|
 Kumaraswami
Kamaraj,
better known as K. Kamaraj (July 15, 1903–1975) was
an Indian politician widely known as a kingmaker in Indian
politics, widely known for his honesty, integrity and
simplicity. He was involved in the Indian independence
movement and was a close ally of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first
Prime Minister of India. He was instrumental in bringing to
power two Prime Ministers, Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1964 and
Indira Gandhi in 1966. He was affectionatly known as the
Gandhi of the South, the Black Gandhi, and in
Tamil Nadu, his home state he is still hailed for
facilitating the spread of education to millions of the
rural poor during the 1950s. He was awarded India's highest
civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, posthumously in 1976.
Kamraj was
born on July 15, 1903, to Kumarasamy and Sivakami Ammal at Virudhunagar
near Madurai in Tamil Nadu. His parents were from a trading family. His
real name was Kamakshi Kumaraswamy Nadar ( the Nadars are a mercantile
caste) but was affectionately shortened to Raja by his mother, Sivakami
Ammal. His father, Kumarswamy Nadar, was a coconut merchant. Kamaraj was
enrolled at the local elementary school, the Nayanar Vidyalaya, but was
later shifted to the high school Kshatriya Vidyalaya. Unfortunately his
father died within a year of Kamaraj's enrollment in school. Kamaraj's
mother sold all jewelry except her earrings and deposited the money with a
local merchant and cared for the entire family on the monthly interest
that the money earned.
Education
Kamaraj was
not a good student in school and dropped out when he was in the sixth
grade. When he entered mainstream public life he felt handicapped and
realized the importance of a good education. He educated himself during
his periods of imprisonment.
Start in
Politics and Freedom Struggle
Kamaraj
joined as an apprentice in his maternal uncle Karuppiah's cloth shop after
dropping out of school. He would slip out from the shop to join
processions and attend public meetings addressed by orators like Dr.
Varadarajulu Naidu and George Joseph. His relatives frowned upon Kamaraj
's budding interest in politics. They sent him to Thiruvananthapuram to
work at another uncle's timer shop.
At the age
of 16, Kamaraj enrolled himself as full-time worker of the Congress. He
invited speakers, organized meetings and collected funds for the party. He
also participated in the march to Vedaranyam led by C. Rajagopalachari as
part of the Salt Satyagraha of March 1930.
Kamaraj was
arrested and sent to Alipore Jail in Calcutta for two years. He was 27 at
the time of his arrest and was released in 1931 following the Gandhi-Irwin
Pact. Kamaraj was implicated in the Virudhunagar bomb case two years
later. Dr. Varadarajulu Naidu and George Joseph argued on Kamaraj's behalf
and proved the charges to be baseless. Kamaraj was arrested again in 1940
and sent to Vellore Jail while he was on his way to Wardha to get
Gandhiji's approval for a list of satyagrahis.
While still
in jail, Kamaraj was elected Chairman of the Municipal Council of Madurai.
Nine months later, upon his release, Kamaraj went straight to the
Municipality and tendered his resignation from his post. He felt that "one
should not accept any post to which one could not do full justice."
Kamaraj was
arrested once more in 1942 and sentenced to three years in the Amaravathi
prison for spreading propaganda material for the Quit India movement
initiated by Gandhiji. While in prison, Kamaraj read books and continued
his self-education.
Kamaraj's
political guru and inspiration was S. Satyamurti, orator and
parliamentarian. Satyamurti found in Kamaraj "an efficient, loyal,
indefatigable worker and skillful organizer (p. 147, Pakshirajan)." Both
developed a deep friendship and complemented each others' skills. In 1936,
Satyamurti was elected President of the Provincial Congress Committee and
he appointed Kamaraj the General Secretary. Four years later they swapped
positions. The party base was strengthened under their leadership. So deep
was Kamaraj's devotion to Satyamurti that when India gained independence,
he first went to Satyamurti's house and hoisted the Indian flag there. On
his election as Chief Minister, Kamaraj went to Satyamurti's house and
garlanded his photo and paid his respects to the leader's widow.
Chief
Minister
On April
13, 1954, K. Kamaraj reluctantly 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. Kamaraj gave simple advice to his ministers, "Face the
problem. Don't evade it. Find a solution, however small... . People will
be satisfied if you do something." The State made immense strides in
education and trade. New schools were opened, where poor rural students
were to walk no more than 3 miles 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 upto the
eleventh standard. He introduced the Mid-day meals Scheme to provide at
least one meal per day to the lakhs of poor children (later popularised by
M.G. Ramachandran). He introduced free school uniforms to weed out caste,
creed and class distinctions among young minds.
Kamaraj
remained Chief Minister for three consecutive terms. On October 2, 1963,
he resigned, at Nehru's request, to serve a greater purpose. Kamaraj
noticed that the Congress party was slowly losing its vigor . He came up
with a plan which was called the "Kamaraj
Plan". He proposed that all senior Congress leaders should
resign form their posts and devote all their energy to the re-vitalization
of the Congress. A number of Central and State ministers like Lal Bahadur
Shastri, Jagjivan Ram, Morarji Desai and
S.K. Patil followed suit and
resigned from their posts. In 1964, Kamaraj was elected Congress President
and he successfully navigated the party and the nation through the stormy
years following Nehru's death.
Last Years
On October
2, 1975, Gandhi Jayanti, Kamaraj awoke from his afternoon nap feeling
uneasy. His housekeeper, Vairavan, rang up his physician. While he was on
his way out, Kamaraj said, "Vairavan, put out the lights when you go out."
K. Kamaraj died that day in his sleep. He was honored with the highest
civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, posthumously in 1976. |
