Kumaraswami Kamaraj (15 July 1903 – 2 October 1975, hinduonnet.com. 15–28 September 2001), popularly known as Kamarajar was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the Chief Minister of Madras State (Tamil Nadu) from 13 April 1954 to 2 October 1963. He was the founder and the president of the

Indian National Congress (Organisation) The Indian National Congress (Organisation) also known as Congress (O) or Syndicate/Old Congress was a political party in India formed when the Congress party split following the expulsion of Indira Gandhi. On 12 November 1969, the Prime Mini ...

, widely acknowledged as the "

Kingmaker A kingmaker is a person or group that has great influence on a royal or political succession, without themselves being a viable candidate. Kingmakers may use political, monetary, religious and military means to influence the succession. Origina ...

" in Indian politics during the 1960s. He also served as the president of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

for two terms i.e. four years between 1964–1967 and was responsible for the elevation of

Lal Bahadur Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri (; 2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966 and 6th Home Minister of India from 1961 to 1963. He promoted the White Re ...

to the position of

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

after

Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

's death and

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 and was al ...

after Shastri's death. He was the

Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha A Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha ( abbreviated: MP) is the representative of a legislative constituency in the Lok Sabha; the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of parliament of Lok Sabha are chosen by direct elections on ...

during 1952–1954 and 1969–1975. He was known for his simplicity and integrity. He played a major role in developing the infrastructure of the

Madras state Madras State was a state of India during the mid-20th century. At the time of its formation in 1950, it included the whole of present-day Tamil Nadu (except Kanyakumari district), Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema, the Malabar region of North and ...

and worked to improve the quality of life of the needy and the disadvantaged. He raised the bar with simplicity
''The Hindu''. 16 July 2008 As the president of the INC, he was instrumental in steering the party after the death of

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India du ...

. As the chief minister of Madras, he was responsible for bringing free education to the disadvantaged and introduced the free Midday Meal Scheme while he himself did not complete schooling. He was awarded with India's highest civilian honour, the

Bharat Ratna The Bharat Ratna (; ''Jewel of India'') is the highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest orde ...

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' ...

ly in 1976. US Vice-president

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing ...

, called Kamaraj as "one of the greatest political leaders in all the countries of the free world" in January 1966.

Early life

Kamaraj was born on 15 July 1903 in

Virudhunagar Virudhunagar is a city and the administrative headquarter of the Virudhunagar district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located southwest of the state capital Chennai and south of Madurai. Virudhunagar emerged as an important trade ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

, to Kumaraswami Nadar and Sivakami Ammal. His name was originally Kamatchi, later changed to Kamarajar. His father Kumaraswami Nadar was a merchant. Kamaraj had a younger sister named Nagammal. Kamaraj was first enrolled in a traditional school in 1907 and in 1908 he was admitted to Yenadhi Narayana Vidhya Salai. In 1909 Kamaraj was admitted in Virudupatti High School. Kamaraj's father died when he was six years old, his mother was forced to support the family. In 1914 Kamaraj dropped out of school to support his mother.

Politics

As a young boy, Kamaraj worked in his uncle's provision shop and during that time he began to attend public meetings and processions about the Indian Home Rule movement. Kamaraj developed an interest in prevailing political conditions by reading newspapers daily. The

Jallianwala Bagh massacre The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919. A large peaceful crowd had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab, to protest against the Rowlatt Act and arrest of pro-independenc ...

was the decisive turning point in his life - he decided to fight for national freedom and to bring an end to foreign rule. In 1920, when he was 18, he became active in politics. He joined Congress as a full-time political worker. In 1921 Kamaraj organised public meetings at Virudhunagar for Congress leaders. He was eager to meet Gandhi, and when Gandhi visited Madurai on 21 September 1921, Kamaraj attended the public meeting and met Gandhi for the first time. He visited villages carrying Congress propaganda. In 1922 Congress boycotted the visit of the Prince of Wales as part of the

Non-Cooperation Movement The Non-cooperation movement was a political campaign launched on 4 September 1920, by Mahatma Gandhi to have Indians revoke their cooperation from the British government, with the aim of persuading them to grant self-governance.Nagpur Flag Satyagraha. In 1927, Kamaraj started the Sword Satyagraha in Madras and was chosen to lead the Neil Statue Satyagraha, but this was given up later in view of the

Simon Commission The Indian Statutory Commission also known as Simon Commission, was a group of seven Members of Parliament under the chairmanship of Sir John Simon. The commission arrived in India in 1928 to study constitutional reform in Britain's largest a ...

boycott. Kamaraj went to jail for two years in June 1930 for participating in the "Salt Satyagraha". led by Rajagopalachari at Vedaranyam; he was released before he served the two-year sentence as a result of 1931

Gandhi–Irwin Pact The Gandhi–Irwin Pact was a political agreement signed by Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Irwin, Viceroy of India, on 5 March 1931 before the Second Round Table Conference in London. Before this, Irwin, the Viceroy, had announced in October 1929 ...

. In 1932,

Section 144 Unlawful assembly is a legal term to describe a group of people with the mutual intent of deliberate disturbance of the peace. If the group is about to start an act of disturbance, it is termed a rout; if the disturbance is commenced, it is then ter ...

was imposed in Madras prohibiting the holding of meetings and organisation of processions against the arrest of Gandhi in Bombay. In Virdhunagar, under Kamaraj's leadership, processions and demonstrations happened every day. Kamaraj was arrested again in January 1932 and sentenced to one year's imprisonment. In 1933 Kamaraj was falsely charged in the Virudhunagar bomb case. Varadarajulu Naidu and George Joseph argued on Kamaraj's behalf and proved the charges to be baseless. At the age of 34, Kamaraj entered the Assembly winning the

Sattur Sattur or Saathur () is a town in Virudhunagar district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 29,398. The town is located in the bank of Vaippar river. Sattur/Saathur taluk has contents of black soil around ...

seat in the 1937 election. Kamaraj conducted a vigorous campaign throughout the state asked people not to contribute to war funds when Arthur Hope, the Madras Governor, was collecting contributions to fund for the Second World War. In December 1940 he was arrested again at Guntur, under the Defence of India rules for speeches that opposed contributions to the war fund, and sent to Vellore Central Prison while he was on his way to Wardha to get Gandhi's approval for a list of Satyagrahis. While in jail, he was elected as Municipal Councillor of Virudhunagar. He was released nine months later in November 1941 and resigned from this post as he thought he had greater responsibility for the nation. His principle was "One should not accept any post to which one could not do full justice". In 1942, Kamaraj attended the All-India Congress Committee in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

and returned to spread propaganda material for the Quit India Movement. The police issued orders to all the leaders who attended this Bombay session. Kamaraj did not want to be arrested before he took the message to all district and local leaders. finishing his work and sent a message to the local police that he was ready to be arrested. He was arrested in August 1942. He was under detention for three years and was released in June 1945. This was his last prison term. Kamaraj was imprisoned six times by the British for his pro-Independence activities, that added up to more than 3,000 days in jail. During the anti-cow slaughter agitation in 1966, Kamaraj's house near the parliament was burnt down by

Hindutva Hindutva () is the predominant form of Hindu nationalism in India. The term was formulated as a political ideology by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1923. It is used by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), the ...

groups. The agitation was incited by

Bharatiya Jana Sangh The Bharatiya Jana Sangh ( BJS or JS, short name: Jan Sangh, full name: Akhil Bharatiya Jana Sangh; ) ( ISO 15919: '' Akhila Bhāratīya Jana Saṅgha '' ) was an Indian right wing political party that existed from 1951 to 1977 and was the po ...

, the political arm of the

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( ; , , ) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family ...

(RSS). They also surrounded his house with an intent to attack him. Kamaraj had a narrow escape.

Chief Minister

On 13 April 1954, Kamaraj became the Chief Minister of

Madras Province The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

. To everyone's surprise, Kamaraj nominated

C. Subramaniam Chidambaram Subramaniam (commonly known as CS) (30 January 1910 – 7 November 2000), was an Indian politician and independence activist. He served as Minister of Finance and Minister of Defence in the union cabinet. He later served as the Go ...

, who had contested his leadership, to the newly formed cabinet. As Chief Minister, Kamaraj removed the family vocation based Modified Scheme of Elementary education 1953 introduced by

Rajaji Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and independence activis ...

. He reopened 6000 schools closed in the previous government by C. Rajagopalachari citing financial reasons and reopened 12,000 more schools. The State made immense strides in education and trade. New schools were opened, so that poor rural students had to walk no more than three kilometres to their nearest school. Better facilities were added to existing ones. No village remained without a primary school and no panchayat without a high school. Kamaraj strove to eradicate illiteracy by introducing free and compulsory education up to the eleventh standard. He introduced the

Midday Meal Scheme The Midday Meal Scheme is a school meal programme in India designed to better the nutritional standing of school-age children nationwide. The programme supplies free lunches on working days for children in government primary and upper primary s ...

to provide at least one meal per day to the lakhs of poor school children. He introduced free school uniforms to weed out caste, creed and class distinctions among young minds. Statue of Kamarajar

KAMARAJAR Statue infront of KAP Kalyana Mandabam, Hosur

During the colonial era, the local education rate was at 7%; after Kamaraj's reforms, it reached 37%. Apart from increasing the number of schools, steps were taken to improve standards of education. To improve standards, the number of working days was increased from 180 to 200; unnecessary holidays were reduced; and syllabi were prepared to give opportunity to various abilities. Kamaraj and Bishnuram Medhi (Governor) took efforts to establish IIT Madras in 1959. Major irrigation schemes were planned in Kamaraj's period. Dams and irrigation canals were built across higher

Bhavani Bhavānī (also known as Bhāvya, Tulajā, Turajā, Tvarita, Aṃbā, Jagadambā and Aṃbē) is manifestation of Adi Shakti (Durga). Bhavani translates to "giver of life", meaning the power of nature or the source of creative energy. She is co ...

, Mani Muthar, Aarani,

Vaigai The Vaigai is a river in the Tamil Nadu state of southern India; it passes through the towns of Theni, Dindigul and Madurai. It originates in Varusanadu Hills, the Periyar Plateau of the Western Ghats range, and flows northeast through the ...

Amaravathi Amaravati () is the capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the river Krishna in Guntur district. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone at a ceremonial event in Uddandar ...

, Sathanur, Krishnagiri,

Pullambadi Pullambadi is a Panchayat town in Tiruchirappalli district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Pullambadi town panchayat heads the revenue block of Pullambadi in the taluk of Lalgudi. History The village of Pullambadi was upgraded into town pa ...

Parambikulam Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, which also includes the erstwhile Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, is a protected area lying in Palakkad district and Thrissur district of Kerala state, South India. The Wildlife Sanctuary, which had an area of wa ...

and Neyyaru among others. The Lower Bhavani Dam in Erode district brought of land under cultivation. of land benefited from canals constructed from the Mettur Dam. The Vaigai and Sathanur systems facilitated cultivation across thousands of acres of lands in Madurai and North Arcot districts respectively. Rs 30 crores were planned to be spent for Parambikulam River scheme, and 150 lakhs of acres of lands were brought under cultivation; one third of this (i.e. 56 lakhs of acres of land) received a permanent irrigation facility. In 1957–61 1,628 tanks were de-silted under the Small Irrigation Scheme, and 2,000 wells were dug with outlets. Long-term loans with 25% subsidy were given to farmers. In addition farmers who had dry lands were given oil engines and electric pump sets on an instalment basis. Industries with huge investments in crores of Rupees were started in his period: Neyveli Lignite Corporation, BHEL at Trichy,

Manali Refinery Manali Refinery is a complex and integrated oil refinery set up by Chennai Petroleum Corporation, operating in Chennai city in the state of Tamil Nadu since 1969. It is one of the oldest refineries in southern India. It has a capacity of 10.5 mi ...

, Hindustan raw photo film factory at Ooty, surgical instruments factory at Chennai, and a railway coach factory at Chennai were established. Industries such as paper, sugar, chemicals and cement took off during the period.

Kamaraj Plan

Kamaraj remained Chief Minister for three consecutive terms, winning elections in

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

and

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

. Kamaraj noticed that the Congress party was slowly losing its vigour. Kamarajar Statue at East Tambaram

Gandhi Jayanti Gandhi Jayanti is an event celebrated in India to mark the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. It is celebrated annually on 2 October, and is one of the three national holidays of India. The UN General Assembly announced on 15 June 2007 that it adop ...

day 2 October 1963, he resigned from the post of the Chief Minister. He proposed that all senior Congress leaders should resign from their posts and devote all their energy to the re-vitalization of the Congress. In 1963 he suggested to Nehru that senior Congress leaders should leave ministerial posts to take up organisational work. This suggestion came to be known as the Kamaraj Plan, which was designed primarily to dispel from the minds of Congressmen the lure of power, creating in its place a dedicated attachment to the objectives and policies of the organisation. Six Union Ministers and six Chief Ministers including

Jagjivan Ram Jagjivan Ram (5 April 1908 – 6 July 1986), known popularly as Babuji, was an Indian independence activist and politician from Bihar. He was instrumental in the foundation of the ''All India Depressed Classes League'', an organisation dedicated ...

Morarji Desai Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (29 February 1896 – 10 April 1995) was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the 4th Prime Minister of India between 1977 to 1979 leading the government formed by the Janata Party. During his ...

Biju Patnaik Bijayananda Patnaik (5 March 1916 – 17 April 1997) was an Indian politician, aviator and businessman. As politician, he served twice as the Chief Minister of the State of Odisha. Early life His parents lived in Bellaguntha, Ganjam dist ...

and S.K. Patil followed suit and resigned from their posts. Impressed by Kamaraj's achievements and acumen, Prime Minister

felt that his services were needed more at the national level. In a swift move he brought Kamaraj to Delhi as the President of the Indian National Congress. Nehru realised that in addition to wide learning and vision, Kamaraj possessed enormous common sense and pragmatism. Kamaraj was elected the President of Indian National Congress on 9 October 1963.

National politics

After Nehru's death in 1964, Kamaraj successfully navigated the party through turbulent times. As the president of INC, he refused to become the next Prime Minister himself and was instrumental in bringing to power two Prime Ministers,

in 1964 and Nehru's daughter

1966. For this role, he was widely acclaimed as the "kingmaker" during the 1960s. When the Congress split in 1969, Kamaraj became the leader of the

(INC(O)) in Tamil Nadu. The party fared poorly in the 1971 elections amid allegations of fraud by the opposition parties. He remained the leader of INC(O) until his death in 1975.

Electoral history

Nagercoil by-election victory

The death of

A. Nesamony A. Nesamony, sometimes known as Marshal Nesamony, was a political leader from Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu, India. He was the second son of Kesavan Appavu Nadar, born on 12 June 1895 at Nesarpuram, Palliyadi in Vilavancode Taluk, Kanyaku ...

in 1968 led to the by-election in Nagercoil Lok Sabha constituency. Realising the popularity of

Kamaraj Kumaraswami Kamaraj (15 July 1903 – 2 October 1975, hinduonnet.com. 15–28 September 2001), popularly known as Kamarajar was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the Chief Minister of Madras State (Tamil Nadu) ...

in this constituency and the potential danger posed by Kamaraj's election after the

party's debacle in 1967 election, C. Rajagopalachari wrote in ''Swarajya'', the magazine of the

Swatantra Party The Swatantra Party was an Indian classical liberal political party, that existed from 1959 to 1974. It was founded by C. Rajagopalachari in reaction to what he felt was the Jawaharlal Nehru-dominated Indian National Congress's increasingly soci ...

, about the need to defeat him and appealed to C. N. Annadurai to support M. Mathias, the Swatantra Party candidate. Annadurai deputed

M. Karunanidhi Muthuvel Karunanidhi (3 June 1924 – 7 August 2018) was an Indian writer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades over five terms between 1969 and 2011. He was popularly referred to as Kalaignar (Art ...

, the then Minister for Public Works, to Nagercoil to work in support of Mathias. Despite the efforts, Kamaraj won decisively with a 1,28,201-vote margin on 8 January 1969.

Personal life

During his tenure as Chief Minister, when the municipality of Virudhunagar provided a direct water connection to his house in his hometown, Kamarajar ordered it to be disconnected immediately as he did not want any special privileges. He refused to use the Z-level security that was provided to him as the CM of Tamil Nadu and instead travelled with just one police patrol vehicle. He did not marry, did not own any property and was never tempted by power. When he died, he left behind 130 rupees, 2 pairs of sandals, 4 shirts, 4

dhoti The dhoti, also known as veshti, vetti, dhuti, mardani, chaadra, dhotar, jaiñboh, panchey, is a type of sarong, tied in a manner that outwardly resembles "loose trousers". It is a lower garment forming part of the ethnic costume for men in the ...

s and a few books.

Death

Kamaraj died at his home, on Gandhi Jayanti day (2 October 1975), which also was the 12th anniversary of his resignation. He was aged 72 and died in his sleep due to a heart attack.

Legacy

* In 1976, he was posthumously awarded

, India's highest civilian honor. * In 2004, the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

issued a commemorative coin of ₹ 100 and ₹ 5 denomination to mark the centenary celebrations of him. * Terminal-1 of

Chennai International Airport Chennai International Airport is an international airport serving the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu and its metropolitan area. It is located in Tirusulam, southwest of the city centre. Chennai International Airport is the sixth busiest airpo ...

is named "Kamaraj Terminal". * Ennore Port in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

was renamed to Kamarajar Port Limited. * Maraimalai Nagar Railway Station also named after him as Maraimalai Nagar Kamarajar Railway Station. * His statue was erected in

Parliament of India The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of ...

and Marina Beach to honor him. * Madurai University is renamed as

Madurai Kamaraj University Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) is a public state university located in Madurai city, in southern Tamil Nadu, India, established in 1966. MKU is one of the 15 universities in India with the University with Potential for Excellence status, wh ...

in his honor.Man of the people
, ''The Tribune'', 4 October 1975 * North Parade Road in

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

and Parliament Road in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...

were named as "Kamaraj Road". * Marina Beach Road in

and Ettayapuram Road in

Thoothukudi Thoothukudi (formerly Tuticorin) is a port city, a municipal corporation and an industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The city lies in the Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal. Thoothukudi is the capital and he ...

were named as "Kamarajar Salai".

Popular culture

In 2004 a

Tamil-language Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pudu ...

film titled ''

'' was made based on the life history of Kamaraj. The English version of the film was released on DVD in 2007.

References

External links

Complete history about Kamarajar

On the Footsteps of Kamarajar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamaraj, K. 1903 births 1975 deaths India MPs 1952–1957 India MPs 1967–1970 India MPs 1971–1977 Chief ministers from Indian National Congress Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu Indian Hindus Indian independence activists Indian independence activists from Tamil Nadu Indian National Congress (Organisation) politicians Indian National Congress politicians from Tamil Nadu Indian nationalists Indian political party founders Indian socialists Indian Tamil politicians Indian tax resisters Lok Sabha members from Tamil Nadu Madras MLAs 1957–1962 People from Virudhunagar district Presidents of the Indian National Congress Prisoners and detainees of British India Recipients of the Bharat Ratna Tamil Nadu politicians Madras MLAs 1962–1967