Peri Sundaram (July 23, 1890 - February 4, 1957), born Periannan Sundaram, was a

Ceylonese Sri Lankan or Ceylonese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Sri Lanka * A person from Sri Lanka, see Demographics of Sri Lanka ** Sinhalese people, the ethnic majority ** Sri Lankan Tamils, an ethnic minority ** Sri L ...

lawyer, trade unionist and politician. He was the first Minister of Labour Industries and Commerce in the State Council of Ceylon and Deputy President of the

Senate of Ceylon The Senate was the upper chamber of the parliament of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Commission. The Senate was appointed and indirectly elected rather than directly elected. It was housed in the old Legislative Coun ...

. Educated at

Trinity College, Kandy "Look to the End" , mottoes = , founder = John Ireland Jones , established = , type = Independent Private , affiliation = Church of Ceylon, Anglican , grade ...

and at

S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia , motto_translation = Be Thou Forever , song = Thomian Song , athletics = Yes , sports = Yes , nickname = Thora , denomination = Anglican , patron ...

, he entered the

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 ...

. Thereafter he went on to the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

graduating with an MA and

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

. At Cambridge, he was the President of the Cambridge Indian Majlis and committee member of the

Cambridge Union Society The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1815, it is the oldest continuously running debati ...

. In 1916 he became a barrister and thereafter on his return he became an advocate of the

Supreme Court of Ceylon The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණය, Sri Lanka Sreshthadikaranaya; ta, இலங்கை உயர் நீதிமன்றம், Ilankai uyar neetimanram) is th ...

. He was a lecturer and acting principal of the Ceylon Law College and served as examiner in law to the Ceylon Civil Service. He became a founding member of the

Ceylon National Congress The Ceylon National Congress ( Sinhala: ලංකා ජාතික කොන්ග්‍රසය ''Lanka Jathika Kongrasaya'') (CNC) was a Nationalist political party which was formed in Ceylon on 11 December 1919. It was founded after national ...

in 1919, and was elected to the first State Council from the

Hatton Hatton may refer to: Places Canada * Hatton, Saskatchewan England * Hatton, Cheshire West and Chester, a former civil parish * Hatton, Derbyshire * Hatton, Lincolnshire * Hatton, London, in the London Borough of Hounslow * Hatton, Shropshire, a ...

electorate uncontested in 1931. In the State Council, he served as first Minister of Labor Industries and Commerce from 1931 to 1936. In 1939 he formed the first trade union in the country, Workers Welfare League and served as its founder secretary. He was also the first secretary of the Ceylon Workers’ Federation. In 1939 he co-founded the

Ceylon Indian Congress The Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) ( ta, இலங்கை தொழிலாளர் காங்கிரஸ், translit=Ilaṅkai Toḻilāḷar Kāṅkiras; si, ලංකා කම්කරු කොංග්‍රසය ''Lanka Kamkaru ...

which became the

Ceylon Workers Congress The Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) ( ta, இலங்கை தொழிலாளர் காங்கிரஸ், translit=Ilaṅkai Toḻilāḷar Kāṅkiras; si, ලංකා කම්කරු කොංග්‍රසය ''Lanka Kamkaru ...

of which he became president. In 1940, he became president of the Ceylon Indian Congress Labour Union, the largest trade union in the country. In 1947 he was appointed to the Senate of Ceylon and made its Deputy President.

References

1890 births 1957 deaths Academic staff of Sri Lanka Law College Alumni of Ceylon Law College Alumni of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia Alumni of Trinity College, Kandy Alumni of the University of Cambridge Ceylonese advocates Indian Tamil lawyers of Sri Lanka Indian Tamil politicians of Sri Lanka Indian Tamil trade unionists of Sri Lanka Industries ministers of Sri Lanka Labour ministers of Sri Lanka Members of the 1st Parliament of Ceylon Members of the Senate of Ceylon Members of the 1st State Council of Ceylon {{CentralLK-politician-stub