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Personal Biography
Dr. E. M. V. Naganathan
(1906-1971)
Dr. Elangai Murugesu Vijayaretnam Naganathan was born on 31 January 1906, and he lived in his ancestral home in “Cankili Thoppu” in Nallur, Jaffna. Dr. E. M. V. Naganathan was a Member of Parliament for Nallur, (Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi - Federal Party), and was the son of Mr. Jebaratnam J. Hensman, former Registrar of the University of Madras in India. His sister Harriet Hensman married Walter Olagasekaram, DJ. They were from Jaffna, but had settled in South India, where they distinguished themselves in the educational field.
Dr. E. M. V. Naganathan married Retnavathi Senathiraja, daughter of John Wirt Ponniah Senathiraja, JP, UPM, of Alaveddy. There are several noble families in the Valigamam Province of Yalpanam who trace their descent to Chola Chiefs who arrived with the expansion of the Chola Empire, e.g. the Wirt Ponniah Senathiraja family of Alaveddy bore the Swan on their Personal Standard. They had three daughters and two sons. Their eldest daughter Miss. Mary Lakshmi Naganathan (passed away in August 2019), was the former Ambassador of Sri Lanka, and she served in many countries. She vacated her post in 1983. Elangai Anthony Naganathan married Kumari, Elangai John Naganathan married Lakshmikanthi, Dr. Anne Nirmala Naganathan (Attorney-at-law, Sri Lanka) married Samuel Chandrahasan, son of S. J. V. Chelvanayakam, QC, MP, and Carmel Indhira Naganathan married Dr. George Handy of Columbia, USA.
Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon asserts that Dr. E. M. V. Naganathan was a private Medical Practitioner in Colombo. He became a keen supporter of G. G. Ponnambalam's Tamil Congress Party and functioned as its Secretary in 1947. He was elected a Member of the Senate, the same year. However, leaving the Tamil Congress he joined the Federal Party. He became one of its prominent members and he was also its Secretary for some time. He successfully contested the Nallur seat in the House of Parliament as a Federal Party Candidate. He was elected President of the Party in 1966 and worked hard for the well being of the Tamil Community. Dr. E. M. V. Naganathan passed away on 16 August 1971, and Thirumathi Retnavathi Naganathan passed away on 11 December 2006, in Columbia, USA.