Kumaraswami Kamaraj (15 July 1903 – 2 October 1975), was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the chief minister of Madras State from 13 April 1954 to 2 October 1963. He was the founder and the president of the Indian National Congress (Organisation), widely acknowledged as the "Kingmaker" in Indian politics during the 1960s. He also served as the president of the Indian National Congress for two terms i.e. four years between 1964–1967 and was responsible for the elevation of Lal Bahadur Shastri to the position of Prime Minister of India after Nehru's death and Indira Gandhi after Shastri's death. He was the Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha 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 and worked to improve the quality of life of the needy and the disadvantaged.
As the president of the INC,] he
was instrumental in steering the party after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru.
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, posthumously in 1976. US Vice-President Hubert Humphrey,
called Kamaraj as "one of the greatest political leaders in all the
countries of the free world" in January 1966.
Kumaraswami Kamaraj (15 July 1903– 2 October 1975]), was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the chief minister of Madras State from 13 April 1954 to 2 October 1963. He was the founder and the president of the Indian National Congress (Organisation), widely acknowledged as the "Kingmaker" in Indian politics during the 1960s. He also served as the president of the Indian National Congress for two terms i.e. four years between 1964–1967 and was responsible for the elevation of Lal Bahadur Shastri to the position of Prime Minister of India after Nehru's death and Indira Gandhi after Shastri's death. He was the Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha during 1952–1954and 1969–1975. He was known for his simplicity and integrity. He played a major role in developing the infrastructure of the Madras state and worked to improve the quality of life of the needy and the disadvantaged
As the president of the INC, he was instrumental in
steering the party after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru.
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, posthumously in 1976. US Vice-President Hubert Humphrey,
called Kamaraj as "one of the greatest political leaders in all the
countries of the free world" in January 1966
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 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 worke. 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. He came to Madras and took
part in the event. In 1923–25 Kamaraj participated in the 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 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.[citation needed] In 1932, Section 144 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 seat in the 1937 election.
Kamaraj conducted a vigorous campaign throughout the state asked
people not to contribute to war funds when Sir 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.[20][21] His
principle was "One should not accept any post to which one could not do
full justice".[22]
In 1942, Kamaraj attended the All-India Congress Committee in Bombay 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 groups.
The agitation was incited by Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the political arm of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). They also
surrounded his house with an intent to attack him.[25] Kamaraj
had a narrow escape.[26][27]
On 13 April 1954, Kamaraj became the Chief Minister of Madras Province.
To everyone's surprise, Kamaraj nominated C. Subramaniam and M. Bhakthavatsalam, who had contested his leadership, to
the newly formed cabinet.
As Chief Minister, Kamaraj removed the family vocation
based Hereditary Education Policy introduced by Rajaji.
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 strived to eradicate illiteracy by introducing free and compulsory
education up to the eleventh standard. He introduced the Midday Meal Scheme to provide at least one meal per
day to the lakhs of poor school children. Later it was expanded to four more
schools. This was the precursor to the free noon meal schemes introduced by K.
Kamaraj in 1960's and expanded by M. G. Ramachandran in the 1980s.[citation needed]. He introduced free school uniforms to
weed out caste, creed and class distinctions among young minds.
Kamaraj Statue in Marina Beach, Chennai depicting his contribution to education in the state
Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Statue in Kamaraj Colony, Hosur
During the British regime the education rate was only 7%. But 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, Mani Muthar, Aarani, Vaigai, Amaravathi, Sathanur, Krishnagiri, Pullambadi, Parambikulam and Neyyaru among
others. The Lower Bhavani Dam in Erode district brought 207,000 acres
(840 km2) of land under cultivation. 45,000 acres (180 km2) 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, 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.
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