K. Kamaraj From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Kamaraj redirects here. For the village in Iran, see Kamaraj, Iran. For the administrative subdivision of Iran, see Kamaraj Rural District. For the AIADMK politician, see Dr. K. Kamaraj. In this Indian name, the name Kumarasami is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Kamaraj. K. Kamaraj K. Kamaraj.jpg Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) for Nagercoil In office 1967–1975 Preceded by A. Nesamony Succeeded by Kumari Ananthan Constituency Nagercoil Member of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly for Sattur In office 1957–1967 Preceded by S. Ramaswamy Naidu Succeeded by S. Ramaswamy Naidu Constituency Sattur Member of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly for Gudiyatham In office 1954–1957 Preceded by Rathnaswamy and A. J. Arunachala Mudaliar Succeeded by V. K. Kothandaraman and T. Manavalan Constituency Gudiyatham Chief Minister of the Madras State (Tamil Nadu) In office 1954–1963 Preceded by C. Rajagopalachari Succeeded by M. Bhakthavatsalam Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) for Srivilliputhur In office 1952–1954 Preceded by None Succeeded by S. S. Natarajan Constituency Srivilliputhur President of the Indian National Congress (Organisation) In office 1967–1971 Preceded by None Succeeded by Morarji Desai President of the Indian National Congress In office 1963–1967 Preceded by Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Succeeded by S. Nijalingappa President of the Madras Provincial Congress Committee In office 1946–1952 Succeeded by P. Subbarayan Personal details Born 15 July 1903 Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu, India Died 2 October 1975 (aged 72) Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India Nationality India Political party Indian National Congress Religion Hinduism Signature Kumarasami Kamaraj , better known as K. Kamaraj, (15 July 1903[1] – 2 October 1975[2]) was an Indian politician from Tamil Nadu widely acknowledged as the Kingmaker in Indian politics during the 1960s. He was the chief minister of Tamil Nadu during 1954–1963 and a Member of Parliament during 1952–1954 and 1969–1975. He was known for his simplicity and integrity.[1][3] He was involved in the Indian independence movement.[4] As a high-ranking office bearer of the Indian National Congress, he was instrumental in bringing to power two Prime Ministers, Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1964 and Indira Gandhi in 1966. In Tamil Nadu, his home state, he is still remembered for bringing school education to millions of the rural poor by introducing free education and the free Midday Meal Scheme during his tenure as chief minister. He was awarded Indias highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, posthumously in 1976.[5] The domestic terminal of the Chennai airport is named Kamaraj Terminal, Chennais Beach Road renamed Kamarajar Salai, Bengalurus North Parade Road as K. Kamaraj Rd. and the Madurai Kamaraj University in his honour.[3][6] Contents [hide] 1 Early life 2 Politics 2.1 Education 2.2 Agriculture 2.3 Commerce and Industry 2.4 Kamarajs First Cabinet 2.5 Kamarajs Second Cabinet 2.6 Kamarajs Third Cabinet 2.7 Kamaraj Plan 2.8 The King Maker 2.9 Split of Congress 3 Electoral history 4 Death 5 Legacy 6 Popular culture 7 References 8 External links Early life[edit] Kamaraj was born on 15 July 1903 to Kumarasamy Nadar and Sivakami Ammal at Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu. His real name was Kamakshi and his mother affectionately called him Raja; later his name became Kamaraj (Kamatchi + Raja).[citation needed] His parents were from a trading family. His father Kumarasamy Nadar was a coconut merchant. In 1907, four years after the birth of Kamaraj, his sister Nagammal was born.[citation needed] At age 5 (1907), Kamaraj was admitted to a traditional school (called Thinnai Palli in Tamil, a system of school available in the past) on the next day of Saraswathy Pooja.[citation needed] In 1908 he was admitted to Yenadhi Narayana Vidhya Salai. In 1909 Kamaraj was admitted in Virudupatti High School— Kshatriya Vidhya Sala , which is the only high school in Virdhupatti.[citation needed] Kamarajs father died when he was six years old and his mother was forced to support her family by selling her jewellery. In 1914 Kamaraj dropped out of school to support his family.[7] After that he worked in his uncles clothshop as a salesboy.[citation needed] During this time he started joining processions and attending public meetings about the Indian Home Rule Movement and British Rule addressed by orators like Dr. Varadarajulu Naidu, V.Kalyana Sundara Mudaliar and George Joseph.[citation needed] Kamaraj developed an interest in prevailing political conditions by reading newspapers daily.[8] The Jallianwala Bagh massacre was the decisive turning point in his life, and at this point he decided his aim was to fight for national freedom and to bring an end to foreign rule.[9][10][dead link] In 1920, at the age of 18, he became active as a political worker and joined Congress as a full-time worker.[10] In 1921 Kamaraj was organising public meetings at Virudhunagar for Congress leaders. He was eager to meet Gandhi, and when Gandhi visited Madurai on 21 September 1921 Kamaraj attended Gandhis public meeting and met him for the first time in person. He visited villages carrying Congress propaganda.[11] In 1922 Congress was boycotting the visit of the Prince of Wales as part of the Non-Cooperation Movement. He came to Madras and took part in this event.[12][dead link] He participated in the famous Vaikom Satyagraha led by George Joseph against the atrocities of the higher caste Hindus against the Harijans.[13] In 1923–25 Kamaraj participated in the Nagpur Flag Satyagraha .[14] 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.[15] Kamaraj led almost all the agitation and demonstration against British rule.[16] Kamaraj was first jailed in June 1930 for two years in Alipore Jail, Calcutta, for participation in the Salt Satyagraha led by Rajagopalachari at Vedaranyam; he was released early in 1931 in consequence of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact before he could serve his full term imprisonment.[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 Kamarajs leadership processions and demonstrations happened every day. Kamaraj was arrested again in January 1932 and sentenced to 1 years imprisonment.[17] In 1933 Kamaraj was falsely implicated in the Virudhunagar bomb case. Dr. Varadarajulu Naidu and George Joseph argued on Kamarajs behalf and proved the charges to be baseless. [18] Kamaraj was conducting a vigorous campaign throughout the State asking people not to contribute to war funds when Sir Arthur Hope the Madras Governor was collecting contributions to funds for the Second World War. In December 1940 he was arrested again at Guntur under the Defence of India rules for speeches opposing contributions to the war fund and sent to Vellore Central Prison while he was on his way to Wardha to get Gandhis approval for a list of Satyagrahis. While in jail, he was elected as Municipal Councillor of Virudhunagar. He was released 9 months later in Nov 1941 and resigned from this post as he thought he had greater responsibility for the nation. [19][20] His principle was One should not accept any post to which one could not do full justice.[citation needed] In 1942 Kamaraj attended the All India Congress Committee in Bombay and returned to spread propaganda material for the Quit India Movement called by Gandhi. The Police issued orders to all the leaders who attended this Bombay session. Kamaraj did not want to get arrested before he took the message to all district and local leaders. He decided not to go to Madras and decided to cut short his trip; he saw a large number of policemen waiting for the arrest of Congress leaders in Arakonam but managed to escape from the police and went to Ranipet, Tanjore, Trichy and Madurai to inform local leaders about the Programme. He reached Virdhunagar after 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 3 years and was released in June, 1945. This was the last term of his prison life.[19][21][13] Kamaraj was imprisoned six times by the British for his pro-Independence activities, accumulating more than 3,000 days in jail.[22] Politics[edit] On 13 April 1954, Kamaraj became the Chief Minister of Madras Province. To everyones surprise, Kamaraj nominated C. Subramaniam and M. Bhakthavatsalam, who had contested his leadership, to the newly formed cabinet. Education[edit] 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 were to walk no more than 3 miles (4.8 km) 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 to provide at least one meal per day to the lakhs of poor school children (for the first time in the world). 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 During the British regime the education rate was only 7 per cent. But in Kamarajs period 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 syllabuses were prepared to give opportunity to various abilities. Kamaraj and Bishnuram Medhi (Governor) took efforts to establish IIT Madras in 1959.[citation needed] Agriculture[edit] Question book-new.svg This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2013) Major irrigation schemes were planned in Kamarajs period. Dams and irrigation canals were built across Lower 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. Commerce and Industry[edit] Question book-new.svg This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2013) Industries with huge investments in crores of Rupees were started in his period: Neyveli Lignite Corporation, BHEL at Trichy, Manali Oil 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. Kamarajs First Cabinet[edit] Kamarajs council of ministers during his first tenure as Chief Minister (13 April 1954 – 31 March 1957):[23] Minister Portfolios K. Kamaraj Chief Minister, Public and Police in the Home Department M. Bhaktavatsalam Agriculture, Forests, Fisheries, Cinchona, Rural Welfare, Community Projects, National Extension Scheme, Women’s Welfare, Industries and Labour, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary C. Subramaniam Finance, Food, Education, Elections and Information, Publicity and Law (Courts and Prisons) A. B. Shetty Medical and Public Health, Co-operation, Housing, Ex-servicemen. M. A. Manickavelu Naicker Land Revenue, Commercial Taxes, Rural Development Shanmugha Rajeswara Sethupathi Public Works, Accommodation Control, Engineering Colleges, Stationery and Printing including establishment questions of the Stationery Department and the Government Press B. Parameswaran Transport, Harijan Uplift, Hindu Religious Endowments, Registration, Prohibition S. S. Ramasami Padayachi Local Administration Changes Following the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, A. B. Shetty quit the Ministry on 1 March 1956 and his portfolio was shared between the other ministers. Kamarajs Second Cabinet[edit] Kamarajar Statue situated in Tirumangalam PKN Higher Secondary School Kamarajs council of ministers during his second tenure as Chief Minister (1 April 1957 – 1 March 1962):[24] Minister Portfolios K. Kamaraj Chief Minister, Public Planning and Development (including Local Development Works, Womens Welfare, Community Projects and Rural Welfare), National Extension Scheme M. Bhaktavatsalam Home C. Subramaniam Finance R. Venkataraman Industries M. A. Manickavelu Naicker Revenue P. Kakkan Works V. Ramaiah Electricity Lourdhammal Simon Local Administration Kamarajs Third Cabinet[edit] Kamarajs council of ministers during his third tenure as Chief Minister (3 March 1962 – 2 October 1963):[24][25][26] Minister Portfolios K. Kamaraj Chief Minister, Public Planning and Development (including Local Development Works, Womens Welfare, Community Projects and Rural Welfare), National Extension Scheme M. Bhaktavatsalam Finance and Education Jothi Venkatachalam Public Health R. Venkataraman Revenue S. M. Abdul Majid Local Administration P. Kakkan Agriculture V. Ramaiah Public Works, Revenue N. Nallasenapathi Sarkarai Mandradiar Cooperation, Forests G. Bhuvaraghan Publicity and Information Kamaraj Plan[edit] Kamaraj remained Chief Minister for three consecutive terms, winning elections in 1957 and 1962. Kamaraj noticed that the Congress party was slowly losing its vigour. Kamaraj statue at East Tambaram, Chennai On 2 October 1963 he resigned from the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Post. 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 Lal Bahadur Shastri, Jagjivan Ram, Morarji Desai, Biju Patnaik and S.K. Patil followed suit and resigned from their posts. Impressed by Kamarajs achievements and acumen, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru 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 realized that in addition to wide learning and vision, Kamaraj possessed enormous common sense and pragmatism. Kamaraj was elected President, Indian National Congress, on 9 October 1963.[27] The King Maker[edit] Question book-new.svg This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2013) After Nehrus death in 1964, Kamaraj successfully navigated the party through turbulent times. As president of the Indian National Congress, he refused to become the next prime minister himself and was instrumental in bringing to power two Prime Ministers, Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1964 and Nehrus daughter Indira Gandhi in 1966. For this role, he was widely acclaimed as the King Maker during the 1960s. Split of Congress[edit] When the Congress split in 1969, Kamaraj became the leader of the Indian National Congress (Organisation) in Tamil Nadu. The party fared poorly in the 1971 elections amid allegations of fraud by the opposition parties. He remained as the leader of INC(O) till his death in 1975. Electoral history[edit] Year Post Constituency Party Opponent Election Result 1937 M.L.A Sattur INC Unopposed 1937 elections Won 1946 M.L.A Sattur-Aruppukottai INC Unopposed 1946 elections Won 1952 M.P Srivilliputtur INC G. D. Naidu Indian General Elections, 1951 Won 1954 M.L.A Gudiyatham INC V. K. Kothandaraman By Election Won 1957 M.L.A Sattur INC Jayarama Reddiar Madras legislative assembly election, 1957 Won 1962 M.L.A Sattur INC P. Ramamoorthy Madras legislative assembly election, 1962 Won 1967 M.L.A Virudhunagar INC P. Seenivasan Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 1967 Lost 1969 M.P Nagercoil INC M. Mathias By Election Won 1971 M.P Nagercoil INC(O) M. C. Balan Indian General Elections, 1971 Won Death[edit] Kamaraj memorial in Chennai Kamaraj memorial in Chennai Kamaraj died at his home on 2 October 1975. He was awarded Indias highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1976. Legacy[edit] A large number of statues have been erected in his honour across the state. The domestic terminal of the Chennai airport has been named Kamaraj Terminal, Chennais Beach Road renamed Kamarajar Salai, Bengalurus North Parade Road renamed K. Kamaraj Road and Madurai Kamaraj University was named in his honour. Popular culture[edit] In 2004 a Tamil film titled Kamaraj was made based on the life history of Kamaraj. The English version of the film was released on DVD in 2007. References[edit] ^ Jump up to: a b Revised edition of book on Kamaraj to be launched, The Hindu 08 July 2009 Jump up ^ Crusading Congressman, Frontline Magazine, 15-28 September 2001 ^ Jump up to: a b He raised the bar with simplicity, The Hindu 16 July 2008 Jump up ^ The commonsense politician, Frontline Magazine, 17-30 August 2002 Jump up ^ Padma Awards Directory (1954-2007). Ministry of Home Affairs. Archived from the original on 2009-03-04. Retrieved 7 December 2010. Jump up ^ Man of the people, The Tribune October 4, 1975 Jump up ^ Kapur, Raghu Pati (1966). Kamaraj, the iron man. Deepak Associates. p. 12. Jump up ^ Kandaswamy, P. (2001). The Political Career of K. Kamaraj. Concept Publishing Company. p. 23. Jump up ^ Kandaswamy, P. (2001). The Political Career of K. Kamaraj. Concept Publishing Company. p. 24. ^ Jump up to: a b Freedom Movement In Madras Presidency With Special Reference To The Role Of Kamaraj (1920-1945), Page 1 Jump up ^ Early Life of K. Kamaraj. p. 25. Jump up ^ Freedom Movement In Madras Presidency With Special Reference To The Role Of Kamaraj (1920-1945), Page 2 ^ Jump up to: a b Bhatnagar, R. K. Tributes To Kamaraj. Asian Tribune. Retrieved 3 February 2014. Jump up ^ K.Kamaraj Jump up ^ Kandaswamy, P. (2001). The Political Career of K. Kamaraj. Concept Publishing Company. p. 30. Jump up ^ Remembering Our Leaders. p. 145. Jump up ^ Freedom Movement In Madras Presidency With Special Reference To The Role Of Kamaraj (1920-1945), Page 3 Jump up ^ George Joseph, a true champion of subaltern ^ Jump up to: a b Remembering Our Leaders. p. 146. Jump up ^ Encyclopedia of Bharat Ratnas. p. 88. Jump up ^ Encyclopedia of Bharat Ratnas. p. 89. Jump up ^ Stepan, Alfred; Linz, Juan J.; Yadav, Yogendra (2011). Crafting State-Nations: India and Other Multinational Democracies. JHU Press. p. 124. ISBN 9780801897238. Jump up ^ A Review of the Madras Legislative Assembly (1952-1957) ^ Jump up to: a b Kandaswamy, P. (2001). The Political Career of K. Kamaraj. Concept Publishing Company. pp. 62–64. Jump up ^ The Madras Legislative Assembly, Third Assembly I Session Jump up ^ The Madras Legislative Assembly, Third Assembly II Session Jump up ^ [1][dead link] External links[edit] Wikimedia Commons has media related to K. Kamaraj. Kamarajar Blog From Kamarajs Family with rare Photo collection The official website about Perunthalivar Kamaraj by Congress Party [show] v t e Indian independence movement [show] v t e Indian National Congress Flag of the Indian National Congress.svg [show] v t e Bharat Ratna laureates Authority control WorldCat VIAF: 59889543 LCCN: n83120120 ISNI: 0000 0000 2342 4886 GND: 119220059 SUDOC: 033228213 Categories: 1903 births1975 deathsRecipients of the Bharat RatnaIndian National Congress politicians from Tamil NaduPrisoners and detainees of British IndiaIndian independence activists from Tamil NaduPeople from Virudhunagar district4th Lok Sabha members5th Lok Sabha membersLok Sabha members from Tamil Nadu
Posted on: Sun, 25 May 2014 09:14:15 +0000
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