G. G. Ponnambalam | |
|---|---|
ஜி. ஜி. பொன்னம்பலம் | |
 | |
| Minister of Industries, Industrial Research and Fisheries[a] | |
| In office 3 September 1948 – 22 October 1953 | |
| Preceded by | C. Sittampalam |
| Succeeded by | Kanthiah Vaithianathan |
| Member of theState Council of Ceylon for Point Pedro | |
| In office 1934–1947 | |
| Member of theCeylonese Parliament forJaffna | |
| In office 1947–1960 | |
| Succeeded by | Alfred Duraiappah |
| In office 1965–1970 | |
| Preceded by | Alfred Duraiappah |
| Succeeded by | C. X. Martyn |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1901-11-08)8 November 1901 |
| Died | 9 February 1977(1977-02-09) (aged 75) |
| Political party | All Ceylon Tamil Congress |
| Alma mater | Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Ethnicity | Ceylon Tamil |
| |
Ganapathipillai Gangaser Ponnambalam (Tamil:கணபதி காங்கேசர் பொன்னம்பலம்; 8 November 1901 – 9 February 1977) was aCeylon Tamil lawyer, politician and cabinet minister. He was the founder and leader of theAll Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), the first political party to represent the Ceylon Tamils.
Ponnambalam was born on 8 November 1901.[1][a] He was the son of Gangaser, a postmaster from Alvaly in northernCeylon.[2] He was educated atSt. Patrick's College, Jaffna andSt. Joseph's College, Colombo.[2][3][4] Ponnambalam joinedFitzwilliam College, Cambridge on a government scholarship, graduating with afirst class degree in natural sciencestripos.[2][5][6][7] He also receivedLL.B. andMA degrees from Cambridge.[3]
Ponnambalam married Rose Alagumani Clough.[2] He is the father ofKumar Ponnambalam and daughter Vijayalakshmi.[2]
Ponnambalam wascalled to the bar atLincoln's Inn.[8] He returned to Ceylon, via France, in 1927 and startedpractising law as an advocate.[2][5] An outstanding debater, Ponnambalam became one of the leading criminal lawyers in the country and was made aKing's Counsel in 1948.[2] Ponnambalam appeared in several high-profile legal cases during his career. He was one of the defence lawyers in the 1954 Ranjani taxi cab case at which his cross examination of fingerprint experts resulted in the acquittal of all four accused and changes to the finger print law.[9][10] As his popularity began to decline in the late 1950s Ponnambalam gradually moved his legal practice to Malaya, only returning to Ceylon to contest elections and take part in high-profile cases.[11]
In January 1976 theUnion Government of India dismissed the state government ofTamil Nadu, accusing Chief MinisterKarunanidhi of corruption, and imposedPresident's rule.[9] Ponnambalam represented Karunanidhi atSupreme Court justiceRanjit Singh Sarkaria'scommission of inquiry.[9][12] Karunanidhi was cleared of the corruption charges.[9] On 21 May 1976 several leading Tamil politicians (A. Amirthalingam,V. N. Navaratnam,K. P. Ratnam,M. Sivasithamparam andK. Thurairatnam) were delivering leaflets when they were all arrested on government orders.[13][14] Sivasithamparam was released but the others were taken to Colombo and tried forsedition.[13] All the defendants were acquitted on 10 February 1977 after a famoustrial at bar case in which around 70 leading Tamil lawyers, including Ponnambalam andS. J. V. Chelvanayakam, acted for the defence.[15][16]
Ponnambalam became the political leader of the Ceylon Tamils following the deaths ofP. Arunachalam (1924) and his brotherP. Ramanathan (1930).[17] He contested the 1931 state council election as a candidate in Mannar-Mullaitivu but failed to get elected to theState Council.[2] He had been unable to contest in his home constituency of Point Pedro due to the boycott organised by theJaffna Youth Congress. The boycott ended in 1934 and Ponnambalam contested the ensuing by-elections in Point Pedro.[2] He won the election and entered the State Council.[2][17] He was re-elected at the1936 Ceylonese State Council election.[2][18]
TheBoard of Ministers established after the 1936 state council election consisted entirely ofSinhalese members, excluding minorities who together made up 35% of Ceylon's population.[18] This was one of the drivers which led Ponnambalam to make his infamous 50:50 demand in a marathon speech to the State Council on 15 March 1939.[19] He repeated the demand when he gave evidence to theSoulbury Commission in February 1945.[9] Ponnambalam wanted 50% of seats in Parliament for the Sinhalese, and 50% for all other ethnic groups.[20][21]
In August 1944 Ponnambalam formed theAll Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), the first political party to represent the Ceylon Tamils, from various Tamil groups.[9][22] He was elected president of the party.[22] Ponnambalam stood as the ACTC candidate forJaffna at the1947 parliamentary election. He won the election and enteredParliament.[23] The ACTC swept the poll in the Tamil dominated Northern Province, winning seven of the nine seats in the province. TheUnited National Party (UNP) became the largest party Parliament but it did not have a majority.[9] Ponnambalam presided over a meeting at the house ofHerbert Sri Nissanka (the Yamuna Conference) at which an unsuccessful attempt was made to form a government without the UNP.[9] The UNP subsequently formed a government with the support ofindependent and appointed MPs.
Following independence in February 1948, Ceylon's Sinhalese dominated government set about disenfranchising the 780,000 (12% of the population)Indian Tamils living in Ceylon by introducing theCeylon Citizenship Bill.[24][25] Ponnambalam and the ACTC opposed the bill.[9] The bill prompted Ponnambalam to describe Prime MinisterD. S. Senanayake as a "racist".[26] The bill was passed by Parliament at itssecond reading on 20 August 1948, a day Ponnambalam described as a black one for Ceylon.[26][27] Shortly afterwards Ponnambalam decided to join the UNP led government.[26] He was madeMinister of Industries, Industrial Research and Fisheries on 3 September 1948.[2][26][28] Kankesanthurai Cement Factory, Paranthan Caustic Soda Chemical Factory and Valaichchenai Paper Mill were opened during Ponnambalam's ministerial tenure.[2]
Ponnambalam's decision to join the UNP led government in 1948 caused a split in the ACTC.[26] Eventually, in December 1949, the ACTC dissidents, led by Chelvanayakam,C. Vanniasingam andE. M. V. Naganathan, formed theIllankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK, Federal Party).[26] As Ceylon's two main parties, the UNP andSri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), introduced policies, such as theSinhala Only Act, which further discriminated against the country's minorities, ITAK'sTamil nationalism became more popular than the ACTC's conservatism. At the1956 parliamentary election the ITAK overtook the ACTC as the most popular party amongst Ceylon Tamils.[29][30]
Ponnambalam was re-elected at the1952 parliamentary election.[31] His cabinet portfolio was changed toMinister of Industries and Fisheries in June 1952.[26][32]. On 22 October 1953 — shortly after Sir John Kotelawala replaced Dudley Senanayake as Prime Minister — G. G. Ponnambalam left his post as Minister of Industries and Fisheries amid a cabinet reshuffle widely reported at the time and attributed to political realignment because Ponnambalam had supported Dudley.
Ponnambalam was re-elected at the1956 parliamentary election but lost his seat at theMarch 1960 parliamentary election.[33][34] He tried unsuccessfully to re-gain his seat at theJuly 1960 parliamentary election.[35] He was elected at the1965 parliamentary election.[36] After the election the ACTC joined the UNP lednational government and Ponnambalam was offered a ministerial position which he declined. Between 1967 and 1969 Ponnambalam led Ceylon's delegation to UN General Assembly.[37] Ponnambalam lost his seat again at the1970 parliamentary election.[38]
Ponnambalam died on 9 February 1977.[39][37][b] A commemorative 75 cents stamp was issued on 22 May 1986.[2]
| Election | Constituency | Party | Votes | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 state council | Mannar-Mullaitivu | 4,667 | Not elected | ||
| 1934 state council by[40] | Point Pedro | 9,319 | Elected | ||
| 1936 state council | Point Pedro | 14,029 | Elected | ||
| 1947 parliamentary[23] | Jaffna | ACTC | 14,324 | Elected | |
| 1952 parliamentary[31] | Jaffna | ACTC | 12,726 | Elected | |
| 1956 parliamentary[33] | Jaffna | ACTC | 8,914 | Elected | |
| 1960 March parliamentary[34] | Jaffna | ACTC | 5,312 | Not elected | |
| 1960 July parliamentary[35] | Jaffna | ACTC | 6,015 | Not elected | |
| 1965 parliamentary[36] | Jaffna | ACTC | 9,350 | Elected | |
| 1970 parliamentary[36] | Jaffna | ACTC | 7,222 | Not elected | |
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