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Professor
T. Nadaraja - brilliant legal mind
by H.B. de Silva
It
was in Peradeniya that I first met Professor T. Nadaraja. We were then in our
early thirties, an age when one is neither too young or too old, when
friendships made are of closeness that survive the passage of time.
As
I now look back in my twilight years on those happy carefree days, my memory
lingers on those who made a deep impression on me, one of those persons was
Professor Nadaraja. A friend told me that he was dead, he brought me bitter
news to hear and bitter tears to shed.
It
was with great sadness that I learnt of the passing away of this very learned
man. It was such a pleasure and an education in itself to converse with him. He
has often been described as an eminent jurist and an outstanding academic scholar,
but he was much more than that.
Ever
since his undergraduate days at the University of Cambridge he had been a
collector of books. The library at his home had books on various subjects. He
had an excellent collection of books on Indian philosophy, religion, art and
sculpture.
He
was interested in the ancient civilisations and culture of Greece and Rome,
China, Egypt, Persia and the Maya's of South America, as well as the more
recent history and culture of the Western world.
His
library contained well-known books on English Literature and poetry and
comparative religion. He was a master of the English language and very precise
in the use of the spoken and written word.
He
had a profound knowledge of Hinduism and that can be judged by a book written
by him called "The Cult of Siva with special reference to the Dances of
Siva".
His
mother a gentle and cultured lady, was the daughter of Sir P. Arunachalam and
it was her great influence on her son that made Nadaraja a lover of books, and
music. At an early age she taught him the Thevarams (hymns) the Tiruvasagam and
the other Tamil classics.
He
was a firm believer of the Perennial Philosophy. In the preface of the book
"Islam and Perennial Philosophy" authored by Frithjof Schoun the
meaning of Perennial Philosophy has been explained as "The Philosophia
Perennis has come to signify for those devoted to traditional studies an
eternal truth at the heart of all traditions, corresponding to the Sanatana
Dharma of Hinduism and al-hikmah al-khalidah of Islam".
It
is not surprising that he should have inherited this vast knowledge of
Hinduism, as his paternal and maternal ancestors have been known as builders of
temples. On his paternal side he came from a wealthy family well-known for
sponsoring charitable causes.
His
great grandfather built the Sithy Vinayagar Temple and pilgrims rest in Colombo
where Swamy Vivekananda visited and gave a lecture. Nadaraja was the chief
Trustee of this temple from 1945 onwards.
On
his maternal side, his great grandfather Gate Mudaliyar Arunasalam Ponnambalam,
the father of the three famous brothers P. Coomaraswamy, Sir P. Ramanathan and
Sir P. Arunachalam built the well-known Sri Ponnambalavanesvara Temple in
Colombo, His son Sir P. Ramanathan renovated the temple and modelled it on the
lines of the famous South Indian temples.
His
grandfather Sir P. Arunachalam built another well-known temple in Mutwal,
Colombo, called the Arunachaleswara Temple. Professor Nadaraja was a Trustee of
all these temples.
He
was the patron of the Hindu University Society at Peradeniya when the Law
Faculty was there. He has contributed many well-known and learned articles on
Hinduism to various journals.
An
interesting account of Nadaraja's family background is in a book about the
genealogy of the Jaffna Tamils. It states that Mudaliyar Aramuganathapillai
Coomaraswamy was the first Tamil to be appointed to the Legislative Council in
1833.
His
son Sir Muttu Coomaraswamy who was the first person who was neither a Christian
or a Jew to be admitted as a Barrister of London. He was also an appointed
member of the Legislative Council. Sir Muttu's son was the renowned scholar
Ananda K. Coomaraswamy.
Sir
Muttu Coomaraswamy's sister married Gate Mudaliyar Arunasalam Ponnambalam who
built the Ponnambalavanesvara Temple in Colombo. He was the father of the three
illustrious sons, P. Coomaraswamy, Sir P. Ramanathan and Sir P. Arunachalam,
these three brothers were also members of the Legislative Council.
When
Sir P. Arunachalam retired from the Civil Service, he was appointed to the
Executive Committee of the Legislative Council. Sir P. Arunachalam's son, Sir
A. Mahadeva, KCMG, was a member of the Legislative Council and the State
Council. It is unique that a member of this family has served in the
Legislature in an unbroken line from 1833-1947 for nearly one hundred and
fifteen years.
In
the sphere of education it was his grandfather Sir P. Arunachalam who first
pleaded for a University to be established in Sri Lanka, and he is rightly
known as the father of the University Movement.
The
first Hall of Residence in the University campus at Peradeniya was named
Arunachalam Hall to honour the memory of Sir P. Arunachalam. He also wrote a
well-known book on Law called "Digest of Ceylon cases".
It
was his grand uncle, Sir P. Ramanathan who was the first person in Sri Lanka to
ask the government to establish a Law College, and it was through his efforts
that the Law College was founded. He was also responsible for publishing the
Law Reports.
It
was into this family that Nadaraja was born on the 27th December 1917. Natured
from early years in the culture and traditions of his forebearers he
distinguished himself in the study of law.
His
books on the "Roman-Dutch Law of Fideicommissa" and the "Legal
System of Ceylon in its Historical Setting" were described as classics and
have been cited in Sri Lankan and South African courts, where the Roman-Dutch
law prevails. He has written numerous articles on different aspects of the law
and these are available in the Law Library of the University of Colombo.
Nadaraja
was educated at Royal College, Colombo, where he won many prizes and the
coveted Shakespeare Prize. He proceeded to the University of Cambridge for his
legal studies and entered Trinity Hall, Cambridge.
He
was awarded First Class Honours in both parts of the Cambridge Law Tripos, the
Bond Prize for Roman Law, the Davies Prize for English Law and the Post
Graduate Law Studentship at Trinity Hall, Cambridge.
At
Lincoln's Inn, London, Nadaraja was awarded the First Class Certificate of
Honour by the Council of Legal Education, London, and the Buchanan Prize of
Lincoln's Inn.
He
obtained his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the Cambridge University, and he was
awarded the Hon. LLD (Colombo University) and the Jaffna University conferred
the degree Hon. D.Litt. on him.
The
Bar Council of Sri Lanka honoured him in recognition of the contributions made
by Nadaraja in the field of legal literature and legal education by conferring
Life Membership Honoris Causa on him.
Professor
Nadaraja was a lecturer at the Ceylon Law College from 1943-49. When the
University of Ceylon started a Department of Law in 1947 Nadaraja joined the
Law Department in 1947. He was appointed Professor of Law in 1951. He was Dean
of the Faculty of Arts 1957-1960.
When
the Department of Law was made a Faculty of Law, he was the Head of Dean of the
Faculty of Law from 1960 until he retired from the University. He was
Chancellor of the University of Jaffna from 1984 until he passed away on 20th
January 2004.
Nadaraja
was President of the Classical Association 1970-71 and a past President of the
Royal Asiatic Society, where his grandfather Sir P. Arunachalam had been the
first Ceylonese to be elected to that post.
Professor
Nadaraja was a soft-spoken and cultured man. He was ready to help anyone who
came to him for advice or material benefits. Whatever charity he did was never
publicised, he considered them to be unremembered acts of kindness and love.
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Photo:
Occasion: Lawnite – Annual Social of the Law Faculty Students Union
Date: July 1972
Left to Right: Mrs. Nadaraja, Mrs. Gulasekeram (University Library Staff), Prof. T. Nadaraja ( Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Ceylon), Professor B.A. Abeywickrema( Vice – Chancellor, University of Ceylon, Colombo), Senaka Weeraratna (President, Law Faculty Students’ Union),
and Dr. M. Sornarajah (Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law)
