FOREIGN CONFERENCES AND VISITS
1934/35
On receiving the Government Arts Scholarship, left to England to join the University of Cambridge on 6.9.1934. Abandoned post-graduate studies and returned on 25.2.1935 to take up duties in the Ceylon Civil Service.
1947
On 6 months full paid leave as a Member of the Ceylon Civil Service, with his wife visited London, Egypt, Geneva and Paris. In Egypt met the Rector of Al-Azhar University, visited the YMMA in Cairo and had an audience with His Majesty King Farouk, the King of Egypt.
1951
Leader of the Ceylon delegation to the World Muslim Conference held in Karachi, Pakistan.
1952
Visited USA in September for 3 months on an award by the USA Government of a Smith-Mundt Leadership Grant to visit educational institutions, and returned in December. He obtained first hand information of the American school system and the teacher training institutions. Through the good offices of the Washington Office of Education, he visited several public, parochial and private schools, and also schools established exclusively for Red Indian children by the Federal Department. Also visited faculties of education at the Universities of Harvard, Columbia and Stanford. Studied the working of the education departments of the important States. On his return visited Rome, Naples, Basra, Baghdad, Najf and Karbala.
1954
Co-observer, Commonwealth Relations Conference held in Lahore, Pakistan. Returned via India after visiting Indian Council of World Affairs , Jamia Milia, New Delhi and the Muslim University of Aligarh.
Member of the Ceylon delegation at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. The delegation included Bernard Aluwihare (Leader), D.B. Welagedera and V. Kumaraswamy. Read paper on “The Sovereignity of Parliament and the Commonwealth Ideal”.
Visited Uganda, Kenya, Zanzibar, Tanganyika, Rhodesia and Union of South Africa.
1955
Chosen as one of the U.N.P. observers at the Avadi Sessions of the Indian National Congress.
Attended Golden Jubilee Celebration of the Tamil Poets’ Day organized by the Muslim Educational Association of Southern India. Delivered the Presidential Address on Muslim Tamil Poets.
Represented Ceylon at the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of the Annamalai University.
In July left on Haj pilgrimage with his wife. Returned in October after participating at the Conference of the Free Europe University in Exile at Strasbourg. Visited Berlin, Rome, Venice, Athens, Turkey (Istanbul, Konya and Ankara), Beyrouth, Damascus, Amman, Jerusalem and Karachi.
1957
Attended the Islamic Colloquium in Lahore, Pakistan.
Represented Zahira College and read a Message on behalf of Zahira College at the 85th Convocation of the University of the Punjab and Laying of the First Stone by Hon. Major General Iskandar Mirza, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, of the new campus of the University of the Punjab. En route, with wife and daughter, visited Trichy, Nagore, Hyderabad, Aurangabad, Ajanta, Ellora and New Delhi.
1958
Represented Ceylon at the International Islamic Colloquium organized by the University of the Punjab.
Returned via Peshawar, Khyber Pass, New Delhi, Ajmeer, Jaipur, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Madras and Kanjeepuram.
1959
Attended Seminar on Islam in the Modern World organized by the Congress for Cultural Freedom held in Karachi, Pakistan, and read a paper on “Problems of Muslim Minorities”. Visited Sind University, Hyderabad and Mohenjo-Daro.
Attended 48th Annual Conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union held in Warsaw in August accompanied by his wife. Spoke on “The Role of Parliament in Protecting the Rights of the Individual”. The delegation included T.B. Subasinghe (Leader), V.A. Kandiah and Sagara Palansuriya. Returned in October after visiting Cairo, Amsterdam, Moscow, Minsk, Leningrad, Tashkent, Samarkand & Bokhara and Kabul.
1960
Leader of the Ceylon delegation to the Mihraj Conference of the World Muslim Congress held in Jerusalem, Jordan and presided at the first session of the conference. Returned via Beirut and the Gulf countries. At Beirut visited the American University of Beirut and the School of Arabic at Shemlan.
1964
Participated at First Afro-Asian Islamic Conference at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt.
1965
Participated at Second Afro-Asian Islamic Conference at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt.
Thereafter, visited Scotland to see his daughter and her husband at University of St. Andrews.
1966
Participated at the International Conference-Seminar on Tamil Studies held in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia. Presented a paper on “Some Aspects of the Muslim Society in Ceylon, with Special Reference to the 1880s”.
1973
In May he led the Ceylon delegation to the First World Islamic Tamil Literary Conference in Trichy, South India. The delegation included Prof. M.M. Uwise.
In September (two months before his demise) he presided at the Tamil Nadu Muslim Educational Conference in Chennai, South India and spoke on “Problems in Muslim Education”. He was honoured with the Golden Shawl.
