92 Facts About Chakravarti Rajagopalachari

1.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was the first Indian-born governor-general, as all previous holders of the post were British nationals.

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2.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari served as leader of the Indian National Congress, Premier of the Madras Presidency, Governor of West Bengal, Minister for Home Affairs of the Indian Union and Chief Minister of Madras state.

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3.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari founded the Swatantra Party and was one of the first recipients of India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna.

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4.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari vehemently opposed the use of nuclear weapons and was a proponent of world peace and disarmament.

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5.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was born in the Thorapalli village of Hosur taluk in the Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu and was educated at Central College, Bangalore, and Presidency College, Madras.

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6.

In 1930, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari risked imprisonment when he led the Vedaranyam Salt Satyagraha in response to the Dandi March.

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7.

In 1937, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was elected Prime minister of the Madras Presidency and served until 1940, when he resigned due to Britain's declaration of war on Germany.

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8.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari later advocated co-operation over Britain's war effort and opposed the Quit India Movement.

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9.

In 1946, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was appointed Minister of Industry, Supply, Education and Finance in the Interim Government of India, and then as the Governor of West Bengal from 1947 to 1948, Governor-General of India from 1948 to 1950, Union Home Minister from 1951 to 1952 and as Chief Minister of Madras state from 1952 to 1954.

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10.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was an accomplished writer who made lasting contributions to Indian English literature and is credited with the composition of the song Kurai Onrum Illai set to Carnatic music.

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11.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari pioneered temperance and temple entry movements in India and advocated Dalit upliftment.

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12.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari has been criticized for introducing the compulsory study of Hindi and the Madras Scheme of Elementary Education in Madras State, dubbed by its critics as Hereditary Education Policy put forward to perpetuate caste hierarchy.

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13.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was described by Gandhi as the "keeper of my conscience".

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14.

Weak and sickly child, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was a constant worry to his parents who feared that he might not live long.

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15.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari passed his matriculation examinations in 1891 and graduated in arts from Central College, Bangalore in 1894.

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16.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari studied law at the Presidency College, Madras, from where he graduated in 1897.

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17.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari married Alamelu Mangalamma in 1897 when she was ten years old and she gave birth to her son a day after her thirteenth birthday.

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18.

Mangamma died in 1916 whereupon Chakravarti Rajagopalachari took sole responsibility for the care of his children.

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19.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari's great-grandson, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari Kesavan, is a spokesperson of the Congress Party and Trustee of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee.

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20.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari participated in the Non-Cooperation movement and gave up his law practice.

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21.

When Gandhi organised the Dandi march in 1930, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari broke the salt laws at Vedaranyam, near Nagapattinam, along with Indian independence activist Sardar Vedaratnam.

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22.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was sentenced to six-months of rigorous imprisonment and was sent to the Trichinopoly Central Prison.

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23.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was elected President of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee.

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24.

At the age of 59, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari won the Madras University seat and entered the Assembly as the first Premier of the Madras Presidency from the Congress party.

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25.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari issued the Temple Entry Authorization and Indemnity Act 1939, under which restrictions were removed on Dalits and Shanars entering Hindu temples.

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26.

In March 1938 Chakravarti Rajagopalachari introduced the Agricultural Debt Relief Act, to ease the burden of debt on the province's peasant population.

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27.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari introduced prohibition, along with a sales tax to compensate for the loss of government revenue that resulted from the ban on alcohol.

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28.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari's opponents said that this deprived many low-caste and Dalit students of their education.

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29.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari's opponents attributed casteist motives to his government's implementation of Gandhi's Nai Talim scheme into the education system.

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30.

Ramasamy opposed the decision of C Rajagopalachari to make learning Hindi compulsory in schools in 1937.

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31.

Some months after the outbreak of the Second World War, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari resigned as premier along with other members of his cabinet in protest at the declaration of war by the Viceroy of India.

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32.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was arrested in December 1940, in accordance with the Defence of India rules, and sentenced to one-year in prison.

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33.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari opposed the Quit India Movement and instead advocated dialogue with the British.

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34.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari reasoned that passivity and neutrality would be harmful to India's interests at a time when the country was threatened with invasion.

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35.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari advocated dialogue with the Muslim League, which was demanding the partition of India.

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36.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari subsequently resigned from the party and the assembly following differences over resolutions passed by the Madras Congress legislative party and disagreements with the leader of the Madras provincial Congress K Kamaraj.

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37.

However, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari did not contest the elections, and Prakasam was elected.

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38.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was instrumental in initiating negotiations between Gandhi and Jinnah.

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39.

From 1946 to 1947, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari served as the Minister for Industry, Supply, Education, and Finance in the Interim Government headed by Jawaharlal Nehru.

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40.

At that time, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was appointed as the first Governor of West Bengal.

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41.

From 10 until 24 November 1947, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari served as Acting Governor-General of India in the absence of the Governor-General Lord Mountbatten, who was on leave in England to attend the marriage of Princess Elizabeth to Mountbatten's nephew Prince Philip.

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42.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari led a very simple life in the viceregal palace, washing his own clothes and polishing his own shoes.

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43.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was eventually chosen as the governor-general when Nehru disagreed with Mountbatten's first choice, as did Patel himself.

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44.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was elected to the Constituent Assembly from Madras.

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45.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was a part of Advisory Committee and Sub-Committee on Minorities.

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46.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari debated on issues relating to rights of religious denominations.

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47.

At Nehru's invitation, in 1950 Chakravarti Rajagopalachari joined the Union Cabinet as Minister without Portfolio where he served as a buffer between Nehru and Home Minister Sardar Patel and on occasion offered to mediate between the two.

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48.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari expressed concern over demands for new linguistically based states, arguing that they would generate differences amongst the people.

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49.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari adamantly opposed Nehru's decision to commute the death sentences passed on those involved in the Telangana uprising and his strong pro-Soviet leanings.

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50.

Tired of being persistently over-ruled by Nehru concerning critical decisions, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari submitted his resignation on the "grounds of ill-health" and returned to Madras.

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51.

The resolution was approved by the party and Kamaraj revealed that Chakravarti Rajagopalachari had been reluctant to accept the responsibility as Chief Minister and the leader of Madras Legislature Congress party as his health was fragile and added that by acceding to the request of the party, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari had put country before self.

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52.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari did not contest the by-election and on 10 April 1952, Madras Governor Sri Prakasa appointed him as Chief Minister by nomination as MLC without consulting either the Prime Minister Nehru or the ministers in the Madras state cabinet.

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53.

On 3 July 1952, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was then able to prove that he had a majority in the assembly by luring MLAs from opposition parties and independents to join the Indian National Congress.

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54.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari remained unmoved by Sriramulu's action and refused to intervene.

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55.

On 7 June 1952, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari ended the procurement policy and food rationing in the state, abolishing all price and quota controls.

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56.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari's decision was a rejection of a planned economy in favour of a free market economy.

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57.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari introduced measures to regulate the running of universities in the state.

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58.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari stated kuladharma, or each clan's or caste's social obligation.

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59.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari delivered talks and made radio broadcasts to clarify his views.

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60.

The rising unpopularity of his government forced Chakravarti Rajagopalachari to resign on 26 March 1954, as the President of the Madras Congress Legislature Party thereby precipitating new elections.

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61.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari eventually resigned as Chief Minister on 13 April 1954, attributing the decision to poor health.

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62.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari wrote a Tamil re-telling of the Sanskrit epic Ramayana which appeared as a serial in the Tamil magazine Kalki from 23 May 1954 to 6 November 1955.

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63.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari tendered his official resignation from the Indian National Congress and along with a number of other dissidents organised the Congress Reform Committee in January 1957.

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64.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari outlined the goals of the Swatantra Party through twenty one "fundamental principles" in the foundation document.

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65.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari sharply criticised the bureaucracy and coined the term "licence-permit Raj" to describe Nehru's elaborate system of permissions and licences required for an individual to set up a private enterprise.

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66.

In 1961, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari criticized Operation Vijay, the Indian military action in which Portuguese rule in Goa was forcibly ended and the territory was incorporated into India, writing that India had "totally lost the moral power to raise her voice against militarism" and had undermined the power and prestige of the United Nations Security Council.

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67.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari had earlier been sharply critical of the recommendations made by the Official Languages Commission in 1957.

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68.

On 28 January 1956, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari signed a resolution along with Annadurai and Periyar endorsing the continuation of English as the official language.

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69.

At the age of 88, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari worked to forge a united opposition to the Indian National Congress through a tripartite alliance between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Swatantra Party and the Forward Bloc.

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70.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari delivered a moving eulogy to Annadurai at his funeral.

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71.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari pleaded with him not to repeal prohibition but to no avail and as a result, the Swatantra Party withdrew its support for the state government and instead allied with the Congress, a breakaway faction of the Indian National Congress led by Kamaraj.

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72.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari's condition deteriorated in the following days as he frequently lost consciousness and he died at 5:44 pm on 25 December 1972 at the age of 94.

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73.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was a widower for 56 years, and outlived a son and both his sons-in-law.

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74.

Mr Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was one of the makers of new India, a sincere patriot, a man whose penetrating intellect and moral sense added depth to national affairs.

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75.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari had held the highest positions and lent distinction to every office.

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76.

An accomplished writer both in his mother tongue Tamil as well as English, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was the founder of the Salem Literary Society and regularly participated in its meetings.

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77.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari started the Tamil Scientific Terms Society in 1916, a group that coined new words in Tamil for terms connected to botany, chemistry, physics, astronomy and mathematics.

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78.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari often regarded his literary works as the best service he had rendered to the people.

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79.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was one of the founders of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, an organisation dedicated to the promotion of education and Indian culture.

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80.

Apart from his literary works, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari composed a devotional song Kurai Onrum Illai devoted to Lord Venkateswara, a song set to music and a regular at Carnatic concerts.

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81.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari warned Kennedy of the dangers of embarking on an arms race, even one which the US could win.

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82.

On 1 May 1955, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari appealed to the Government of India to cancel receipt of aid from America if the country continued with its nuclear tests.

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83.

Namboodiripad, a prominent Communist Party leader, once remarked that Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was the Congress leader he respected the most despite the fact he was someone with whom he had the most differences.

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84.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was a staunch advocate of prohibition and was elected Secretary of the Prohibition League of India in 1930.

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85.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was an active member of the All India Spinners Association.

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86.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari is remembered for his literary contributions, some of which are considered modern-day classics.

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87.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari frequently wrote articles for Kalki and his own journal Swarajya, of which Philip Spratt was editor.

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88.

The best possible tribute to Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was from Mahatma Gandhi who referred to him as the "keeper of my conscience".

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89.

The President of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, K Kamaraj, and a majority of the provincial leaders opposed him in the 1940s, Rajagopalachari clung on to a position of influence in regional politics through support from his colleagues at the center.

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90.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari has always been the archetype of the Tamil Brahmin nemesis of the Dravidian movement.

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91.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was accused of being pro-Sanskrit and pro-Hindi, despite his fierce support for the Anti-Hindi agitations of 1965.

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92.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari claimed that jati was “the most important element in the organization of our society”.

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