S. Nagaratnam
S. Nagaratnam | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 27, 1932 |
| Died | March 25, 2018 |
| NSA member | Malaysia 1966 - 1979 |
| ABM | Asia 1979 - 1980 |
| Counsellor | Asia 1980 - 1991 |
Subramaniam Nagaratnam (September 27, 1932 - March 25, 2018) was a Malaysian Bahá’í who served as a National Spiritual Assembly member and Continental Counselor for Asia.
Background[edit]
Nagaratnam was from Alor Star.[1] In his career he worked in education and was a prominent figure co-founding the National Union of Teachers in Malaysia.[2]
As of the early 1960's Nagaratnam had been introduced to the Bahá’í Faith however while he had a positive opinion of the religion he was initially reluctant to declare.[2] He declared in June 1963 and immediately bgan teaching the Faith to his close friends in Alor Star,[3] and also began visiting Sungei Petani where his sister lived almost weekly to host firesides.[1]
Nagaratnam's teaching efforts resulted in several declarations and in 1966 he was appointed to the Border Teaching Committee for Malaysia responsible for coordinating travel teaching in neighbouring countries and also the Proclamation Committee for Malaysia.[4][5] He was also elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Malaysia in 1966.[6] In 1969 he visited Brunei with three other members of the Malaysian Assembly and they facilitated a teaching conference which resulted in four declarations.[7]
Nagaratnam continued to serve on the National Spiritual Assembly of Malaysia throughout the 1970's and in 1974 he was appointed to the Continental Pioneering Committee for Asia.[5] In 1976 he pioneered to Sungai Petani within Malaysia but moved to Kuala Lumpur in 1978 when he was elected the secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly. In 1979 he pioneered to India where he was appointed as an Auxiliary Board member and assigned the responsibility of surveying southern India in preparation for the South India Teaching Project.[5]
In 1980 Nagaratnam was appointed to the Continental Board for Asia by the Universal House of Justice,[8] and in 1985 he was appointed for a second term.[9] He was appointed for a third term as Counselor in 1990, but retired from the institution in October 1991 due to a serious heart condition.[10] He returned to Malaysia after retiring from the Board and spent one year recovering from his illness. During his service as Counselor he had assisted with several mass teaching projects in Tamil Nadu which had resulted in thousands of declarations.[5]
After retiring as Counsellor Nagaratnam served the Bahá’í community of Malaysia living for short periods in Kuala Lumpur, Butterworth, Sungai Petani, and Bidor and conducting deepening classes. When his health had recovered sufficiently he was appointed Chairman of the National Teaching Committee of Malaysia and began translating Bahá’í literature into Tamil.[5]
In 1998 Nagaratnam's first wife passed. He remarried in November 2000 to Sammireh and they settled in Thailand. In 2002 they pioneered to Fiji spending time in Fiji, Samoa, and New Zealand until 2003. From Fiji the Nagaratnam's returned to Thailand where he lived in Hadyai for the rest of his life passing in 2018.[5]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 A. Manisegaran, Jewel Among Nations, Splendour Publications: Ampang, 2003, p 133
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 A. Manisegaran, Jewel Among Nations, Splendour Publications: Ampang, 2003, p 126
- ↑ A. Manisegaran, Jewel Among Nations, Splendour Publications: Ampang, 2003, p 127
- ↑ A. Manisegaran, Jewel Among Nations, Splendour Publications: Ampang, 2003, p 129
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Remembering S. Nagaratnam at BahaiRecollections
- ↑ Baha'i News (1966). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 425, Pg(s) 4. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1969). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 458, Pg(s) 16. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (February 1981). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 599, Pg(s) 3. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (December 1985). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 657, Pg(s) 1. View as PDF.
- ↑ 7 October 1991 message from the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies
