Kamaraj, Kumaraswami

Kamaraj, Kumaraswami

▪ Indian statesman
born July 15, 1903, Virudunagar, India
died Oct. 2, 1975, Madras [now Chennai]

      Indian statesman who rose from the Nadar (next-to-lowest) caste to become chief minister of the Madras Presidency (an administrative unit of British India now divided among Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka (Karnātaka), Kerala, and Tamil Nadu (Tamil Nādu) states) and president of the Indian National Congress (Congress Party).

      At age 15 Kamaraj entered politics by organizing fund-raising rallies for the Congress Party in his home district. Elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1937, he went on to win a seat in the lower house of the Indian Parliament in the general elections of 1952. From 1954 to 1963 he served as chief minister of Madras, giving up that post under what came to be known as the Kamaraj Plan, which called for the voluntary resignations of high national and state officials in order to devote their efforts to Congress Party reorganization at the grassroots level. Soon thereafter he was appointed president of the party. He was largely responsible for placing Lal Bahadur Shastri (Shastri, Lal Bahadur) in the prime ministership in 1964 and Indira Gandhi (Gandhi, Indira) in 1966—both times defeating the rightist Morarji Desai (Desai, Morarji). He suffered defeat in his hometown in 1967 and soon after was maneuvered out of the party leadership by Indira Gandhi. In 1969 he was part of an old-guard leaders' group that tried to remove Gandhi from power, but the party split, leaving Kamaraj and his associates with a small splinter group.

      Kamaraj's low social origins contributed to his success in bringing low-caste and Harijan (“untouchable”) voters into the Congress fold. He underscored his strong belief in personal contact by visiting nearly all the villages in his state more than once.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • K. Kamaraj — (Kumaraswami Kamaraj; Tamil: காமராஜ்; * 15. Juli 1903 in Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu; † 2. Oktober 1975 in Madras) war ein indischer Politiker. Biografie Kamaraj, der aus der Volksgruppe …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Kumaraswamy — or Kumaraswami may refer to:*H. D. Kumaraswamy, former Chief Minister of the state of Karnataka, India *Poondi Kumaraswamy (1930–1988), Indian engineer and hydrologist *Murugan, also called Kumaraswami , most popular Hindu deity amongst Tamils of …   Wikipedia

  • S. Satyamurti — Infobox Celebrity name = S. Satyamurti caption = S. Satyamurti birth date = August 19, 1887 birth place = death date = March 28, 1943 death place = occupation = Politician, Lawyer salary = networth = spouse = children = website = footnotes = S.… …   Wikipedia

  • July 15 — Events*1099 First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final assault of a difficult siege. *1207 John of England expels Canterbury monks for supporting Archbishop of Canterbury Stephen Langton.… …   Wikipedia

  • October 2 — << October 2011 >> Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 …   Wikipedia

  • Palaiyakkarar — Palaiyakkarar, poligar, polygar or palegar was the title for a class of territorial administrative cum military chiefs (Knights and Barons) appointed by the Nayak rulers of South India (notably Vijayanagar Empire, Nayaks of Madurai and the… …   Wikipedia

  • 2 de octubre — << Octubre >> Do Lu Ma Mi Ju Vi Sa …   Wikipedia Español

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”