Ponnambalam Nagalingam

Ponnambalam Nagalingam was a Sri Lankan Tamil politician and Member of the Senate.

Early life

Nagalingam was born in Tellippalai, Jaffna District. He was educated at Jaffna College, Vaddukoddai, and Parameswara College, Thirunelveli. He later entered Ceylon Law College. After qualifying as a lawyer Nagalingam practiced law in Tellippalai, Uduvil and Chunnakam.

Political career

Nagalingam became involved in politics as a student, joining the Tamil Youth Congress. In the 1940s he joined the leftist Lanka Sama Samaja Party. At the 1947 parliamentary election Nagalingam stood as the LSSP's candidate in Kankesanthurai but was defeated by S. J. V. Chelvanayakam.^[1]

Nagalingam was a member of the Senate of Ceylon between 1951 and 1957. At the March 1960 parliamentary election Nagalingam stood as the LSSP's candidate in Uduvil but was defeated by Visvanathan Dharmalingam.^[2] He also contested the July 1960 and March 1965 parliamentary elections but each time was defeated by Dharmalingam.^[3][4] Nagalingam was chairman of Chunnakam Town Council in the 1960s.

Personal life

Nagalingam married his childhood sweetheart Nagalakshmi in an intimate ceremony in 1933 in Malaysia. They had six children, of which four survive today: Anantakrishnan, Thirunavukarasu, Sangamitta and Mahadeva. Nagalingam died in 1980 after suffering from coronary artery disease and heart failure. His wife died in 1997. Nagalingam is survived by his four children.^[5]

References

• "Glossary of People: Na". Marxists Internet Archive. 
• "Senator P.Nagalingam". rootsweb. 
• Rajabalan, Raymond (March 2009). "First Among Us - Part 3A" (PDF). Monsoon Journal 3 (10): 40–41.