Gate Mudaliyar Mudaliyar (or Mudali) was a Ceylon, Ceylonese colonial title during Portuguese Ceylon, Portuguese and British Ceylon, British rule of the island. Stemming from the Native headmen of Ceylon, native headman system, the title was usually hereditary, ...

Naganather Canaganayagam,

CBE 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 ...

, JP, FREconS (27 May 1892 - 1 January 1967) was a Ceylonese banker, planter and local politician, who served as the first

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

Mayor of Kandy The mayor of Kandy is the mayor and head of the Kandy Municipal Council. The post was created in 1866 when the Kandy Municipal Council established by the ''Municipalities Ordinance of 1865''. The offices of the mayor are at the Kandy Town Hall. ...

in 1942. Suriyakumara Nichinga Senathiraja Ambalavaner Naganather Thandigai Canaganayagam was born on 27 May 1892 in

Kopay Kopay () is a Sri Lankan town about 4 km from the city of Jaffna along Point Pedro road. An agricultural town consisting mainly of vegetable farms, paddy fields and coconut gardens. The suburb Kopay has several scholars because of very strong ...

, Jaffna, the son of Atikar Ambalavaner Naganather

JP, UM (1850-1953), a banker and rubber plantation owner, and Sethuppillai Ampalavanar. Canaganayagam attended

Saint Joseph's College, Colombo St. Joseph's College is a selective-entry Roman Catholic school in Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1896 by French Missionaries led by Rev. Father Christophe Ernest Bonjean. The college has over 4,000 enrolled students with a staff of over 450 as o ...

, where he won prizes for Latin, French and Physics. He then attended the

Ceylon Medical School ttps://med.cmb.ac.lk Faculty of Medicine - University of Colombo Official Website Established in 1870 as the Colombo Medical School, the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Colombo, is the second oldest medical school in South Asia. It is cons ...

leaving in his second year to become a banker. In 1912 he was appointed the head shroff of the National Bank of India in

Nuwara Eliya Nuwara Eliya ( ; ) is a city in the hill country of the Central Province, Sri Lanka. Its name means "city on the plain (table land)" or "city of light". The city is the administrative capital of Nuwara Eliya District, with a picturesque landsc ...

, succeeding his father. Canaganayayagam passed the associate examination of the

Institute of Bankers Walbrook Institute London is a for-profit provider of apprenticeships, degrees and professional qualifications, with students being members of the LIBF professional body. It is one of five bodies in the UK accredited by the Financial Conduct Auth ...

in 1925, and was made a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

Royal Economic Society The Royal Economic Society (RES) is a professional association and learned society that promotes the study of economics. Originally established in 1890 as the British Economic Association, it was incorporated by royal charter on 2 December 1902. ...

. Later that year he was transferred to the bank's branch in Kandy, where he remained until he retired. In 1939 he was elected to the first

Kandy Municipal Council The Kandy Municipal Council is the local council for Kandy, the second largest city of Sri Lanka. The council was formed under the Municipalities Ordinance of 1865 and first met in 1866. The municipal council is the second oldest and largest lo ...

, representing Ward #9 (Wevelpitiya), remaining on the council until 1945. He served as both as the deputy mayor in 1941 and the mayor in 1942, becoming the first Tamil mayor of the council. He was an actively involved in a number of local religious and social organisations in Kandy. Canaganayagam was awarded the titular honor of Gate Mudliyar by the British Government of Ceylon, and appointed 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 ...

in the

1951 New Year Honours The 1951 New Years Honours were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1951 for the Brit ...

. In the 1955 Queen's Birthday Honours Canaganayagam was made a

Commander 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 ...

for his public services. He was a member of the Planters' Association, Low Country Planters' Association and the Kandy National Museum Advisory Committee. He died on 1 January 1967 at the age of 74. In May 1992 he was commemorated as a National Hero through the issue of a

Rs. Rupee (, ) is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Afri ...

100 postage stamp with his portrait. The

University of Peradeniya The University of Peradeniya (, ) is a Public research university, public university in Sri Lanka, funded by the University Grants Commission of Sri Lanka, University Grants Commission. It is the largest university in Sri Lanka, which was origin ...

's Department of Economics and Statistics issues an annual prize in economics in his name.

External links

Kandy Municipal Council

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canaganayagam, Naganather 1892 births 1967 deaths Alumni of Saint Joseph's College, Colombo Ceylonese Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Economic Society Gate Mudaliyars Mayors of Kandy People from Jaffna District People from British Ceylon Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan bankers Sri Lankan businesspeople Tamil politicians