C. Rajadurai

Hon.
C. Rajadurai
JP, UM
செ. இராசதுரை
Minister of Regional Development
Minister of Hindu Religious Affairs
Member of the Ceylonese Parliament
for Batticaloa
In office
1956–1989
Preceded byR. B. Kadramer
1st Mayor of Batticaloa
In office
1967–1968
Succeeded byJ. L. Tissaveerasinghe
Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Malaysia
Personal details
Born (1927-07-27) 27 July 1927 (age 97)
Political partyUnited National Party
EthnicitySri Lankan Tamil

Chelliah Rajadurai (Tamil: செல்லையா இராசதுரை; born 27 July 1927) is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician and former government minister, Member of Parliament and Mayor of Batticaloa.

Rajadurai was born on 27 July 1927.[1] Rajadurai was a journalist and a member of the editorial staff of the Sutantiran weekly newspaper.[2]

Rajadurai stood as the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi's (Federal Party) candidate for Batticaloa at the 1956 parliamentary election. He won the election and entered Parliament.[3] He was re-elected at the March 1960, July 1960, 1965 and 1970 parliamentary elections.[4][5][6][7] He was the Tamil United Liberation Front candidate in Batticaloa at the 1977 parliamentary election and was re-elected.[8] In March 1979 he defected to the United National Party led government and was rewarded by being appointed Minister of Regional Development and Hindu Cultural Affairs.[9][10][11] He was later appointed Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[12]

Rajadurai became the first Mayor of Batticaloa in 1967.[13] He was unseated the next year.[13]

Rajadurai was still politically active in April 2012.[14] As of June 2021, Rajadurai is retired and lives between Malaysia, India and Sri Lanka.[15]

  1. ^ "Rajadurai, Chelliah". Parliament of Sri Lanka.
  2. ^ Sri Kantha, Sachi. "One Hundred Tamils of the 20th Century: V.Navaratnam". Tamil Nation.
  3. ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1956" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015.
  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.
  7. ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1970" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2009.
  8. ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1977" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2011.
  9. ^ Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 27: Horsewhip Amirthalingham". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Archived from the original on 22 June 2002.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. ^ Wickramasinghe, Wimal (15 January 2008). "Saga of crossovers, expulsions, resignations, terminations, death and by-elections in Sri Lanka". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  11. ^ Jayawarden, Kishali Pinto (7 April 2002). "That conscience Bill coming again". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  12. ^ "TELO opposes Rajadurai attending Chelva anniversary in Jaffna". TamilNet. 23 April 2012.
  13. ^ a b "History of Municipal Council". Batticaloa Municipal Council. Archived from the original on 27 July 2013.
  14. ^ "Indian embassy, Chandrahasan, Rajadurai, conspicuous at Chelva memorial in Jaffna". Tamil Net. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  15. ^ "TULF Leader Anandasangaree dared to defy the LTTE". FT.lk. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2022.