Alfred Duraiappah

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The Honourable
Alfred Duraiappah
அல்பிரட் துரையப்பா
Member of the Ceylonese Parliament
for Jaffna
In office
1960–1965
Preceded byG. G. Ponnambalam
Succeeded byG. G. Ponnambalam
12th Mayor of Jaffna
In office
15 February 1970 – 27 July 1975
Preceded byS. Nagarajah
Succeeded byR. Viswanathan
Personal details
Born(1926-06-15)15 June 1926
Died27 July 1975(1975-07-27) (aged 49)
Jaffna, Sri Lanka
NationalitySri Lankan
Political partySri Lanka Freedom Party
SpouseDr Parameswary Duraiappah
ChildrenRochana (Eesha)
Alma materCeylon Law College
ProfessionProctor

Alfred Thangarajah Duraiappah (15 June 1926 – 27 July 1975) was a Sri Lankan lawyer who served as Mayor of Jaffna from 1970 until his assassination. He was also a Member of Parliament for Jaffna from 1960 to 1965. Duraiappah was killed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Early life and education[edit]

Duraiappah was born on 15 June 1926.[1][2] He was the son of an ice and aerated water manufacturer from Vannarpannai in northern Ceylon.[1] He was educated at St. John's College, Jaffna.[1][3] Following his schooling, he joined the Ceylon Law College, qualifying as a proctor and joining the Unofficial Bar of Jaffna in 1948.[1][3][4]

Political career[edit]

Duraiappah entered local government politics in 1952 having been elected to Jaffna Municipal Council and was became its deputy mayor in 1958. [1][4] Duraiappah stood as an independent candidate in Jaffna at the March 1960 parliamentary election. He won the election and entered Parliament, defeating G. G. Ponnambalam from the All Ceylon Tamil Congress and S. Kathiravelupillai of the Federal Party.[5] He was re-elected at the July 1960 parliamentary election defeating G. G. Ponnambalam and S. Kathiravelupillai once again. He lost his seat in the 1965 parliamentary election, finishing third after G. G. Ponnambalam and C. X. Martyn of the Federal Party.[6][7] He contested the 1970 parliamentary election, finishing second to C. X. Martyn after Ponnambalam.[8] He was elected Mayor of Jaffna on 15 February 1970 and re-elected on 22 April 1971.[9] By April 1971, Duraiappah had become a member of the governing Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and its chief organiser in Jaffna District.[10][11][12] With the support of the ruling party, Duraiappah was able to channel government money for municipal works. Tamil militants considered Duraiappah to be a traitor and government collaborator.[13][14][15] In February 1971 Tamil militant Pon Sivakumaran tried to assassinate Duraiappah by throwing a hand grenade on to Duraiappah's car which was parked on Second Cross Road in Jaffna.[11][12] Duraiappah was not inside the car at the time.[11] Duraiappah was criticised for his handling of the 1974 Tamil conference incident in which 11 people were killed.[16]

Assassination[edit]

On 27 July 1975, Duraiappah who had returned from Brunei where his wife was the Chief Medical Officer,[17] went to the Varadaraja Perumal Temple (Maha Vishnu Temple) in Ponnalai with his fourteen-year-old daughter Eesha for their weekly worship in the Peugeot 404 which had been given to Duraiappah by his supporters.[18][19] As they arrived at the temple, Duraiappah was shot dead by masked men.[1][20] D.K. Rajaratnam, who was a member of the Jaffna Municipal Council who was with Duraiappah was also shot and injured. It was reported that the three masked men who carried out the shooting got into Mayor's car and drove off. It was later found abandoned at Sendankulam by the police. The police began a major search operation to locate the killers while a special team headed Ana Seneviratne, Deputy Inspector General of Police for Range B was sent on orders from Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike. The entire Jaffna peninsula was cordoned off by the police and all vehicles searched. The inquest into the death was carried out by J.M.D. Jesurathnam Magistrate of Malakkam. As news spread of the shooting many gathered at the Chelliah Kumarasuriar, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications visited the hospital.[4][17]

Some members of his family believed that Posts and Telecommunications Minister Kumarasuriar, Duraiappah's political rival, was behind the assassination.[21] However, his assassination was widely blamed on the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and its leader V. Prabhakaran.[22][23] On 25 April 1978 the LTTE issued an open letter, which was published in the Virakesari, claiming responsibility for the assassination of eleven people including Duraiappah.[24][25][26]

The Duraiappah Stadium in Jaffna was named after him.[27]

Family[edit]

Duraiappah married Dr Parameswary, daughter of Cumaraswamy.[1] They had a daughter Rochana (Eesha).[1] Duraiappah was a Christian.[28]

Duraiappah's nephew Nishan Duraiappah is the chief of Peel Regional Police in Ontario, Canada.[29][30]

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • T. Ramakrishnan (18 June 2016). "Duraiappah, the first political victim of militants in North". The Hindu.
  • Hoole, Rajan (2008). Sri Lanka: The Arrogance of Power - Myths, Decadence & Murder. University Teachers for Human Rights. ISBN 9789559447047.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. pp. 50–51.
  2. ^ "Directory of Past Members: Durayappah, Alfred Thangarajah". Parliament of Sri Lanka.
  3. ^ a b "Masked gunmen kill Jaffna Mayor Shot dead & assassinated outside temple". Daily News (Sri Lanka). 26 May 2009. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011.
  4. ^ a b c "Masked gunmen kill Jaffna Mayor Shot dead outside temple". Daily News. 28 July 1975. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1960-03-19" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2009.
  6. ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1960-07-20" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2009.
  7. ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1965" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2009.
  8. ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1970" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2009.
  9. ^ "Past Mayors". Jaffna Municipal Council. Archived from the original on 18 October 2013.
  10. ^ "Acrimony at inaugural JMC meeting". TamilNet. 24 April 1998.
  11. ^ a b c Sabaratnam, T. "Chapter 3: The Unexpected Explosion". Pirapaharan. Ilankai Tamil Sangam.
  12. ^ a b Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 24: Tamil militancy - a manifestation". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Archived from the original on 13 February 2002.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. ^ Feith, David (2013). "Chapter 10: Separatism in Sri Lanka". In Cabestan, Jean-Pierre; Pavković, Aleksandar (eds.). Secessionism and Separatism in Europe and Asia: To Have a State of One's Own. Routledge. p. 169. ISBN 978-0-415-66774-6.
  14. ^ Coomaraswamy, Radhika; Perera-Rajasingham, Nimanthi (2009). "Chapter 6 - Being Tamil in a Different Way: A Feminist Critique of the Tamil Nation". In Cheran, R. (ed.). Pathways of Dissent: Tamil Nationalism in Sri Lanka. SAGE Publications. p. 121. ISBN 978-81-321-0222-9.
  15. ^ "Colombo remembers Alfred Duraiappa, setting hands of the clock backwards". TamilNet. 30 July 2009.
  16. ^ "Colombo remembers Alfred Duraiappa, setting hands of the clock backwards". Tamilnet. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  17. ^ a b Perera, Janaka. "Duraiappah's murder: Turning point in conflict". Daily News. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Now Daya Master in Alfi's party!". Ceylon Today. 25 June 2013. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015.
  19. ^ Nakkawita, Wijitha (15 February 2009). "Prabhakaran's victims: From Alfred Duraiappah to babes at Visuamadu". Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 16 February 2015.
  20. ^ Ferdinando, Shamindra (13 October 2010). "Who could have shot Duraiappah at Varadaraja Perumal temple, Ponnalai?". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  21. ^ Perera, Janaka (26 July 2008). "Mayor's murder at Vishnu temple". Asian Tribune.
  22. ^ Hoole, Rajan; Thiranagama, Rajini (January 2001). "Chapter 2 – Antecedents of July 1983 and the Foundations of Impunity". Sri Lanka: the arrogance of power : myths, decadence & murder. University Teachers for Human Rights. pp. 11, 46. ISBN 978-955-9447-04-7.
  23. ^ Sabaratnam, T. "Chpaper 8: First Military Operation". Pirapaharan. Ilankai Tamil Sangam.
  24. ^ "27 July 1975". Peace and Conflict Timeline. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015.
  25. ^ Athas, Iqbal (1 August 1999). "The Situation Report". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  26. ^ Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 25: War or peace?". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Archived from the original on 16 April 2002.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  27. ^ "Renovated Jaffna Stadium opened". TamilNet. 2 March 1998.
  28. ^ Palakidnar, Ananth (4 October 2013). "Varatharaja Perumal Kovil robbed". Ceylon Today. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015.
  29. ^ "Deputy Chief of Police of Halton Regional Police Service, Canada". Kingston Upon Thames, U.K.: Tamil Information Centre. 11 October 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  30. ^ "Halton Police Deputy Chief Nishan Duraiappah Receives Order of Merit". The Times of Sri Lanka. Toronto, Canada. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2019.

External links[edit]

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