S. Dharmaretnam

Andrew Sabapathipillai Dharmaretnam (died 1952) was a Ceylon Tamil politician and member of the State Council of Ceylon.

Dharmaretnam had been a Vanniyar since the age of 17.[1] He and his brother Rajaratnam owned large pieces of land in the old Batticaloa District, from Verugal to Pottuvil.[2] Dharmaretnam's son Puvirajakeerthi (known as Keerthy or Dharmakeerthy) was one of the first Batticaloa Tamils to attend the University of Cambridge.[2] Dharmaretnam was the paternal grandfather of Taraki Sivaram, a journalist murdered during the Sri Lankan Civil War.[2][3]

Dharmaretnam was elected to the State Council of Ceylon in September 1938 following the death of S. O. Canagaratnam.[2][4][5] He represented the Batticaloa South constituency until November 1943 when he resigned due to ill-health.[2][6]

Dharmaretnam was in an abusive relationship with his wife Alagamma and was known to have had extra-marital affairs.[1] After slitting his wrist Dharmaretnam went to into the jungle to die.[1] He didn't die and was found a few days later in a jungle clearing, delirious, his physical and mental health irrecoverably damaged.[1] Sick and dependent on others, he died seven years later in 1952 at a Colombo hospital.[1]