First, an unheard of anecdote: In late 1950’s, sources say, staunch nationalist and eminent Tamil film maker K. Subramaniyan (father of Bharata Natya exponent Padma subramaniam) suggested to Kamaraj that MGR be drafted into Congress. Kamaraj shot down the proposition saying politics is not the proper place for entertainers. Rest is history. MGR rose to become DMK’s treasurer and after founding ADMK, became the Chief Minister. The inflow of filmy hands into Tamilnadu politics continues to this day, to what effect, it is for all to see.
Now a comparison – in terms of contribution to society – is inescapable. It is between two personalities E V Ramasamy Naicker (EVR) and K. Kamaraj. The duo joined the Indian National Congress in more or less the same time – EVR in 1919 and Kamaraj in 1921. History is witness to how Kamaraj decided the Prime Minister of India twice where he himself had the chance, and how EVR’s dream of Dravida Nadu not only was not realised but earned EVR a negative sobriquet “separatist”.
The way Kamaraj was led to become “The King Maker” evokes a positive analysis. Kamaraj was born in a middle class family to Kumarasami and Sivakami Ammal. After seeing Jalianwala Bagh massacre he become desperate to end the foreign rule in India. From then on, there was no looking back for this Karmayogi in his path of service to Bharat Mata and had a role (either directly or indirectly) in all positive developments in the country till his death in 1975.
At the outset, he organized large crowds for Congress leaders during 1921. Met Gandhiji at Madurai and took the message of freedom movement to every village. Kamaraj, the Thyaga Chudar (Lamp of Sacrifice), named the Poondy reservoir after his mentor Sathyamoorthy. Later, he stepped down from Chief Minister’s seat and worked for this party when the party needed it. Perunthalaivar Kamaraj won the hearts of all by his discretion.
Role Model for Governance
He was Chief Minister of the Tamilnadu state from 1954 till 1963. As he was a visionary leader, his actions as Chief Minister were aimed at long term benefits and not limited to immediate political gains. Hence, it will be fit to uphold him as a role model for Governance.
Kamaraj was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1937 and again in 1946. He was also elected to the Constituent Assembly and later to the first Parliament of independent India in 1952. These stints gave him a solid exposure to both State administration and Central governance.
His nine-and-half years as Chief Minister saw the State undergoing tremendous progress in various sectors. Madras became one of the best-administered states, which made Kamaraj a popular figure in the country.
Rural Electrification: Under his guidance 22,100 of the 54,700 villages were provided power supply to operate irrigation pump sets. The State ranked first in the country in respect of rural electrification. By the time Kamaraj stepped down, nearly 5 Lakhs pump sets received power supply in the state. During 1951 – 1966, electricity connection was extended from 1,813 villages to 22,103 villages.
Primary Education: Kamaraj had a deeper understanding of this issue of lack of basic education and looked at the problem from the larger social angle. There was a phenomenal growth of education, especially at the primary stage. As against 16,037 primary schools in 1951, there were 27,108 in 1961 and 30,554 in 1966 in the State. The number of boys and girls on rolls in elementary schools increased from 18.52 Lakhs in 1951 to 35.58 Lakhs in 1961 and over 50 Lakhs in 1966.
Out of his own experience, he understood that the abject poverty came in the way of people sending their children to schools. Unlike the previous government, he sought to increase the budget allotment for education, providing for an increasingly large number of schools and teachers, making education free and introduced his unique “free mid-day meal scheme” and supply of free school uniform to poor children. Kamaraj’s vision and action was hailed all around as revolutionary and progressive.
He felt that the “adult franchise” guaranteed under the Constitution would be of no practical relevance, if large sections of the people were to remain uneducated for long. As a result of his massive efforts, nearly 100% of boys and 75% of girls in the age group 6 to 11 years were enrolled in primary and elementary schools during the decade. The budget allocation for education of Rs 10 crores in 1956 rose to Rs 26 crores in 1964. Kamaraj did not ignore the needs of higher education either.
Irrigation Projects: A number of power and irrigation projects were conceived, sanctioned and brought into execution during the decade. Among the major irrigation projects, the notable ones are Lower Bhavani, Manimuthar, Cauvery Delta, Araniar, Vaigai, Amaravati, Sathanur, Krishnagiri, Pullambadi & Veedur, Parambikulam, Neyyar reservoirs. More than 2 Lakh acres of land were brought under irrigation in Coimbatore by the Lower Bhavani Project involving an investment of Rs.10 Crores. The Rs.5.05 Crore Manimuthar Project in Tirunelveli district benefitted, 20,000 acres, while the Mettur Canal Scheme provided water for irrigating 45,000 acres. These are a few samples to quote.
Industrial Progress: The State, which had long been a principally agricultural State, took to a programme of industrialisation under Kamaraj’s able leadership for starting a number of large, medium and small industries to provide employment to educated, skilled and unskilled workers. Kamaraj took along private enterprises in the programme of industrialisation of the State. The State Industrial Investment Corporation was set up to provide for State participation in the private sector. Neyveli Lignite Corporation, Hindustan Photo Films Factory, Surgical Instruments Factory, number of Sugar mills and units for production of Soda Ash, Chemicals & Cement, Integral Coach Factory and Mettur Paper industry are the hallmarks for Kamaraj’s vision. Further, the Industrial Estates at Guindy and Ambattur today are because of the major industrialisation effort of the State during Kamaraj’s tenure. In electricity generation, new projects came into being, like the Kundah & EVR Projects and expansion of the thermal units and new hydro-electric units. Thus, in a brief period of around 10 years, Tamil Nadu registered all-round progress under the able administration of Karmayogi Kamaraj.
In the evening of his life, Kamaraj had to witness voices of anti national elements growing shriller in Tamilnadu. He began warning people about not only black money but also “red money”, indicating Russia and China pumping in funds to their vassals here in order to further their own agenda. Added to all this, anti democratic nature of his party high command reduced him to the status of a faction leader vis a vis a national leader. He died a sad man during the 1975-77 Emergency; he lamented, “after throwing all political leaders in jail what remains for the lady (Indira Gandhi) to lord over, the crematorium?” All said and done, Kamaraj had a firm belief that Desa Bhakti is a stifled Shakti in Tamilnadu and is bound to bounce back. That explains why the state witnesses ascendance of patriotism during the past decade as a result of sustained work done by Sangh all along previous six decades.
