[1] He is the son of Shanmugam and Thanabagyam and is from the coastal village of Thiriyai in north-eastern Sri Lanka.
[2] Kugathasan was president of the Trincomalee District branch of the Gandhiyam Movement which was founded by S. A. David and S.
[2] Following the 1977 anti-Tamil pogrom, he assisted in the resettlement of Up-Country Tamil refugees in the Kuchchaveli, Muthalikkulam and Mutur areas of Trincomalee District.
[2] He and Maravan Bulavu Sachidananda, the owner of the Kanthalakam bookstore in Madras, produced an English language magazine in order to publicise the struggles of the Sri Lankan Tamil people to the whole of India.
[2] Following the Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991 there was widespread violence against Sri Lankan Tamils in India and Kugathasan's newspaper was banned.
[2] He taught Tamil language BA and MA degree courses in Canada for a university from Tirunelveli.