M. Alalasundaram

Arumugam Murugesu Alalasundaram (; died in 1985) was an assassinated Sri Lankan Tamil teacher, politician and Member of Parliament.

Early life Alalasundaram was from Nayanmarkaddu near Nallur in northern Ceylon. He studied in Madras and after graduation became a teacher.

On 14 May 1972 the ITAK, ACTC, Ceylon Workers' Congress, Eelath Thamilar Otrumai Munnani and All Ceylon Tamil Conference formed the Tamil United Front, later renamed Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF).

In March 1981 S. Kathiravelupillai, the TULF MP for Kopay, died and Alalasundaram was nominated by the TULF as his replacement. Alalasundaram entered Parliament after being sworn in on 23 July 1981. Alalasundaram and all other TULF MPs boycotted Parliament from the middle of 1983 for a number of reasons: they were under pressure from Sri Lankan Tamil militants not to stay in Parliament beyond their normal six-year term; the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka required them to swear an oath unconditionally renouncing support for a separate state; and the Black July riots in which up to 3,000 Tamils were murdered by Sinhalese mobs. After three months of absence, Alalasundaram forfeited his seat in Parliament on 5 January 1984.

Many leading Tamil politicians fled to Madras but Alalasundaram was one of the few who remained in Sri Lanka. He stayed at his house near Nallur documenting the growing violence. On 22 February 1983 Alalasundaram was shot and injured after a heated argument with three or four pro-LTTE youths at his house.

Assassination On 1 September 1985 two men abducted Alalasundaram at gunpoint from his house at Kalliyankadu, Nallur. They took Alalasundaram in a car and drove to Uduvil where V. Dharmalingam, former MP for Manipay, was attending a wedding. The men then kidnapped Dharmalingam as well. Alalasundaram was close to the TELO and a relative of its leader Sri Sabaratnam. It is believed that TELO chose to murder Alalasundaram at the same time as Dharmalingam so as to avoid suspicion.

However, the Sri Lankan government and Sinhalese Buddhist nationalists have repeatedly blamed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for the assassinations. As recently as 2013 the Sri Lankan military was blaming the LTTE for the assassinations.