Source: http://mtiruchelvam.com/review_by_jeyaraj
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 13:07:44+00:00

Document:
The past week witnessed the birth and death anniversaries of Murugeysen Tiruchelvam the eminent Queens Counsel who played a prominent role in the politics of this Country during the sixties of the last century. The former Solicitor-General, Senator, Local Government minister and political strategist of the Federal Party was born on November 19th 1907. He passed away on November 23rd 1976.
A collection of his speeches at the Senate and tributes paid by dignitaries to M. Tiruchelvam have been compiled into a book by his former private secretary , the Lawyer R. Balasubramaniam. The book titled “Senator Tiruchelvam’s Legacy”-published by Vijitha Yapa Associates-was released on Nov 23rd.This article is to commemorate M. Tiruchelvam on his birth centenary.
I was sixteen years old when I first saw Murugeysen Tiruchelvam. Though I had seen Tiruchelvam in newspaper photographs and film news reels, it was at Chavakachcheri that I first saw him in the flesh. He and his wife Punitham Tiruchelvam were the chief guests at the ceremonial opening of the re- constructed Central bus stand in Chavakachcheri town. The year was 1970.
Tiruchelvam was not a minister then. The bearded Federal party MP for Chavakachcheri V. N. Navaratnam had invited him to be honoured and thanked for services rendered during his ministerial tenure in helping to develop the electorate.My family had relocated from Colombo to the North that year and I was eagerly re-discovering my roots.
I recall that I attended this “dull” opening function only to see M. Tiruchelvam in person.My curiosity was due to all what I had heard and read about this man called Tiruchelvam. Most of it was not complimentary. There were reasons for this.
He had been the only Tamil minister in the United National Party (UNP) led national government formed in 1965. A Tamil had assumed ministerial office for the first time since 1956. Moreover Tiruchelvam was Local Government minister and was actively involved in efforts to restore the lost rights of the Tamil people.
For this he and the UNP led Govt were savagely attacked by the opposition triad comprising the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Lanka Sama Samaaja Party (LSSP) and Communist Party (CP). Seven parties formed the national government then. The opposition dubbed it derisively as “Hath Havula”.
These opposition parties shamelessly whipped up communalism against the Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake and his multi - ethnic Govt. Senanayake was accused of being partial towards Tamils and betraying Sinhala interests. “Dudleyge Bade Masala Vadey” was the slogan.
The visible embodiment of “Tamilness” in that cabinet was M. Tiruchelvam. Moreover he was playing a key role in trying to seek justice for the Tamil people.Naturally the mainstream opposition attacked Tiruchelvam.
Besides ,Tamil stalwarts of the LSSP and CP went to town with the anti-Tiruchelvam line. He was reviled on a class basis also and described as “Karuvaakkaattuth Thamilan ” (Cinnamon Gardens Tamil). Tiruchelvam was living in Rosemead place. But this was not all.
The FP’s traditional rival, the All - Ceylon Tamil Congress led by GG Ponnambalam was also criticising the FP for political reasons.Again the chief target was M. Tiruchelvam. He was condemned as the Tamil minister who could not do anything constructive for the Tamils.
The Tamil Congress contrasted this with the “great” deeds of GG Ponnambalam as cabinet minister in the DS and Dudley Senanayake Governments.
Then there was the former Kayts MP and FP dissident V. Navaratnam.He had broken away in 1968 and formed a new Tamil party agitating for “Suyaatchi” or self - rule. Navaratnam an erstwhile confidante of FP leader SJV Chelvanayagam , was now bitterly opposed to the Tamil political Patriarch.
He too was viciously critical of M. Tiruchelvam and blamed him for allegedly misleading Chelvanayagam and betraying the Tamils.
Worse still was the conduct of many FP politicians. The FP had lost some of its lustre by its participation in a “Sinhala” government. They were assailed by political opponents on this count.
These FP politicians on their part shifted blame on to Tiruchelvam. SJV Chelvanayagam was a sacred Cow above reproach. But Tiruchelvam was vulnerable and easy prey.
In retrospect , I think VN Navaratnam’s gesture of inviting M.Tiruchelvam as chief guest was commendable. Many FP politicians had gained benefits for their electorates through Tiruchelvam’s efforts.
Apart from whatever he could do as Local Government Minister ,Tiruchelvam had also used his relationship with other cabinet ministers to extract welfare and development projects.
But few Federal MP’s were acknowledging this fact during election year (1970) and were now distancing themselves from Tiruchelvam.Gratitude has for long been a dwindling virtue in Tamil politics. VN Navaratnam was a rare exception.
It was against this backdrop of M. Tiruchelvam being the target of criticism that I went to see him that evening at the Chavakachcheri bus stand. Of course, I did not at that time , comprehend his political role well or understand the context in which he was being criticised.
I was only curious to see him in person as even an ex - minister was a rarity in those times when cabinets did not exceed twenty. He had been a Tamil minister. Also the attacks on him had projected a sinister impression of Tiruchelvam in my mind.
The Tiruchelvam that I saw for the first time was a fair, small made man by Sri Lankan standards. On that evening he was clad in verti. He spoke briefly in his mother tongue as befitting the occasion. . He did not speak Tamil fluently and so spoke haltingly and sparingly. He spoke softly.As an orator in Tamil he made a poor impression then.
Years later I was to see him in his element as the brilliant lawyer that he was. It was the trial at bar case against Appapillai Amirthalingam for sedition. Attorney - General Shiva Pasupathy was prosecuting.The three Judges were JFA Soza, Siva Selliah and Ananda Silva.
Seventy-two Tamil lawyers including Six Queens Counsels marked their appearances in court for the defence.It was an impressive sight that day when Tamils flocked at the court house to see this impressive turn out.
Shiva Pasupathy represented the state and Amirthalingam as accused symbolised Tamil resistance then.Ironically the tigers who killed Amirthalingam after calling him a traitor went on to embrace Shiva Pasupathy - now retired - as an International Constitutional adviser.
Amirthalingam’s legal defence was the high water mark of Tamil politics then. Those were the times when Tamils were proud of their education and professional skills rather than their ability to kill and destroy. Those were the times when Tamils believed in non - violent protest, rule of law and Constitutional politics.
It was also an occasion where Tamils sank political differences and rallied around a common cause. The scene that captured the mood of the times was that of SJV Chelvanayagam, GG Ponnambalam and M. Tiruchelvam posing together for a photograph. They were regarded then as the “Trinity” or “Trimoorthigal” of Sri Lankan Tamil politics.
But within a year this triumvirate was no more. Tiruchelvam the youngest of the trio passed way in November 1976. GG Ponnambalam died in February 1977. SJV Chelvanayagam departed in April 1977. Their deaths marked the end of an era in Tamil politics.
The Trial at bar case where Tamils “fought” the oppressive state legally was symbolic as it was politically explosive.The protracted trial at bar proceedings continued at Bullers road. I was then a law student and used to spend hours watching.GG Ponnambalam and M. Tiruchelvam conducted the case.
It is said that Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam’s address on “Our Political Needs” in 1917 was the “Bible” of the Ceylonese movement for Independence from the British. Likewise I would say that Murugeysen Tiruchelvam’s address to court provided an intellectual basis for the cause of Tamil freedom in Sri Lanka.
He argued in depth about the right of self - determination and of Tamil sovereignty. He spoke of the Tamils as a distinctive people with their own language, territory, history and common heritage and consciousness. He also referred to the Jaffna Kingdom in detail and pointed out with facts that the Tamils had lost their sovereignty on the battlefield to the Portugese.
This sovereignty had been transferred from the Portugese to the Dutch and from the Dutch to the British.The British had then transferred it to the “Sinhala” rulers who enacted the 1972 Republican Constitution without the Consent of the Tamils.
While arguing that the 1972 Constitution was imposed on the Tamils, M. Tiruchelvam observed that Tamil Sovereignty had not been ceded to the Sinhalese on the battle field. At that point Justice Siva Selliah remarked “Yes. We were not a militarily conquered people”.
Apart from seeing M. Tiruchelvam the lawyer in courts, there were only two occasions when I had a chance to interact with him. These were in the mid - seventies when I was a member of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) Colombo branch and also the Colombo Tamil Youth front branch. I was not a Journalist then.
On both occasions a small group of us youths was asked by the TULF leader SJV Chelvanayagam to meet with M.Tiruchelvam and clarify certain doubts. Tiruchelvam was charmingly gracious and answered our heated questions with cool detachment and a disarming smile.
Those were times when Tamil youths including this writer were becoming greatly enamoured of Tamil Eelam. M. Tiruchelvam was not in favour of separation but most sympathetic to the reasons leading to such a demand. He was diplomatic and did not refute or dismiss our arguments but conveyed his contrary thoughts carefully with reasoned logic.
He also spoke in detail to us about issues like the Palestinian cause , Bangla Desh independence and the Dravidian separatist demand etc. On the second occasion we departed with an invitation from M. Tiruchelvam to visit him again soon. But this was not to be! On November 23rd 1976 he was studying a case at home and passed away peacefully late at night..
This writer has not moved closely with M. Tiruchelvam and does not possess insights which others who did so would have. But over the years I have discussed about M. Tiruchelvam with many others who knew him well like former Senators M.Manickam and S. Nadarajah.
I have also done so with people like ex-TULF parliamentarians Amirthalingam, VN Navaratnam, V. Dharmalingam. I have also heard many negative things about M. Tiruchelvam from people like former Kayts MP V. Navaratnam and Kumar Ponnambalam.
Among others with whom I’ve spoken about M. Tiruchelvam are Prof. AJ Wilson and KC Nythiananda. There have also been a number of lesser known people who interacted with M. Tiruchelvam who have told me certain things about his political past.
With the wisdom of hindsight I began realising that M. Tiruchelvam was a man who was more “sinned against” than who had “sinned”.
But above all these , the reason I venture to write about M. Tiru , is because he was Neelan Tiruchelvam’s father. M. Tiruchelvam was a great man in his own right and fully deserves being written about. As for myself, I write this mainly due to my relationship with Neelan.
To those of an older generation Neelan was Tiruchelvam’s son. But to those of my generation M. Tiruchelvam was Neelan’s father.
It was as a journalist on “Virakesari” that I came to know Neelan Tiruchelvam. My relationship with him grew over the years and he has had great influence over me in imparting knowledge, stimulating thought, shaping my career and moulding my beliefs. I always recall with grief the last 50 minute telephonic conversation I had with him just 35 minutes before he was killed.
In the beginning of this article I wrote about how M. Tiru was perceived and criticised by his political opponents as well as sections of his own party .
In later years as my knowledge and understanding of Sri Lankan politics deepened and broadened I began realising that many politicians tarnished as “devils” were really not so devilish and that many depicted as “angels” were far from being “angelic” in reality.
This is very true in the cases of Murugeysen and Neelakandan Tiruchelvam. They were both people who tried to help the Tamil people through political settlements and Constitutional arrangements.
But these efforts were either misunderstood or deliberately distorted. As a result they were unfairly vilified.Neelan was assassinated.
Years ago when I was in Colombo I began detecting signs of Neelan becoming a target because of his involvement in Constitutional politics. Being aware of how his own party let down his father I used to caution him about history repeating itself.
Usually he would listen intently but not say anything. But once he told me that he was fully aware of the situation and the fate that might befall him. But he would not stop what he was doing till the problem was solved and the people got their rights.After that I stopped talking on those lines with Neelan.
I realised that Neelan felt immense pain about the way in which M. Tiruchelvam had been treated by political contemporaries. But to Neelan his father’s political mission was an unfinished task that had to be completed.
To me Senator Tiruchelvam’s legacy is not this newly released book but his son Neelan. M. Tiru had four children but Neelan was his political heir.
Later from Canada I would caution Neelan about the tigers. But he would not stop what he was doing because of a death threat. This was because he knew that he was on the correct path. It was an example of quiet courage.
The senior Tiruchelvam’s father Murugeysen hailed from Vaddukkoddai in Jaffna district. He got a degree from the Calcutta University and served as a Post master and also a station master in Malaya during British colonial rule. Tiruchelvam was the eldest child. The mother came to Jaffna during her early pregnancy. After Tiruchelvam was born in Jaffna she returned to Malaya with her 3 month old son.
Murugeysen sent two of his sons , Tiruchelvam and Rajenda (later to become a top civil servant) to the home country for their secondary education after the end of the 1st world war.. They studied at St. Thomas’s College that had shifted in 1918 from Mutwal to Mount Lavinia.
SJV Chelvanayagam whose father Velupillai was also a Malayan resident was a friend of Murugeysen. As a result Chelvanayagam was made guardian of the two boys.An old boy, he was teaching at STC then. But he left STC because of a dispute with Warden Stone and joined Wesley College. The Brothers remained SJV’s wards.
Apart from Rajendra who was a former permanent secretary, Tiruchelvam had two other brothers and a sister. One of these brothers was a lawyer and the other a teacher. They settled down in Malaysia and Singapore. The sister Mrs. Mahadeva lives in Australia.
Tiruchelvam remained close to Chelvanayagam. In later life he drew close to Chelvanayagam politically. He was the most trusted deputy and adviser to Chelvanayagam. As a result Tiruchelvam became the chief political strategist of the FP. This affinity with SJV was resented by many. Chief among them was V. Navaratnam of Kayts who nursed a life - long hatred of Tiru.
“Senator M Tiruchelvam QC was in every way, but in name and blood relationship, the son of my father-in-law, the late S. J. V. Chelvanayakam. I came to know him in 1952 and was his close and admiring friend throughout this phase of his life until his sad and premature demise in 1976.
My father-in-law regarded him with love and affection, chided him at times as if he were his own child, and implicit father in him. Tiruchelvam for his part reciprocated this confidence and trust and never ever uttered a word of criticism against my father-in-law. Such was the bond that held these two men together.
In part, the close ties were due to the fact that as a boy Tiruchelvam was sent to Ceylon to attend secondary school at St. Thomas’s by his parents, and his ward, guardian, and foster father from then onwards was Chelvanayakam.
He learned his law and imbibed his nationalism from his mentor but he was also in his own right a civilised and cultured man - he learned history and completed his degree in that discipline at the then University College.
It is difficult to write about Tiruchelvam without the feeling of intense emotion. He had the capacity to evoke such attachment and it was principally due to his humane and lovable ways; he could strike the right chord in certain human beings.
Murugeysen Tiruchelvam entered University College and completed an honours degree in History. He then pursued legal studies and became a lawyer in 1935.After practising for a while at the bar , Tiruchelvam served as the Magistrate in Negombo, Panadura and Galle up to 1945.
He was subsequently appointed Assistant Legal Secretary to the then Legal Secretary Sir Alan Rose. Later Tiruchelvam became Deputy Solicitor-General and then Solicitor-General in 1957.
He was in his early thirties when “Manmathan” or Cupid struck. Punithavathy Canagaratnam known as Punitham was an undergraduate when Tiruchelvam first saw her. Her mother was a teacher at Driebergs College Chavakachcheri. Her father was V. Canagaratnam,a Proctor,. one of her brothers was former district judge C. Manohara.
It was apparently love at first sight. They were married soon after and she abandoned her tertiary studies.
Punitham Tiruchelvam was a dynamic personality in her own right. She was involved with the Tamil Refugee Rehabilitation Organization (TRRO) set up by the lawyer K. Kandasamy after the 1977 anti-Tamil violence. The TRRO is not to be confused with the controversial TRO of today. I did some “volunteer” work for the TRRO in the early days of its existence.
It was then that I witnessed Punitham’s humanitarian commitment and selfless service. She had an amiable disposition but would stand firm on certain issues. She passed away a few years after her husband.
Murugeysen and Punitham Tiruchelvam had four children. They were Hindus but had a secular and liberal outlook towards life. Three of their children got married to spouses from Muslim, Christian and Buddhist families.
Tiruchelvam being in the service of the crown did not involve himself directly in politics during the Colonial period. But he did participate in helping formulate the Dominion Constitution known as Soulbury Constitution. Sir Ivor Jennings is credited with the drafting but Sir Alan Rose too contributed extensively. Rose was ably assisted by Tiruchelvam.
Prof. Wilson once told me that Tiruchelvam’s role in protecting minority interests in Constitution making had gone unrecognized.According to Wilson, Tiru played a significant role through Sir Alan Rose in gettiing Section 29 of the Soulbury Constitution included as a minority safeguard.
When Independence dawned on Feb 4th 1948 the Union Jack came down. In a pointer to the future the flag that went up was the Lion flag identified with the majority community. The minorities resented this.
Tiruchelvam in his own way defied the powers that be. He flew the” Nandhi “or crouched bull flag in his vehicle. The Nandhi flag was the standard of the Pallava dynasty in India as well as that of the Jaffna kingdom. When the Jaffna Youth Congress demanded “Poorana Swaraj” or complete independence from the British they hauled down the Union Jack and raised the Nandhi instead.
The Solicitor - General was deeply troubled by events of the fifties. He prematurely retired as S-G in 1960 and reverted to the unofficial bar. He also entered politics in support and by the side of Chelvanayagam. Given his personal relationship with Chelvanayagam and also his politico - legal acumen, it was soon apparent that Tiruchelvam was the new “Saanakkiyan” (Chanakya) in the FP.
He participated in the Satyagraha campaign of 1961 and was detained at Panagoda for six months. The man who had spent most of his life in Kualalumpore and Colombo was exposed to what the people of the North - East were thinking during this incarceration. Tiruchelvam gained much insight into Tamil political consciousness as a result.
1965 elections saw the UNP getting 66 seats and the SLFP - LSSP - CP combination 56. The FP with 14 seats held the balance of power. Both sides wooed the FP and Chelvanayagam was content to let Tiruchelvam handle the intense negotiations. It was decided that the FP would throw in its lot with Dudley Senanayake.
An agreement was reached at the house of Dr. MVP Peiris. On the suggestion of JR Jayewardena the agreement reached was documented. It was signed by Senanayake and Chelvanayagam and became known as the Dudley - Chelva pact. Agreement was reached on a number of matters including the use of Tamil Language and the establishment of district councils.
Senanayake also offered three ministerial portfolios to the FP but the party in condemning GG Ponnambalam for accepting a post earlier had declared consistently that no Federal MP would join a cabinet before Tamil rights were restored.
Thus none of the 14 MP’s could become ministers.There was however a need for someone to be in cabinet and help push things through.So the party decided to accept one ministry.
The only choice was to appoint a non - MP as minister. He could be made a Senator to be eligible. So Tiruchelvam was made minister and appointed Senator. While this certainly had its merits, politically, Tiruchelvam had to bear the brunt of attacks from all sides.
Tiruchelvam became Local Government minister so that he could help usher in the District Councils. His first task however was to draft the Tamil Language Special Provisions Act known popularly as Reasonable use of Tamil act.
Using his legal dexterity to the maximum M. Tiru interpreted the provision “specific administrative purposes” as to mean that Tamil “shall” be used “for all administrative puposes” regarding the North-East.
This created a furore in Parliament and JR Jayewardena who presented it in the House requested Tiruchelvam to change “shall” to “may” but the Local Government minister stood firm. The bill was passed.Tiruchelvam was elated.
Chelvanayagam summed up the Tamil mood when he said in Parliament “The Sinhala only Act deprived the Tamil speaking people of their self - respect in this Country.By passing these regulations and implementing the act, this lost respect is restored in some measure”.
The next objective was the District Councils. The Government dragged its feet. An impatient Tiruchelvam wanted to resign on many occasions but Chelvanayagam urged patience.
Also many Federal MP’s were tasting access to power in a Government for the first time. They did not want to come out of the govt but when questioned by the radical elements within the party chose to blame Tiruchelvam’s lust for office as the cause. Isolated in Colombo Tiruchelvam did not realise what was happening.
A case in point was the nationalisation of Trincomalee harbour. Tiruchelvam found himself unable to prevent it and was prepared to resign as a last resort. But the party did not back him. Even Trinco MP Manickarajah was reluctant. Ultimately M. Tiru was made the scapegoat for all these matters.
Finally in 1968 the green light was given by Senanayake for the District Councils. A White paper drafted by Tiruchelvam was presented. Clause 74, if implemented magnanimously and intelligently could have made the district units virtually autonomous over a period of time.
But the D C’s were bitterly opposed by the SLFP - LSSP - CP and a backbencher “ginger group” within the UNP.Dudley got cold feet and backed out. He offered to resign his premiership. Chelvanayagam ruled that out as an option.
Meanwhile a dissappointed Tiruchelvam wanted to quit the cabinet in protest. Once again the party prevailed upon him to desist. But predictably , FP leaders spread a snide whisper campaign that Tiruchelvam was defying party sentiments and opting to stay put for perks of office.
The final break came in 1969 when Fort Frederick in Trincomalee was to be declared a Hindu sacred precinct by the Local Government minister because the famous Koneshwaram temple was within. When Buddhist monks protested to Senanayake the Prime minister intervened and rescinded the order over the head of the LG minister.
This was a gross insult to Tiruchelvam’s self - respect. This time he did not wait for the party to decide and handed in his resignation. His friends in the cabinet like JR Jayewardena and VA Sugathadasa tried hard to change his mind but Tiruchelvam was unshaken.
Soon a reluctant FP followed suit by pulling out from the Government formally. A point conveniently overlooked is that Tiruchelvam came out of the Govt first and not the other way about.
After his exit several party members distanced themselves from him . He was blamed for all the ills of the FP. With Chelvanayagam ailing and many of the old guard passing away,Tiruchelvam too was slowly sidelined. He did not play any role in the drafting of the FP memorandum to the Constituent Assembly of 1970 - 72.
A project close to Tiruchelvam’s heart was the setting up of a Tamil university in Trincomalee. The Tamil university movement had bought much land in Uppuvely for the purpose. These plans could have succeeded when Tiruchelvam was minister but the stumbling block was GG Ponnambalam who demanded a Hindu University in Jaffna. Neither projects were fulfilled as Senanayake was able to “shelve” both by exploiting the rivalry.
Tiruchelvam like GG Ponnambalam went to Chennai in 1976 to appear for DMK leader Muttuvel Karunanidhi when the ex - chief minister of Tamil Nadu was charged for corruption by the Sarkaria Commission. Likewise both of them were engaged together at the Amirthalingam Trial at bar which was their grand politico -legal swansong.
“My father had an impish sense of humour. During the 1976 Trial-at -Bar when Amirthalingam and three others were tried before three judges of the High Court, there was realization that the case could prove to be a political trial of far reaching constitutional importance.
My father decided that it would be important to retain G. G. Ponnambalam, who had retired from active practice.
My father had spoken to GG who agreed to appear for Amirthalingam. He however demanded a letter of instruction from an instructing attorney. He wanted it placed on record that his services had been sought by his bitterest political adversaries.
The letter was duly signed and sealed and I was entrusted with the unenviable task of delivering the letter to Mr. Ponnambalam. Mr. Ponnambalam received me with extreme courtesy. However, he read the letter, and exploded angrily.
Another aspect that has gone unnoticed was Tiruchelvam’s performance as Local Government minister. I have come across many local government officials from the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities in the districts of Kurunegala, Batticaloa and Amparai referring to Tiru in glowing terms about his ministerial tenure.
Ranil Wickremasinghe , minister of Education and Youth Affairs in 1979 said in a radio talk ” During the period, Mr. Tiruchelvam served the country as a Minister, he proved his mettle as a political leader on a national level. The Ministry of Local Government under his stewardship received applause from every quarter. He looked at every problem with a determination to embark on the correct approach. He won confidence as a Minister because he helped everyone who sought his help irrespective of race or creed”.
As a lawyer he went to the aid of both the high and the low. When JR Jayewardena was having intra - party differences with Dudley Senanayake Tiruchelvam was at hand to help him. He defended Jayewardena when threatened with expulsion.
Likewise it was Tiruchelvam who took up the case of a Tamil journalist dismissed by the management for trade union activity. He did not charge a cent and appeared free despite the displeasure of the newspaper owners who were all well - known to him .
“Growing up in the shadow of such a person whose agility of mind, devotion to duty and capacity for work, was legendary, I wondered could I measure upto his standards?
For instance in his law practice he gave of his professional best, but I as a youngster found he was deeply emotional and personally concerned with the welfare of his clients, if they suffered injustice. He used all his legal skills, legal integrity to devise a remedy.
Though my father was deeply affectionate with us, it was my mother Punitham who was responsible for our upbringing and nurtured an interest in religion, humanism, history and music.
My father was secular, his interests were history and the law. He and his brother M. Rajendra, a civil servant read a lot and built up formidable libraries.
I used to listen to their intellectual talks at family gatherings which were like mini-seminars. There were always scholars and diplomats and others active in public life.
When he was a Minister, I did accompany him on a few occasions on some of his tours and was deeply impressed by his ability to relate to people. He would switch from his elegantly tailored suits, to a spotless vershti. He moved with great ease and acceptance amongst ordinary people although he was never a candidate for elective office.
From 1973 to 1977, I worked as his junior. He was a very severe and demanding senior. He had a substantial amount of appellate and trial work. He specialized on questions of public law, and more specifically administrative remedies. He had a nimble mind and quick grasp of ideas. He was totally absorbed in his cases and in every sense a lawyer’s lawyer, one whose judgement and knowledge of the law and legal acumen was valued by his colleagues.
He had this great capacity to persuade. In Courts his voice was soft and sometimes hardly audible, yet he commanded complete attention by the skill with which he marshalled his facts and presented his case on behalf of his clients. He had the capacity to think on his feet, and would suddenly change his legal strategy, much to the exasperation of his juniors.
While he was Solicitor General, his colleagues were Victor Tennekoon, Rajah Wanasundera, H. L. de Silva and V. S. A. Pullenayagam. They worked closely, and formed a formidable team in taking on the best in the unofficial Bar. In many a complex case on constitutional law and administrative law, they outdistanced the unofficial Bar.
My father always maintained an affectionate, though exacting relationship with his juniors, whom he normally addressed as ‘Sonna’. He was supportive of their careers and encouraged them to take an interest in the study of current legal developments. In the Senate during late evening debates, he was often found reading the latest issue of the Modern Law Review. Even as a law officer of the state, he took every opportunity to speak, very seriously.
Neelan was named a Presidents Counsel in 1998 the equivalent of the Queens or Kings counsels of an earlier vintage. It was only the fourth occasion in Sri Lankan legal history that a father and son had received Silk. Neelan’s father was a Queen’s Counsel.
The other members of this elite father and son combination are EW Jayawardene KC and HW Jayawardene QC, HH Basnayake QC and Sinha Basnayake PC, as well as Nariman Choksy QC and Kasi Choksy PC.
Unlike in the other cases, both Tiruchelvam senior and junior were legislators. Not only did they receive the highest honour that lawyer is eligible for, but they were both law-makers.
The Tiruchelvam father-son duo impacted greatly on the “constitutional” struggle to win back the lost rights of the Tamil people. Their commitment to the “Just and legitimate” cause of the Tamil people was immense. Sadly some pseudo-nationalist Tamils chose to condemn them.
In one instance an ardent FP activist was made Special Commissioner of a dissolved local authority in the North by Tiruchelvam. The man was full of sycophantic praise then.
Nowadays the man is living abroad and paying pooja to the tigers. His favourite targets of attack as long as Neelan was alive were the Tiruchelvams , father and son.
But this does not mean that the roles played by Tiruchelvam senior and junior in their different times are unacknowledged or unappreciated. The megaphone is hogged by a vociferous, fascist minority now but the voice of reason and sanity has not been drowned totally.
It is a perfect tribute in memory of both M.Thiruchelvam and his son Neelan Thiruchelvam. The late Mr.M.Thiruchelvam was really kind at heart and gentle in character. I can remember advising us soon after we took our Oaths as Attorneys-at-Law. I had only moved with Dr.Neelan Thiruchelvam at the Law Faculty and later met him at a wedding at the Sapphire hotel. He wanted me to join him for a discussion and I told him to be beware of the movement of the LTTEers. Five days after our meeting, I was sad to hear some stupid LTTE suicide bomber jumped in front of his vehicle and was assassinated. I agree with you that he took life very lightly. I can still remember the tireless efforts he took in the proposed Draft Constitution with Dr.G.L.Peiris Both were far above the normal politicians. Their deaths are a great loss to the Tamils.
II have never seen senior Thiruchelvam, but had read about him during trial at bar case against late Mr. Amirthalingam, I was a small boy in the up country, but people like senior Mr. Thiruchelvam made great impression on me about our Jaffna tamil brothers.
well narrated. I read it completely. I am sad that word’s wealth of eminent men and women are depleting fast. The universe is poorer today.
DBS is in no uncertain terms pours accolades and praises on Thiruchelvam clan .They fully deserve it. It is rare for people to write boldly in favour of Tiruchelvams nowadays. Well done DBS!
This is certainly a very exhaustive and detailed contribution by the author on the live and times of the late M.Thiruchelvam’s life and work.
But it is somewhat disappointing to find why the author had not shed more light about the dissolution of the Jaffna Municipal Council which he merely refers to as ‘a dissolved local authority ‘ in the North, and the reasons for the dismissal of the late Mr.Alfred Thuraiappah who was Mayor then, when Mr.Thiruchelvam was the Minister of Local Government and the part played by him.
I just finished reading your article about Thiruchelvam. It is a well written article.
I read your article on a regular basis .
I had the rare privilege of working as the Press Officer to Mr M Thiruchalvam QC when he was the Minister of Local Government in the Dusdley Senanayake Government. He was a very unassuming and a great human being.He having been the only Minister to represent the Federal Party and the Tamil interest in the Government did his best for his people and when his efforts to get the District Council bill in Parliament failed he honurably resigned from the Government paving the way for late President Premadasa to succeed him as the Minister.
I had the opportunity of travelling with him on his offical visists very often to East and North of the Country and althougn I am a Sinhalese he treated me well and arrnaged to stay with him finding me accomodation and food.he was a very amiable person and above all a gentleman to his finger tip.
It is heartening to note that a collection of his speeches at the Senate and tributes paid by dignitaries to M. Tiruchelvam have been compiled into a book by his former private secretary , the Lawyer R. Balasubramaniam with whom I woked closely.
While giving to Thiruchelvam’s what they deserve, on one the other hand you are educating the public on the FP MP’s and the stalwarts typical opportunistic tail and head show to the Tamils.
Gratitude was not a dwindling virtue in Tamil politics alone but sadly generally among Tamils. It distills down to politics also and that was the reason we are in this state today and talking about Brigadiers, Captains and Colonels as opposed to QCs and PCs.
What a beautiful portrait of GG, SJV and TC above. How many Tamils can recognise them now.Had they stood together from day one things would have been different now.
I wonder why SJV defected from TC and formed FP. If FP can propose and pass Reasonable Use of Tamils to soften Sinhala Only Act, what was wrong with GG in supporting Indo Pakistani Act of 1949 to soften the effect of Citizenship Act of 1948.
I had the opportunity to see Senator Thiruchelvam who came to Batticaloa in 1960 to support the Federal Party. I was 8 years old, he was delivering a speech in English in front of our house, look like english is his mother tongue even though he was representing the tamils in the country, and his speech was translated by then the young lawyer, Sam Thambimuthu. For me it marvelled the talent of Sam Thambimuthu rather than the senator T. Anyway, I wish the author’s work to recall the past history.
It is true that there is a certain class of Sinhalese and Tamil who are more comfortable with each other than with the rest of their own community.
Its time for these honest, decent and cosmopolitan Tamils and Sinhalese who can live togther to secede from from the their mad and itolerant brothers.
Is it also not true that Tamil politics went to the toilet after Prabakharan and LTTE took over leadership? You should be able to answer this in detail after this years great heroes day. You must be feeling dejected to have to write about people like Tiruchelvam as well as Tamilselvan.
Tamils are in a great big stink but sadly there are some of us who think there is no odor when Prabakharan goes to toilet. Of course the TNA will be there to do certain duties in the toilet.
DBS is spot on as usual.
An interesting and informative article. Unfortunately, DBS allows his personal relationship with the son to cloud his objectivity around the father. He glibly writes that Thiruchelvam senior was, “actively involved in efforts to restore the lost rights of the Tamil people”, DBS goes on to say that, “Apart from whatever he could do as Local Government Minister ,Tiruchelvam had also used his relationship with other cabinet ministers to extract welfare and development projects’. Both of these quotes are conspicuous in the paucity of the supporting evidence. Whatever the charges leveled against Thiruchelvam’s rival GG, his concrete achievements remain to this day are known and admired by most if not all Tamils.
Harking back to a theme that is reflected in almost all of his writings, DBS laments the replacement of the civilized and non violent protests espoused by Thiruchelvam and his cohorts by the violence that has characterized the Tamil struggle over the last 20 odd years.
This reminds me of a science fiction short story that I had the pleasure to read a few years ago. Falling in the alternative history genre, the story postulates Mahtma Gandhi’s life had the sub-continent been ruled by the fascist Germans instead of the relatively more civilized British. The story ends with the prompt arrest of the Mahatma immediately after his first civil disobedience campaign and his summary execution with a bullet to the back of his head in the early hours of the morning and his burial in an unmarked grave.
The point I am trying to make here is that the means of obtaining a people’s legitimate rights should be geared to the character of the oppressor, the non violence civil disobedience route was tried out by the Tamils with a spectacular lack of results, to harp on this at this time not only annoys the reader’s time but is an appalling waste of DBS’s journalistic talents.
I vividly remember seeing Senior Thiruchelvam discussing with a group of G.C.E (A/L) students in a Church hall at Moor Road, Wellewatte. The topic of the discussion was whether it was possible to take legal action against ‘Standardization’ that was the State policy then against Tamil students. I was accompanying my older brother, and he always had a high regard for him.
‘Mum moorthikal’, this picture was in Veerakesari, and it was on ‘Mei-kandan’ calendar too. I thought, publishing that rare photo of unity was the omen of their quick depart from this world. It was an end of an era.
I find some readers objecting to my use of a word like toilet.
You have indeed written a relevant article to be reflected upon.
DBS’s article by itself sheds much light of what M. Tiru did as cabinet minister. Arjuna questioning these self - evident truths is like searching for the wound on the palm of your hand with spectacles.
Arjuna glibly says the non - violent struggle failed to pay dividends but what has violent struggle brought the Tamils other than destruction of the Tamil people. This did not happen under FP pr TULF. What has LTTE to show for 31 years of violence other than the decimation and dispersal of our people? I hope DBS will continue to write on these lines and not think it a waste of his talents as suggested by the likes of Arjuna.
BY the way about Arjunas story of Gandhi and Hitler.
Thanks very much Mr. DBS for writing about Senator Tiruchelvam. I also enjoyed reading your articles on Banda - Chelva pact and JR kandy march stopped by SD.
Will you write soon about the Dudley - Chelva pact in detail and what went wrong in that?
This article bring back old remembrance of Mr. M. Thiruchelvam Senator. I met him twice in 1976 because one of my close relations was accused in Jaffna Mayor Thuraiappa murder.
At the start Senator Thiruchelvam only appeared as chief lawyer for all seven accused Kalapathy, Inpam, Logan, Santhathy, Sree, Kiruba and Selva. But he died after two dates.
So later Mr. M. Sivasithamparam took case and became chief lawyer.
Senator Thiru did everything free and not charge any money.
He was a great Man. he must surely be at Sivanadiyil.
I think this was poorly written article and did not do justice to Tiruchelvam senior - highlighting his strengths and weaknesses - common to all men in public office. I would not elaborate out of respect to his grandson and my close friend - N. Tiruchelvam.
But I would one day write a more fitting epitaph on Tiruchelvam senior - a man who excelled as a Barrister, Magistrate and Solictor General but certainly failed as a Minister. And I attribute Tiruchelvam senior’s failure not to his own actions but to his association with the Federal Party. I think it is time we deconstruct Samuel James Chelvanyakam as we had done G.G. Ponnambalam.
I am not sure whether you would publish this comment or not - but I place it for the record, a copy of which would be shared with the Tiruchelvam family!
Once again well done DBS and do keep it up as long as you would. You are indeed a great asset to mankind and more particularly to the creatures of Ceylon/SriLankan roots.
This I hope is good and appropriate place for me to place on record my sincere gratitude and appreciation for both Thiruchelvams. The senior being my father’s Wesley College school and boarding mate. Who was a great friend of our family and peacemaker to my parents. He gifted me with many books of which ‘Grow up and Live’ was the most memorable.
The junior Thiruneelakandan Thiruchelvam (TT) was my class mate at the RPS and life long friend. He too was kind and helpful in his own way though there was room in both Thiruchelvams’ for matters to have been even better and greater. TT did not pay much attention to my cautioning him of what awaited him other than in once responding ‘that he could not betray the sacred trust that people had placed upon him. This seems to have been his delusion even as I had then feebly pointed out to him.

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