Kumaraswami Kamaraj (15 July 1903 – 2 October 1975), popularly known as Kamarajar was an Indian independence activist, politician, social reformer and statesman who served as the Chief Minister of Madras from 13 April 1954 to 2 October 1963. He also served as the president of the Indian National Congress between 1964–1967 and was responsible for the elevation of Lal Bahadur Shastri and later Indira Gandhi to the position of Prime Minister of India, because of which he was widely acknowledged as the "Kingmaker" in Indian politics during the 1960s. Later, he was the founder and president of the Indian National Congress (O).
Born as Kamatchi, Kamaraj had dropped out of school early and had little formal education. He became active in the Indian Independence movement in the 1920s and was imprisoned by the British Raj multiple times due to his activities. In 1937, Kamaraj was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly after winning in the 1937 Madras Presidency Legislative Assembly election. He was active during the Quit India Movement in 1942, because of which he was incarcerated for three years till 1945.
After the Indian Independence, Kamaraj served as a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from 1952 to 1954 before becoming the Chief Minister of Madras State in April 1954. During his almost decade long tenure as the chief minister, he played a major role in developing the infrastructure of the state and improving the quality of life of the needy and the disadvantaged. He was responsible for introducing free education to children and expanded the free Midday Meal Scheme, which resulted in significant improvement in school enrollment and growth of literacy rates in the state over the decade. He is widely known as Kalvi Thanthai (Father of education) because of his role in improving the educational infrastructure.
Kamaraj was known for his simplicity and integrity. He remained a bachelor throughout his life and did not own any property when he died in 1975. Former Vice-president of the United States Hubert Humphrey, referred to Kamaraj as one of the greatest political leaders in all the countries. He was awarded with India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, posthumously in 1976.
Kamaraj was born on 15 July 1903 in Virudhupatti, Madras Presidency, to Kumaraswami Nadar and Sivakami Ammal. His father Kumaraswami was a coconut merchant and his parents named him Kamatchi, after their family deity. His parents called him Raja, and the portmanteau of both these names led him to be known as Kamaraj. He had a younger sister named Nagammal.
At the age of five, Kamaraj was enrolled in the local elementary school before being admitted to a different school. His grandfather and father died in quick succession when he was only six years old, forcing his grandmother and mother to support the family. He dropped out of school at the age of 12 and joined to work in the cloth shop run by his maternal uncle Karuppaih Nadar. He learnt the martial art silambam and boxing. He also spent time singing bhajans of Murugan along with the locals.
Kamaraj showed an interest in public happenings and politics since the age of 13. While working in his uncle's shop, he began to attend panchayats and other political meetings addressed by activists such as P. Varadarajulu Naidu and George Joseph. He keenly followed Swadesamitran, a Tamil daily and often discussed the happenings with people of his age at the shop.
Kamaraj was attracted by Annie Besant's Home Rule Movement and inspired by the writings of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Subramania Bharati. Due to his inclination towards politics and not spending time on the business, he was sent to Thiruvananthapuram to work at a timber shop owned by another of his relatives. While in Kerala, he continued to participate in public activities and took part in the Vaikom Satyagraha, which was conducted for getting access to the prohibited public areas of the Vaikom Temple to people of all castes. Kamaraj was called back to his native place, and despite attempts by his mother to find him a bride, refused to get married.
After the Rowlatt Act of 1919 which indefinitely extended preventive detention and imprisonment of Indians without trial, was passed by the British Raj and the subsequent Jallianwala Bagh massacre, where hundreds of peaceful protesters against the act were shot down, Kamaraj decided to join Indian National Congress at the age of 16.
On 21 September 1921, he met Mahatma Gandhi for the first time during a meeting in Madurai and was influenced by his views on prohibition of alcohol, usage of khadi, non violence and eradication of untouchability. In 1922, Kamaraj traveled to Chennai to partake in protest against the visit of Prince of Wales as a part of the Non-cooperation movement. He was later elected to be a part of the town committee of the Congress in Virudhunagar. As a part of the role, he collected donations to finance the printing of speeches of Gandhi and distributed them to the people to induce them to join the Indian independence movement. In the next few years, Kamaraj participated in the Flag Satyagraha in Nagpur and the Sword Satyagraha in Madras. He organized regular meetings of the Congress in the Madurai district and started orating.
Salt march and first election (1930–39)
In 1930, Kamaraj participated in the Vedaranyam march organized by C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) in support of Gandhi's Salt March. He was arrested for the first time and was imprisoned in Alipore Jail for almost two years. He was released before he served the two-year sentence as the Gandhi–Irwin Pact in 1931. In 1931, he was appointed as a member of All India Congress Committee. In the next decade, the Congress in Madras province was divided into two led with one being led by Rajaji and the other led by S. Satyamurti. Kamaraj supported Satyamurti, as he aligned closely with the ideals propagated by him. Satyamurti became his political guru while Kamaraj became a trusted aide of Satyamurti. In the 1931 elections to the regional unit of the Congress, he helped Satyamurti to win the post of vice-president. In 1932, Kamaraj was arrested again on charges of sedition and inciting violence. He was sentenced to one year of rigorous imprisonment at Tiruchirappalli. He was later transferred to Vellore Central Prison, where he developed an association with revolutionaries like Jaidev Kapoor and Kamal Nath Tewari. In 1933-34, Kamaraj was charged with a conspiracy to murder John Anderson, then Governor of Bengal, which was part of a larger Madras Conspiracy Case. He was accused of supplying arms but was acquitted due to lack of evidence in 1935.
On 21 September 1933, a post office and the police station in Virudhunagar were bombed. On 9 November, Kamaraj was implicated in the bombing despite the local police inspector giving statement to the contrary. Indian police officials along with the British officers engaged in coercive tactics and harassment to try to force a confession in the case. Varadarajulu Naidu and George Joseph argued on Kamaraj's behalf in court and the charges were proved to be baseless. Despite his acquittal, Kamaraj had sold most of his ancestral properties apart from the house to finance the case. In the 1934 elections, he organized the campaign for Congress and was appointed the general secretary of the provincial congress committee in 1936. In 1937, in the Madras Presidency Legislative Assembly election, Kamaraj was elected as a member of legislative assembly (MLA) with the Congress gaining a simple majority, winning 156 of the 219 seats.
Congress presidency and imprisonment (1940–45)
In 1940, Kamaraj was elected as the president of the provincial congress committee with Satyamurti serving as the general secretary. He conducted a campaign asking people not to contribute to war funds when Arthur Hope, the Governor of Madras was collecting contributions to fund the Allies in the Second World War. In December 1940, he was arrested under the Defence of India rules for speeches that opposed contributions to the war fund, and sent to Vellore prison. While in jail, he was elected as a municipal councillor and chairman of Virudhunagar municipality on 31 May 1941. He was released from prison on 3 November 1941 and was handed the chairmanship of the council on 16 March 1942. He resigned from the post immediately as he thought he had greater responsibility for the nation and further stated that "One should not accept any post to which one could not do full justice".