The sculptor of present-day beautiful Tamil Nadu, the former leader of the All India Congress, and the pinnacle of honesty is none other than our great leader Kumaraswamy Kamarajar also sweetly known as K Kamaraj. He was the one who executed many mercy schemes and dramatic schemes for the poor and got the name Karmaveerar Kamaraj. King Maker Kamaraj was not only the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu but also played a vital role in electing the Prime Ministers of India and other leaders of Tamil Nadu.
Birth and Early Life
Kamaraj was born on July 15, 1903, in the village of Virudhupatti in the Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu, the son of Sivagami Ambal and Kumaraswamy Nadar. They named him 'Kumaraswamy Sivagami' after his father's first name Kumaraswamy and the deity's name Sivagami. But over time it has become Kamaraj. The parents affectionately called their beloved son Raja. In 1907 Kamaraj started his schooling in a traditional school.
His father's death - Life went well until his father's death came as a blow to his life. Kamaraj's father, Kumaraswamy, died when Kamaraj was 6 years old. He lost his father at a very young age and his schooling was completely ruined. He then left school to ease his mother's burden and began to go to work. Kamaraj's maternal uncle, who was busy not knowing where to go to work, gave him a job in a clothing store.
The spark of politics - After joining the work, Kamaraj came to know about politics. He goes to public meetings and starts listening to politicians. The talk of Congress leaders about Indian independence set Kamaraj on fire. Inspired by the speeches of Rayudu, Mr. V. Kalyana Sundaranar, and Sathyamoorthy, Kamaraj entered politics directly.
Career
Legacy Started - Kamaraj joined the Congress party to quench his political thirst. Kamaraj, who started his political journey at an early age, has been doing small jobs such as holding the party flag and helping to hold party meetings. The opposition to the Congress Party in the 1900s was the Justice Party. It was Kamaraj's custom to hold an opposition meeting whenever the Justice Party held a party meeting. His plan took him to the receiving leaders of Congress.
Resistance At Home - Despite Kamaraj's desire to be on the political side, there was strong opposition in his house. Thus he was sent from the clothing store to Thiruvananthapuram to work in the woodshop. But Kamaraj went there and did political work. Thus his relatives bought him a job as an insurance agent. For what they bought this work it did not pay off. Whatever work Kamaraj did, his whole desire was on politics. Thus his relations tried to get him married and they thought it would stop his political desire. But Kamaraj rejected it outright and began to focus his full attention on politics. It is noteworthy that Kamaraj did not get married till the end of his life.
Salt March - In 1930, the Salt March was waged across India under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. The Salt March also heated up in Tamil Nadu. Kamaraj also took part in the Salt March in Tamil Nadu. All those who took part in March were arrested and imprisoned by the British. Kamaraj was sentenced to 2 years in Alipore prison. This was Kamaraj's first freedom fight and his first imprisonment.
Freedom Fight - After 2 years, Kamaraj was released from prison and he started participating in all the struggles waged by Gandhi without any hesitation. Kamaraj led and vigorously conducted party meetings in Tamil Nadu on behalf of the Congress party. He was thus promoted from the district charge of the Congress party to the charge of the state. Chennai State Congress Executive Committee Member post was given to Kamaraj.
A fake criminal case was registered - This great development of Kamaraj began to catch the eyes of the British ruler. Thus a fake case was registered against him. A fake case has been registered alleging that the Virudhunagar police station was bombed. It was the custom of the British to record this bomb fake case against the young leaders in the Congress party and the vibrant freedom fighters. But immediately, key leaders of the Congress party intervened and released Kamaraj.
From here the ascent began - In the 1936 Congress Committee elections, Kamaraj was elected Congress Secretary. It is noteworthy that Satyamurthy was elected chairman.
- In the 1937 assembly elections, Kamaraj won a seat to contest. That is the Sattur block. Virudhupatti, his hometown, is a village in the Sattur constituency. Competing in his own constituency, no one even registered as a candidate against Kamaraj. Thus Kamaraj won the biggest victory in the constituency without contest.
- For the next four years, Kamaraj worked tirelessly for the party. To this end, Kamaraj was elected Chairman of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee in 1940.
- Then, once in jail, he won the city council election, which shows his value in Tamil Nadu.
1942 August Revolution - The greatest struggle waged by Gandhiji in 1942 was the August Revolution. Kamaraj reached Delhi to attend the consultation meeting. Kamaraj took the report of the resolutions passed there and reached Tamil Nadu by train without being seen by the police. Then he distributes that to all the Congress members. This heroic act for his party was praised by many leaders.
If wrong, he even opposed Gandhi - Gandhi, who once toured Tamil Nadu, wrote an article in a newspaper that a small group was operating against the Rajaji regime in Tamil Nadu. Outraged, Kamaraj spoke out against it at several meetings and resigned as a member of the governing council. Kamaraj, who spoke out against Gandhi when it came to wrongdoing, gained value in the party.
The moment he evolved into the King Maker - In the 1946 Chennai Provincial Assembly election, he was elected unopposed to the Sattur constituency. Kamaraj also proposed Muthuranga Mudaliar as the Chief Minister. But Prakasam was chosen first. But Prakasam did not respect the speeches of the Congress leaders and caused chaos within the party. As a result, he resigned. After this, on the advice of Kamaraj, Ramasamy Retty was elected as the Chief Minister. At that moment he evolved into the King Maker.
As many in the party began to complain against Rangasamy Reddy, Kamaraj fired him and replaced him with BS Kumaraswamy as Chief Minister.
It is noteworthy that Kamaraj played a key role in Indira Gandhi becoming the Prime Minister and in the formation of many important leaders in the Congress.
Made Rajaji as Chief Minister - The Congress won the first assembly elections after India's liberation from the British. But Congress did not succeed in a different regime and had to form a minority government. Most of the Congress leaders stepped down then, Kamaraj made Rajaji the Chief Minister.
Kamaraj became the Chief Minister
After Rajaji became the Chief Minister, he implemented a new education program called Kulakkalvi. All boys should learn the work done by their father i.e. caste occupation. Many opposition leaders and volunteers protested. Kamaraj did not like this educational policy either. But Rajaji forcibly implemented this education policy. This caused chaos in the party and again a chief minister resigned. After this, there was a contest between Subramanian and Kamaraj in the party for the post of Chief Minister. Then the election took place. While Kamaraj got 93 votes, Subramaniam got only 43 votes. Thus Kamaraj became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on April 13, 1954.
The generosity of Kamaraj - Kamaraj included in his cabinet C. Subramaniam, who had contested against him, and Bhagwatsala, who had proposed him, for their talent. It shows his generosity. Along with them, he added someone from an oppressed caste to his cabinet. It was very well received by the people. The first thing he did after becoming the Chief Minister was to abolish that clan education.
Kamaraj's Wonderful Projects
After Kamaraj became the Chief Minister, a meeting of the All India Congress Party was held at Avadi in Chennai, attended by many prominent leaders including Indira Gandhi. The meeting discussed development plans. Then they started implementing those plans. Kamaraj implemented various reservoir projects such as Krishnagiri Reservoir Project, Sathanur Reservoir Project, Amravati Reservoir Project, and Pullambadi Reservoir Project. It is worth mentioning that many important dams in Tamil Nadu were built during the Kamaraj era. That is why today Tamil Nadu is without water shortage in summer. For electricity as well as storing water, Kamaraj implemented many projects towards the future such as the hydropower project and the thermal power project.
Free Lunch in School - Considered to be the most important and best project ever implemented by Kamaraj is the scheme of providing free lunch in government schools. At that time the schools had a low level of students. The main reason for this was that all the students had to work for food. Realizing this, Kamaraj thought that more students would come and study by providing free food. Similarly, after this free lunch program, the number of students started to increase.
The great revolution in education - In the field of education Kamaraj not only started the lunch program but also started many primary schools. He worked diligently to have an elementary school in every village. As a result, one primary school was born every 20 km in Tamil Nadu. He also provided free education up to the 10th standard in government schools. He was known as the eye-opener of education among the people of Tamil Nadu for his revolutionary projects.
2nd Time Became a Cheif Minister
As expected, Kamaraj, who had done a great job during his first five years in power, won a landslide victory in the 1957 assembly elections and became the Chief Minister again. It is noteworthy that the Anna-led DMK first contested the Assembly elections in 1957.
Industrial Revolution - Kamaraj, who started many revolutionary projects in the field of water and education in the first four years, brought many projects in the industry during his second reign. He signed for industries in a variety of industries, including the printing industry, the crude oil industry, and the steel industry. During Kamaraj's rule, many industrial estates were set up in and around Chennai and Erode.
- 159 spinning mills, 4 iron factories, 4 bicycle factories, 6 fertilizer factories, 2 soda salt factories, and 21 tanneries were built during the Kamaraj period.
- Motor vehicle manufacturers such as TVS, Simpson, and India Piston were also started during the Kamaraj regime.
- Today's Banyan (Tirupur Banyan) underwear dates back to the reign of Kamaraj.
- Moreover, the beedi spinning industry, the main occupation of housewives, began to flourish during the reign of Kamaraj.
It is because of Kamaraj's approval of so many business projects that Tamil Nadu is now an industrial hub.
Opposition leaders also praised him - What happened during the reign of Kamaraj was an extraordinary event that has never happened before in the political history of Tamil Nadu. Even opposition leaders looked at Kamaraj's plans and praised him. The DMK demanded that a statue be erected for him. Just like that the statue of Kamaraj was installed and opened by Nehru.
3rd time Cheif Minister - During Kamaraj's 8-year rule, Tamil Nadu prospered. As a result, the people again elected Kamaraj as Chief Minister in 1962. But on the other hand, the DMK won a landslide victory and became the opposition. Realizing this, Kamaraj appealed to Jawaharlal Nehru that the Congress party was weakening and that key leaders of the Congress party should be involved in the work of the party to strengthen it again. Following Kamaraj's advice, Nehru renamed it the K-Plan and the key leaders of the Congress resumed party work. Accordingly, Kamaraj also offered to resign as Chief Minister. But Periyar strongly opposed this. But despite Periyar's opposition, Kamaraj resigned from his post for the party.
Death - Kamaraj, who resigned from the post of Chief Minister and joined the party, died of a heart attack on October 2, 1975, at the age of 72. When he left this world he had 130 rupees in his pocket, 4 shirts, 4 dhotis, and some books as his property. Karmaveer Kamaraj is a man who lived for the people and left this world without getting married, without adding any property to himself. No matter how many centuries pass, there will never be a regime like the one of Kamaraj. The golden age of Tamil Nadu was the rule of Kamaraj till the destruction of Tamil Nadu.
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