Ambika Samuel

Ambika Samuel is a Sri Lankan politician and Member of Parliament. She became popular in social media for her bold stance and activism against corrupt tea estate owners. Following her election in 2024, Samuel became the first Indian Tamil woman to be elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka. Her parents were tea plantation workers, a common line of work for many Malayaga Tamils.

Samuel pursued her primary education at the Haputhale Tamil Primary School. While pursuing her GCE Advanced Levels in political science, she began to take an interest in Marxism. She was successfully elected, obtaining 58,201 votes. Upon her election, Samuel became both the first Malayaga Tamil woman to be elected to parliament and the first female Tamil MP to be elected from the Badulla District.