J. M. Rajaratnam

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J. M. Rajaratnam
Born(1927-12-23)23 December 1927
Died16 June 2014(2014-06-16) (aged 86)
New Jersey, USA
Alma materUniversity of Ceylon
OccupationAccountant

Jesuthasan Mylvaganam Rajaratnam (23 December 1927 – 16 June 2014) was a Sri Lankan Tamil accountant and corporate executive.

Early life and family[edit]

Rajaratnam was born on 23 December 1927.[1] He was the son of A. J. Mylvaganam from Alvai near Point Pedro in northern Ceylon.[1] He was educated at Hartley College and Jaffna Central College.[1][2]

After school Rajaratnam joined the University of Ceylon, graduating with an honours degree in chemistry.[1] He then went to study accountancy in the United Kingdom on a scholarship.[1][2] He was elected president of the Ceylon Students Association (London) in 1956 and he was also the vice-president of the London Tamil Sangam which he helped establish.[1][2] Thereafter he studied management accountancy in the United States, again on a scholarship.[1] He was a fellow member (FCA) of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.[3]

Rajaratnam married Rajeswari Muttucumaru.[1] They had three sons (Rajakumaran, Rajakanthan and Rajarengan) and two daughters (Shanthini and Vathani).[1]

Career[edit]

Rajaratnam taught briefly at Jaffna Central College.[3] Later he was appointed senior auditor at the accountancy firm Ford Rhodes, Thornton & Co and chief accountant at Brown & Co.[1][3] He then joined the Singer Company as financial controller.[4] He was chairman and CEO of Singer's operations in Ceylon in the 1970s before being promoted to Vice-President Asia Region for the Singer Company in 1976.[1][5] During his time in Ceylon he helped establish numerous small businesses in the north of the country.[2] He moved to the USA after being appointed Singer's Vice-President of Finance and Accounting.[3][4]

After retirement Rajaratnam was involved in various philanthropic projects and was chairman of the Rajaratnam Charity Foundation.[1][3][2] He was president of the Illankai Tamil Sangam of the USA, vice-president of the World Tamil Organisation and founding member of the Welfare & Human Rights Committee USA.[3] He was also a consultant to the World Bank, member of the Roster of Experts on matters related to transnational corporations of the United Nations and a member of the US Executive Volunteer Service Corp.[3]

Rajaratnam died on 16 June 2014 in New Jersey.[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. p. 150.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Rajaratnam Snr, an icon in Tamil philanthropy, passes away". TamilNet. 22 June 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Loss of Past President JM Rajaratnam (1928–2014)". Ilankai Tamil Sangam.
  4. ^ a b Seevaratnam, Frank R. (July 2014). "J. M. Rajaratnam: An Appreciation". Monsoon Journal. 9 (2): 32.
  5. ^ Samath, Feizal (18 October 2009). "Raj's arrest triggers panic in Lanka". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
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