He had financial problems as a result of the government not paying him compensation for the nationalisation of two plantations in which he had shares. Two of his sons and daughter had moved abroad. He had frequent falls as a result of his Parkinson disease. In March 1977 the government sought the TULF's support for extending the life of Parliament. Chelvanayakam and other TULF leaders did not trust the SLFP but felt that they had to take part in the discussions which were halted when Chelvanayakam fell ill. He was left unconscious after falling heavily. Chelvanayakam died on 26 April 1977. At his funeral oration Bishop of Jaffna D. J. Ambalavanar said of Chelvanayakam "like Moses, Mr. Chelvanayagam showed us the promised land, but failed to reach it on his own". Legacy Chelvanayakam has been described as a father figure to Ceylon's Tamils, to whom he was known as "Thanthai Chelva" (Father Chelva). Ceylon Workers' Congress leader S. Thondaman said of him, "Chelvanayakam was the Tamil people; and the Tamil people were Chelvanayakam". He was noted for his integrity and respected by both allies and opponents. Known as the "Trousered Gandhi" by Tamils, Chelvanayakam was compared with Gandhi for his commitment to using non-violent methods to achieve his political goals. Critics, however, faulted him for naively believing that the Ceylon Tamils' political demands could be achieved through Parliamentary institutions. While many of Ceylon's political leaders gave up Christianity for reasons of political expediency, Chelvanayakam remained a Christian which led to opponents questioning his right to lead Tamils, the majority of whom were Hindu. Chelvanayakam's non-violent methods proved to be ineffective against Sinhalese-Buddhist nationalism and failed to secure Tamils' rights from successive governments. With his death the era of non-violent protest was replaced by violent militancy. Electoral history Footnotes Notes References External links One Hundred Tamils of the 20th Century, Tamil Nation S. J. V. Chelvanayakam fonds at University of Toronto Scarborough Library Archives 1898 births 1977 deaths 20th-century Sri Lankan lawyers All Ceylon Tamil Congress politicians Alumni of Ceylon Law College Alumni of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia Alumni of St. John's College, Jaffna Alumni of Union College, Tellippalai Ceylonese advocates Ceylonese Queen's Counsel Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi politicians Malaysian people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent Members of the 1st Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 3rd Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 4th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the