It is really a painful truth! The first and the last governor general of India, the first ‘Bharat Ratna’ of the nation, the freedom fighter who led a group of 100 volunteers from the Indian National Congress, starting the walkathon from Tiruchchiraapalli and ending in Vedaranyam, a small coastal town in Tanjore District, on 28 April, 1930, as a southern sequel to Gandhi’s Dandi March. This salt satyaagraha at Vedaranyam, provoked the British to arrest and incarcerate him. Rajaji was a staunch protagonist, when it came to the issue of caste. He was the first person to support his daughter Lakshmi and Mahatma Gandhi’s son Devadas Gandhi to get married, but he was also very clear to make the couple understand to wait for five years, because Lakshmi was only fifteen ears then. The lovers waited patiently till 1933, and married with the consent of both parents. Born on December 10, 1878, this great leader of the mass passed away on 25 December, 1972. Neither his 135th birth anniversary (December 10), nor his 35th death anniversary (25 December) had been observed by any leaders today! Yesterday people had remembered the death anniversary of Periyar and M. G. R. Does this mean Rajaji is not a leader at least on par to these two leaders? I record in this column, tThe pictures of Rajaji receiving Bharat Ratna from the then President Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Rajajis Vedaranyam Satyagraha procession, and the wedding photo of Lakshmi and Devadas Gandhi, as a mark of respect to this Chanakya of 20th Century India.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 11:52:00 +0000
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