Kamarajar 119th birth anniversary

Subject : Current Events

Context : The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has paid homage to K. Kamaraj on his birth anniversary.

Concept :

KumaraswamiKamaraj (1903 – 1975), popularly known as Kamarajar was an Indian independence activist and politician.
He served as the Chief Minister of Madras State (Tamil Nadu) from 13 April 1954 to 2 October 1963.
He was the founder and the president of the Indian National Congress (Organisation), widely acknowledged as the “Kingmaker” in Indian politics during the 1960s.
He also served as the president of the Indian National Congress for two terms i.e. four years between 1964–1967 and was responsible for the elevation of Lal Bahadur Shastri to the position of Prime Minister of India after Nehru’s death and Indira Gandhi after Shastri’s death.
As the president of the INC, he was instrumental in steering the party after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru.
He was the Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha during 1952–1954 and 1969–1975.
He was awarded with Bharat Ratna, posthumously in 1976.

Kamraj Plan

In 1963 he suggested to Nehru that senior Congress leaders should leave ministerial posts to take up organisational work.
This suggestion came to be known as the Kamaraj Plan, which was designed primarily to dispel from the minds of Congressmen the lure of power, creating in its place a dedicated attachment to the objectives and policies of the organisation.