M. Balasundaram

Murugesu Balasundaram (Tamil: முருகேசு பாலசுந்தரம்; 7 April 1903 – 15 December 1965) was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and Member of Parliament.

Hon. M. Balasundaram MP
மு. பாலசுந்தரம்
Member of the Ceylonese Parliament for Kopay
In office 1960–1965
Preceded by	C. Vanniasingam
Succeeded by	S. Kathiravelupillai
Personal details
Born	7 April 1903
Died	15 December 1965 (aged 62)
Alma mater	Ceylon University College Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Profession	Lawyer
Ethnicity	Ceylon Tamil

Early life and family

Balasundaram was born on 7 April 1903.[1] He was the son of Reverend K. S. Murugesu, a Methodist clergyman.[1] He was educated at Kilner College, Jaffna and Royal College, Colombo.[1] After school Balasundaram joined the Ceylon University College, graduating in 1923 with a B.Sc. degree.[1][2] He received a scholarship to study at Trinity Hall, Cambridge from where he graduated with a B.A. degree.[1]

Balasundaram married Sinnammah, daughter of Sinnathamby.[1] They had four sons (Gnanasanmugan, Yogasundaram, Balakrishnan and Sivanandasundaram) and two daughters (Somasundaravalli and Yogeswari).[1]

Career

After returning to Ceylon Balasundaram worked as journalist for a brief period before joining the legal profession as an advocate.[1]

Balasundaram was one of the founding members of the Jaffna Youth Congress in 1924.[3] He stood as the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi's (Federal Party) candidate in Kopay at the March 1960 parliamentary election. He won the election and entered Parliament.[4] He was re-elected at the July 1960 parliamentary election.[5] He stood as an independent candidate in Kopay at 1965 parliamentary election but was defeated by the ITAK candidate S. Kathiravelupillai.[6]

Balasundaram died on 15 December 1965.[1]

References

1. Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. p. 23.
2. Ceylon University College Prospectus 1936-37. Ceylon University College. 1936. p. 50.
3. "The courage and nationalism of the youth of a bygone era". The Island (Sri Lanka). 10 March 2012.
4. "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1960-03-19" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2015.
5. "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1960-07-20" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015.
6. "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1965" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 July 2015.