Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari, better known as Rajaji, was the second Governor General of independent India. Later he became the chief minister of Madras Presidency. Rajaji was born in Thorapalli village of Salem district on 10th of December 1878. His father Chakravarthi Venkataraya Iyengar was from Tamilnadu, and his mother Singaramma hailed from Kuppam in Chittor, Andhra Pradesh. Rajaji completed his schooling in Hosur and did his higher education in Central college of Banglore, Karnataka. He obtained his Law degree in Madras and began his practice in Salem. He became famous pretty soon through brilliance of knowledge of Law and speech. Even as a student he developed great love for literature and later became renowned as a writer in Tamil and English. Rajaji married at an early age and his wife passed away giving birth to three sons and two daughters.

He entered into politics as he had a great zeal for social reforms. He became Chairman of Municipal Council of Salem and fought against the caste system and drinking of liquor. He was opposed strongly and his reforms were oppressed. But he was successful in introducing civic reforms. He participated in the freedom movement and at one time considered as Mahatma Gandhi’s heir. He became the chief minister for Madras twice in 1937 and in 1952 and he had an impeccable record in administration which is free of corruption.

In 1906, he attended Indian National Congress held at Surat. Rajaji joined the Extremists group by 1918 and worked for Tilak and Dr. Annie Besant. In the pre-independence years, as one of the top five leaders of congress, Rajaji, Nehru and Patel were called the “head, heart, and hands” of Gandhiji, in whose shadows they remained till his death. Later he differed with Nehru on policies of nation and started a new party called “Swatantra Party”. It advocated private enterprise as against to government run mega projects favored by Nehru.

According to Gandhiji’s wish, he established an ashram in the famine stricken village of Pudupalayam in Salem district. He also started production of Khadi cloth, and campaigned for the eradication of untouchability and drinking. Rajaji led a mass movement in south which is a replica of the Dandi March. He rescued farmers from the clutches of the land-lords by introducing Agriculturists’ Debit Relief Act. He also has the credit of introducing Sales Tax which is an innovation in the revenue collection in India. Rajaji was arrested as he resigned from his office due to the declaration of Quit India Movement. He was released only after the end of Second World War.

India attained Independence by then and he became the first Indian Governor General after Lord Mount Batten in 1948. Rajaji became a member of Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet, as a minister for Home Affairs. Nehru wanted Rajaji to become the first President of free India as well. But Rajaji wanted to retire from active politics and return back to Madras. But due to the pressure from his admirers, he served as Chief Minister for two years (1952-54). On leaving government, he was first among the recipients of Bharat Ratna, the Indian government’s highest civilian award.

Rajaji was a popular writer in Tamil and English. He has written stories for children. He has translated Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Rajaji also composed a hymn” Here under this uniting roof” which wax sung in 1966 at the United Nations by M.S.Subbalakshmi. Kurai Onrum Illai (meaning- I have no unfulfilled desires left, oh!God) is a very famous song in semi-carnatic music genre written by Rajaji and has been rendered by M.S.Subbalakshmi. He also translated the Ramayana into Tamil.

Rajaji was also a profound thinker in matters of spirituality and religion. Rajaji was a great humanist too. He wrote a book called “Mankind Protests” opposing the nuclear weapon tests. Mr. Khrushchev, Head of Soviet Russia, got it translated into Russian for wide circulation in his country.

Rajaji died in December 1972, after a short illness. His public life, spanning nearly eighty years was best recognized by Mahatma Gandhi who praised him as the “keeper of my conscience”.

To quote the life of this great legend: “….. When intelligence matures and lodges securely in the mind, it becomes wisdom. When wisdom is integrated with life and issues out in action, it becomes bhakti (devotion). Knowledge, when it becomes fully mature is bhakti. If it does not get transformed into bhakti, such knowledge is useless tinsel. To believe that gynana and bhakthi, knowledge and devotion are different from each other is ignorance….”

Compiled By: - Kalapala Hima Deepthi.