Students, academics bid farewell to A C Nadarajah

[TamilNet, Friday, 25 November 2011, 08:39 GMT]
Around one thousands people, most of them students and teachers, gathered Thursday to pay their last respects to social activist, educationalist and journalist A C Nadarajah (A S Nadarajah), who passed away at the age of 70 at Urumpiraay in Jaffna. Mr. Nadarajah was the president of Displaced Peoples Association of Valikaamam North and former manager of Jaffna Thinakkural. Through his writings he pioneered an independent initiative which instituted social institutions to help the uprooted people of Vanni.

The students from various schools in the region with their teachers paid last respects to Mr Nadarajah amid pouring rains Thursday from morning till his body was taken to cremation at Urumpiraay I'langkaadu Hindu cremation grounds at 1:00 p.m.

Civil society activists, academics and politicians bid farewell to the social activist who was actively engaged till his last breath in the welfare of the displaced people of Valikaamam North where his village, Kurumpasiddi, is also located.

The owner of Thinakkural, S.P. Samy, said Jaffna Thinakkural will continue the Karu'naippaalam initiative that was spearheaded by A.C. Nadarajah. Hundreds of civilians who had benefited from Karu'naippaalam initiative also paid their last respects to the social activist.

Professor Emiretus A.Shanmugathas, former Vice Chancellor of Jaffna Univeristy Professor N. Shanmugalingan and Professor P. Sivanathan were among those who gave memorial addresses at the funeral under the coordination of Aru Thirumurugan, the prinicpal of Chu'n'naakam Skanthavaroathaya College. Representatives from various welfare organizations for uprooted people in Jaffna also made memorial tributes.

A video feature in Tamil, which he gave to TamilNet in 2005 on the story of his village, follows:



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