Name
: Kamarajar
Original
Name : Kamakshi Kumaraswamy Nader
Party
Name : Congress
Parent’
Name: Kumarswamy Nader, Sivakami Ammal
Date
of Birth:15.06.1903
Birth
Place : Virudunagar.
Spouse
Name : Not getting Married
Died : 02.10.1975
Profession
: Politician
Profile
:
Kamraj was born on July 15, 1903, in a family
of traders at Virudunagar. His real name was Kamakshi Kumaraswamy Nader but was
affectionately shortened to Raja by his mother, Sivakami Ammal. His father,
Kumarswamy Nader, 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.
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 and even
learned English from his co-worker.
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. Even there Kamaraj
participated in the Vaikom Satyagraha led by George Joseph, of the Congress,
against the atrocities of the higher caste Hindus on the Harijans. His elders
had him called back home and pressured him to marry. Kamaraj resolutely refused
to bow to the dictates of his elders.
At the age of 16, Kamaraj enrolled himself as
full-time worker of the Congress. He participated in inviting speakers,
organizing meetings and collecting funds for the party. He also participated in
the march to Vedaranyam led by Rajagopalachari as part of the Salt Satyagraha
of March 1930.
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 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 for 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.
On April 13, 1954, K. Kamaraj reluctantly
became the Chief Minister of Madras. 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 People will be satisfied if
you do something.” The State made immense strides in education and trade. New
schools were opened, 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 eleventh standard. He introduced the Midday Meals Scheme to
provide at least one meal per day to the lakhs of poor children. He introduced
free school uniforms to weed out caste, creed and class distinctions among
young minds.
Under Kamaraj’s administration, a number of
irrigation schemes were completed in record time. The Land Ceiling Act and the
Tenancy Protection Act benefited small farmers and saved them from being
exploited by landlords. Medium and small scale industries prospered in the
midst of large industries making Madras one of the leaders in
industrialization. Nehru complimented Kamaraj for making Madras (later renamed
State of Tamil Nadu) the best administered State in India.”
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. He was honored with the
highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, posthumously in 1976