A. Veluppillai, Sri Lankan Tamil academic and author, Died at 78

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Alvappillai Veluppillai was born on November 21, 1936, and died on November 1, 2015.

He was a Sri Lankan Tamil academic, historian and author.

Alvappillai was born on 21 November 1936 in Puloly in northern Ceylon.

He was the son of Veluppillai Alvappillai.

Alvappillai was educated Puttalai Tamil School (1941 to 1944), Puloly Boys’ English School (1945 to 1952) and Hartley College (1953 to 1954).

After school Alvappillai joined the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya in 1955, graduating in 1959 with a first class BA honours degree.

He was a student of K. Kanapathypillai.

Alvappillai received a Ph.D. degree from the university in 1962 after producing a thesis titled A Study of the Language of Tamil Inscriptions of Catavarman Cuntarapantiyan and Maravarman Kulacekaran (1251–1350 AD).

He entered the University of Oxford in 1962 as student of Thomas Burrow, receiving a D.Phil degree in 1964 for his thesis A Study of the Language of Tamil Inscriptions of the period 800 to 920 AD.

Alvappillai married Meenatchi. They had two children (Sivapriyai and Arulalan).

Alvappillai passed away at age 78 in November 2015.