OBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(23 November 1905 – 17 February 1979) was a leading
Ceylon 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, form the plurality in the Eastern Province an ...
civil servant.
Early life
Alvapillai was born on 23 November 1905. He was the son of Kovindapillai and Seethevi Pillai (Thangam) from
Thumpalai
Thumpalai is a small town in Sri Lanka. It is located within Northern Province.
See also
* List of towns in Northern Province, Sri Lanka
Northern Province is a province of Sri Lanka, containing the Jaffna District, Kilinochchi District, Ma ...
near
Point Pedro
Point Pedro, also known as Paruthithurai (; ) is a town, located in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. I ...
in northern
British Ceylon
British Ceylon (; ), officially British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies from 1802 to 1833, then the Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies from 1833 to 1931 and finally the Island of Cey ...
. Alvapillai had an elder sister (Nagaratnam), younger brother (Sathasivam Pillai) and younger sister (Theva Yogam). His father died when Alvapillai was ten years old. He was educated at
Hartley College
Hartley College ( ''Hāṭlik Kallūri'') is a provincial school in Point Pedro, Sri Lanka. Founded in 1838 by British Methodist missionaries, it is one of Sri Lanka's oldest schools. The school is named after Wesleyan priest and missionary Rev. ...
, Point Pedro. He passed the
Senior Cambridge
The Senior Cambridge examinations were General Certificate of Education examinations held in India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Singapore. They were preceded by the Junior Cambridge and Preliminary Cambridge examinations.
History India
The ...
examination with distinction and honours. He then went to
Ceylon University College
Ceylon University College was a public university college in Ceylon. Established in 1921, it was Ceylon's first attempt at university education. The college didn't award degrees under its own name but prepared students to sit the University of Lo ...
. After graduation he went to the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
from where he graduated with a first class honours degree in mathematics.
Alvapillai married Kanagammah, daughter of V. Nallathamby and Vallipillai from
Tellippalai
Tellippalai or Thellippalai ( Tellippaḻai
. They had two sons (Vijayaraghavan and Senthilkumar) and a daughter (Bhavani).
Alvapillai was the President of the Colombo Vivekananda Society and Colombo Tamil Sangam and one of the founders of
Colombo Hindu College
Hindu College Colombo () or abbreviated as HCC is a Tamil language National School situated in Bambalapitiya, in the suburbs of Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1951 with the name of "பிள்ளையார் பாடசாலை" (P ...
.
Career
On returning to Ceylon Alvapillai joined the
Ceylon Civil Service
The Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, was the premier civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule and in the immediate post-independence period. Established in 1833, it functioned as part of th ...
in 1929 as a cadet. He was appointed Deputy Commissioner of Food Purchase in 1942. In 1945 he was appointed Director of Food Supplies. Later he became Food Commissioner. In 1953 he was appointed
Permanent Secretary
A permanent secretary is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are ...
to the Minister of Agriculture and Food. In 1959 he became Permanent Secretary to the Minister of Commerce and Trade.
During his career Alvapillai worked for some of the leading ministers in post-independence Ceylon: Oliver Goonetilleke,
Philip Gunawardena
Don Philip Rupasinghe Gunawardena (11 January 1901 – 26 March 1972) was a Sri Lankan Marxist politician and leftist. A founder of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, the first political party in Ceylon which was known for having introduced Trotskyi ...
,
T. B. Ilangaratne
Navaratne Rajakaruna Wasala Mudiyanselage Tikiri Bandara Ilangaratne (27 February 1913 – 21 May 1992), popularly as T. B. Ilangaratne, was a Sri Lankan politician, author, dramatist, and theater actor. He was a Member of Parliament (Sri La ...
,
J. R. Jayewardene
Junius Richard Jayewardene (; ; 17 September 1906 – 1 November 1996), commonly referred to by his initials JR, was a Sri Lankan lawyer, public official and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1977 to 1978 and as the secon ...
1948 Birthday Honours
The 1948 Birthday Honours were appointments by George VI, King George VI to Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the Commonwealth Realms. The appoint ...
Alvapillai was made an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
.
After retirement Alvapillai served as Chairman of a number of state-owned corporations – Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, Ceylon State Flour Corporation and Ceylon Shipping Corporation.