K.
Kamaraj
Kumaraswami Kamaraj (15 July 1903 – 2 October 1975), popularly known as Kamarajar was an
Indian independence activist and politician 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.
Family and childhood K. Kamaraj
Early life
Kamaraj was born on 15 July 1903 in
Virudhupatti, Madras Presidency, to
Kumaraswami Nadar and Sivakami Ammal.[3][4]
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.[5][6][7] He had a
younger sister named Nagammal.[8][9]
At the age of five, Kamaraj was enrolled in the
Portrait of Kamaraj from the 1976
local elementary school before being admitted to Commemorative Stamp
a different school.[5][6][10] His grandfather and
father died in quick succession when he was only Chief Minister of Madras State
six years old, forcing his grandmother and mother In office
to support the family.[5][6][11] He dropped out of 13 April 1954 – 2 October 1963
school at the age of 12 and joined to work in the
Governor Sri Prakasa
cloth shop run by his maternal uncle Karuppaih A. J. John
[11][12][13]
Nadar. He learnt the martial art silambam P. V. Rajamannar
and boxing. He also spent time singing bhajans of Bishnuram Medhi
Murugan along with the locals.[11]
Preceded by C. Rajagopalachari
Succeeded by M. Bhakthavatsalam
Political interests
Constituency Gudiyattam
Kamaraj showed an interest in public happenings Sattur
and politics since the age of 13. While working in Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
his uncle's shop, he began to attend panchayats In office
and other political meetings addressed by 13 May 1952 – 12 April 1954
activists such as P. Varadarajulu Naidu and
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru
George Joseph. He keenly followed
Swadesamitran, a Tamil daily and often discussed Preceded by position established
the happenings with people of his age at the Succeeded by U. Muthuramalingam
[11][14]
shop. Thevar
Kamaraj was attracted by Annie Besant's Home Constituency Srivilliputhur
Rule Movement and inspired by the writings of
In office
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Subramania
9 January 1969 – 2 October 1975
Bharati.[15] Due to his inclination towards politics
and not spending time on the business, he was Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
sent to Thiruvananthapuram to work at a timber Preceded by A. Nesamony
[14][15][16]
shop owned by another of his relatives.
Succeeded by Kumari Ananthan
While in Kerala, he continued to participate in
public activities and took part in the Vaikom Constituency Nagercoil
Satyagraha, which was conducted for getting
Member of the Madras State Legislative
access to the prohibited public areas of the Assembly
Vaikom Temple to people of all castes.[15][16] In office
Kamaraj was called back to his native place, and 29 April 1957 – 28 February 1967
despite attempts by his mother to find him a
Chief Minister Himself
bride, erefused to get married.[16][17]
M. Bhakthavatsalam
Political career Preceded by S. Ramaswamy
Succeeded by S. Ramaswamy
Early years (1919–29)
Constituency Sattur
After the Rowlatt Act of 1919 which indefinitely In office
extended preventive detention and imprisonment 6 August 1954 – 31 March 1957
of Indians without trial, was passed by the British
Chief Minister Himself
Raj and the subsequent Jallianwala Bagh
massacre, where hundreds of peaceful protesters Preceded by A. J. Arunachalam
against the act were shot down, Kamaraj decided
Succeeded by V. K. Kothandaraman
to join Indian National Congress at the age of
16.[15][17][18][19] Constituency Gudiyatham
President of the Indian National Congress
On 21 September 1921, he met Mahatma Gandhi
for the first time during a meeting in Madurai and In office
1964–1967
was influenced by his views on prohibition of
alcohol, usage of khadi, non violence and Preceded by Neelam Sanjiva
eradication of untouchability. In 1922, Kamaraj Reddy
traveled to Chennai to partake in protest against Succeeded by S. Nijalingappa
the visit of Prince of Wales as a part of the Non-
President of the Indian National Congress
cooperation movement. He was later elected to (Organisation)
be a part of the town committee of the Congress In office
in Virudhunagar. As a part of the role, he collected 12 November 1969 – 2 October 1975
donations to finance the printing of speeches of
Preceded by position established
Gandhi and distributed them to the people to
induce them to join the Indian independence Succeeded by Morarji Desai
[20]
movement. In the next few years, Kamaraj President of the Tamil Nadu Pradesh Congress
participated in the Flag Satyagraha in Nagpur and Committee
the Sword Satyagraha in Madras. He organized In office
regular meetings of the Congress in the Madurai 1946–1952
district and started orating.[21]
Preceded by Tanguturi Prakasam
Succeeded by P. Subbarayan
Independence activism and first election
Personal details
(1930–39)
Born Kamatchi
In 1930, Kamaraj participated in the Vedaranyam 15 July 1903
march organized by C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) in Virudhupatti, Madras
[22]
support of Gandhi's Salt March. He was Presidency, British
arrested for the first time and was imprisoned in India (present-day
Alipore Jail for almost two years. He was Virudhunagar district,
released before he served the two-year sentence Tamil Nadu, India)
as the Gandhi–Irwin Pact in 1931.[23] In 1931, he Died 2 October 1975
was appointed as a member of All India Congress (aged 72)
Committee. In the next decade, the Congress in Madras, Tamil Nadu,
Madras province was divided into two led with India
one being led by Rajaji and the other led by S.
Resting place Kamarajar Memorial,
Satyamurti. Kamaraj supported Satyamurti, as he Chennai
aligned closely with the ideals propagated by
him.[24] Satyamurti became his political guru Political party Indian National
Congress (until 1969)
while Kamaraj became a trusted aide of
Indian National
Satyamurti. In the 1931 elections to the regional
Congress (O) (1969–
unit of the Congress, he helped Satyamurti to win
75)
the post of vice-president.[25] In 1932, Kamaraj
was arrested again on charges of sedition and Residences Thyagaraya Nagar,
Madras[1]
inciting violence. He was sentenced to one year Virudhunagar[2]
of rigorous imprisonment at Tiruchirappalli. He
was later transferred to Vellore Central Prison, Occupation Freedom fighter ·
Activist · Politician
where he developed an association with
revolutionaries like Jaidev Kapoor and Kamal Awards Bharat Ratna (1976)
Nath Tewari. In 1933-34, Kamaraj was charged Copper Bond Award
with a conspiracy to murder John Anderson, then (1972)
Governor of Bengal, which was part of a larger
Signature
Madras Conspiracy Case. He was accused of
supplying arms but was acquitted due to lack of Nicknames Karmaveerar (Man
[26]
evidence in 1935. of action)
Perunthalaivar
On 21 September 1933, a post office and the
(Great leader)
police station in Virudhunagar were bombed. On
9 November, Kamaraj was implicated in the Kalvi Thanthai
bombing despite the local police inspector giving (Father of
education)
statement to the contrary. Indian police officials
along with the British officers engaged in coercive Padikkatha Methai
tactics and harassment to try and force a (Uneducated
confession in the case. Varadarajulu Naidu and genius)
George Joseph argued on Kamaraj's behalf in Black Gandhi
court and the charges were proved to be
baseless.[27] Despite his acquittal, Kamaraj had
sold most of his ancestral properties apart from the house to finance the case.[26][28] 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.[25][29]
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.[30] 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.[31]
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".[32][33]
In August 1942, Kamaraj attended the All-India Congress Committee in Bombay and returned to
spread propaganda material for the Quit India Movement. The police were issued orders to arrest all
the leaders who attended the Bombay session. Kamaraj did not want to be arrested before he
passed on the message to the local leaders and evaded arrest by various means. After finishing his
work, he surrendered to the police to be arrested.[32][34] While he was in jail, Satyamurti died in
March 1943.[35] He was under detention for three years before being released in June 1945 and this
was his last and longest served prison sentence.[22] Kamaraj was imprisoned six times by the British
for his pro-Independence activities, that added up to more than 3,000 days in jail.[36]
Increased influence and after independence (1946–53)
After his release from the jail, Kamaraj found that the Congress has weakened significantly as Rajaji
had resigned from the party and Satyamurti had died. While he met with Rajaji to set aside their
differences, it did not work out as Rajaji was re-admitted to the party against the wishes of Kamaraj.
On the advice of Sardar Patel, a truce was brokered later. In 1946, after Gandhi's visit to Madras,
Gandhi wrote that Rajaji was the best leader of the party in the presidency and some people are
working against him. Kamaraj alluded this as an indirect reference to him and resigned from the
parliamentary board of the party. Despite Gandhi's later appeal, Kamaraj refused to take back his
resignation. Meanwhile, Kamaraj had considerable influence with the party which led to Rajaji to
take a sabbatical.[37][38] In the 1946 Madras Presidency legislative assembly election, Kamaraj won
from Sattur-Aruppukottai with Congress emerging as the largest party. Tanguturi Prakasam was
made as Chief Minister but was replaced by O. P. Ramaswamy within a year due to his differences
with Kamaraj. Ramaswamy himself was succeeded by P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja in 1949 after
disagreements with Kamaraj. During the period, Kamaraj wielded a considerable influence on the
party affairs as the president of the Congress party.[39][40] As India achieved Independence on 15
August 1947, Kamaraj hoisted the Indian flag at Satyamurti's house in Madras.[35] In the Indian
general elections of 1951, Kamaraj won from Srivalliputhur constituency and became the Member
of Parliament.[41]
In the 1952 Madras State Legislative Assembly election, Congress fared badly winning less than
half of the seats (152 out of 375). Though it emerged as the single largest party, Kamaraj did not
want to form a Congress government as it did not have a majority on its own. But the central
committee was keen on Congress to form a government and it was decided that Rajaji who had
gone into a sabbatical after serving as the Governor General of India was the right person to lead.
Rajaji wanted Kamaraj's support and after consultations with then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru,
Rajaji formed the government.[42][43] Kamaraj resigned from the post of presidency of the party after
12 years, suggesting that someone who can work with Rajaji should be elected president. P.
Subbarayan was elected as president but made way for Kamaraj to become president again in
1953.[44]
Chief Minister of Madras (1954–63)
In 1953, Andhra state was partitioned from Madras state and the Modified Scheme of Elementary
Education was construed as perpetuating the caste hierarchy. These forced Rajaji to resign and
after much deliberation, Kamaraj was asked to take over as chief minister, which was opposed by C.
Subramaniam, who had been nominated by Rajaji. Kamaraj was elected by the legislators as the
leader of the party and assumed the chief minister-ship of Madras state on 13 April 1955.[45][46]
Kamaraj resigned as member of parliament and opted to contest and win in the by elections to the
Gudiyatham Assembly constituency rather than get elected as a Member of Legislative Council.[47]
He was supported by prominent people across party lines including Periyar E. V. Ramasami and C.
N. Annadurai.[48]
Kamaraj (second from left) during a visit to
a party member's house in 1955
Kamaraj nominated C. Subramaniam, who had contested his leadership, to the newly formed
cabinet.[49] Throughout his tenure, he had a small cabinet with a maximum of eight ministers as he
believed in efficiency of compactness and often selected his ministers based on knowledge and
capability.[50] Kamaraj made effective use of the Five-Year Plans of India to aid in the development
of the state. He formed state development committees consisting of ministers and bureaucrats
which formulated plans for the development and reviewed the implementation across various
departments.[51]
Kamaraj brought major changes to the education system and infrastructure. The family vocation
based Modified Scheme of Elementary education 1953 introduced earlier was withdrawn and
school education was made free for children up to 11 years. In order to ensure that students do not
walk long distances, the educational policy formulated that schools be opened within every 3 km
(1.9 mi) radius. As a result, about 6,000 schools closed previously and 12,000 new schools were
added.[52] When it was found that the enrollment was still low and the children were malnourished,
Kamaraj expanded the Midday Meal Scheme to all schools to provide at least one free meal per day.
Schemes were introduced wherein public help and contributions were sought to finance and
improve educational infrastructure in the respective communities.[53] Free uniforms were introduced
to weed out distinctions based on caste and class in schools.[54]
Kamaraj (left) during Queen Elizabeth II's
visit to India in 1961
The education system was reformed to incorporate a new syllabus and the number of working days
were increased. New institutions of higher education were established including the IIT Madras in
1959.[29] The efforts resulted in significant improvement in school enrollment and growth of literacy
rates in the state over the decade (18.33% in 1951 to 36.39% in 1961), which earned him the
moniker Kalvi Thanthai (Father of education).[55][56][57]
Major irrigation schemes and dams were planned and implemented during his tenure. Small and
medium-sized enterprises were encouraged to increase the utilization of local resources and
electrification support was provided by the Government. Public sector industries including Integral
Coach Factory at Chennai, Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadi, Neyveli Lignite Corporation, BHEL at
Tiruchirappalli, Manali Refinery, Hindustan Photo Films at Udagamandalam were established.[58][59]
Kamaraj remained Chief Minister for three consecutive terms, winning elections in 1957 and 1962.
By the mid 1960s, Kamaraj noticed that the Congress party was slowly losing its vigor, and he
offered to resign the post chief minister to focus on rebuilding the party.[60] On Gandhi Jayanti On 2
October 1963, he resigned from the post of the Chief Minister and at the time of resignation, he was
the longest serving chief minister in any state in India.[47][46]
National politics and final years (1964–75)
Kamaraj (center) with Jawaharlal Nehru
(right) and Lal Bahadur Shastri (left)
After his resignation as the Chief Minister, Kamaraj proposed that all senior Congress leaders
should resign from their posts and devote their energy to the re-vitalization of the Congress party.
He suggested to then Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru that senior Congress leaders should
leave ministerial posts to take up organizational work. This suggestion came to be known as the
Kamaraj Plan, which was designed to alleviate the notion that congressmen are lured by power and
to create a dedication to values and objectives of the party.[61] Six Union Ministers and six Chief
Ministers of the Congress followed suit and resigned from their posts.[62] Kamaraj was elected the
President of Indian National Congress on 9 October 1963.[63]
After Nehru's untimely death in 1964, Kamaraj successfully navigated the party through turbulent
times. Despite being the president of the party, 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 Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi in 1966. For this role, he was widely acclaimed as the
"kingmaker" during the 1960s.[64][65]
In 1965, during the food crisis, Kamaraj worked with then Ministry of Finance T. T. Krishnamachari to
introduce ration cards and food rationing.[66] The food crisis, Anti-Hindi agitations and
disillusionment with the Congress party led to the defeat of the Congress against the Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in the 1967 Madras State Legislative Assembly election. Kamaraj
himself was defeated for the first time in the elections.[67][68] The death of the incumbent member of
Nagercoil Lok Sabha constituency in 1968 led to a by-election. Despite the opposition of the DMK
led state government and Rajaji, Kamaraj won the elections on 8 January 1969.[69]
Ever since the appointment of Indira Gandhi as the Prime Minister, indifference arose between her
and the top leaders of the Congress, termed as the "Syndicate", led by Kamaraj. After the Congress
victory in the 1967 Indian general election, the rift began to widen and Indira Gandhi was expelled
from the party for anti-party activities in 1969. This resulted in the split of the Congress party with
Kamaraj heading the INC (O) faction. Indira Gandhi stayed as the Prime Minister with the support of
smaller regional parties and dissolved the Lok Sabha to call for fresh elections in 1970. In the 1971
Indian general election, INC (O) performed very poorly, winning just 16 seats compared to the 352
won by the Indira led faction.[70] The party again fared poorly in the 1971 Indian general election.[71]
He remained as part of INC(O) until his death in 1975.[72]
Electoral history
Election results
Year Position Constituency Party Result Reference
[29][73]
1937 Sattur
Member of Legislative Assembly,
Sattur-
1946 Tamil Nadu [74]
Aruppukottai
[41]
1951 Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha Srivilliputhur Won
[75]
1954 Gudiyatham Indian National Congress
[76]
1957 Member of Legislative Assembly,
Sattur
1962 Tamil Nadu [77]
[78]
1967 Virudhunagar Lost
[79]
1969
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha Nagercoil Indian National Congress Won
[80]
1971
(Organisation)
Death
On 2 October 1975, Kamaraj complained of chest pain after lunch. He died later in his sleep due to a
heart attack, aged 72.[81] His body was kept for public viewing at Rajaji Hall. On the next day, it was
taken in procession to Gandhi Mandapam and cremated with full state honors.[82] Memorials
dedicated to Kamaraj have been established in Chennai, Virudhunagar and Kanniya Kumari.[83][84]
Legacy
Kamaraj Statue in Marina Beach, Chennai
depicting his contribution to education in
the state
Kamaraj spent most of his career in politics and did not spend much time on relationships and
family.[85][86] Kamaraj was known for his simplicity and integrity. He followed Gandhian principles,
wore a simple Khadi shirt and dhoti and was often referred to as Black Gandhi by the
people.[86][87][88] He ate a simple meal and refused special privileges.[89][90] During his tenure as
Chief Minister, when the municipality of Virudhunagar provided a direct water connection to his
house, Kamarajar ordered it to be disconnected immediately as he did not want any special
privileges and opined that public agencies should serve the public and not private individuals. He
often refused police protection and security, determining it as waste of public resources.[90][58]
Kamaraj did not own any property and had a mere ₹130 of money, two pairs of sandals, four pair of
shirts and dhotis apart from a few books in his possession when he died.[90][91]
He was a man of action who believed that any goal could be realized through the correct means and
is often referred to as Karma Veerar (man of action) and Perunthalaivar (great or tall leader) in
Tamil.[92] Former Vice-president of the United States Hubert Humphrey, referred to Kamaraj as one
of the greatest political leaders in all the countries.[93] Though he lacked a formal higher education,
he showed good intelligence, intuitiveness and understanding of human nature, which led to him
being called by the epithet of Padikkatha Methai (uneducated genius).[5]
In 1976, Kamaraj was posthumously awarded Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor.[94] In 2004,
Government of India issued special commemorative coins of ₹ 100 and ₹ 5 denomination to mark
the centenary celebrations of him.[95]
Many public places, roads and buildings are named after Kamaraj. Madurai University is renamed as
Madurai Kamaraj University in his honor.[96] The old domestic terminal of Chennai International
Airport is named "Kamaraj Terminal".[97] The port at Ennore in North Chennai has been named as
Kamarajar Port Limited.[98] The railway station at Maraimalai Nagar, a municipality south of Chennai,
is named as Maraimalai Nagar Kamarajar Railway Station.[99] Major roads bearing his name include
the North Parade Road in Bengaluru,[100] Marina Beach Road in Chennai,[101] and Parliament Road in
New Delhi.[102] There are many statues dedicated to him across India including at Parliament of
India in New Delhi and the Marina Beach facade in Chennai to honor him.[103]
In 2004, a Tamil-language film titled Kamaraj was made based on the life history of Kamaraj.[104]
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