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M. K. Eelaventhan

Hon.
M. K. Eelaventhan
MP
Member of Parliament
for National List
In office
2004–2007
Succeeded byRaseen Mohammed Imam
Personal details
Born
M. K. Kanagentran

(1932-09-14)14 September 1932
Died28 April 2024(2024-04-28) (aged 91)
Canada
Political partyTamil Eelam Liberation Front
Other political
affiliations		Tamil National Alliance
Alma materSt. John's College, Jaffna
Wesley College, Colombo

Manicavasagar Kanagasabapathy Eelaventhan (born M. K. Kanagentran, 14 September 1932 – 28 April 2024) was a Sri Lankan Tamil politician who was a Member of Parliament.

Background

Kanagentran was born on 14 September 1932.[1][2] He was the son of Kanagasabapathy, a station master from Nallur in northern Ceylon.[2] He was educated at St. John's College, Jaffna and Wesley College, Colombo.[2]

Eelaventhan died in Canada on 28 April 2024, at the age of 91.[3]

Career

Kanagentran worked at the Central Bank of Ceylon, eventually becoming head of the Tamil translation section in the Economic Research Department before retiring in 1980.[2][4]

Kanagentran was an active member of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) but in 1970 joined V. Navaratnam's Tamil Self Rule Party.[2][5] He later re-joined ITAK, which was now part of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF).[4][5] Kanagentran was president of the TULF's Colombo branch.[5] He was a victim of the 1977 riots.[5] He became a high profile advocate of Tamil Eelam and changed his name to Eelaventhan which means "King of Eelam" in Tamil.[5] In 1980 he and others left ITAK to form the Tamil Eelam Liberation Front (TELF).[2] Eelaventhan was TELF's secretary.[2]

With the escalation of violence Eelaventhan, like many Sri Lankan Tamil politicians, moved to Tamil Nadu in 1981.[4] He and four others were arrested in Madras in February 1997 on charges of procuring medicine for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.[4][5] All five were acquitted in August 1999.[4] Eelaventhan was deported to Sri Lanka on 4 December 2000.[4][6]

Eelaventhan was appointed a Tamil National Alliance National List MP in the Sri Lankan Parliament following the 2004 parliamentary election.[7][8] He forfeited his seat in Parliament in November 2007 for being absent for more than three months.[9][10]

Eelaventhan emigrated to Canada where in May 2010 he was elected to the Transnational Constituent Assembly of Tamil Eelam.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Directory of Past Members: Manicavasagar Kanagasabapathy Eelaventhan". Parliament of Sri Lanka.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. p. 51.
  3. ^ Tamil politician and former member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, Eezhaventhan, passed away last Sunday at the age of 91
  4. ^ a b c d e f Subramanian, T. S. (23 December 2000). "A swift deportation". Frontline. 17 (26).
  5. ^ a b c d e f Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (10 February 2008). "Tigers oust King of Eelam". The Nation (Sri Lanka).
  6. ^ Subramanian, T. S. (7 January 2001). "A swift deportation". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  7. ^ "TNA nominates two national list MPs". TamilNet. 9 April 2004.
  8. ^ Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (5 July 2014). "BIRTH AND GROWTH OF NEXUS BETWEEN THE TNA AND THE LTTE". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka).
  9. ^ "National List MP lost his seat "by mistake"". The Island (Sri Lanka). 17 February 2008.
  10. ^ "Eelaventhan loses membership in SL parliament". TamilNet. 15 December 2007.
  11. ^ "31,000 vote in Canadian TGTE elections". TamilNet. 3 May 2010.
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