Sir Ambalavanar Kanagasabai (; 1856 – 1927) was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer and member of the

Legislative Council of Ceylon The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first form of represe ...

Early life and family

Kanagasabai was born in 1856. He was the son of Suppiramaniam Ambalavanar from Tellippalai in northern

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. Kanagasabai is believed to be a descendant of Ilankai Nayaga Mudaliyar of Karaikadu, one of the pioneer settlers of

Jaffna peninsula The Jaffna Peninsula (, or ) is a region in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is home to the capital city of the province, Jaffna, and comprises much of the former land mass of the medieval Jaffna Kingdom. The peninsula was historically ...

. Kanagasabai was educated privately before being sent to

Madras Christian College Madras Christian College (MCC) is a liberal arts and sciences college in Chennai, India. Founded in 1837, MCC is one of Asia's oldest extant colleges. The college is affiliated to the University of Madras but functions as an autonomous institut ...

from where he graduated in 1878 with an arts degree. He then studied law and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in August 1882. Kanagasabai married Kamachi Ambal, daughter of Sangarapillai Kanagasabai, in 1885.

Career

Kanagasabai started practising law at the Jaffna Bar in 1882. He became leader of the bar in 1907. He was one of the leading supporters of constructing a new railway line to northern Ceylon. Kanagasabai was appointed to the

in 1906 as the unofficial member representing

Tamils The Tamils ( ), also known by their endonym Tamilar, are a Dravidian peoples, Dravidian ethnic group who natively speak the Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. The Tamil language is o ...

, replacing W. G. Rockwood. He was re-appointed in 1912. He served on the Legislative Council for eleven years. Kanagasabai was appointed to the

Executive Council of Ceylon The Executive Council of Ceylon was the executive council created in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) by the British colonial administration on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission along with the Legislative Council of Ceylon in March 1 ...

in 1921. Kanagasabai was president of the Saiva Paripalana Sabai and helped establish

Jaffna Hindu College Jaffna Hindu College (; ; abbreviated as JHC) is a National school (Sri Lanka), national school in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1887 by a group of Hinduism in Sri Lanka, Hindu people who wanted an English language alternative to the Christi ...

, serving as the president of its board of directors. He also established a Hindu temple on

Slave Island Slave Island, officially known as Kompagngna Veediya (; ), also known as Kampong Kertel and Kompanna Veediya and formerly known as Javanam Quarters (Javanese Quarter) during Dutch rule, is a suburb in Colombo, Sri Lanka, located directly south of ...

. He was a member of the

Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society, was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encourag ...

, the Agricultural Society, the Board of Education, the Committee of the Victoria Home for Incurables and president of the Board of Directors of the Jaffna Commercial Corporation. He was knighted in 1917, the third Ceylon Tamil to be done so. Kanagasabai died in 1927.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanagasabai, A. 1856 births 1927 deaths Members of the Executive Council of Ceylon Members of the Legislative Council of Ceylon Ceylonese Knights Bachelor Madras Christian College alumni People associated with Jaffna Hindu College People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka People from British Ceylon Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan lawyers Tamil politicians