Ponnambalam Ramanathan sinhala

Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan, (; 16 April 1851 – 26 November 1930) was a Ceylonese lawyer and politician who served as Solicitor-General of Ceylon.

Early life and family

Ramanathan was born on 16 April 1851 at the home of his maternal grandfather A. Coomaraswamy on Sea Street, Colombo in south western Ceylon. He was the son of Gate Mudaliyar A. Ponnambalam, a leading government functionary, and Sellachi Ammai. After being widowed Ramanathan married Australian R. L. Harrison (later known as Leelawathy). They had a daughter, Sivagamisundhari.

Career Returning to Ceylon, with the help of his maternal uncle Muthu Coomaraswamy Ramanathan became a law apprentice under Richard Morgan, Queen's Advocate of Ceylon. Ramanathan became an advocate of the Colombo bar in 1874.

Ramanathan was appointed to the Legislative Council of Ceylon in 1879 as the unofficial member representing Tamils, replacing his maternal uncle Muthu Coomaraswamy. Ramanathan wrote a book during this period, published under his Shaivite holy name of Sri Parananda and titled An Eastern Exposition of the Gospel of Jesus according to St. John (1902), in which he argued that the teachings of Christ could be understood as instructions in yoga. He was appointed Solicitor-General of Ceylon in 1892. Ramanathan was responsible for the release of the Sinhalese leaders who had been arrested following the 1915 Ceylonese riots, travelling to the UK to make their case. He was re-elected at the 1916 legislative council election, defeating Justus Sextus Wijesinghe Jayewardene. He contested the 1924 legislative council election as a candidate for the Northern Province North (Valikamam North) seat and was re-elected to the Legislative Council.

Ramanathan was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1889 Birthday Honours. He was made a Knight Bachelor in 1921. Ramanathan founded two schools in northern Ceylon – Parameshwara College, Jaffna and Ramanathan College. Ramanathan and other leading figures founded The Ceylonese, an English-language newspaper, in 1913. He was president of the Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club from 1917 to 1930. Ramanathan opposed extending voting rights to the people and urged reservation of franchise only to men of the Vellalar caste.

Ramanathan died on 26 November 1930 at his home Sukhastan on Ward Place, Colombo. Future Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake described Ramanathan as "the greatest Ceylonese of all times".

Works On Faith or Love of God (1897) An Eastern Exposition of the Gospel of Jesus According to St. Matthew (1898)

Footnotes