J. Tyagaraja

Jaganathan Tyagaraja (born 18 October 1895) was a Ceylon Tamil barrister, politician and member of the State Council of Ceylon.

Honourable

J. Tyagaraja

MSC
Member of the State Council of Ceylon
In office
1944–1947
Preceded byJ. I. Gnanamuttu
ConstituencyMannar-Mullaitivu
Personal details
Born(1895-10-18)18 October 1895
Political partyUnited National Party
Alma materChrist's College, Cambridge
OccupationLawyer
EthnicityCeylon Tamil

Tyagaraja was born on 18 October 1895.[1] He was the son of Namasivayam Tyagaraja, a wealthy landed proprietor from Colombo, the capital of Ceylon.[1] Tyagaraja was educated at Royal College, Colombo.[1] After school he joined Christ's College, Cambridge, graduating with LLB and masters degrees.[1] He was subsequently called to the bar.[1]

Tyagaraja tried unsuccessfully to obtain a seat on the Legislative Council of Ceylon following the death of P. Ramanathan.[1] He abided by the Jaffna Youth Congress' call to boycott the 1931 State Council election.[2] The following year most of the Tamil politicians who had boycotted the election, including Tyagaraja, condemned the boycott.[3]

Tyagaraja contested the 1944 State Council by-election as a candidate in Mannar-Mullaitivu and was elected to the State Council of Ceylon.[4][5] Tyagaraja supported G. G. Ponnambalam's call for balanced representation in the Ceylonese legislature but nevertheless voted for self-government as recommended by the Soulbury Commission.[6]

Tyagaraja contested the 1947 parliamentary election as a United National Party candidate in Mannar but was defeated by C. Sittampalam.[7] His defeat has been attributed to his support for the Soulbury Constitution.[8]

Tyagaraja played a key role in the establishment of the Central Bank of Ceylon and was an appointed member of its monetary board for 21 years (1950-71).[9][10][11]

Electoral history
Electoral history of J. Tyagaraja
Election Constituency Party Votes Result
1944 state council (by)[4]Mannar-MullaitivuElected
1947 parliamentary[7]MannarUnited National Party3,381Not elected

References
  1. Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon (PDF). p. 236.
  2. Welhengama, Gnanapala; Pillay, Nirmala (2014). The Rise of Tamil Separatism in Sri Lanka: From Communalism to Secession. Abingdon, U.K.: Routledge. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-415-85486-3.
  3. Welhengama, Gnanapala; Pillay, Nirmala (2014). The Rise of Tamil Separatism in Sri Lanka: From Communalism to Secession. Abingdon, U.K.: Routledge. p. 146. ISBN 978-0-415-85486-3.
  4. Goonetilleke, T. V. (1972). Members of the Legislatures of Ceylon: 1931-1972. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Library of the National State Assembly. p. 163.
  5. Rajasingham, K. T. (29 September 2001). "Chapter 8: Pan Sinhalese board of ministers - A Sinhalese ploy". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Hong Kong: Asia Times. Archived from the original on 24 December 2001.
  6. Wilson, A. Jeyaratnam (1994). S. J. V. Chelvanayakam and the Crisis of Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism, 1947–1977: A Political Biography. London, UK: C. Hurst & Co. p. 14. ISBN 1-85065-130-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  7. "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1947" (PDF). Colombo, Sri Lanka: Election Commission of Sri Lanka. p. 9. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  8. Wilson, A. Jeyaratnam (1994). S. J. V. Chelvanayakam and the Crisis of Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism, 1947–1977: A Political Biography. London, UK: C. Hurst & Co. p. 15. ISBN 1-85065-130-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  9. Ranatunga, D. C. (1 March 2014). "Banknote books replace coins Currency crisis deepens". Daily FT. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  10. 1950 - 1975 Commemorative Volume (PDF). Colombo, Sri Lanka: Central Bank of Sri Lanka. 1975. p. 8.
  11. 1950 - 1975 Commemorative Volume (PDF). Colombo, Sri Lanka: Central Bank of Sri Lanka. 1975. p. 10.
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