{"id":81672,"date":"2023-04-09T03:33:12","date_gmt":"2023-04-09T07:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=81672"},"modified":"2023-04-09T21:18:35","modified_gmt":"2023-04-10T01:18:35","slug":"sjv-chelvanayakam-christian-who-led-the-predominantly-hindu-tamils-for-over-20-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=81672","title":{"rendered":"SJV Chelvanayakam: Christian who Led the Predominantly Hindu\u00a0 Tamils for Over 20 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fdbsjeyaraj.com%2Fdbsj%2F%3Fp%3D81672&#038;width=450&#038;layout&#038;action&#038;size&#038;share=true&#038;height=35&#038;appId\" width=\"450\" height=\"35\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><b>By<br \/>\nD.B.S.Jeyaraj<\/b><br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThe first three\u00a0 decades of\u00a0 post-independence Sri Lanka known then \u00a0as Ceylon\u00a0 witnessed a prolonged\u00a0\u00a0 struggle by the\u00a0 Tamils to\u00a0 have their lost rights restored and to \u00a0achieve political\u00a0 equality through acceptable power sharing arrangements. <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/69C9235C-FD5B-49B4-BF2D-940A2CF20D78-600x551.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"551\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-81674\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/69C9235C-FD5B-49B4-BF2D-940A2CF20D78-600x551.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/69C9235C-FD5B-49B4-BF2D-940A2CF20D78-300x276.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/69C9235C-FD5B-49B4-BF2D-940A2CF20D78.jpeg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This struggle was\u00a0 \u00a0conducted \u00a0within the ambit of democratic dissent.It\u2019s singular hallmark was the adoption of non -violence as the mode of protest. In this, the Sri Lankan Tamils were greatly influenced by the \u201cAhimsa\u201d methods practised by \u201cMahatma\u201dGandhi in the Indian freedom struggle against the UK.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<br \/>\nThe man who spearheaded this Gandhian, non -violent struggle was\u00a0 an eminent Tamil lawyer who was\u00a0 described by his followers as the Gandhi of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.This was none other than Samuel James Veluppillai Chelvanayakam , the co-founder and leader of the Ilankai\u00a0 Thamil Arasuk Katchi\u201d(ITAK) and the Tamil United Liberation Front(TULF). SJV Chelvanayakam whose 125th birth anniversary was on 31 March 2023 was a venerated leader\u00a0 of the Sri Lankan Tamils for over\u00a0 two decades. He was regarded as a father figure of Sri Lankan Tamils and\u00a0 referred to by many\u00a0 as \u201cThanthai Chelva\u201d(Father Chelva).<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nChelvanayakam defined and personified the Tamil political struggle in the years before it turned violent. The prominence and popularity of SJV\u00a0 Chelvanayakam is best denoted by a compliment paid by former Ceylon Workers Congress president and ex-cabinet minister Saumiyamoorthy Thondaman on 11 October 1972.. Thondaman the acknowledged leader of the \u201cMalaiyahath Thamizhar\u201d(Hill Country Tamils) stated then\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c Chelvanayakam endraal Thamizh Makkal, Thamizh Makkal Endraal Chelvanayakam\u201d(Chelvanayakam is the Tamil people,the Tamil people are Chelvanayakam).<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n<b>Kankesanthurai <\/b><br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nSJV Chelvanayakam known as SJV and\/or Chelva\u00a0 represented the constituency of Kankesanthurai(KKS) in the Northern province\u00a0 as a member of Parliament (MP) for more than 23 years. He entered Parliament\u00a0 as\u00a0 for the first time in 1947. SJV lost KKS\u00a0 in the 1952 poll.\u00a0 In 1956 he won KKS again.Thereafter he was successful in the March 1960, July 1960, 1965 and 1970 elections.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0In\u00a0 October 1972, Chelvanayakam resigned as MP\u00a0 in protest against the Republican Constitution of Sri Lanka. The By-election was held after a long delay in February 1975. Chelva\u00a0 polling 25,927 votes ,won with a record majority\u00a0 of 16, 470and re-entered the National State Assembly as Kankesanthurai MP. He passed away in 1977.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n<b> \u201cIllankai Thamil Arasu Katchi <\/b><br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0Chelvanayakam co-founded the\u00a0 ITAK on 18 December\u00a0 1949. The ITAK was the first party in Sri Lanka known earlier as Ceylon to seriously advocate a federal form of Government in the post-independence period. The main demand of the ITAK was\u00a0 the creation of an autonomous Tamil state comprising the\u00a0 Tamil dominated Northern province\u00a0 and\u00a0 Tamil majority Eastern province within a United Sri Lanka.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThe new party was named in Tamil as \u201cIlankai Thamil Arasu Katchi\u201d meaning Ceylon\u00a0 Tamil State or Tamil Government Party.\u00a0However, the party\u2019s founders described it as Federal Party in English. According to \u00a0SJV\u2019s son in law and renowned political scientist Prof. A.J. Wilson, the new party\u2019s name was not Federal Party but merely an explanation of what the party stood for. \u201cIts leaders insisted that the word \u2018State\u2019 denoted a unit within a federal set-up and not a sovereign State as some of its detractors alleged,\u201d wrote Wilson in his book titled \u2018Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism.\u2019<br \/>\n\u2028Officially, the new party was named in English as \u201cIlankai Tamil Arasu Katchi\u201d and became known by the acronym ITAK. In popular parlance, it was called the Federal Party or FP. S.J.V. Chelvanayagam was elected as the first president of the fledgling party while Dr. E.M.V. Naganathan and V. Navaratnam were the joint general secretaries.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThe birth and growth of ITAK and its espousal of power-sharing through a federal arrangement introduced a vibrant and colourful phase into the island nation\u2019s politics. Although 73 years has passed since the party was born, the ITAK continues to remain wedded to the federal idea.\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n<b> 1961 Satyagraha <\/b><br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThe ITAK\u00a0 adopted the strategy of agitation cum negotiation to win its political demands. It engaged in many non -violent protests like Satyagrahas, protest fasts, protest marches, mass meetings, black flag demonstrations, boucotts, \u201chartals and \u00a0strikes as part of its agitation strategy.<br \/>\nWhen Sinhala was made the sole official language in June 1956, the ITAK conducted a Satyagraha opposite the \u201cold\u201d Parliament on Galle face Green. Leading Govt ministers and MPs \u00a0transported thugs to saault the unarmed Satyagrahis. The Police had been instructed to refrain from taking action. Several Ahimsa following volunteers including MPs were attacked. Chelvanayakam\u2019s son too was assaukted mercilessly.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0When the \u00a0Sri Lanka Freedom Party(SLFP) Govt of Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike commenced the implementation of Sinhala only in 1961, the ITAK launched a Satyagraha to protest the rapid Sinhalaization of Govt administration. The\u00a0 1961 Satyagraha campaign saw \u00a0large numbers of Satyagrahis led by Chelva engaging in protest outside \u00a0the Jaffna Kacheris Similar Satyagrahas were conducted outside other Kacheris in the North and East like Mannar, Vavuniya, Trincomalee and Batticaloa. The administrative districts of Kilinochchi,Mullaitheevu and Amparai had not come into existence then. The prolonged Satyagraha resulted in paralysing civil administration in the North and East for two and a half months.. The non \u2013 violent Satyagraha was ruthlessly suppressed by the Sirimavo Bandaranaike led Sri Lanka Freddom Party (SLFP) Govt which unleashed the military on the unarmed Satyagrahis. The ITAK leaders including SJV were detained for many months at the Panagoda Army cantonment.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n<b> Making and unmaking Govts <\/b><br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThe ITAK under the leadership of SJV Chelvanayakam also played a political role in making and unmaking Governments.The March 1960\u00a0 elections resulted in a hung Parliament. The United National Party(UNP) came first \u00a0with 50 seats and formed a Govt\u00a0 with Dudley Senanayake as Prime Minister. The SLFP came second with 46 seats. The ITAK came third with 15 seats. Had the ITAK\/FP supported Dudley, the UNP may have been able to cobble together a slender majority. Despite many overtures, the ITAK refused to extend support. The party voted along with other opposition parties voted against the Govt\u00a0 and brought it down.\u00a0 Consequently fresh polls were held in July.The SLFP won. In December 1964 the ITAK along with other parties in the UNP led opposition and SLFP dissidents voted against the Govt and brought it down.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0When\u00a0 elections were held in March 1965, it was once again a hung Parliament with the UNP under Senanayake winng the most number of seats. The SLFP and its leftist allies were next. The ITAK.FP was third with 14 seats. The party once again held the balance of power in the House. This time however Chelvanayakam opted to support\u00a0 the UNP. Furthermore it joined the \u00a0seven party \u00a0Govt under Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake. Chelva\u2019s disciple M. Tiruchelvam was apponted Local Govt minister. Thus the ITAK\/FP which\u00a0 helped unmake\u00a0 the UNP govt of march 1960 reversed its role and helped make the UNP Govt in March 1965.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n<b> Compromises <\/b><br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThough Chelvanaykam espoused federalism and wanted a federal system of govt to be set up in the Island, he was always ready for political\u00a0 compromises\u00a0 that were far short of his\u00a0 federal ideal. In 1957, Chelvanayakam\u00a0 entered into a political agreement with the then Prime Minister S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike. It was called\u00a0 in short as the\u00a0 Banda-Chelva or B-C\u00a0 pact. The B-C pact envisaged the creation of Regional Councils\u00a0 in the North-East providing limited autonomy or devolution of powers.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nIn 1965 Chelvanayagam had an agreement with the newly elected UNP Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake. It was called in short as the Dudley \u2013 Chelva or D-C pact. This envisaged the creation of district councils as power sharing units. The District councils were to be set up in each administrative district in Ceylon as Lanka was known then.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nIt could be seen therefore that neither the envisaged regional councils nor district councils had powers that could be termed as federal. Yet Chelvanayakam was prepared to compromise He was \u00a0to be rudely rudely disappointed. Both the B-C pact and D-C pact were honoured in the breach by the respective premiers who signed them..<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nBandaranaike literally tore up the pact due to opposition within his Govt, the chief opposition UNP and powerful sections of the Buddhist clergy. Senanayake stated he could not go ahead with DCs as promised due to opposition within and outside his party.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThe failure of Prime ministers Bandaranaike and Senanayake to implement the agreements entered into with Chelvanayakam was strongly resented by the Tamil people. They were seen as great betrayals of the trust Chelvanayakam had resposed in Bandaranaike and Senanayake. Incidentally Chelvanayakam,\u00a0 Bandaranaike and Senanayake shared the common bond of being old Thomians<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n<b>United Front Govt <\/b><br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0In 1970 the United Front comprising the SLFP, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party(LSSP) and the Communist Party( CP ) swept the polls and obtained 116 of 157 seats in Parliament. The ITAK had 13 seats\u00a0 but it had no bargaining power or leverage in view of the super majority of the new Govt. This made the dejected Chelvanayakam cry out in anguish \u201dOnly God can save the Tamil people now\u201d.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0Chelvanayakam\u2019s fears became true. The new Govt ushered in a new Constitution that changed the\u00a0 Country\u2019s name to Sri Lanka from Ceylon and made it a republic. Sinhala was entrenched as the sole official language. Buddhist was given foremost status. The new constitution also had a clause\u00a0 entrenching it as unitary. During Constituent assembly\u00a0 sessions to formulate the new Constitution, the ITAK had submitted proposals for\u00a0 five federal units to be set up. This was dismissed outright and the ITAK walked out of the Constituent assembly.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThe SLFP -LSSP-CP government also introduced\u00a0 a\u00a0 media -wise standardisation scheme for university admissions. This grossly discriminated against Tamil students who had to get more marks to enter university as opposed to Sinhala students. Furthermore 42\u00a0 Tamil youths \u00a0who protested democratically against the new Constitution were incarcerated without trial under emergency regulations.\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThe hill country Tamils known as \u201cMalaiyahath Thamizhar\u201d were also affected. Thousands of\u00a0 plantation workers were thrown out of employment after estates were nationalised.. Many were forcibly repatriated to India in terms of the\u00a0 Sirimavo-Shastry agreement of 1964. There was seething discontent within\u00a0 all sections of the Tamil people. There were increasing calls for Tamil political unity.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n<b> Tamil Congress <\/b><br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThe oldest Sri Lankan Tamil political party was the All Ceylon Tamik Congress formed in 1944 under the leadership of G.G.Ponnambalam known as GG. Chelvanayakam himself\u00a0 was a founder member and served as a deputy to GG.\u00a0 Chelva had broken off from the Tamil Congress with people like fellow Kopay MP, C. Vanniyasingham and Senator EMV Naganathan and formed the ITAK in 1949. The ACTC and ITAK became bitter rivals over the years, The Tamil Congress was firmly against federalism.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nWith the passage of time, the ITAK had overtaken the ACTC as the premier political party of the Sri Lankan Tamils. The first oast the post winner system of electins was in force then. Under this system,\u00a0\u00a0 the ITAK returned MPs to Parliament in double digits while\u00a0 the ACTC was able to muster MPs in single digits\u00a0 only.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nBoth the ACTC and ITAK were the major political parties among Sri\u00a0 Lankan Tamils. The\u00a0 largest and most powerful trade union representing the Hill Country Tamils was the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) led by Saumiyamoorthy Thondaman. The CWC had no MPs then.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n<b> Tamil United Front <\/b><br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0In a historic move the ITAK, ACTC and CWC came together and formed the Tamil United Front (TUF) in 1972.Initially the Eelath Thamizhar Ottumai Munnani(ETOM) led by\u00a0 the highly educated maverick politico C. Suntharalingam was also in the TUF but it was slowly eased out on account of its casteist politics.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nIn\u00a0\u00a0 May 1976 the TUF\u00a0 re-configured itself as the Tamil United Liberation Front(TULF) under a leadership triumvirate comprising Chelvanayakam(ITAK), Ponnambalam (ACTC)and Thondaman(CWC).<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n<b> Tamil United Liberation Front <\/b><br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThe TULF at its inaugural convention in Vaddukkoddai\u00a0 on 14 May 1976\u00a0 passed a historic\u00a0 resolution demanding a socialist sovereign state of Tamil Eelam consisting of the Northern and Eastern provinces. This\u00a0 naturally\u00a0 was disfavoured by the CWC representing Tamils of the hill country. So Thondaman declined the co-leadership position. The CWC dropped out of the TULF formally but\u00a0 continued to work with the front informally.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThis shift to separatism from federalism\u00a0 marked a new phase in Tamil politics. Chelvanayakam who first demanded federalism in 1949 had now adopted secessionism in 1976. He blamed constant Sinhala intransigience\u00a0 and continuous\u00a0 anti-Tamil discrimination amounting\u00a0 to oppression for this hardened Tamil stance. The TULF argued that the Tamils were exercising their inalienable right of self -determination. Chelva was mindful of the difficulties in forming a separate state.He\u00a0\u00a0 said \u201c Ithu Villangamaana Kariyam. Aanaal ithai thavira Thamilinam Thappipizhaikka Vearu\u00a0 Vazhiyillai\u201d ( This is a difficult task but there is no other way for the Tamil race to survive).<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nSubsequently the TULF contested the July 1977 elections on a\u00a0 secessionist platform saying the poll was to \u00a0secure a mandate\u00a0 for Tamil Eelam. The TULF won 18 out of 19 Tamil majority seats in the North and East. But Chelvanayakam was not there to see this\u00a0 electoral triumph. He had passed away\u00a0 in April 1977 at the age of 79.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n<b> Christian Faith <\/b><br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nA remarkable attribute of Chelvanayakam was his firm adherence to the Christian faith.\u00a0 He was a protestant Christian member of\u00a0 the South Indian United Church(SIUC) now known as the Church of South India(CSI). When in Colombo Chelva worshipped at Anglican churches\u00a0 until the CSI had a church of its own in Wellawatte.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nAs\u00a0 is well known the Sri Lankan Tamils are preponderantly Hindus. Chelvanayakam was a protestant Christian. Yet he was the acknowledged political leader of Hindu majority Tamils for over twenty years. The Kankesanthurai electorate\u00a0 too is predominantly Hindu. Many of his opponents raised the religious cry\u00a0 in a bid to defeat him. But\u00a0 he never lost except in 1952 when the ITAK was a fledgling party.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nMany of his\u00a0 critics and political adversaries have frequently\u00a0 questioned the Christian Chelvanayakam\u2019s credentials to lead the Hindu Tamils. A notable incident in this regard was the public letter written by a Buddhist dignitary and Chelva\u2019s response. The \u201cDaily News\u201d of 3 October 1970 published a letter written by Ven. Hewanpola Ratnasara Thero then attached to the Vidyalankara Pirivena. The\u00a0 denigrative missive pointed out that Chelvanayakam the Christian had little in common with Hindu Tamils.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nChelvanayakam replied to the Bhikku. In that he said \u00a0\u201cYou referred to my religion as Christian and therefore, I had little in common with Tamils who were mainly Hindus by religion. It stands to the credit of the Hindu people that they have not forced me or other Christians to change our faith before we lead them\u201d. This of course was a reference to several\u00a0 Sinhala Christians who became Buddhists\u00a0 to win elections after universal franchise was introduced\u00a0 in 1931 under the Donoughmore Constitution. They were then ridiculed as \u201cDonoughmore \u00a0Buddhists\u201d.\u00a0 It may be recalled that both SWRD Bandaranaike and JR Jayewardene were \u00a0born as Christians and were baptized in the Anglican All Saints Church at Hulftsdorp .<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n<b> Anti-Christian Campaign <\/b><br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThe first election faced by the newly formed ITAK\/FP was in 1952. Chelva had earlier \u00a0contested\u00a0 the\u00a0 1947 elections as a candidate from the Tamil Congress and won the\u00a0 Kankesanthurai\u00a0 seat. In 1952 as an ITAK candidate his\u00a0 rival was a\u00a0 UNP \u00a0\u00a0 candidate backed by the Tamil Congress. This \u00a0was Suppiahpillai Natesan the principal of Parameshwara College and son in law of Sir Ponnambalam\u00a0 Ramanathan. A covert campaign\u00a0 was unleashed against \u201cSamuel James\u201d Chelvanayakam on the grounds that he was a Christian.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThe ITAK general secretary at that time was former Kayts MP V. Navaratnam described as the golden brains of the party. He wanted to counter this anti-christian propaganda against Chelva.\u00a0 After filing their nominations all the ITAK candidates in Jaffna were to go to the Nallur temple for a special pooja. Navaratnam wanted\u00a0 Chelvanayakam to participate in the Pooja and be photographed accepting \u201cKaalaanchi\u201d (flowers,coconut,betel and arecanut chips offered in a funnel shaped goblet) in a bid to undermine the anti-christian propaganda against SJV.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0Chelvanayakam refused to\u00a0 participate in the pooja and be photographed. He said it was below his dignity and integrity to indulge in such deception for the sake of votes. He preferred to lose rather than pose.\u00a0 On nomination day\u00a0\u00a0 Chelva\u00a0 joined fellow ITAK candidates and\u00a0 went in to the \u00a0Nallur temple\u00a0 bare bodied as was customary. He\u00a0 waited respectfully\u00a0 aside with folded hands as the Pooja was on. But he neither participated in the pooja\u00a0 nor allowed himself to be photographed accepting Kaalanchi.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThe KKS poll was a straight fight between Chelvanayakam\u00a0 and Natesan. The anti-christian campaign against \u201cSamuel James\u201d succeeded. Natesan who went on to become a cabinet minister\u00a0 polled\u00a0 15,337 votes . He recorded a majority of\u00a0 3,766. Chelva polling 11,576 lost\u00a0 that election mainly due his principles. 1952 was the only KKS poll he lost. Thereafter Chelvanayakam won every poll in KKS. He remained until the end of his days, the MP for Predominantly Hindu KKS and the Christian leader of the preponderantly Hindu Tamils.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nAnother important facet of Chelva\u2019s Christian faith was the strength and courage he derived from\u00a0 regular\u00a0 bible reading and prayer. Chelvanayakam\u2019s youngest\u00a0 son SC Chandrahasan\u00a0 once told \u00a0me in a conversation that whenever a major political issue arose, his father would\u00a0 weigh the pros and cons together with his party associates and advisers. Thereafter he would retire to pray privately for God\u2019s guidance.. After praying, Chelva would arrive at a firm unshakeable\u00a0 decision and stick to it steadfastly.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n<b> Tamil Culture <\/b><br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nChelvanayakam was not a westernized Christian. He was\u00a0 proud of his Tamil heritage and retained his Tamilness\u00a0 in everyday life ,long before he entered politics. He frequently wore the\u00a0 vaerti. \u00a0When he married\u00a0 in 1927, Chelva was clad in \u201cvaerti\u201d and \u201cSaalvai\u201d, a rare practice among Christian grooms in those days. Chelva was also very knowledgeable about Carnatic music and Bharatha Natyam. He could identify Ragas and appreciated the nuances of Bharata\u00a0 Natyam. He seldom missed a performance by the artiste Vel Anandan. He also read classical Tamil literature and relished the power of Tamil expounded in Saivaite \u201cThevarams\u201d and Vaishnavaite \u201cPirabanthams\u201d. He was also well versed in Saiva Siddhantha and Vedantha philosophy. SJV\u2019s long time\u00a0 secretary for 16 years \u00a0Arul. M.Rajendram has written that Chelvanayakam was a Christian by religion and a Hindu by culture.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n<b> Trusted Leader <\/b><br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nChelvanayagam earned and retained the trust of not only the Northern Tamils but also the Eastern province Tamils, the Muslims and the \u201cMalaiahath Thamizhar\u201d, It was he who first coined the phrase \u201cThamizh Paesum Makkal(Tamil speaking people) to encompass the Ceylon \u00a0North Eastern Tamils, Up Country Tamils and the Muslims. Concepts such as \u201cColonisation and traditional homeland were also introduced by Chelva and the ITAK into political discourse.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nIn the early days Chelva was not greatly enamoured of politics. His ambition was to establish himself as a leading lawyer and then mount the Supreme Court bench. He was drawn into politics when the Soulbury Commission. He was invited by lawyer Sivasubramaniam the father of former Kopay MP Kathiravetpillai to attend the inaugural meeting of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress in 1944. He did so and became the deputy of ACTC leader GG Ponnambalam.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nYet he \u00a0crossed swords \u00a0with Ponnambalam when the Tamil Congress leader joined the DS Senanayake Govt and became a cabinet minister. In the process GG let down the Up Country Tamils of recent Indian origin. \u00a0The Malaiahath Thamizhar were cruelly de \u2013 citizenized and disenfranchised by the DS Senanayake led UNP Govt. Earlier during the 1947 elections, GG had assured the then Ceylon Indian Congress as the CWC was known that the ACTC would stand by the CIC.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0Chelvanayakam regadeed Ponnambalam\u2019s volte face as a betrayal of the Indian Tamils. This was the main reason for him to split from the Tamil Congress and form the ITAK. The ITAK always had the \u00a0restoration of Citizenship and franchise for Up Country Tamils as one of its key demands. This was highly appreciated by the beleaguered community. In conversations with \u00a0Malaiyahath Thamizh leaders like S. Thondaman, A. Aziz, CV Veluppillai and MS Sellasamy, I have heard them refer to Chelvanayagam with praise and gratitude.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n<b> Eastern Tamils <\/b><br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nIn the early years after independence, there was a political divide between Northern and Eastern province Tamils. The Tamil Congress in 1947 won only Trincomalee in the East. There were strong Eastern Tamil leaders like Nalliah and Ethirmanasingham who \u00a0were personally and politically anti- Jaffna. \u00a0They ruled the Eastern roost.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0This changed after the advent of ITAK and Chelva. The ITAK Leader \u00a0travelled widely throughout the East and built bridges. When the anti_sri campaign was launched in 1958, Chelvanayakam went to Batticaloa to engage in protest and was imprisoned for two weeks in the Batticaloa jail. \u00a0The ITAK\u00a0 established itself in the East with Tamil stalwarts like Rajavarothayam Aehamparam, Rasamanickam, Rajadurai, Manickavasagar, Manickarajah, Neminathan and Thangathurai being elected from the party during Chelva\u2019s lifetime.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nAs Kala Tambimuttu the wife of former MP Sam Tambimuttu and daughter of ex-senator M. Manickam would often emphasie to me \u2013\u201c The North had two \u00a0Tamil leaders Ponnambalam and Chelvanayakam. But the East always had one \u00a0Tamil leader only. That was Chelvanayakam\u201d.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n<b> Muslim People <\/b><br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nAs in the case of \u201cHindu\u201d Tamils, the Eastern Tamils and the Hill Country Tamils, Chelvanayakam was trusted and respected by the Muslims of the East too. Chelvanayakam and the ITAk reached out to the Muslims \u00a0as Tamil speaking people. Even though the Tamil speaking Muslims in Sri Lanka \u2013 unlike the Muslims in Tamil Nadu- \u00a0have an ethno-religious identity and not an ethno-linguistic identity, Chelvanayakam was able to forge a special relationship with Muslims in the 50s and 60s on this basis. \u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nLarge numbers of Muslims participated in the Galle Face protest as well as in the Satyagraha campaign of 1961. Several Muslims like Kariapper, Mustapha, Ahamed and Mohammed Ali were elected on the ITAK symbol of house \u00a0\u00a0at different times from the Kalmunai, Pottuvil and Mutur electorates. Other Muslim MPs like the three Abdul Majeeds of Pottuvil, Ninthavur and Mutur maintained amicable relations at a personal level with Chelvanayakam for years.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nSpecial mention must be made of former Senator M.Z.M Mashoor Moulana in this regard. The affable Mashoor hailing from Maruthamunai who contested Kalmunai unsuccessfully as an ITAK candidate on more than one occasion was very popular among Tamils in those days. He was \u00a0greatly in demand as a speaker on ITAK platforms. Mashoor Moulana was especially close bonds with Chelvanayakam. Thiugh he joined the UNP later, Mashoor would always acknowledge that Thanthai Chelva was his Thalaiver (Leader)<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n<b> Born in Ipoh <\/b><br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0Chelvanayakam hailed from Thellippalai in Jaffna but was born in Ipoh in Malaya (now Malaysia). He had two brothers and a sister. Chelva\u2019sfather Visvanathar Velupillai was a contractor cum businessman in Malaya. His mother \u00a0Harriet Annamma Kanapathipillai returned to Thellippalai with the children to educate them. Chelva was four at that time. He studied at Union College ,Thellippalai, St.Johns College,Jaffna and St. Thomas\u2019 College then located in\u00a0 Mutwal, Colombo.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nAfter obtaining an external degree in science from the London university, Chelva enrolled at the Law College and passed out as an advocate. He soon established a successful lucrative practice excelling in civil law. Chelva took silk as a Kings counsel on 31 May 1947, the same year he became an MP.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nChelvanayakam\u00a0 married Emily Grace Barr-Kumarakulasinghe in 1927. She was the daughter of \u00a0R. R. Barr-Kumarakulasinghe, the then ,\u201dManiagar\u201d(administrative chief) for the Valigaamam region in Jaffna peninsula. The Chelvanayakams \u00a0had four sons Manoharan, Va seeharan, Raveendran and Chandrahasan and a daughter Suseela. The Chelvanayakam family resided at Alfred Hiuse Gardens in Colpetty for many many years.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nChelva suffered from Parkinsons disease for a long time. As a result he could not stand erect for a long time and shivered frequently..He was also feeble and walked slowly.Yet he remained strong in his political convictions and was unshakeable in his quest to liberate the Tamil people from majoritarian hegemony.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n\u00a0Chelva was hospitalised in 1977 after an accidental fall in the bathroom. He died at the Jaffna hospital after being in a coma for many days on 26 April 1977. Massive crowds attended the funeral in Jaffna. A memorial has been constructed in his honour in the heart of Jaffna city.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nSamuel\u00a0 James Veluppillai Chelvanayakam\u2019s life and work was a fight for the rights of a people oppressed by majoritarian might. It \u00a0is summed up best by a quote from the Bible. The apostle Paul in his\u00a0 second epistle to Timothy\u00a0 wrote 7\u00a0I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith\u201d. \u201cThanthai\u201d Chelva fought the good fight and finished the course retaining his faith\u201d.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nD.B.S.Jeyaraj can be reached at dbsjeyaraj@yahoo.com<\/p>\n<p>This article appears in the \u201cPolitical Pulse\u201dColumn of the \u201cDaily FT\u2019 dated 5 April 2023.It can be accessed here &#8211;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.lk\/columns\/S-J-V-Chelvanayakam-Christian-leader-of-Hindu-Tamils\/4-747084\">https:\/\/www.ft.lk\/columns\/S-J-V-Chelvanayakam-Christian-leader-of-Hindu-Tamils\/4-747084<\/a><br \/>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<div id=\"tweetbutton81672\" class=\"tw_button\" style=\"float:right;margin-left:10px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdbsjeyaraj.com%2Fdbsj%2F%3Fp%3D81672&amp;text=SJV%20Chelvanayakam%3A%20Christian%20who%20Led%20the%20Predominantly%20Hindu%C2%A0%20Tamils%20for%20Over%2020%20Years&amp;related=&amp;lang=en&amp;count=horizontal\" class=\"twitter-share-button\"  style=\"width:55px;height:22px;background:transparent url('https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-tweet-button\/tweetn.png') no-repeat  0 0;text-align:left;text-indent:-9999px;display:block;\">Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By D.B.S.Jeyaraj \u00a0 \u00a0 The first three\u00a0 decades of\u00a0 post-independence Sri Lanka known then \u00a0as Ceylon\u00a0 witnessed a prolonged\u00a0\u00a0 struggle by the\u00a0 Tamils to\u00a0 have their lost rights restored and to \u00a0achieve political\u00a0 equality through acceptable power sharing arrangements. This struggle was\u00a0 \u00a0conducted \u00a0within the ambit of democratic dissent.It\u2019s singular hallmark was the adoption of &#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=81672\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading &lsquo;SJV Chelvanayakam: Christian who Led the Predominantly Hindu\u00a0 Tamils for Over 20 Years&rsquo; &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[27],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81672"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=81672"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81688,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81672\/revisions\/81688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=81672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=81672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=81672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}