waithilingam Duraiswamy (Tamil:வைத்திலிங்கம் துரைசுவாமி; 8 June 1874 – 12 April 1966) was aCeylon Tamil lawyer, politician andspeaker of theState Council of Ceylon.
Duraiswamy was born on 8 June 1874 inVelanaitivu, an island in the north ofCeylon.[1][2] He was the son of Ayampillai Waithilingam, an engineer fromMalaya.[2] He was educated atJaffna College andJaffna Central College.[1] After school he joinedUniversity of Calcutta, from where he graduated with a double honours degree.[1] He then qualified as anadvocate from theCeylon Law College.[1]
Duraiswamy was married to Rasammah from Maathakal, Jaffna. Duraiswamy had four sons (Yogendra, Rajendra, Mahendra and Devendra) and four daughters (Maheswari, Nadeswari, Parameswari and Bhuvaneswari).
After qualifying Duraiswamy worked as an advocate, becoming a crown advocate and leader of the Jaffna Bar.[1][3]
Duraiswamy contested the1921 Legislative Council election as a candidate in Northern Province and was elected to theLegislative Council.[1][4] He contested the1924 Legislative Council election as a candidate in Northern Province West and was re-elected unopposed.[1][3][5] He was a leading member of theJaffna Youth Congress which advocated the boycott of the1931 State Council elections. The boycott ended in 1934 but Duraiswamy did not contest the ensuing by-elections. He did however contest the1936 State Council election as a candidate in Kayts and was elected to theState Council unopposed.[1][3][6] Duraiswamy was electedSpeaker of the State Council on 17 March 1936.[1][3][7] He held this position until the State Council was replaced in 1947.[3][8] Duraiswamy was knighted by King George VI in London in the1937 Coronation Honours.[9]
Duraiswamy contested inKayts at the1947 election but failed to get elected to the newParliament after coming fourth.[3][10] A wave of Tamil nationalism represented by the Tamil Congress had swept away the old guard of the legislature at the 1947 elections.[11]
Duraiswamy was one of the founders of the Hindu Board of Education and served as its president in 1923.[2][3] He helped establish more than 150 Hindu schools.[12] He was a founder and president of the Tamil Union.[3] He was also president of the Vivekananda Society and a leading member of the Saiva Paripalana Sabhai.[3][13]
Duraiswamy died on 12 April 1966.[1] A commorative postage stamp in honour of Duraiswamy was issued on 14 June 1982.[1][3]
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| Ex offico Members (5) |
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| Nominated Members (13) |
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| Elected Members (17) |
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| Central Province (8) | |||||||||||
| Eastern Province (2) | |||||||||||
| Northern Province (5) | |||||||||||
| North Central Province (1) | |||||||||||
| North Western Province (5) | |||||||||||
| Sabaragamuwa Province (5) | |||||||||||
| Southern Province (7) | |||||||||||
| Uva Province (3) | |||||||||||
| Western Province (14) | |||||||||||
| Appointed (8) |
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