C. Rajagopalachari Top UPSC Coaching

11 Dec 2021 C. Rajagopalachari

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Recently ‘C. Rajagopalachari’s 143rd birth anniversary was celebrated.
He is remembered for his contribution to the freedom struggle and for his administrative and intellectual skills.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, popularly known as Rajaji, was born on December 10, 1878.
He studied law from Presidency College in Madras and started his practice in ‘Salem’ in the year 1900.
In the year 1916, he formed the ‘Tamil Scientific Terms Society’, an organization that translated scientific terms of chemistry, physics, mathematics, astronomy and biology into simple Tamil words.
He became the chairman of the Municipality of Salem in the year 1917 and served there for two years.
In the year 1955, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award.
He died on December 25, 1972.

Before Independence:

He joined the Indian National Congress and worked there as a legal advisor.
In the year 1917, he defended Indian independence activist- P. Varadrajulu Naidu against the charges of sedition.
He was elected as the first Prime Minister of Madras Presidency in the year 1937.
In the year 1939, Rajagopalachari took a step to eliminate untouchability and caste prejudice and issued the Madras Temple Entry Authority and Compensation Act.
After the Madras Temple Entry Authority, Dalits were allowed to enter the temples.
He was appointed as the Governor of West Bengal at the time of partition.
In the year 1947, Rajagopalachari, the last British Viceroy and the first Governor General of independent India, was temporarily elected to hold office during the absence of Lord Mountbatten.
That’s why he was the last Governor General of India.

After Independence:

Rajagopalachari took over as the Chief Minister of Madras in April 1952.
During his tenure as the Chief Minister of Madras, he actively participated in reforming the education system and bringing changes in the society.
He also made Hindi a compulsory language in Tamil schools.
His move led to protests against him, after which Rajagopalachari resigned from the post of Chief Minister.
He was a social conservative but supported a free market economy.
He wanted to bring back the Varna system in the society.
He believed in the importance of religion for the society.
Rajagopalachari was made the Home Minister after the death of Sardar Patel in the year 1950.
In the year 1959, he resigned from the Indian National Congress and founded the Swatantra Party.

Non-cooperation Movement: He met Mahatma Gandhi for the first time in the year 1919 in Madras (now Chennai) and participated in Gandhi’s non-cooperation movement.
In the year 1920, he was also jailed for two years in Vellore.
After his release from prison, he opened his ashram to promote Gandhi’s principles of Hindu-Muslim harmony and the abolition of untouchability.
He was also a supporter of Khadi.
Vaikom Satyagraha: He was also involved in the Vaikom Satyagraha Movement against untouchability.
Dandi March: In 1930, when Gandhi led the Dandi March to break the salt law, Rajagopalachari took out a march in Vedaranyam in support of the Madras Presidency Dandi March.
He also became the editor of Gandhi’s newspaper Young India.
Quit India Movement: During the Quit India Movement, Rajagopalachari opposed Gandhi.
He was of the view that starting another Satyagraha was not a good decision as the British were about to leave the country at last.

This book won the Sahitya Akademi Award in Tamil language in 1958.
He wrote the Tamil translation of the Ramayana, which was later published as Chakravarthy Thirumagan.