C. Sittampalam
Encyclopedia
C. Sittampalam, CCS
(Cathiravelu Sittampalam) is the first Cabinet Minister of Posts
and Telecommunications in independent Sri Lanka
(then Ceylon).
Senior with first class honours and with distinction in Mathematics at the age of 15 years.
At Royal College he won coveted prizes including the English Essay Prize, the De Zoysa Science Prize and the Mathematics Prize. He was also the editor of the college magazine and the Secretary of the Literary Association. He graduated in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge
. He qualified as a barrister
in the Middle Temple
.
He served the government in various capacities such as District Judge and Government Agent
in various areas including Matara
and Hambantota
and on retirement from the Civil Service
he was elected as MP
for Mannar
by a multi-ethnic constituency, consisting of majority of Tamils by contesting as an independent candidate and was appointed as First Minister of Posts and Telecommunications by the Don Stephen Senanayake
when he formed his first Cabinet of Ministers of Independent Ceylon in 1948.
The other ministers in this Cabinet were some of the stalwarts of that era, such as S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, John Kotelawala
, Dudley Senanayake
, A. Ratnayaka
, Oliver Goonetilleke, Edwin Wijeyeratne
, J. R. Jayewardene, Lalitha Rajapakse, Prof. Chellappah Suntharalingam
and five others.
He provided a large number of villagers, hundreds and thousands of villages with receiving sets, so that the village people were able to listen to broadcasts from Radio Ceylon and many of the popular items now in the programme were initiated by Mr. Sittampalam. I remember one of the items which was inaugurated by Mr. Sittampalam was pirith which is very popular with the Buddhists today." He was also the Minister for Industries, Industrial Research and Fisheries for a short period.
He started the opening of a large number of sub-post offices and thus improved the postal services in the rural areas. A. Ratnayaka
(a contemporary, a distinguished politician and later President of the Senate of Ceylon
) on the occasion of his death on 3 February 1964 stated of him "I remember one of the things he did which today is one of the most popular things in Ceylon, is the provision of radio sets to villages.
. His father Arumugam Cathiravelu was a Magistrate and District Judge. His uncle Arumugam Canagaratnam
was the Chairman of the first Urban Council of Jaffna and built and founded Canagaratnam Maha Vidyalayam. Mr. C. Sittampalam's grand uncle Viswanather Casipillai
was a Crown
Proctor
and co-founder of the Jaffna Hindu College
.
CCS
-Geosynthetics:*Cellular confinement systems , a honeycombed geosythethetic matrix filled with granular material used for soil confinement, stabilization and reinforcement.-Places:*Abbreviation for Caracas, Venezuela....
(Cathiravelu Sittampalam) is the first Cabinet Minister of Posts
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
and Telecommunications in independent Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
(then Ceylon).
Early life & education
C. Sittampalam was born on 13 September, 1898 and had a strong academic career at Royal College, Colombo. He passed the CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
Senior with first class honours and with distinction in Mathematics at the age of 15 years.
At Royal College he won coveted prizes including the English Essay Prize, the De Zoysa Science Prize and the Mathematics Prize. He was also the editor of the college magazine and the Secretary of the Literary Association. He graduated in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. He qualified as a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
in the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
.
Politics and death
Government Agent
A function called Government Agent exist or existed in the past in several countries, such as* Sri Lanka - see Government Agent * Canada - see Government Agent...
in various areas including Matara
Matara, Sri Lanka
Matara is a city on the southern coast of Sri Lanka, 160 km from Colombo. It is one of the largest cities in Sri Lanka. It was deeply affected by the Asian tsunami in December 2004.-History:...
and Hambantota
Hambantota
Hambantota is a coastal city in the south of Sri Lanka. It is the capital of the Hambantota District...
and on retirement from the Civil Service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
he was elected as MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Mannar
Mannar Electoral District
Mannar Electoral District was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between August 1947 and February 1989. The district was named after the town of Mannar in Mannar District, Northern Province. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced the proportional representation electoral system for electing...
by a multi-ethnic constituency, consisting of majority of Tamils by contesting as an independent candidate and was appointed as First Minister of Posts and Telecommunications by the Don Stephen Senanayake
Don Stephen Senanayake
Don Stephen Senanayake was an independence activist who served as the first Prime Minister of Ceylon from 1947 to 1952.-Early life:...
when he formed his first Cabinet of Ministers of Independent Ceylon in 1948.
The other ministers in this Cabinet were some of the stalwarts of that era, such as S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, John Kotelawala
John Kotelawala
General Sir John Lionel Kotelawala, KBE, CH, KStJ, CLI was a Sri Lankan soldier and politician, most notable for serving as the 3rd Prime Minister of Ceylon from 1953 to 1956....
, Dudley Senanayake
Dudley Senanayake
Dudley Shelton Senanayake was a Ceylonese politician, who became the second Prime Minister of Ceylon and went on to become prime minister on 2 more times during the 1950s and 1960s.-Early life:Dudley was born on 19 June, 1911 as the eldest son to Molly Dunuwila and Don Stephen Senanayake, who...
, A. Ratnayaka
A. Ratnayaka
Abeyratne Ratnayaka was a Sri Lankan politician. He was the first Cabinet Minister of Food, Co-operatives and Home Affairs in independent Ceylon and the last President of the Senate of Ceylon, a Member of Parliament & State Council. He received his primary education at Dharmaraja College Kandy...
, Oliver Goonetilleke, Edwin Wijeyeratne
Edwin Wijeyeratne
Sir Edwin Aloysius Perera Wijeyeratne, KBE was a Sri Lankan politician, diplomat, and one of the founding members of United National Party. He was a Senator and Cabinet Minister of Home Affairs and Rural Development in the government of DS Senanayake...
, J. R. Jayewardene, Lalitha Rajapakse, Prof. Chellappah Suntharalingam
Chellappah Suntharalingam
Chellappah Suntharalingam was a Sri Lankan Tamil politician, Member of Parliament and government minister. Suntharalingam was one the first proponents of an independent Tamil state.-Early life:...
and five others.
He provided a large number of villagers, hundreds and thousands of villages with receiving sets, so that the village people were able to listen to broadcasts from Radio Ceylon and many of the popular items now in the programme were initiated by Mr. Sittampalam. I remember one of the items which was inaugurated by Mr. Sittampalam was pirith which is very popular with the Buddhists today." He was also the Minister for Industries, Industrial Research and Fisheries for a short period.
He started the opening of a large number of sub-post offices and thus improved the postal services in the rural areas. A. Ratnayaka
A. Ratnayaka
Abeyratne Ratnayaka was a Sri Lankan politician. He was the first Cabinet Minister of Food, Co-operatives and Home Affairs in independent Ceylon and the last President of the Senate of Ceylon, a Member of Parliament & State Council. He received his primary education at Dharmaraja College Kandy...
(a contemporary, a distinguished politician and later President of the Senate of Ceylon
Senate of Ceylon
The Senate of Ceylon was the upper chamber of the parliament of Ceylon established in 1947 by the Soulbury Commission. The Senate was appointed/indirectly elected rather than directly elected. The Senate was housed in the old Legislative Council building in Colombo Fort and met for the first time...
) on the occasion of his death on 3 February 1964 stated of him "I remember one of the things he did which today is one of the most popular things in Ceylon, is the provision of radio sets to villages.
Family history
Sittampalam hailed from a distinguished Tamil family from JaffnaJaffna
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...
. His father Arumugam Cathiravelu was a Magistrate and District Judge. His uncle Arumugam Canagaratnam
Arumugam Canagaratnam
Arumugam Canagaratnam is the founder of the college Canagaratnam Maha Vidyalayam in Jaffna, Sri Lanka.-Biography:...
was the Chairman of the first Urban Council of Jaffna and built and founded Canagaratnam Maha Vidyalayam. Mr. C. Sittampalam's grand uncle Viswanather Casipillai
Viswanather Casipillai
Viswanather Casipillai was a Crown Proctor and co-founder of the Jaffna Hindu College.-Biography:His grand nephew Cathiravelu Sittampalam was the first Cabinet Minister of Posts and Telecommunications in the independent Sri Lanka....
was a Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
Proctor
Proctor
Proctor, a variant of the word procurator, is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The word proctor is frequently used to describe someone who oversees an exam or dormitory.The title is used in England in three principal senses:...
and co-founder of the Jaffna Hindu College
Jaffna Hindu College
Jaffna Hindu College is a boys public national school in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1886 by a group of Hindu people who wanted an English language alternative to the Christian missionary schools. JHC is known throughout Sri Lanka as Hindu College.-History:In the late 19th century all the...
.
