C Rajagopalachari, also known as Rajaji or CR, was born on 10 December 1878 in Thorapalli Agraharam, Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu. His father Chakravarti Venkataryan was the munsif of Thorapalli who had two other sons with his wife Singaramma besides Rajagopalachari.
Rajagopalachari studied at primary schools in Thorapalli and Hosur and passed his matriculation in 1891. In 1894, he received his BA in Arts from Central College, Bangalore. In 1897, he graduated in law from the Presidency College, Madras.
He started his legal career in Salem, Tamil Nadu in 1900. It was at this time that his interest in politics and society ignited. In 1911 he became a member of the Salem municipality. He also served as its chairman from 1917 to 1919. It was during his tenure as chairman that the village got its first Dalit member and Rajagopalachari had a big role in this development.
Role of C Rajagopalachari during the struggle for independence:
•He joined the Indian National Congress and attended the 1906 session in Calcutta. He then became more involved in national politics. He took part in the agitation against the Rowlatt Act.
•With the advent of Mahatma Gandhi in the independence movement, Rajagopalachari became an ardent follower of Gandhi. He left his legal practice and joined the non-cooperation movement.
•In 1921 he became the general secretary of the party. He led the group of “No changers” in the Congress Party who opposed joining the Imperial and Provincial Legislative Councils.
•He was also involved in the Vaikkom Satyagraha. In the 1930s, Rajagopalachari became the leader of the Tamil Nadu Congress. When Gandhi led the Dandi march in 1930, Rajagopalachari did a similar march in Vedaranyam and defied the salt laws. He was arrested for that.
•He was then elected as the President of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee.
•After the 1937 elections, the INC came to power in the Madras Presidency and Rajagopalachari became the first Prime Minister of the Madras Presidency.
•As prime minister, he promulgated the Temple Entry Permit and Compensation Act 1939 and removed restrictions on Dalits entering Hindu temples.
•He also passed legislation to ease the burden of agricultural debt on the state’s farmers.
•He also implemented Gandhi’s Nai Talim education scheme for which he was criticized on caste grounds. Perhaps the most memorable aspect of Rajagopalachari’s rule in Madras was the introduction of Hindi as a compulsory subject in schools. This was met with widespread protests and anti-Hindi agitations, not to mention contributing to his unpopularity in Madras.
•The protests turned violent and two people were even killed. The Governor repealed the Act in 1940. Despite the censors, historians consider Madras under Rajagopalachari to be one of the best administered provinces in British India.
•C.R. resigned as Prime Minister when the Viceroy declared India a party to World War II without properly consulting the Indians. In December 1940 he was arrested.
However, he differed with Gandhi on the issue of the Quit India Movement. He held that dialogue with the British would be beneficial and that neutrality in the war would be harmful as a result of a German invasion. He also offered a solution to the INC-Muslim League impasse on the issue of partition in the form of the C.R. formula.
written by: Vaishali Verma
