Naganather Canaganayagam

Last updated

Gate Mudaliyar Naganather Canaganayagam, CBE, JP, FREconS (27 May 1892 - 1 January 1967) was a Ceylonese banker, planter and local politician, who served as the first Tamil Mayor of Kandy in 1942.

Suriyakumara Nichinga Senathiraja Ambalavaner Naganather Thandigai Canaganayagam was born on 27 May 1892 in Kopay, Jaffna, the son of Atikar Ambalavaner Naganather CBE [1] JP, UM (1850-1953), a banker and rubber plantation owner, and Sethuppillai Ampalavanar. [2] [3] Canaganayagam attended Saint Joseph's College, Colombo, where he won prizes for Latin, French and Physics. [4] He then attended the Ceylon Medical School 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, succeeding his father. [3] [4] Canaganayayagam passed the associate examination of the Institute of Bankers in 1925, [5] and was made a Fellow of the Royal Economic Society. [3] [4] 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, representing Ward #9 (Wevelpitiya), remaining on the council until 1945. [6] He served as both as the deputy mayor in 1941 and the mayor in 1942, becoming the first Tamil mayor of the council. [4] He was an actively involved in a number of local religious and social organisations in Kandy. [4] [7] 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 in the 1951 New Year Honours. [8] In the 1955 Queen's Birthday Honours Canaganayagam was made a Commander of the British Empire for his public services. [9] He was a member of the Planters' Association, Low Country Planters' Association and the Kandy National Museum Advisory Committee. [3]

He died on 1 January 1967 at the age of 74. [3] In May 1992 he was commemorated as a National Hero through the issue of a Rs. 100 postage stamp with his portrait. [10] The University of Peradeniya's Department of Economics and Statistics issues an annual prize in economics in his name. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Peradeniya</span> Public university in Kandy, Sri Lanka

The University of Peradeniya is a public university in Sri Lanka, funded by the University Grants Commission. It is the largest university in Sri Lanka, which was originally established as the University of Ceylon in 1942. The university was officially opened on 20 April 1954, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II, by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chittampalam Abraham Gardiner</span> Ceylon Tamil businessman

Sir Chittampalam Abraham Gardiner was a Ceylon Tamil businessman and member of the Senate of Ceylon.

Sir Tikiri Bandara Panabokke II, First Adigar, JP, UM was a Ceylonese, prominent colonial era legislator, lawyer and diplomat. He was the first Minister of Health in the State Council and second representative of the Government of Ceylon to India. He was the last person appointed by the British Government of Ceylon to the post of Adigar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arunachalam Mahadeva</span> Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and diplomat

Arunachalam Mahadeva, KCMG was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and diplomat. He served as Minister of Home Affairs (1942-1946) and High Commissioner to India (1948-1949).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. L. Senanayake</span> Sri Lankan politician

Deshamanya Edward Lionel Senanayake was a Sri Lankan politician belonging to the United National Party. He was the 12th Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament. Senanayake was the Governor of North Central Province and Central Province of Sri Lanka. He was elected to the Sri Lankan Parliament from Mahanuwara in Kandy.

Joseph Nalliah Arumugam was a leading Ceylon Tamil civil servant.

Coomarasamy Balasingham was a leading Ceylon Tamil civil servant.

Ceylonese recipients of British titles conferred on the advice of Her Majesty's Ceylon Ministers. This list includes all those who were born in, worked in or lived in Ceylon.

Cyril E. S. Perera, QC, was a former member of the House of Representatives (Ceylon), and in later life a leading businessman.

Victor Garvin Weerawardana Ratnayake MBE was a Sri Lankan tea planter and politician.

Major John William Oldfield, was a prominent figure in the commercial and public life in Ceylon, serving as the chairman of the Ceylon Planters' Association between 1924 and 1925, an appointed member of the State Council of Ceylon in 1931 and as an appointed member of the first Parliament of Ceylon in 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Singleton-Salmon</span> British tea planter, businessman and member of parliament

Robert Singleton Salmon, was a British tea planter, businessman and a member of parliament.

Alexander Nicholas de Abrew Abeysinge was a Ceylonese politician.

Rajasinghe Hewavitarne, was a Ceylonese businessman and politician.

Abdon Ignatius Perera JP, CBE was the first Ceylonese Postmaster General and Director of Telecommunications, serving in the position from 1947 to 1951.

Atikar Suriyacumara Nitchinga Senathiraja Ambalavaner Naganather, CBE, JP, UM (1850-1953) was a prominent Ceylonese colonial-era banker and rubber plantation owner.

Allan Morley Spaar MBE JP was a Ceylonese public servant and local politician, serving as the second Mayor of Kandy between 1940 and 1942.

Sir Stephen Montagu Burrows CIE was a British amateur historian, author and Ceylonese civil servant.

Leonard William Booth was a British civil servant, who served in Ceylon and was the acting Colonial Secretary of Ceylon from 1911 to 1913.

Tom Neville Wynne-Jones was a Welsh architect, who served as the Chief Architect of Ceylon.

References

  1. ↑ Ceylon : "No. 39107". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1950. pp. 43–44.
  2. ↑ Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage. Kelly's Directories. 1963. p. 1410.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Wimalaratne, K. D. G., ed. (1994). Personalities, Sri Lanka: A Biographical Study (15th-20th Century), 1490-1990 A.D., A-Z. Ceylon Business Appliances Limited. p. 28. ISBN   9789559287001.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Arumugam, S., ed. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon (PDF). p. 28.
  5. ↑ "Journal of the Institute of Bankers". 42. Institute of Bankers. 1921: 295.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ↑ "Ceylon Government Gazette". 9640. 13 December 1946: 308.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ↑ Ferguson's Ceylon Directory (PDF). Colombo: Ceylon Observer Press. 1944.
  8. ↑ Ceylon : "No. 39107". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1950. pp. 43–44.
  9. ↑ "No. 40500". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 June 1955. p. 3306.
  10. ↑ Shebs, Stanley T. (2010). "100r Stamp of 1992". Stamp Data. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  11. ↑ "Undergraduate Prospectus" (PDF). University of Peradeniya. 2020. p. 186.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.