C. Balasingham Explained

C. Balasingham
Birth Date:10 March 1917
Death Place:Connecticut, USA
Alma Mater:Kollankaladdy Tamil School
Mahajana College
Jaffna Hindu College
Ceylon University College
Ceylon Law College
Occupation:Civil servant

Coomarasamy Balasingham (10 March 1917  - 15 July 2001) was a leading Ceylon Tamil civil servant.

Early life

Balasingham was born on 10 March 1917.[1] [2] He was the son of V. Coomaraswamy, a proctor and Tamil scholar from Tellippalai.[1] He was educated at Kollankaladdy Tamil School, Mahajana College, Tellippalai and Jaffna Hindu College.[1] [2] He gained Honours and a Distinction in Tamil when he sat the Cambridge Junior Examination.[2] He then passed the Cambridge Senior Exam.[2] After school he joined the Ceylon University College from where he graduated in 1937 with a BA degree English, Tamil and Philosophy.[1] [2] He was too young to join the civil service so he enrolled at the Ceylon Law College, qualifying as an advocate of the Supreme Court in 1942.[2]

Balasingham married Sethu, a daughter of Gate Mudaliyar Naganather Canaganayagam.[1] They had two sons (Balagangeyan and Padmanabhan) and a daughter (Thillaisiva).[1]

Career

Balasingham joined the Ceylon Civil Service in 1940 after passing the Civil Service Exam in 1939.[1] [2] He held several positions and served in a number of places. He was an Additional Magistrate at Matara and Puttalam; Assistant Telegraph Censor during World War II; Office Assistant in Jaffna and Kandy; Additional Assistant Government Agent in Horana; Assistant Government Agent in Kalutara; Deputy Controller of Labour in Hatton and Colombo; and Assistant Director of Land Development in Batticaloa.[2]

He became Controller of Supply, Cadre and Finance in the Treasury in 1958 and Deputy Secretary to the Treasury in 1961.[1] [2] [3] Balasingham was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health from 1964 to 1970.[1] [2]

Later life

Balasingham was chairman of the committee revising the Government Financial Regulations and a member of the Salaries Review Committee.[1] He moved to the USA in 1984.[1] He died on 15 July 2001 in Connecticut.[2] [4]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Arumugam, S.. Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. 1997. 21.
  2. News: Sankarakumaran. C.. C. Balasingham. The Island (Sri Lanka). 4 October 2001.
  3. News: Somasundram. M.. Arm of treasury, PED benumbe. The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 8 November 1998.
  4. Web site: C Balasingham (1917 - 2001). Ancient Faces. 2013-05-26. 2016-03-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305014944/http://www.ancientfaces.com/person/c-balasingham/7648086. dead.