Editor of Tamil Times, Comrade Rajanayagam, is no more

It is with great sadness that I received the news of the passing away of my friend Comrade Periyathamby Rajanayagam (Rasa). Rasa was the younger brother of Comrade Dr. P. Arasaratnam. They hailed from Chunnakkam, a stronghold of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party at the time. Comrade P. Nagalingam was the Chairman of the Chunnakam Town Council for a long time and was nominated to the Senate by the LSSP, where he served with distinction.

Both Arasa and Rasa joined the Lanka Sama Samaja Party as youngsters. When the LSSP split in 1964, Arasa remained with the party while Rasa joined the LSSP-R. I first met him in the late 1960s at the opening of Dr. Arasa’s clinic in Ratnapura. I remember that Comrade NM Perera also graced the occasion.

Rasa joined the clerical service and it was natural that he would become involved with the LSSP-controlled General Clerical Service Union (GCSU). He edited the GCSU’s monthly bulletin The Red Tape, and its Tamil version Nava Uthayam. Rasa qualified as a lawyer in Sri Lanka and was a junior to Bala Tampoe before the Criminal Justice Commission that tried the leaders of the JVP. He specialised in labour law and appeared in the Labour Tribunal for workers who had lost their jobs. He later moved to London and qualified as a Solicitor. He served as a local council lawyer.

Rasa was editor of the Tamil Times for over 25 years and used to send me copies. His writings evoked much discussion in the Tamil community, worldwide. While being a Tamil rights activist, he abhorred violence and was also for a political solution. By fearlessly taking this position, he earned the wrath of both Tamil extremists, who considered him a traitor, and Sinhala extremists, who called him a separatist. His editorials were collected and published in two volumes. He was a popular figure in the Tamil community in England.

Rasa was committed to a constitutional resolution of Sri Lanka’s ethnic crisis and actively participated in several discussions on constitutional reform in Sri Lanka that I attended at the invitation of the NRTSL (Non-Resident Tamils of Sri Lanka). I remember him chairing one discussion.

He was devastated when his wife passed away but had the courage and determination to move forward. He was ill for some time. Arasa pre-deceased him in December 2021.

Let us salute Comrade Rasa for the excellent work he has done.

May his soul attain Moksha!

(Dr) Jayampathy Wickramaratne, President’s Counsel