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

J. Tyagaraja
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 master's 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

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Electoral history of J. Tyagaraja
Election Constituency Party Votes Result
1944 state council (by)[4] Mannar-Mullaitivu Elected
1947 parliamentary[7] Mannar United National Party 3,381 Not elected

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ a b 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.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  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.
  7. ^ a b "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.
  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.