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{{Short description|Ceylon Tamil physician and politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix = [[The Honourable|Hon.]] [[Senator]]
|name = E. M. V. Naganathan
|native_name = இ. மு. வி. நாகநாதன்
|native_name_lang = ta
|honorific-suffix =
|image = E. M. V. Naganathan.jpg
|imagesize =
|office1 = Member of the [[Senate of Ceylon]]
|predecessor1 =
|successor1 =
|term_start1 =
|term_end1 =
|constituency_MP2 = [[Nallur Electoral District|Nallur]]
|parliament2 = Ceylonese
|majority2 =
|term_start2 = 1960
|term_end2 = 1970
|predecessor2 =
|successor2 = [[C. Arulampalam]]
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1906|01|31|df=yes}}
|birth_place = [[Madras]], [[British Raj|India]]
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1971|08|16|1906|01|31|df=yes}}
|death_place =
|citizenship =
|nationality =
|party = [[Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi]]
|otherparty =
|spouse =
|partner =
|relations =
|children =
|residence =
|alma_mater = [[Madras Medical College]]
|occupation =
|profession = Physician
|religion =
|website =
|footnotes =
|blank1 = Ethnicity
|data1 = [[Ceylon Tamil]]
}}
'''Elangai Murugesu Vijayaretnam Naganathan''' ({{langx|ta|இலங்கை முருகேசு விஜயரத்தினம் நாகநாதன்}}; 31 January 1906 – 16 August 1971) was a [[Ceylon Tamil]] physician, politician, senator and [[Member of Parliament]].

==Early life and family==
Naganathan was born on 31 January 1906 in [[Madras]], [[British Raj|India]].<ref name=Arumugam>{{cite book|last=Arumugam|first=S.|title=Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon|url=http://www.noolaham.org/wiki/index.php?title=Dictionary_of_Biography_of_the_Tamils_of_Ceylon|year=1997|page=113|authorlink=S. Arumugam}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Directory of Past Members: Naganathan, Elangai Murugesu Vijayaratnam|url=http://www.parliament.lk/en/members-of-parliament/directory-of-past-members/viewMember/2490|publisher=[[Parliament of Sri Lanka]]}}</ref><ref name=TH190508>{{cite news|last1=Muthiah|first1=S.|title=From both sides of the Strait|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/from-both-sides-of-the-strait/article1416885.ece|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=19 May 2008}}</ref> He was the son of John Jebaratnam Hensman, registrar of the [[University of Madras]].<ref name=Arumugam/> The Hensman family were from [[British Ceylon|Ceylon]] but moved to South India for education and work.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Reeves|editor1-first=Peter|title=The Encyclopedia of the Sri Lankan Diaspora|publisher=[[Editions Didier Millet]]|isbn=9814260835|page=73}}</ref> Naganathan's father (John Jebaratnam Hensman), grandfather (Charles Hensman) and great-grandfather (Rev. John Hensman) had all been born in Ceylon.<ref name=TH190508/> After school Naganathan joined [[Madras Medical College]], qualifying as a medical doctor.<ref name=TH190508/> He then went to the United Kingdom, obtained the [[Membership of the Royal College of Physicians|MRCP]] and [[Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons|FRCS]] qualifications and practised medicine for a period.<ref name=TH190508/>

Naganathan married Retnavathi, daughter of John Wirt Ponniah Senathirajah from [[Alaveddy]]. They had three daughters (Mary Lukshmi, Anne Nirmala and Carmel Indhira) and two sons (Elangai Anthony and John).<ref name=Arumugam/>

==Career==
After returning to Ceylon Naganathan worked as a private medical practitioner in [[Colombo]].<ref name=Arumugam/><ref name=TH190508/>

Naganathan was an active member of the [[All Ceylon Tamil Congress]] (ACTC) and served as its secretary in 1947.<ref name=Arumugam/> He was elected to the [[Senate of Ceylon]] in 1947.<ref name=Arumugam/><ref>{{cite news|title=The Senate Days of Ceylon|url=http://pdfs.island.lk/2010/04/22/p12.pdf|newspaper=[[The Island (Sri Lanka)]]|date=22 April 2010|access-date=16 February 2015|archive-date=6 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306011035/http://pdfs.island.lk/2010/04/22/p12.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1948 division arose amongst ACTC members over the party leadership's decision to join the [[United National Party]] (UNP) led government. Naganathan was one of those who opposed joining the UNP government. The dissidents, led by [[S. J. V. Chelvanayakam]], [[C. Vanniasingam]] and Naganathan, eventually left the ACTC and formed the [[Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi]] (Federal Party) in 1949.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wilson|first1=A. Jeyaratnam|authorlink1=A. Jeyaratnam Wilson|title=Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Its Origins and Development in the 19th and 20th Centuries|date=2000|publisher=[[C. Hurst & Co.]]|page=82|url=http://www.noolaham.org/wiki/index.php/Sri_Lankan_Tamil_Nationalism?uselang=en}}</ref> Naganathan was ITAK's secretary for a period and became the party's president in 1966.<ref name=Arumugam/>

Naganathan stood as the ITAK's candidate in [[Jaffna Electoral District (1947-1989)|Jaffna]] at the [[1952 Ceylonese parliamentary election|1952]] and [[1956 Ceylonese parliamentary election|1956]] parliamentary elections but on each occasion was defeated by the ACTC leader [[G. G. Ponnambalam]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1952%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1952 |publisher=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924115603/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1952%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |archivedate=2015-09-24 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1956%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1956 |publisher=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924115606/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1956%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |archivedate=2015-09-24 }}</ref> Naganathan stood as the ITAK's (Federal Party) candidate in [[Nallur Electoral District|Nallur]] at the [[March 1960 Ceylonese parliamentary election|March 1960 parliamentary election]]. He won the election and entered [[Parliament of Ceylon|Parliament]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1960_03_19%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1960-03-19 |publisher=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712194326/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1960_03_19%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |archivedate=2015-07-12 }}</ref> He was re-elected at the [[July 1960 Ceylonese parliamentary election|July 1960]] and [[1970 Ceylonese parliamentary election|1965]] and parliamentary elections but lost out to the ACTC candidate [[C. Arulampalam]] at the [[1970 Ceylonese parliamentary election|1970 parliamentary election]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1960_07_20%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1960-07-20 |publisher=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924115611/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1960_07_20%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |archivedate=2015-09-24 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1965%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1965 |publisher=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713003440/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1965%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |archivedate=2015-07-13 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1970%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091209231958/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1970%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-12-09 |title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1970 |publisher=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka }}</ref>

On 5 June 1956 a group of Tamil activists and parliamentarians, including Naganathan, staged a [[satyagraha]] against the [[Sinhala Only Act]] on [[Galle Face Green]] opposite the [[Old Parliament Building, Colombo|Parliament]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wilson|first1=A. Jeyaratnam|authorlink1=A. Jeyaratnam Wilson|title=S. J. V. Chelvanayakam and the Crisis of Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism, 1947–1977: a Political Biography|date=1994|publisher=[[University of Hawaii Press]]|page=80|url=http://www.noolaham.org/wiki/index.php/S.J.V.Chelvanayakam_and_the_Crisis_of_Sri_Lankan_Tamil_Nationalism,_1947-1977?uselang=en}}</ref> The satyagrahis were attacked by a [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]] mob as the police looked on, and Naganathan and [[V. N. Navaratnam]] were thrown in the lake.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jeyaraj|first1=D. B. S.|authorlink1=|title=Peaceful protests of Tamil Parliamentarians|url=http://transcurrents.com/tamiliana/archives/200|publisher=transcurrents.com|date=3 October 2006|url-status=usurped|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927205836/http://transcurrents.com/tamiliana/archives/200|archivedate=27 September 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=5 June 1956|url=http://pact.lk/5-june-1956/|publisher=Peace and Conflict Timeline|access-date=16 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216151836/http://pact.lk/5-june-1956/|archive-date=16 February 2015|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Following the [[1958 riots in Ceylon|1958 riots]] ITAK and the Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna (National Liberation Front) were banned.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wilson|first1=A. Jeyaratnam|authorlink1=A. Jeyaratnam Wilson|title=S. J. V. Chelvanayakam and the Crisis of Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism, 1947–1977: a Political Biography|date=1994|publisher=[[University of Hawaii Press]]|page=89|url=http://www.noolaham.org/wiki/index.php/S.J.V.Chelvanayakam_and_the_Crisis_of_Sri_Lankan_Tamil_Nationalism,_1947-1977?uselang=en}}</ref> ITAK's leaders, including Naganathan, were arrested on 4 June 1958 as they left Parliament and imprisoned.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Vittachi|first1=Tarzie|authorlink1=Tarzie Vittachi|title=Emergency '58 the Story of the Ceylon race Riots|date=1958|publisher=[[André Deutsch]]|page=90|url=http://www.noolaham.org/wiki/index.php/Emergency_%2758_the_Story_of_the_Ceylon_race_Riots?uselang=en}}</ref>

Naganathan played a leading role in the 1961 satyagraha campaign organised by ITAK.<ref name=Sangam2>{{cite web|last1=Sri Kantha|first1=Sachi|authorlink1=Sachi Sri Kantha|title=Satyagraha of February 1961 in Eelam|url=http://sangam.org/2011/02/Satyagraha_1961.php?uid=4252|publisher=Ilankai Tamil Sangam|date=20 February 2011}}</ref> Early on the morning of 20 February 1961 a group of 55 to 75 persons staged a satyagraha at the Jaffna [[Kachcheri]] in [[Old Park]].<ref name=Sangam2/><ref name=dbsjeyaraj>{{cite web|last1=Jeyaraj|first1=D. B. S.|authorlink1=|title=Satyagraha receives "Baptism of fire" on first day|url=http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/2012|publisher=dbsjeyaraj.com|date=6 March 2011|access-date=21 March 2015|archive-date=23 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160523080715/http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Among them were ITAK MPs [[A. Amirthalingam]], S. J. V. Chelvanayakam, [[V. Dharmalingam]], [[V. A. Kandiah]], Naganathan, V. N. Navaratnam and [[K. Thurairatnam]].<ref name=Sangam2/><ref name=dbsjeyaraj/> A large group of policemen arrived in riot gear, wearing helmets and carrying batons and shields.<ref name=Sangam2/><ref name=dbsjeyaraj/> The police started removing the protesters by lifting and carrying them away.<ref name=Sangam2/><ref name=dbsjeyaraj/> Those who resisted were dragged away.<ref name=Sangam2/><ref name=dbsjeyaraj/> Later, as [[Government Agent (Sri Lanka)|Government Agent]] [[M. Srikantha]] and Superintendent of Police Richard Arndt tried to leave Old Park in a jeep the protesters blocked their way.<ref name=Sangam2/><ref name=dbsjeyaraj/> The police reacted with brutality, beating the protesters with batons and pulled them out bodily.<ref name=dbsjeyaraj/> Palaniyappan, a young man who had thrown himself in front of the jeep was pulled away by the police and beaten severely with batons.<ref name=Sangam2/><ref name=dbsjeyaraj/> Five ITAK MPs were amongst the protesters blocking the jeep. Kandiah was carried out and dumped on the ground, Dharmalingam and Thurairatnam were dragged out by their hands and legs whilst Amirthalingam and Naganathan were baton charged.<ref name=Sangam2/><ref name=dbsjeyaraj/> The police also baton charged a crowd of around 5,000 who had gathered to watch the satyagraha.<ref name=dbsjeyaraj/>

Naganathan died on 16 August 1971.<ref name=Arumugam/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Members of 4th Parliament of Ceylon}}
{{Members of 5th Parliament of Ceylon}}
{{Members of 6th Parliament of Ceylon}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagnathan, E. M. V.}}
[[Category:1906 births]]
[[Category:1971 deaths]]
[[Category:All Ceylon Tamil Congress politicians]]
[[Category:Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi politicians]]
[[Category:Madras Medical College alumni]]
[[Category:Members of the 4th Parliament of Ceylon]]
[[Category:Members of the 5th Parliament of Ceylon]]
[[Category:Members of the 6th Parliament of Ceylon]]
[[Category:Members of the Senate of Ceylon]]
[[Category:People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:People from British Ceylon]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan Tamil people]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan medical doctors]]
[[Category:Tamil politicians]]
[[Category:Emigrants from British India to Sri Lanka]]

E. M. V. Naganathan - Revision history

imported>Desert lumberjack at 08:39, 26 January 2025