M. Balasundaram
M. Balasundaram | |
|---|---|
மு. பாலசுந்தரம் | |
 | |
| Member of the Ceylonese Parliament for Kopay | |
| In office 1960–1965 | |
| Preceded by | C. Vanniasingam |
| Succeeded by | S. Kathiravelupillai |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 April 1903 |
| Died | 15 December 1965 (aged 62) |
| Alma mater | Ceylon University College Trinity Hall, Cambridge |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Ethnicity | Ceylon Tamil |
Murugesu Balasundaram (Tamil: முருகேசு பாலசுந்தரம்; 7 April 1903 – 15 December 1965) was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and Member of Parliament.
Early life and family
Balasundaram was born on 7 April 1903.[1] He was the son of Reverend K. S. Murugesu, a Methodist clergyman.[1] He was educated at Kilner College, Jaffna and Royal College, Colombo.[1] After school Balasundaram joined the Ceylon University College, graduating in 1923 with a B.Sc. degree.[1][2] He received a scholarship to study at Trinity Hall, Cambridge from where he graduated with a B.A. degree.[1]
Balasundaram married Sinnammah, daughter of Sinnathamby.[1] They had four sons (Gnanasanmugan, Yogasundaram, Balakrishnan and Sivanandasundaram) and two daughters (Somasundaravalli and Yogeswari).[1]
Career
After returning to Ceylon Balasundaram worked as journalist for a brief period before joining the legal profession as an advocate.[1]
Balasundaram was one of the founding members of the Jaffna Youth Congress in 1924.[3] He stood as the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi's (Federal Party) candidate in Kopay at the March 1960 parliamentary election. He won the election and entered Parliament.[4] He was re-elected at the July 1960 parliamentary election.[5] He stood as an independent candidate in Kopay at 1965 parliamentary election but was defeated by the ITAK candidate S. Kathiravelupillai.[6]
Balasundaram died on 15 December 1965.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. p. 23.
- ^ Ceylon University College Prospectus 1936-37. Ceylon University College. 1936. p. 50.
- ^ "The courage and nationalism of the youth of a bygone era". The Island (Sri Lanka). 10 March 2012.
- ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1960-03-19" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2015.
- ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1960-07-20" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015.
- ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1965" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 July 2015.
