Chakravarti Rajagopalachari Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids His Excellency Chakravarti Rajagopalachari
C. Rajagopalachari

Governor-General of India
In office 21 June 1948 – 26 January 1950
Monarch	George VI
Prime Minister	Jawaharlal Nehru
Preceded by	The Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Succeeded by	Position abolished Dr. Rajendra Prasad as the President of India
2nd Chief Minister of Madras
In office 10 April 1952 – 13 April 1954
Governor	Sri Prakasa
Preceded by	P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja
Succeeded by	K. Kamaraj
Minister of Home Affairs
In office 26 December 1950 – 25 October 1951
Prime Minister	Jawaharlal Nehru
Preceded by	Vallabhbhai Patel
Succeeded by	Kailash Nath Katju
Governor of West Bengal
In office 15 August 1947 – 21 June 1948
Premier	Prafulla Chandra Ghosh Bidhan Chandra Roy
Preceded by	Frederick Burrows
Succeeded by	Kailash Nath Katju
11th Chief Minister of Madras Presidency
In office 14 July 1937 – 9 October 1939
Governor	The Lord Erskine
Preceded by	Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu
Succeeded by	Tanguturi Prakasam
Minister of Education
In office 2 September 1946 – 14 August 1947
Prime Minister	Jawaharlal Nehru
Succeeded by	Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

Personal details
Born	(1878-12-10)10 December 1878 Thorapalli, Madras Presidency, British India (now in Hosur Taluk, Krishnagiri District, Tamil Nadu, India)
Died	25 December 1972(1972-12-25) (aged 94) Madras, Tamil Nadu, India
Political party	Swatantra Party (1959–1972)
Other political affiliations	Indian National Congress (Before 1957) Indian National Democratic Congress (1957–1959)
Spouse	Alamelu Mangalamma (1897–1916)
Children	C. R. Narasimhan C. R. Krishnaswamy C. R. Ramaswami Lakshmi Gandhi née C. R. Namagiri Ammal C. R.
Alma mater	Central College Presidency College, Madras
Profession	Lawyer Writer Statesman
Awards	Bharat Ratna (1954)

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was an Indian politician, independence activist, lawyer, writer and statesman. Rajagopalachari was the last Governor-General of India. He also served as leader of the Indian National Congress,Chief Minister of Madras Presidency (present Tamil Nadu), Governor of West Bengal and Minister for Home Affairs of the Indian Union. Rajagopalachari founded the Swatantra Party and was one of the first recipients of India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna. He forcefully opposed the use of nuclear weapons and was a supporter of world peace. During his lifetime, he also acquired the nickname 'Mango of Krishnagiri'.

Rajagopalachari was born in the village of Thorapalli in the Krishnagiri district of the Madras Presidency (now the Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu) and was educated at Central College, Bangalore, and Presidency College, Madras.On entering politics, he became a member and later President of the Salem municipality. He joined the Indian National Congress and participated in the agitations against the Rowlatt Act, joining the Non-Cooperation movement, the Vaikom Satyagraha, and the Civil Disobedience movement. In 1930, Rajagopalachari risked imprisonment when he led the Vedaranyam Salt Satyagraha in response to the Dandi March. In 1937, Rajagopalachari was elected Premier of the Madras Presidency and served until 1940, when he resigned due to Britain's declaration of war on Germany. He later advocated co-operation over Britain's war effort and opposed the Quit India Movement.

In 1946, 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, Home Minister of India from 1951 to 1952 and as Chief Minister of Madras state (present Tamil Nadu) from 1952 to 1954. In 1959, he resigned from the Indian National Congress and founded the Swatantra Party, which stood against the Congress in the 1962, 1967 and 1972 elections. Rajagopalachari was instrumental in setting up a united Anti-Congress front in Madras state under C. N. Annadurai, which swept the 1967 elections.

Images for kids

Premier Rajagopalachari at a rally in Ootacamund, 1939.
Chakravarti with Mahatma Gandhi during the Gandhi-Jinnah talks, 1944. Gandhi described Chakravarti as his "keeper of my conscience"
Picture of C. Rajagopalachari in 1948.
During a 1948 tour of southern India, women in Mysore removing their gold necklaces and giving them to Rajagopalachari as a sign of honor.
Rajagopalachari as Governor-General of India proclaims the Republic of India
DMK leaders K. A. Mathiazhagan, V.P. Raman, C.N. Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi with Swatantra Party founder C. Rajagopalachari.
Rajagopalachari with Defence Minister Baldev Singh and the chiefs of Staffs of Indian Armed Forces in 1948.
A portrait of C. Rajagopalachari at the Parliament House in New Delhi. Then PM Manmohan Singh, the Speaker, Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar, the chairman, BJP Parliamentary Party, Lal Krishna Advani and other dignitaries paid homage at the portrait of Rajagopalachari, on his Birth Anniversary on 10 December 2011.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari facts for kids

Images for kids

See also