Alfred Thangarajah Duraiappah (15 June 1926 – 27 July 1975) was a
Sri Lankan Tamil
Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern P ...
lawyer, politician,
Mayor of Jaffna
The Mayor of Jaffna is the head of the Jaffna Municipal Council, the local authority for the city of Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங் ...
and
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
.
Early life and family
Duraiappah was born on 15 June 1926.
He was the son of an ice and aerated water manufacturer from
Vannarpannai in northern
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
.
[ He was educated at St. John's College, Jaffna.]Ceylon Law College
Sri Lanka Law College (abbreviated as SLLC), formerly known as Ceylon Law College, is a law college, and the only legal institution where one can enroll as a attorney-at-law in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1874, under the then Council of Legal ...
, graduating as a proctor
Proctor (a variant of '' procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another.
The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts:
* In law, a proctor is a historical class of lawy ...
.[
Duraiappah married Parameswary, daughter of Cumaraswamy.][ They had a daughter Rochana (Eesha).][ Duraiappah was a Christian.
Duraiappah's nephew Nishan Duraiappah is the ]chief
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the bo ...
of Peel Regional Police
The Peel Regional Police (PRP) provide policing services for Peel Region (excluding Caledon) in Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest municipal police service in Ontario after the Toronto Police Service and third largest municipal force in ...
in Ontario, Canada.
Career
Duraiappah was elected to Jaffna Municipal Council
Jaffna Municipal Council ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணம் மாநகர சபை, translit=Yāḻppāṇam Mānakara Capai; JMC) is the local authority for the city of Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka. JMC is responsible for providing a vari ...
and became its deputy mayor at the age of 23.[ He served as mayor from 1970 to 1975.
Duraiappah stood as an ]independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independe ...
candidate in Jaffna at the March 1960 parliamentary election. He won the election and entered Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
. He was re-elected at the July 1960 parliamentary election but lost out to the All Ceylon Tamil Congress
All Ceylon Tamil Congress ( ta, அகில இலங்கைத் தமிழ்க் காங்கிரஸ்), is the oldest Tamil political party in Sri Lanka.
History
The ACTC was founded in 1944 by G.G. Ponnambalam. Ponnambalam as ...
candidate G. G. Ponnambalam at the 1965 parliamentary election. He tried to re-gain his seat at the 1970 parliamentary election but was defeated by the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi candidate C. X. Martyn.
Duraiappah was a member of the governing Sri Lanka Freedom Party
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය, translit=Śrī Laṁkā Nidahas Pakṣaya; ta, இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி, translit=Ilaṅkai Cutantirak Ka ...
and its chief organiser in Jaffna District.[ Duraiappah was not inside the car at the time.][
Duraiappah was criticised for his handling of the 1974 Tamil conference incident in which 11 people were killed.
]
Assassination
On 27 July 1975 Duraiappah and his daughter Eesha went to the Varadaraja Perumal Temple (Maha Vishnu Temple) in Ponnalai for their weekly worship in the Peugeot 404
The Peugeot 404 is a large family car produced by French automobile manufacturer Peugeot from 1960 to 1975. A truck body style variant was marketed until 1988. Styled by Pininfarina, the 404 was offered initially as a saloon, estate, and pick ...
which had been given to Duraiappah by his supporters. As they arrived at the temple, Duraiappah was shot dead by masked men.[ Some members of his family believed that Posts and Telecommunications Minister Chelliah Kumarasuriar, Duraiappah's political rival, was behind the assassination. However, his assassination was widely blamed on the rebel ]Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
(LTTE) and its leader V. Prabhakaran
Velupillai Prabhakaran (; ta, வேலுப்பிள்ளை பிரபாகரன்; , (26 November 1954 – 18 May 2009) was a Sri Lankan Tamil guerrilla and the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE ...
. On 25 April 1978 the LTTE issued an open letter
An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally.
Open letters usually take the form of a letter addressed to an indiv ...
, which was published in the ''Virakesari
''Virakesari'' is one of the leading Tamil daily newspapers in Sri Lanka. It is the oldest and the largest circulated Tamil Newspaper in Sri Lanka. Virakesari is owned by Express Newspapers (Ceylon) (Private) Limited, a leading print and web ...
'', claiming responsibility for the assassination of eleven people including Duraiappah.
The Duraiappah Stadium in Jaffna was named after him.
Further reading
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References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Duraiappah, Alfred
1926 births
1975 deaths
Alumni of Ceylon Law College
Alumni of St. John's College, Jaffna
Assassinated mayors
Assassinated Sri Lankan politicians
Ceylonese proctors
Mayors of Jaffna
Members of the 4th Parliament of Ceylon
Members of the 5th Parliament of Ceylon
People of British Ceylon
Sri Lanka Freedom Party politicians
Sri Lankan Christians
Sri Lankan Tamil lawyers
Sri Lankan Tamil politicians
Sri Lankan terrorism victims
Terrorism deaths in Sri Lanka