By
D.B.S.Jeyaraj.
Chelliah Rajadurai a veteran politician of Sri Lanka – perhaps the oldest among former Parliamentarians – passed away on 7th December 2025 at the age of 98. Rajadurai hailing from Batticaloa was a colourful personality who served as an MP, Mayor,Cabinet minister and High Commissioner in an eventful political career. Such was his political importance that Sri Lanka’s Constitution was amended so that Rajadurai could exit from the opposition and join the Government of the day without much hassle. What happened then in this regard was interestingly intriguing and quite unprecedented.
Sri Lanka’s current Constitution came into force in September 1978 during the tenure of President Junius Richard Jayewardene. The Constitution has since then been amended 21 times. More than half of these amendments took place during the years President Jayewardene known popularly as “JR” was in power. Many of these amendments were of a controversial nature.
One such amendment was the second amendment to the Constitution . The amendment which came into effect on 26 February 1979 dealt with resignation and expulsion of Members of Parliament. The amendment in essence specified that for the duration of parliament an MP expelled from his or her party had the option of appealing to a parliamentary committee which would investigate the said expulsion and report to parliament. The member concerned would lose his or her seat only if a majority in the parliament voted in favor of expulsion after discussion.
Genesis
The genesis of the second Constitutional amendment was rather fascinating. The new 1978 Constitution had provisions whereby an MP elected from a political party could forfeit his or her seat if he or she ceased to be a member of that party by resignation, expulsion or other means. This in effect strengthened the political party’s authority over the MP and prevented cross overs or unprincipled party hopping.
However there arose a situation where President Jayewardene and his United National Party(UNP)Government wanted to facilitate the crossover of an opposition party MP to the Govt without the MP losing his seat.(All MPs were elected on an electorate-wise basis under the first past the post winner system in 1977). The UNP Govt then had 143 out of 168 MPs in Parliament. Nevertheless the UNP Govt deemed it imperative that this particular MP should split from his party and join Govt ranks.
It was for this reason that the Constitution was amended a second time. Since the UNP had a massive majority in Parliament the second amendment enabled in practice, an opposition MP to join the Govt but restrain a Govt MP from crossing over to the opposition. Although the amendment had the overall effect of strengthening JR’s grip over his MPs, the fact remains that the amendment was primarily brought about to enable a single opposition MP to join the Govt.
“Rajadurai amendment”
As stated earlier the MP concerned was none other than Chelliah Rajadurai who passed away on December 7th 2025 in Chennai at the age of 98. The second amendment was referred to derisively as the “Rajadurai amendment”in those days. Why did JR and his UNP govt regard him as being politically important enough to introduce a Constitutional amendment to facilitate his crossing over from the opposition to Govt ranks?
Chelliah Rajadurai was elected to Parliament as the first MP of Batticaloa from the Tamil United Liberation Front(TULF) in 1977. Batticaloa was a double-member constituency then. Rajadurai was first elected as Batticaloa MP in 1956 from the Ilankai Thamil Arasuk Katchi(ITAK)known in English as the Federal Party(FP). He was returned to Parliament from Batticaloa in the elections of March and July 1960,March 1965 and May 1970 from the ITAK/FP.
The ITAK became the chief Constituent of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF)formed in 1976. Rajadurai contested from the TULF and won Batticaloa in 1977. Altogether Rajadurai represented Batticaloa in Parliament for nearly 33 years from 1956 to1989.
Regional Development Minister
After joining the UNP govt in 1979,Rajadurai was appointed as the cabinet minister of Regional Development. He was also placed in charge of Hindu religious affairs and implementation of Tamil Language. Rajadurai served as a minister for nearly ten years from 1979 to 1989.
In 1990 Rajadurai was appointed by President Ranasinghe Premadasa as Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Malaysia. He was the Lankan envoy in Kuala Lumpur till 1994. Another of Rajadurai’s accompishments was in being elected as the first Mayor of Batticaloa in 1967
It could be seen therefore that Chelliah Rajadurai was in his time a very important and influential Eastern Tamil political leader. This silver-tongued orator known as “Sollin Selvar” played a crucial and constructive role over the years in espousing the Tamil nationalist cause in general and politically advancing the ITAK in particular in the East. He was also greatly responsible for the decline of anti-Jaffna attitudes among Batticaloa Tamils and promoting greater Tamil unity.
The TULF had contested the July 1977 elections on a separatist platform. The TULF won all 14 seats in the Tamil dominated north. However in the Tamil majority east the results were mixed. The TULF failed to win any eastern Muslim majority seat. Of the 12 Eastern province parliamentarians , the ruling UNP had eight. One of these MPs was KW Devanayagam representing Kalkudah. After the elections,the TULF’s M.Canagaretnam elected as the second MP from Pottuvil crossed over to the UNP. This increased the Govt MP tally to nine in the east.
The UNP govt wanted to undermine the case for Tamil Eelam in the Eastern province.It had earlier pointed out that more votes in the east were polled by non -separatist parties than the separatist TULF. The UNP Govt also showcased the fact that they had nine eastern MPs as opposed to the TULF’s three. Now with Rajadurai, the Govt had ten. More importantly Rajadurai was the senior most Eastern Tamil MP with a track record of consecutive victories since 1956.
Thanks to the second amendment, Rajadurai was now the jewel in the UNP’s eastern crown. What were the circumstances that led to a Tamil nationalist stalwart like Rajadurai crossing over to the Govt? It is necessary to re-visit the past briefly to answer this question.
Personal Note
It is against this backdrop therefore that I focus on Chelliah Rajathurai in this two-part article.Let me begin on a personal note. I first met Rajadurai as a boy in the early sixties of the last century. My maternal uncle a Methodist clergyman was stationed in Batticaloa then . Our family would visit Batticaloa frequently during school holidays.
Rajadurai who studied at educational institutions run by the Methodist Church, would drop in regularly to meet my uncle and also converse with my grandfather a Tamil scholar,writer and poet. He would smile at us children and pat us on the head and inquire “are you all studying well?. I liked him very much then.
In later years as I grew up and became interested in politics, I used to read or listen to Rajadurai’s speeches in Colombo and Jaffna. I remember listening to many of his speeches in Jaffna during the 1970 election campaign.
After I entered journalism by joining the “Virakesari”as a reporter in 1977, I spent three months in Batticaloa as staff correspondent. I began to interact with him closely then. After Rajadurai became a minister,I used to to cover his ministry. I lost touch with him after leaving Sri Lanka in 1988.
Alvaai-Sathurukkondaan
Chelliah Rajadurai was born on 27th July 1927 in Batticaloa. His father was from Alvaai in Jaffna.He was a tobacco merchant who settled down in Batticaloa. Rajadurai’s mother was from Sathurukkondaan, a village in Batticaloa. Rajadurai grew up n the Koattaimunai area of Batticaloa town. He obtained his primary education at the Methodist Boys school in Arasady and secondary education at the Batticaloa Central College run by the Methodist Church then.
Rajadurai was a brilliant writer and powerful speaker in Tamil. He was also a very good singer and also a good stage actor. All this made him a popular person in his student days.
King George the Sixth
Rajadurai’s political baptism during his student days was of an anti-colonial nature. As is well known, Sri Lanka known as Ceylon was under British rule till 1948. The then reigning monarch King George the sixth celebrated his 50th birthday in December 1945.
A grand festival was planned in Batticaloa to celebrate King George’s fiftieth birthday. Rajadurai then an 18 year old student organized a protest movement opposing the Royal birthday celebration. A student group led by Rajadurai put up posters and distributed leaflets urging a boycott. As a result the birthday celebration fizzled out due to poor attendance . Rajadurai was summoned by the Police who grilled him intensely about the boycott. He was let off with a stern warning.
Rajadurai’s spirits however were not dampened by this incident. He continued to engage in political activity. Although Rajadurai became a devout federalist later on, he was both a rationalist and leftist in his late teens and early twenties. Being an avid reader , he was greatly influenced by the political literature available in Tamil regarding Trotskyism and Communism on the one hand and the EVR Periyaar led Self-respect movement on the other.
Leftist
Rajadurai was instrumental in forming a left – leaning organization called the “Mutpoakku Vaalibar Sangam” (Progressive Youth Association). This organization closely interacted with the Lanka Sama Samaja Party(LSSP) and Communist Party(CP) branches in Batticaloa. Some were members of these parties too.
Rajadurai was never a member of the LSSP or CP but moved closely with the Trotskyites and Communists. When Prince Casinader (who later became Batticaloa Central College Principal and MP)organized a grand LSSP rally with Dr.NM Perera as chief guest,it was Rajadurai and his progressive youth association which did the spadework.Likewise when the Batticaloa Communist party secretary Krishnakutty (a Malayalee) invited Tamil Nadu Communist party stalwart P.Jeevaanandam to Batticaloa, Rajadurai did all the leg work and accompanied Jeeva everywhere.
Rationalist
While being partial towards leftist ideology,Rajadurai was also influenced by rational and Dravidian ideology emanating from the Indian state of Madras as Tamil Nadu was known then. EV Ramaswamy known as Periyaar had founded the Dravida Kazhagam (DK) and also the “Suyamariyaathai Iyakkam (Self -respect movement). The DK and it’s off-shoot the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam(DMK)founded by CN Annadurai were essentially “Pahutharivu Vaadhigal”( Rationalists).
Greatly influenced by EVR Periyaar,Rajadurai along with like-minded youths formed a rational association in Batticaloa too with the motto of “Knowledge is God”.In keeping with the practice of wearing black adopted by the DK, Rajadurai too used to wear a black shawl in those days. Rajadurai also canvassed strongly against the sacrifice of goats and roosters in temples and fire walking rituals. He also led demonstrations demanding the admission of depressed caste Tamils into Hindu temples. It was Rajadurai who organized and led a successful temple entry movement concerning the Batticaloa Maamaangam Pillaiyaar temple.
“Silappathigaaram”
As mentioned earlier Rajadurai was a good stage actor. He himself wrote the scripts and acted in lead roles in many dramas. In addition he also delivered many literary speeches. He was well-versed in Tamil literature. Rajadurai’s speciality was in talking about the literary merits of the Tamil epic “Silappathigaaram”. So much so that when he first contested Parliamentary polls, Rajadurai’s rival camp sneered”What can Rajadurai speak about in Parliament other than the Silappathigaaram?
In addition to his thespian prowess and oratorical ability, Chelliah Rajadurai was a very good writer in Tamil. In the post-independence years ,Batticaloa spawned a number of literary minded youngsters who tried their hand in creative writing. Rajadurai was one of these. These enthusiastic youths in Batticaloa started a number of Tamil journals and magazines over the years.None of them withstood the test of time.
Rajadurai himself was involved in a number of these ventures as a co-publisher,editor and contributing writer.. Once while conversing about his past,Rajadurai reeled off the names of these publications.. This was decades ago and I cant remember the names now.
Writer
The politician once described as the uncrowned king of Batticaloa was also a good writer of both fiction and non -fiction. Several books of his have been published. These include novels,novellas,short story anthologies, collections of essays and collections of his speeches. Notable among these are a novella “Raasaathi” and a book of short stories “Miss Kanagam”. The grandfather’s literary genes have been inherited by his grand daughter and writer Sharanya Manivannan now residing in Chennai.
Rajadurai owned a printing press named after his younger son Elango. Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader MHM Ashraff was an admirer of Rajadurai. Ashraff once told me that he had followed Rajadurai as a role model in developing his oratorical style. Ahraff has also praised Rajadurai’s writings to me and said that Rajadurai entering active politics was a great loss to contemporary Tamil literature. True enough but the same could be said about Ashraff too.
SJV Chelvanayagam
The turning point in Rajadurai’s life was the advent of SJV Chelvanayagam and the ITAK/FP. Chelvanayagam along with Kopay MP Vanniyasingham and Senator EMV Naganathan broke away from the GG Ponnambalam-led All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) and formed the Ilankai Thamil Arasuk Katchi(ITAK) in December 1949. Prior to the formal inauguration of the party , Chelvanayagam went to many places in the north and east and propagated his federal policies.
Chelvanayagam came to Batticaloa district also. Batticaloa district then comprised the present Amparai and Batticaloa districts.It extended from Vaaharai in the north to Paanamai in the south. Chelvanayagam met with a hostile reaction in Batticaloa. Eastern Tamil stalwarts likeS S.U.Ethirmanasingham and V.Nalliah (Both were MPs) branded Chelvanayagam as a Jaffna Tamil and organized protests against him.
ITAK Launch
One Batticaloa Tamil group that welcomed Chelvanayagam and engaged in dialogue with him was led by Rajadurai. During discussions, Rajadurai was impressed by Chelvanayagam’s conviction. Chelvanayagam in turn was happy about Rajadurai’s enthusiasm. As a result Rajadurai became enamoured of federalism. So when the ITAK was launched at the GCSU Hall in Colombo on 18 December 1949, Rajadurai along with five others from Batticaloa were present.
Sutantiran
SJV Chelvanayagam had also started a Tamil newspaper called “Sutantiran”.It was initially a daily that became a weekly. Chelvanayagam invited Rajadurai to join the paper as a proof reader and sub editor.Rajadurai did so and moved to Colombo.
1952 Elections
The new party ITAK/FP faced a huge challenge when elections were held in 1952. The party had difficulties in nominating candidates especially in Batticaloa. Ultimately the ITAK could not field a candidate from the party in Batticaloa. The ITAK backed two Independents Subramaniam Sivagnanam in Kalkudah and RB Kadirgamar in Batticaloa. Sivagnanam lost but Kadirgamar won and promptly joined the UNP led Government.
In the 1947 Parliamentary elections, Rajadurai had worked for the leading Batticaloa lawyer KVM Subramaniam who contested as an independent and lost. In 1952 Rajadurai did not want to work for R.B. Kadirgamar. Rajadurai went to Trincomalee and engaged in propaganda for the ITAK candidate NR Rajavarothayam. Rajadurai made his mark as a speaker addressing several meetings in support of Rajavarothayam.
The ITAK had only two winners in the 1952 election. One was C.Vanniyasingham in Kopay in the north. The other was NR Rajavarothayam in Trincomalee in the East. The role played by Rajadurai in Rajavarothayam’s victory was highly appreciated by Chelvanayagam and the ITAK.
1956 Poll
1956 was a watershed year in the Island nation’s politics. Sinhala being made the sole official language and Tamil being excluded was the main issue around which the election revolved. Many prospective candidates flocked to the ITAK but there was still a snag in Batticaloa.The ITAK was unable to field a suitable “educated and English speaking” candidate in Batticaloa.
Finally Chelvanayagam took a bold decision. He decided to field the mono lingual Rajadurai lacking tertiary education as the Batticaloa candidate. There were some in the ITAK who were not in favour of Rajadurai but the majority in the party backed him.
It was in this situation that the “commoner” Chelliah Rajadurai contested the 1956 elections as the ITAK’s Batticaloa candidate. Rajadurai won handsomely in 1956 and continued to win in Batticaloa in subsequent elections also. Eventually Rajadurai became the sheet anchor of the ITAK in more ways than one.Yet in an unexpected twist of fate, circumstances compelled Rajadurai to cross over and join the UNP Govt led by President Jayewardene. Why this happened and what happened thereafter would be related in detail in the second part of this article.
D.B.S.Jeyaraj can be reached at dbsjeyaraj@yahoo.com
This article appears in the “DBS Jeyaraj Column “Of the “Daily Mirror”Dated 13 December 2925.It can be accessed here –
https://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/A-maverick-in-Tamil-politics-How-JR-Amended-his-Constitution-to-Enable-a-Tamil-MP-Join/172-327715
****************************************************************