Tamil: சேர் வைத்திலிங்கம் துரைசுவாமி
Also Known As: "(FORD) Waithilingam Duraisamy"
Born: June 08, 1874
Died: April 12, 1966 (Age 91)
Place: Jaffna, Northern Province, Sri Lanka
Burial: Jaffna, Northern Province, Sri Lanka
Family: Son of Iyampillai and Kathirasipillai Waithilingam. Husband of Rasammah Duraiswamy. Father of 10 children including Maheswary, Nadeswary, Mahendra, Rajendra, and Yogendra. Brother to five siblings including Ford Rajagopal.
Duraiswamy was a lawyer by profession and entered politics in 1921, winning the Legislative Council election for Northern Province. He was re-elected unopposed in 1924 for Northern Province West.
He was a key figure in the Jaffna Youth Congress, which boycotted the 1931 State Council elections. In 1936, he was elected unopposed from Kayts and became Speaker of the State Council, serving until its dissolution in 1947.
He was knighted by King George VI in the 1937 Coronation Honours.
In 1947, he contested again in Kayts but was defeated amid a surge of Tamil nationalism led by the Tamil Congress.
Duraiswamy was a pioneer in Tamil education and religious reform. He founded the Hindu Board of Education and served as its president in 1923, helping establish over 150 Hindu schools.
He also led the Tamil Union, the Vivekananda Society, and was a prominent member of the Saiva Paripalana Sabhai, promoting Saivism and Tamil cultural values.
“A voice of reason, a pillar of reform,
In courts and councils, he weathered the storm.
With pen and purpose, he shaped the land,
A Tamil knight with a guiding hand.”