Forbidden history: Kamarajar, Kingmaker of India
Today, politicians go around talking about austerity and good governance when they live in palatial residences, travel by bullet-proof benz', run billion dollar businesses while they sleep in the parliament. They talk of serving the society selflessly when they illegally stash away money in their Swiss bank accounts and junket around the world in private jets. In these times of looting and selfishness, it might be strange to know that only a half a century ago, there lived a great man who reigned over the country for about two decades and he still died with just 130 rupees in his account. The name of that great man is Kamarajar. He has been forgotten, ignored and written away by us and INDIAN historians. The least we could do is remember him on his birthday while we try to learn a few lessons from the life of this mighty man.
Chapter 1: Early years
Kamarajar was born into a family of traders in Virudhunagar(yes, my native) on July 15, 1903. His father, Kumaraswami, was a coconut merchant and his mother Sivagami was a home maker. Kamarajar also had a younger sister, Nagammal, who was four yours younger than him. Upon birth, Kamarajar was given the name Kamatchi. Later, this given name and his pet name, Raja, were put together as Kamarajan which changed into a respectable form Kamarajar after he gained prominence.
Kamarajar began his schooling in the year 1907 in the 'Thinnai palli' system(a gurukulam form of education) before moving to Yenadhi Narayana Vidhya Sala in 1908 and finally to Virudhupatti(the town was known by this name between 1875 and 1923) Vidhya sala in 1909. His father seemed to have died sometime in the later part of 1909 or 1910. For the next four years, his mother cared for the family by selling all her jewelry except her earrings. It is said that Kamarajar was not good in studies and in 1914, at the age of ten, he dropped out of school to take over the family burden from his mother. He did not even finish his sixth grade.
Chapter 2: A freedom fighter
After dropping out of school, Kamarajar became a sales-boy in his uncle Karuppiah's cloth shop in the town. It is when Indian home rule movement was picking up steam. Greatly influenced by the leaders of Indian home rule movement like S. Satyamurthi, Varadarajulu Naidu, Kalyana Sundara Mudaliar and George Joseph, Kamarajar started attending processions and meetings demanding freedom from the British. This did not go well with his relatives who sent him to Kerala to work in another uncle's shop, but the boy's calling was elsewhere. He returned to Virudhunagar shortly after the Jallianwalabagh massacre and enrolled himself as a full time Congress worker organising meetings and such in the town until 1921.
In 1922, he travelled to Madras to take part in the Non-cooperation movement. Then he moved to Kerala to be a part of Vaikom Sathyagraha movement. Until then, Nadars(the caste to which both he and I belong) along with many others castes were not allowed inside temples. Between 1923-1929, he travelled to various parts of the country and participated in many protests against the British.
In 1930, when Gandhi began his Dandi march, a similar salt march was launched in Vedaranyam by Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) and Kamarajar. Kamarajar was arrested for it and sent to Allipore prison in Calcutta. A year later, he was released under Gandhi-Irwin pact upon which he returned to Madras and renewed his protests. He was arrested once again in 1932 and held for a year. In 1933, he was wrongly implicated in the Virudhunagar bomb case and was jailed once again. Later, the charges were proved to be wrong. In 1940, he opposed British fund collection for WWII and was jailed once again for nine months. In 1942, he was arrested for attending the All India Congress committee in Bombay and taking part in Quit India movement. He was held in prison till 1945.
In all, he almost spent nine years in prison for fighting for independence.
Chapter 3: A selfless political leader
Even before Independence, Kamarajar's stature within the Congress was steadily climbing. He came across as a simple and sincere man which attracted many leaders towards him. One of them was S. Satyamurthi who took Kamaraj under his wing and protected him like a loving father would. In 1936, when Satyamurthi became the president of provincial Congress, he made Kamarajar the general secretary. Four years later, in 1940, Kamarajar was appointed the president of provincial Congress and Satyamurthi became the general secretary. Until Satyamurthi succumbed to a spinal cord injury in 1943, both the men stayed friends.
Even though he became the president of Congress in 1940, it was not until 1954 he became the Chief minister of Tamil Nadu, after serving as an MLA for seventeen years. Power did not tempt him and he gave way for party stalwarts like O.P. Ramaswamy Reddiar and P.S. Kumaraswamy Raja before he reluctantly took the leadership in 1954 on the back of strong protests against C. Rajaji, the then Chief minister of Tamil Nadu.
In 1953, Rajaji introduced a new education scheme which reduced the schooling hours of elementary school students to 3 hours a day. Rajaji insisted the students learn the family vocation during the rest of the day. This drew a sharp criticism from both within the party and outside. Kamarajar was opposed to such scheme as he felt it would make the rich richer and the poor poorer. In 1954, Rajaji was forced to resign as the CM after his candidate for Congress president, C. Subramaniam, lost a head to head battle with Kamarajar. That's how, on April 13, 1954, Kamarajar became the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, albeit reluctantly. And he was so politically matured, he inducted both C. Subramaniam and M. Bhakthavatshalam who had contested his leadership into his cabinet.
Chapter 4: A strong proponent of education
Though Kamaraj did not receive much formal education, he seemed to have realised the importance of education even before he became the chief minister of Tamil Nadu. It is said that he read a bit of political science and history and also learnt a bit of English during his initial years as the president of Tamil Nadu Congress.
After he was elevated to the position of chief minister of Tamil Nadu in 1954, his first major decision in education system was to abolish the much loathed hereditary education schema introduced by Rajaji in 1953. He then went onto open thousands of new schools across Tamil Nadu, mostly in rural areas, based on the idea that no student must travel more than 3 miles to the nearest school. He also made education free and compulsory till eleventh standard to eradicate illiteracy rates. Because poverty was a big factor in Tamil Nadu then and since children were forced to work by their family, he introduced midday meal scheme as an incentive to schooling. The midday meal scheme became so popular, every state in India today provides midday meals to children studying in government schools. Finally, to improve the standards of education, he increased the number of working days from 180 to 200 and revised the outdated syllabi.
During his tenure, at least one primary school was opened in every village in Tamil Nadu and at least one higher secondary school cropped up in every Panchayat. Literacy rates rose a staggering 35% in 9 years. IIT Madras was established. It is no wonder Kamarajar is hailed as "Kalvikkan thirantha Kamarajar" or "The man who opened our eyes to education".
Chapter 5: A friend of the farmers
It will not be an overstatement to say that after Cholas, it was during the reign of
Kamarajar Tamil Nadu became a rice bowl again. Over ten dams were constructed across Cauvery, Vaigai and Bhavani among other rivers. Thousands of irrigation canals were dug along Cauvery which once again turned Trichy-Thanjavur areas into a fertile region. In all, about 500 lakhs of acres of cultivable soil benefited by these irrigation projects.
Under small irrigation scheme, temple and town tanks were de-silted, well were dug up, electricity was subsidised, and electric motors and oil engines were provided to farmer either free or at reduced prices.
Chapter 6: Not a foe to Industries
When he strengthened the two pillars of growth - human development through improvements in education system and employment through modernisation of agriculture - Kamarajar did not forget the third either - economic growth through industries. During his reign, Neyveli Lignite Corporation(NLC) at Neyveli, Bharat Heavy Electric Limited(BHEL) at Trichy, Hindustan Photo Film Factory(HPF) at Ooty, Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited(CPCL) at Chennai, South India Surgical Company Limited(SISCO) at Chennai, Integral Coach factory(ICF) at Chennai were established.
Chapter 7: Kamaraj Plan
Kamarajar remained as a Chief minister for three consecutive terms, 1954-1957, 1957-1962, 1962-1963. In all, he ruled the state for over nine years between April 1954 and October 1963 when he decided to step down as the Chief minister in an attempt to strengthen Congress that was losing its relevance in many states including Tamil Nadu where Dravidian parties were growing strong ob back of Hindi agitations and other ethnic issues. He also suggested Nehru that other senior Congress leaders who were holding ministerial positions in various governments must resign and take up organisational work. However, It seems he was opposed to Nehru resigning from the post of prime minister as he felt it would create a power battle at the centre. Later, this plan came to be known as Kamaraj plan under which 6 cabinet ministers from the central governments and six chief ministers of states resigned and returned back to party posts.
A week after his resignation, Nehru appointed him as the president of national congress.
Chapter 8: The Kingmaker
When Nehru died in 1964, a power battle at the centre broke out. On one side was Lal Bahadur Sastri and on the other was Moraji Desai. The eyes of the world were trained on India. Some rumoured about imposing presidential rule while others happily gossiped about a military coup. In a span ten days, as the president of Congress, Kamarajar met all the 540 MPs and 15 Chief ministers of states to learn their preferences. When he learnt that Lal Bahadur Sastri had the upper hand, he met Moraji Desai and convinced him to support Lal Bahadur Sastri. And 12 days after Nehru died, Lal Bahadur Sastri became the prime minister of India.
Congress faced a similar problem two years later in 1966 when Lal Bahadur Sastri died of heart attack in Tashkent(You have probably heard of the Tashkent agreement between Russia and India). Once again the post of the prime minister was up for contest and once again, Moraji Desai staked him claim. Once again, he was defeated, this time by Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi who had the support of Kamarajar as well the party MPs. However, during his last few days, he seemed to have regretted supporting Indira Gandhi as she was directly responsible for splitting of the Congress party in 1971 as well as imposing emergency in 1975.
Both in 1964 and in 1966, Kamarajar's name was first on the list of potential prime ministers and both the times, he escaped the lure of power, staying selfless till he died.
Chapter 9: A man who did not want anything for himself or his family
After being a CM, when the municipality of Virudhunagar provided a direction water connection pipe to his house in the town, Kamarajar ordered it to be immediately disconnected as he did not want any special privileges.
When R. Venkatraman, then a minister in Kamarajar's cabinet, gifted Kamarajar's mother a table fan,
He refused to use the Z-level security that was provided to him as the CM of Tamil Nadu and travelled always with only 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 dhotis and a few books.
Chapter 10: The end
In 1967, Congress suffered a major defeat in Tamil Nadu elections at the hands of DMK which was riding on the MGR wave. Kamarajar himself lost his Virudhunagar seat to a law college student. However, two years later, he contested a by-election from Nagercoil and became an MP. He won the same seat four years later in the general elections in 1971.
After the Congress party was split in 1969, Kamarajar became president of Indian National Congress(Organisational). The party contested the 1971 general elections and was touted by the INC led by Indira Gandhi. That ended Kamarajar's involvement in active politics.
In his last years, Kamarajar was troubled by Indira Gandhi's actions. That had a direct effect on his health which worsened through the early 70's and on October 2, 1975, he passed away while taking an afternoon nap with only his caretaker Vairavan beside him.
Kamarajar was a visionary, uneducated but knowledgeable, simple and sincere. And for what he lacked in education, he made up for with common sense, pragmatism and the love for this country and its people.
I would like to end this article by recounting a conversation I had with my father about Kamarajar a long time ago. I asked my father something for which he remarked "The roads that man lay in this town are still strong while the ones that were laid last week have been wrecked by the rain" or something to that effect. You might call it romanticism, but believe me that roads are still there.
Happy birthday Kamarajar aiyya.
For pictures of Kamarajar's memorial house in Virudhunagar:
http://www.virudhunagar.tn.nic.in/PhotoGallery/KAMARAJAR_G/kamarajmemorialhouse.html
To read more about Kamarajar's life and achievements:
http://www.perunthalaivar.org/
Chapter 1: Early years
Kamarajar was born into a family of traders in Virudhunagar(yes, my native) on July 15, 1903. His father, Kumaraswami, was a coconut merchant and his mother Sivagami was a home maker. Kamarajar also had a younger sister, Nagammal, who was four yours younger than him. Upon birth, Kamarajar was given the name Kamatchi. Later, this given name and his pet name, Raja, were put together as Kamarajan which changed into a respectable form Kamarajar after he gained prominence.
Chapter 2: A freedom fighter
After dropping out of school, Kamarajar became a sales-boy in his uncle Karuppiah's cloth shop in the town. It is when Indian home rule movement was picking up steam. Greatly influenced by the leaders of Indian home rule movement like S. Satyamurthi, Varadarajulu Naidu, Kalyana Sundara Mudaliar and George Joseph, Kamarajar started attending processions and meetings demanding freedom from the British. This did not go well with his relatives who sent him to Kerala to work in another uncle's shop, but the boy's calling was elsewhere. He returned to Virudhunagar shortly after the Jallianwalabagh massacre and enrolled himself as a full time Congress worker organising meetings and such in the town until 1921.
In 1922, he travelled to Madras to take part in the Non-cooperation movement. Then he moved to Kerala to be a part of Vaikom Sathyagraha movement. Until then, Nadars(the caste to which both he and I belong) along with many others castes were not allowed inside temples. Between 1923-1929, he travelled to various parts of the country and participated in many protests against the British.
In 1930, when Gandhi began his Dandi march, a similar salt march was launched in Vedaranyam by Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) and Kamarajar. Kamarajar was arrested for it and sent to Allipore prison in Calcutta. A year later, he was released under Gandhi-Irwin pact upon which he returned to Madras and renewed his protests. He was arrested once again in 1932 and held for a year. In 1933, he was wrongly implicated in the Virudhunagar bomb case and was jailed once again. Later, the charges were proved to be wrong. In 1940, he opposed British fund collection for WWII and was jailed once again for nine months. In 1942, he was arrested for attending the All India Congress committee in Bombay and taking part in Quit India movement. He was held in prison till 1945.
In all, he almost spent nine years in prison for fighting for independence.
Chapter 3: A selfless political leader
Even before Independence, Kamarajar's stature within the Congress was steadily climbing. He came across as a simple and sincere man which attracted many leaders towards him. One of them was S. Satyamurthi who took Kamaraj under his wing and protected him like a loving father would. In 1936, when Satyamurthi became the president of provincial Congress, he made Kamarajar the general secretary. Four years later, in 1940, Kamarajar was appointed the president of provincial Congress and Satyamurthi became the general secretary. Until Satyamurthi succumbed to a spinal cord injury in 1943, both the men stayed friends.
Even though he became the president of Congress in 1940, it was not until 1954 he became the Chief minister of Tamil Nadu, after serving as an MLA for seventeen years. Power did not tempt him and he gave way for party stalwarts like O.P. Ramaswamy Reddiar and P.S. Kumaraswamy Raja before he reluctantly took the leadership in 1954 on the back of strong protests against C. Rajaji, the then Chief minister of Tamil Nadu.
In 1953, Rajaji introduced a new education scheme which reduced the schooling hours of elementary school students to 3 hours a day. Rajaji insisted the students learn the family vocation during the rest of the day. This drew a sharp criticism from both within the party and outside. Kamarajar was opposed to such scheme as he felt it would make the rich richer and the poor poorer. In 1954, Rajaji was forced to resign as the CM after his candidate for Congress president, C. Subramaniam, lost a head to head battle with Kamarajar. That's how, on April 13, 1954, Kamarajar became the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, albeit reluctantly. And he was so politically matured, he inducted both C. Subramaniam and M. Bhakthavatshalam who had contested his leadership into his cabinet.
Chapter 4: A strong proponent of education
Though Kamaraj did not receive much formal education, he seemed to have realised the importance of education even before he became the chief minister of Tamil Nadu. It is said that he read a bit of political science and history and also learnt a bit of English during his initial years as the president of Tamil Nadu Congress.
During his tenure, at least one primary school was opened in every village in Tamil Nadu and at least one higher secondary school cropped up in every Panchayat. Literacy rates rose a staggering 35% in 9 years. IIT Madras was established. It is no wonder Kamarajar is hailed as "Kalvikkan thirantha Kamarajar" or "The man who opened our eyes to education".
Chapter 5: A friend of the farmers
It will not be an overstatement to say that after Cholas, it was during the reign of
Under small irrigation scheme, temple and town tanks were de-silted, well were dug up, electricity was subsidised, and electric motors and oil engines were provided to farmer either free or at reduced prices.
Chapter 6: Not a foe to Industries
When he strengthened the two pillars of growth - human development through improvements in education system and employment through modernisation of agriculture - Kamarajar did not forget the third either - economic growth through industries. During his reign, Neyveli Lignite Corporation(NLC) at Neyveli, Bharat Heavy Electric Limited(BHEL) at Trichy, Hindustan Photo Film Factory(HPF) at Ooty, Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited(CPCL) at Chennai, South India Surgical Company Limited(SISCO) at Chennai, Integral Coach factory(ICF) at Chennai were established.
Chapter 7: Kamaraj Plan
A week after his resignation, Nehru appointed him as the president of national congress.
Chapter 8: The Kingmaker
When Nehru died in 1964, a power battle at the centre broke out. On one side was Lal Bahadur Sastri and on the other was Moraji Desai. The eyes of the world were trained on India. Some rumoured about imposing presidential rule while others happily gossiped about a military coup. In a span ten days, as the president of Congress, Kamarajar met all the 540 MPs and 15 Chief ministers of states to learn their preferences. When he learnt that Lal Bahadur Sastri had the upper hand, he met Moraji Desai and convinced him to support Lal Bahadur Sastri. And 12 days after Nehru died, Lal Bahadur Sastri became the prime minister of India. Both in 1964 and in 1966, Kamarajar's name was first on the list of potential prime ministers and both the times, he escaped the lure of power, staying selfless till he died.
Chapter 9: A man who did not want anything for himself or his family
After being a CM, when the municipality of Virudhunagar provided a direction water connection pipe to his house in the town, Kamarajar ordered it to be immediately disconnected as he did not want any special privileges.
When R. Venkatraman, then a minister in Kamarajar's cabinet, gifted Kamarajar's mother a table fan, He refused to use the Z-level security that was provided to him as the CM of Tamil Nadu and travelled always with only 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 dhotis and a few books.
Chapter 10: The end
In 1967, Congress suffered a major defeat in Tamil Nadu elections at the hands of DMK which was riding on the MGR wave. Kamarajar himself lost his Virudhunagar seat to a law college student. However, two years later, he contested a by-election from Nagercoil and became an MP. He won the same seat four years later in the general elections in 1971.
After the Congress party was split in 1969, Kamarajar became president of Indian National Congress(Organisational). The party contested the 1971 general elections and was touted by the INC led by Indira Gandhi. That ended Kamarajar's involvement in active politics.
In his last years, Kamarajar was troubled by Indira Gandhi's actions. That had a direct effect on his health which worsened through the early 70's and on October 2, 1975, he passed away while taking an afternoon nap with only his caretaker Vairavan beside him.
Kamarajar was a visionary, uneducated but knowledgeable, simple and sincere. And for what he lacked in education, he made up for with common sense, pragmatism and the love for this country and its people.
I would like to end this article by recounting a conversation I had with my father about Kamarajar a long time ago. I asked my father something for which he remarked "The roads that man lay in this town are still strong while the ones that were laid last week have been wrecked by the rain" or something to that effect. You might call it romanticism, but believe me that roads are still there.
Happy birthday Kamarajar aiyya.
For pictures of Kamarajar's memorial house in Virudhunagar:
http://www.virudhunagar.tn.nic.in/PhotoGallery/KAMARAJAR_G/kamarajmemorialhouse.html
To read more about Kamarajar's life and achievements:
http://www.perunthalaivar.org/
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