S.J.V.Chelvanayagam Q.C. – Thanthai Chelva – 31 March 1898 – 26 April 1977
ONE HUNDRED TAMILS OF THE 20TH CENTURY
S.J.V.Chelvanayagam Q.C. – Thanthai Chelva
31 March 1898 – 26 April 1977
“He died like Moses himself without reaching the promised land but the vision he saw, he leaves behind as the heritage and challenge to his people.” – Rt.Rev D.J. Ambalavanar at the funeral of Thanthai Chelva, April 1977
“Throughout the ages the Sinhalese and Tamils in the country lived as distinct sovereign people till they were brought under foreign domination. It should be remembered that the Tamils were in the vanguard of the struggle for independence in the full confidence that they also will regain their freedom.
“It is a regrettable fact that successive Sinhalese governments have used the power that flows from independence These governments have been able to do so only by using against the Tamils the sovereignty common to the Sinhalese and the Tamils.”
“I wish to announce to my people and to the country that I consider the verdict at this election as a mandate that the Statement by S.J.Chelvanayagam after winning the by-election for the Kankesanturai Parliamentary seat, held belatedly on 7 February 1975, two years after he had resigned the seat to seek a mandate for Tamil Eelam
“What was Mr.Chelvanayagam’s achievement?
About 450 years before the Christian era the Carthaginian armies invaded Italy and defeated the Romans in every battle; but Cincinnatus, the Roman Dictator would not give up. And the Roman Senate passed a resolution thanking him, because ‘he had not despaired of the republic’. The logic was ‘if he did not despair, why should we?’. The Tamils of Ceylon, in like manner, looked upon this gaunt and haggard man, stricken by disease, who could hardly walk and could hardly speak above a whisper, who through a life of continued failure and disappointment, yet had not despaired; and they asked themselves, the question, ‘if he did not despair, why should we?’ This then is Chelvanayagam’s achievement: That he has taught the Tamils of this country to believe in themselves.” – Late
Mr. S.J.V.Chelvanayakam, founder of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK) and fondly called by Tamils as “Thanthai” (father) was remembered on his 109th birthday on 31 March 2007, as Jaffna Bishop of South Indian Diocese Rt Rev.Jebanesan, Thanthai Chelva Trustee, garlanded the statue of late leader Mr.Chelvanayakam located near the Duraiappah stadium in Jaffna within the High Security Zone (HSZ) at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, sources in Jaffna said.
More than 50 members of the public paid floral tribute to the late leader’s statue. Former Jaffna Municipal Council Commissioner, K Sivagnanam, historian, K. Kunarasa also participated in the ceremony.
Special prayers also were held in several hindu temples and churches throughout Jaffna to mark the occasion, organizers said.
Mr. Samuel James Velupillai Chelvanayakam (SJV) was born on 31st March 1898, in the Malayan town of Ipoh, to Viswanathan Velupillai, a businessman, and Harriet Annamma Kanapathipillai. He moved with his mother to Tellipallai in the Jaffna district when he was four years old to be educated in Jaffna.
SJV qualified as an advocate of the Supreme Court of Ceylon and in 1927 married Emily Grace Barr Kumarakulasinghe (Rathinam). He fomally entered Tamil politics in 1944 when the British government announced the appointment of Soulbury Constitution. At that point, Tamils decided that they needed to create a political organization to formulate their demands and articulate these to the Commission.
It resulted in launching the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) by the late leader Mr.G.G.Ponnamabalam with Mr. Chelvanayakam as one of its principal organizers.
Later in his political life ‘Thanthai’ Chelvanayakam started advocating in the island to regain the lost sovereign of Tamils under the administration of Britishers.
The goals for a separate state were ratified in the at the first national convention of the TULF under Mr. Chelvanayakam’ chairmanship.
The historic pronouncement made by Mr. Chelvanayakam at the Vaddukoddai convention accused the then Prime Minister, Mrs. Bandaranaike, of having “callously ignored” the TULF’s “last attempt …to win constitutional recognition of the Tamil Nation without jeopardizing the unity of the country.”
The convention called on “the Tamil Nation in general and the Tamil youth in particular to come forward and throw themselves fully in the sacred fight for freedom and to fight till the goal of a sovereign socialist state of Tamil Eelam is reached.”
Till his death on April 26th in 1977, Mr. Chelvanayakam was the acknowledged leader of the Tamil people. He was the only statesman to be returned in five general elections in a row and to remain a hero and a father figure to his people for thirty-three years. Mr. Chelvanayakam passed away on April 26, 1976 in Jaffna, a few days after celebrating 78th birthday.
Twenty-two Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians representing the northeast in the current parliament contested the 2004 parliamentary election on April 2nd on the ITAK ticket founded in 1949 by the late leader Mr.Chelvanayakam, political sources said.
Samuel James Veluppillai Chelvanayakam departed this life on the 26th day of April 1977, two decades and seven years ago.
He was born in Malaysia on 31st March 1898, one century and six years ago. He received his secondary education at the Union College, Tellippalai and later became a student at St. Thomas College, which was at that time situated at Modera. He was a contemporary of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike.
At the age of nineteen, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree. Soon after his graduation, he became a teacher at St. Thomas’ College, which was by then shifted to Mount Lavinia. Later he moved to Wesley College and pursued his studies in law at Law College. He became an advocate in 1923 and the dignity of silk was conferred on him in 1947.
In 1927, he married Emily Grace Barr Kumarakulassinghe. At his wedding day, he wore ‘verti’ and ‘Salvai’, the Tamil national dress in lieu of the Western attire, which was the prerequisite customary dress among the elite Tamils of the day. He was a Tamil nationalist to the core. Chelvanayakam once went to the classroom at Wesley College in Tamil national dress.
The national dress was looked down, as it was then perceived by the Ceylonese elites as the dress of the ‘rustic natives’. The Principal expressed dissatisfaction that promptly made Chelvanayakam to tender his resignation.
An ad hoc body was formed to make representations to the Soulbury Commission on the demand of fifty fifty – a demand for balanced representation for the minorities within the unitary character of the Constitution. The ad hoc committee was transformed into Tamil Congress in 1944 just before the arrival of the Soulbury Commission. G. G. Ponnambalam became its President while Dr. Naganathan was its Secretary.
Chelvanayakam became its Deputy Leader.
Chelvanayakam, being a Tamil Congress candidate defeated the UNP candidate, S. Nadesan (Nadesapillai), son-in-law of Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan at Kankesanthurai Constituency in 1947.
On the basis of ‘responsive cooperation’, Ponnambalam wanted to join the UNP Government while Chelvanayakam opposed his decision to join the government. Despite the vociferous opposition of Chelvanayakam, Vanniyasingam and Dr. Naganathan, Ponnambalam, joined the Government and became a Minister in September 1948 under the premiership of D. S. Senanayake.
Federal party
There was political tug-of-war between Ponnambalam and Chelvanayakam in making claim to the Tamil Congress and finally Chelvanayakam inaugurated the Federal Party on 18th December 1949.
In the General Elections of 1952, the newly formed Federal party won two parliamentary seats, Kopay and Trincomalee. It failed to make any impact of political importance because the majority of the Tamils and the Tamil Congress, which dominated the Tamil political scene, then, believed their political salvation in unitary state under the leadership of the Sinhalese majoritarianism.
Chelvanayakam never changed his religious faith for the power of a seat in Parliament or to be a Leader of the Tamils, a community of which more than 85 percent were Hindus. Chelvanayakam was opposed in the General Elections of 1952 both by UNP and Tamil Congress candidates at the Kankesanthurai constituency.
It was predominantly a Hindu electorate. His opponents viciously reminded the electorate that a Christian should not represent the Hindu electorate. V. Navaratnam, who was described by Chelvanayakam as the ‘brain box’ of FP wanted Chelvanayakam to be photographed as accepting ‘kalanchi’ at Nallur Kanthasamy temple in order to send the message to the Hindu voters that Chelvanayakam was observing Hindu practices though being a christian. Chelvanayakam refused to be counselled to descend to pretensions of worship. He preferred to lose the elections rather than practising deception on the Hindu voters and embraced defeat by the UNP candidate, S. Nadesan.
Sinhala only movement
In 1956, a profound change took place in the political history of Sri Lanka. The forces of ‘Sinhala Only’ movement were spreading rapidly in the South. The General Elections of 1956 were fought on the language issue. The MEP led by Bandaranaike swept to power on ‘Sinhala only’. The ‘Sinhala only’ cry made so loud in the South burgeoned FP to victory in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.
In June 1956 when the was brought in Parliament, the Federal Party, headed by Chelvanayakam staged protest by way of non-violent civil disobedience at the Galle Face Green as practised by Gandhi. That was the first Satyragraha campaign.
Due to the series of Satyragraha campaigns organised by the Federal Party, Bandaranaike signed a Pact known as on 26th July 1956, commonly known as BC Pact.
The UNP alleged that the Pact was a sell-out to the Tamils and the country was divided. JR Jayawardene organised Kandy march against the Pact stating that Bandaranaike sold North and East of Ceylon to the Tamils. The implementation of the Pact would have healed the political wounds of the Sinhalese and the Tamils and made Sri Lanka a peaceful homeland of all the ethnic groups.
JR, a Machiavellian of all times, disrupted a peaceful solution that would have made Sri Lanka once again the ‘pearl of the Indian Ocean’. Certain monks led by Budharakkita Thera and Mrs. Vimala Wijewardena, a Cabinet Minister too demanded the Pact be abrogated. Bandaranaike declared that the ‘Pact was no more’.
Dudley Senanayake – Chelvanayakam pact
The Sinhala Only Act was implemented in all its rigour with effect from 1, January 1961. However, the successive governments were reluctant to implement the Reasonable Use of Tamil and the Tamil Language (Special Provisions) Act. The failure to implement the Acts made Chelvanayakam to entertain an idea that they should become members of the government in order to minimise the grievances of the Tamils. So, in 1965 he helped Dudley Senanayake and his UNP to form a ‘National Government’. Consequently was signed and the was gazetted in 1968. The Bill was abandoned as there was strong opposition mounting in the country.
Thereupon, the FP withdrew its support but allowed Thiruchelvam to remain as Minister of Local Government and its representative. Thiruchelvam appointed a committee to look into the question of declaring the Koneswaram Temple area a sacred city. The high-profile Buddhist priest from Seruwila electorate led a protest delegation to the Prime Minister. The priest perceived that declaring the surrounding area of the Temple a protected area was a ploy to divide the country. The Prime Minister dissolved the committee and forced Chelvanayakam to leave the Government.
Though Chelvanayakam was agitating for a federal unit for the Tamils in the Northern and Eastern Provinces under a federal form of government, he was only striving to attain some autonomy for the Tamils within the framework of ‘a quasi-nationalism’.
He descended from federal unit to Regional Councils and District Councils. He demonstrated his willingness to compromise by accepting special provisions for the use of Tamil Language instead of parity of status.
His dedication to the cause of the Tamils was supreme and unshakable. He believed sincerely that he could find satisfactory reasonable solutions from the Sinhala leadership through parliamentary devices. Chelvanayakam honestly hoped that he would be able to convince the Sinhala leaders that a federal form of government was the answer to the problems that faced Sri Lanka and the Sinhalese would accept at least a kind of federalism in the interest of preserving the territorial integrity of the country.
He wanted to build a united Sri Lanka out of her diversity. Moses, a biblical personality had great impact on him and Chelvanayakam too felt that he had to lead the Tamils to the promised land of federalism to which he was so incessantly dedicated.
Rights of Tamils
The actions of the successive governments in enforcing draconian measures depriving the Tamils of their due and legitimate rights and periodic Pogroms devastated the Tamils. All the democratic non-violence agitations and parliamentary devices promoted and practised by Chelvanayakam failed to secure the rights of the Tamils as the South never yielded to any kind of political accommodation.
The non-violent agitations were rendered irrelevant and unworthy of emulation. It was a sad state of political governance of the majority Sinhalese leaders that they refused to come to terms with Chelvanayakam who espoused non-violence, democratic principles and demonstrated willingness to settle problems of the Tamils for something far short of his original demands.
There is now a change of thinking among the Sinhalese and the Tamils that a reasonable solutions could be achieved on the basis of a federal formula as proclaimed in the Oslo Declaration. The achievement of a reasonable solutions depends on the leadership qualities that would be displayed in the future by both sides of the ethnic divide. Let us hope for a peaceful solution and a prosperous Sri Lanka.
“Thanthai Chelva was the elder statesman who opened the path for the present struggle of the Tamils. He had to carry the struggle forward under great difficulties. We of the LTTE accord Thanthai Chelva and his sincere followers a respected position in the Tamil Eelam liberation struggle.
Even as late as 1985, the LTTE requested the TULF leaders, A.Amirthalingam, M.Sivasithamparam and R.Sampanthan to insist at least on a federal solution for which the Tamil Arasu Kadchi (Federal Party) was working. The TULF representatives who went to Colombo for talks instead of pressing for a federal solution, returned to Madras and reported how they yielded on many matters. According to them were able to secure only five percent of their demands. It was clear that they were willing to betray a cause for which the Tamils had shed blood for a number of years. We respect Thanthai Chelva and his sincere followers who made sacrifices for winning the rights of the Tamils. Thanthai Chelva kept alive the Tamil freedom movement .
Today, at a time when some who were with him have deserted and betrayed the cause, a new generation of youth are carrying the freedom struggle forward. This new generation salutes Thanthai Chelva.” – Yogaratnam Yogi, on behalf of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam speaking at a public meeting to commemorate the 15th death anniversary of Thanthai Chelva on April 26 1992 at Nallur, Jaffna
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