Mr. S.J. Gunasegaram was born in Chundikuli on the Jaffna Peninsula in 1901 and passed away in Kopay in 1964 after a life of writing prolifically on a wide variety of subjects, both in English and Tamil. Few scholars have had the skills, the urge, the courage, and the dedication that Gunasegaram had for research into the past history of Tamils in Sri Lanka, and to publicly write about it. Gunasegaram escaped an attempt to assasinate him in 1958.
Gunasegaram’s writings were a major effort to debunk the distortions of historical information supported by some governments and their officials with the view to “prove” that the Tamils have no claim to the Island of Sri Lanka.
In 1985 some of Gunasegaram’s English writings were collected into a book entitled Selected Writings which was published by Arasan Printers in Colombo with a biographical introduction by James T. Rutnam. This book has recently been placed on the Internet for our edification at www.gunasegaram.com.
The contents of the book are as follows:
1. Tamil Cultural Influences in South-East Asia
2. The Vijayan Legend and the Aryan Myth
3. Manimekalai
4. Elara (Elalan) and the Chronicles of Ceylon
5. Tamil Kings in Early Ceylon
6. Taprobane
7. Taprobane and Egypt
8. ‘Moors’ – ‘Chonakar’
9. The Moors of Ceylon
10. The Malays
11. Trincomalee (The Holy Hill of Siva)
12. The God of Adam’s Peak
13. Dondra (Tennavan-Thurai)
14. Kautara – The Boundary City of Ruhana; Velapura – City of Muruga
15. Description of the Kandy Perahera
16. The Historicity of Agathiar
[Also available at Selected Writings – நூலகம் (noolaham.org) – Editor, 2024]
ASIN : B007FBB0F6