25 Facts About Ponnambalam Arunachalam

Ponnambalam Arunachalam was a Ceylonese civil servant and a member of the Executive Council of Ceylon and Legislative Council of Ceylon.

Ponnambalam Arunachalam was the son of Gate Mudaliyar A Ponnambalam, a leading government functionary, and Sellachi Ammai.

Ponnambalam Arunachalam was the brother of P Coomaraswamy and P Ramanathan.

Ponnambalam Arunachalam was educated at Royal Academy, Colombo where he won many prizes including the Turnour Prize.

Ponnambalam Arunachalam received an MA degree from Cambridge in 1880.

Ponnambalam Arunachalam was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1875.

Ponnambalam Arunachalam wanted to start a career in law but was persuaded by his maternal uncle Muthu Coomaraswamy to join the civil service.

Ponnambalam Arunachalam sat the Civil Service Examinations in 1875 and became the first Ceylonese to enter the Ceylon Civil Service via open competition.

Ponnambalam Arunachalam's initial posting was at the Government Agent's office in Colombo.

In 1887 Governor Arthur Hamilton-Gordon appointed Ponnambalam Arunachalam acting Registrar-General and Fiscal of the Western Province, by passing 30 officers senior to Ponnambalam Arunachalam.

Fraud, corruption and inefficiency was endemic in the department and so Ponnambalam Arunachalam successfully re-organised the department.

Ponnambalam Arunachalam was appointed acting Commissioner of Requests in 1891 and Registrar-General in 1898.

Ponnambalam Arunachalam was entrusted with managing the 1901 census by being appointed Superintendent of Census in 1900.

Ponnambalam Arunachalam started codifying Ceylon's law but only managed to produce the first volume of A Digest of the Civil Law of Ceylon.

Ponnambalam Arunachalam was an official member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon and a member of the Executive Council of Ceylon between 1912 and 1913.

Ponnambalam Arunachalam agitated for political reform whilst still working in the civil service.

In retirement Ponnambalam Arunachalam became involved in politics, founding the Ceylon National Association and the Ceylon Reform League, of which he was chairman, in 1917.

Ponnambalam Arunachalam was one of the founders of the Ceylon National Congress in 1919 and served as its first president from 1919 to 1920.

Ponnambalam Arunachalam left the CNC in 1921 following disputes about communal representation in the Legislative Council, which Ponnambalam Arunachalam opposed, and the connivance of Sinhalese politicians which resulted in no Tamils being elected from Western Province at the 1921 legislative council election.

Ponnambalam Arunachalam founded the Senthamil Paripalana Sabai and was president of the Ceylon Saiva Paripalana Sabai.

Ponnambalam Arunachalam co-founded the Ceylon Social Services League in 1915 and served as its president.

Ponnambalam Arunachalam was involved in the fledgling trade union movement in Ceylon and founded Ceylon's first trade union, the Ceylon Workers' Welfare League, in 1919.

Ponnambalam Arunachalam served as president of the Ceylon Workers' Federation from 1920 to 1921.

Ponnambalam Arunachalam led the campaign for a university in Ceylon and was known as the "father of the Ceylon University", having founded the Ceylon University Association in 1906.

Ponnambalam Arunachalam died on 9 January 1924 in Madurai whilst on Hindu pilgrimage in southern India.