A. Thiagarajah
| Honourable A. Thiagarajah MP | |
|---|---|
| ஆ. தியாகராஜா | |
| Member of the Ceylonese Parliament for Vaddukoddai | |
|
In office 1970–1977 | |
| Preceded by | A. Amirthalingam |
| Succeeded by | T. Thirunavukarasu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 April 1916 |
| Died | 24 May 1981 (aged 65) |
| Political party | United National Party |
| Profession | Teacher |
| Ethnicity | Sri Lankan Tamil |
Arumugam Thiagarajah (Tamil: ஆறுமுகம் தியாகராஜா; 17 April 1916 – 24 May 1981) was a Sri Lankan Tamil teacher, politician and Member of Parliament.
Early life
Thiagarajah was born on 17 April 1916.[1] He was principal of Karainagar Hindu College.[2][3]
Career
Thiagarajah stood as the All Ceylon Tamil Congress's candidate in Vaddukoddai at the 1970 parliamentary election. He won the election and entered Parliament.[4]He later defected to the governing Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and voted for the new republican constitution.[5][6][7] He was labelled a traitor by Tamil militants and Tamil nationalists.[8] He was the target of an assassination attempt at his Colombo home in 1972.[6] Thiagarajah contested the 1977 parliamentary election as an independent candidate but was resoundingly defeated by the Tamil United Liberation Front candidate T. Thirunavukarasu.[9]
Assassination
The United National Party chose Thiagarajah to be its lead candidate in Jaffna District at the 1981 District Development Council election.[10] Tamil militant groups had warned candidates not to contest for the UNP.[11] He was shot by the militant People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) on 24 May 1981 as he was addressing an election meeting in Moolai.[2][12] He died later in hospital.[11]
References
- ↑ "Directory of Past Members: Thiagarajah, Arumugam". Parliament of Sri Lanka.
- 1 2 Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (16 March 2008). "Assassinating Tamil Parliamentarians: The unceasing waves". The Nation (Sri Lanka).
- ↑ Sivendran, S. (2 January 2000). "Kayts, a different world". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
- ↑ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1970" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
- ↑ Sabaratnam, T. "Chapter 5: Tamil Youths Turn Assertive". Pirapaharan.
- 1 2 Sri Kantha, Sachi (30 May 2013). "Book Burning in 1933 and 1981: Nazi and Sinhalese goons: style comparisons". Sangam.
- ↑ Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 24: Tamil militancy - a manifestation". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story.
- ↑ Sri Kantha, Sachi (26 July 2010). "The Alfred Duraiappah Dossier - Part 1". Illankai Tamil Sangam.
- ↑ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1977" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
- ↑ Hoole, Rajan; Somasundaram, Daya; Sritharan, Kopalasingham; Thiranagama, Rajini (1990). "Chapter 2: Some Milestones in the Development of Tamil Political Consciousness". Broken Palmyra. University Teachers for Human Rights.
- 1 2 Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 27 - Horsewhip Amirthalingham". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story.
- ↑ Sabaratnam, T. (10 October 2010). "The order: Chase voters and stuff ballot boxes". The Nation (Sri Lanka).
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