C. Rajagopalachari (1878- 1972)
Politician, last governor-general of India
Rajaji, as his friends called him, in his younger days fell foul with the Brahmin orthodoxy. He was convinced its hidebound customs were morally wrong. On one occasion when he organized inter-caste, cosmopolitan dining, there were moves to ostracize him. They had their revenge when his father died in 1914, for no Brahmin priest could be found to conduct the last rites. That however didn’t deter him from his conviction.
During his tenure as the Chairman of Salem municipality he upheld the right of the Harijans (low- caste) to use public water taps. As premier of Madras Province, in 1937, he opened the gates of temples hitherto barred to a large section of Hindus-the untouchables. It was a milestone in the social history of the Province.
His humanism shone through his many acts however unpopular with a section of the people…
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