Born in an orthodox Brahmin family in Salem (Tamil Nadu), C. Rajagopalachari became a lawyer, and established a lucrative practice. He entered the political forefront after meeting Gandhi in 1919. His political career is marked with a number of achievements. He gave up his practice in response to the non-cooperation call by Gandhi.

In 1921-1922, he became the General-Secretary of the Indian National Congress and from 1922 to 1924, he was a member of the Congress Working Committee. He played a prominent role in spreading the Civil Disobedience Movement in Tamil Nadu. He was arrested in April 1930 for leading a salt march from Trichinopoly to Vedaranniyam on the Tanjore coast.

He led the Congress to victory in Madras in the 1937 elections. As the Chief Minister of Madras (1937-39), he introduced (i) Madras Temple Entry Act (in 1938); (ii) prohibition in the State. In 1942, he resigned from the INC on its refusal to accept the Cripps Mission plans. He, along with Bhulabhai Desai, was in favour of recognising the rights of Muslim majority provinces to secede through plebiscites after independence had been gained.

He later prepared the CR Formula for Congress-League cooperation, which, however, was rejected by the Muslim League. Rajagopalachari served as the Governor of Bengal (August- November 1947) and was a member of the Governor-General’s Executive Council (1946-47). He was the first and last Indian Governor-General of India (1948-50). He became the Minister for Home Affairs in the Central Government (1951). In 1959, he founded the Swatantra Party which emphasised individual liberty and was critical of ‘extreme’ socialism.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

Apart from being a statesman who possessed foresight and an ability to think rationally, C. Rajagopalachari was a great socialist and an erudite scholar. He condemned ortho­dox religious and social customs. The ushering in of the Madras Temple Entry Act, 1939, and the introduction of prohibition during his chief-minister ship of Madras (in the pre-independence era) reflect his zeal for social reform. He also advocated upliftment of Harijans and other depressed classes and played a leading role in the Poona settlement.

He was also an outstanding intellectual. He read English litera­ture extensively, and was particularly influenced by the writings of Thoreau and Tolstoy. He also contributed articles, both in English and Tamil, to several journals. His views on political problems are contained in the articles in the journal Swarajya and in the collection Satyam Eva Jayate. Awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1954, ‘Rajaji’ (as he was fondly called) passed away in 1972.