There are two great leaders to be remembered on the 2nd of October every year.
One, the messenger of peace and non violence, and one of the most revered man ever to have taken birth on earth, the father of our nation - the Mahatma - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
The other, though not as celebrated as the former, but a man whose background, rise and way of life are not only worth studying but more importantly, and essentially, worth emulating - the son of the soil - Kumarasami Kamaraj.
Incidentally, the 2nd of October is the birth day of Gandhiji and the day in which Kamarajar breathed his last. Let's see what made these men great and as a fitting tribute to them, absorb their ways of life and carry forward their dreams.
Bapu, as Gandhiji was called with reverence and affection, even by tall leaders like Nehruji and Patelji, was born to Karamchand Gandhi, the Diwan (Prime Minister) of Porbandar and Putlibai, a deeply religious and spiritual lady, whose spirituality Bapu did inherit to a great extent. If one begins to read his autobiography - My Experiments with Truth, for the many initial pages, one would wonder if this is the man whom we all consider the father of our nation, for he committed (rather was on the verge of committing) many a sins, all of which he repented immediately and vowed not to repeat it ever again in his lifetime. But as one reads further, it would be clear as to why he deserves to be respected.
Sticking on to his vows, even under the muddiest of circumstances, had been a practice of Bapu. It would not be out of place to quote what Bapu had to say about this.
"A principle is a principle and in no case can it be watered down because of our incapacity to live it in practice. We have to strive to achieve it, and the striving should be conscious deliberate and hard."
But at the same time Bapu was not immune to changes. He did accept changes when he was convinced that he was wrong earlier or that a change in the earlier lines of thinking would do better to serve the purpose. To this effect he said
"I am not at all concerned with appearing to be consistent. In my search after Truth I have discarded many ideas and learnt many new things."
Such were Bapu's philosophies that one would often wonder as to how can a man have opinions, that too so strong and resolute ones, more so none of which he preached without experimenting it in his own life and having being satisfied of it's goodness; on such wide spectrum of issues.
On Truth, which he considered to be the only reality in this world and hence considered as God, he was so resolute that he was even fine with defying the orders of parents' and elders' in virtue of maintaining the paramount loyalty to it. He cited the example of Prahlad, who defied his father - Hiranyakashipu, to substantiate his view. Never did Bapu deviate from Truth and that was the reason why he was so strong internally.
On the principle of Non Violence he not only advocated to simply eschew violence but asked people to exude love and serve all.
It was on Poverty or Non Possession that Bapu laid much stress after Truth and Non Violence. He urged people to live a frugal life, especially to those who wished to serve the poor. The larger point he wanted to make was well articulated when he said that "nature had enough for man's need but not greed." Today it is well known that this point is the basic fundamental foundation stone of talks on sustainable development.
To the people who were in possession of power, Bapu said, "(One) should reduce his wants to a minimum bearing in mind the poverty of India. His earnings should be free of dishonesty. His habitation should be in keeping with his new way of life. There should be self-restraint exercised in every sphere of life." Had this advice been adhered to strictly, wouldn't we all have been in a better position today?
On education, Bapu insisted that it be rooted to the culture and life of the people and that it be self-financed by way of spinning the Charka, which he had suggested then. Isn't it self-financing that is being practiced now under the label - 'earn while you learn'? He even proposed that education be craft-centred, which is now being labelled as 'vocational education' and is being given much impetus by the government to promote better employment opportunities. These only show that those principles he practiced and professed, remain relevant even to this date.
He was all for Sarvodaya - upliftment of all, equality of all. He also gave strong views on nature cure, business ethics, need to maintain celibacy, character building, etcetera.
Suffice to say that it would never be futile to learn more about Gandhiji and his life and it would also be worth a trial to attempt to live a life like his, not for one's own self but for the benefit of all.
The influence of Gandhiji was writ large on the then Indian fabric. People from many walks of life and many quarters of the globe idolized him.
From the southern part of India, among many, Kamaraj was one. Kamarajar, as he is called respectfully, was truly the son of the soil. Born in 1903, 34 years after Bapu, in Virudhnagar to Kumaraswami Nadar, a coconut trader, and Sivakami Ammayar, in a very modest family, he rose to become the kingmaker of Indian politics.
At a very young age he lost his father and his family tasted poverty. He was studying in the 6th standard when he had to leave studies to save money. The family was taken care of by his mother with great difficulty. Kamarajar soon came under the influence of politics. In 1919, at the age of 16, he joined the Indian National Congress. His involvement in politics alarmed his mother and she forcibly sent him to Tiruvananthapuram to work in his maternal uncle's textile shop. There he took part in the Vaikom satyagraha and often bunked work and attended political rallies. Nothing could stop his fervent for politics.
By 1935 he was elected the General Secretary of the Provincial Congress, soon to become it's President, the post which he held till 1954. In 1954, the man with no political or financial backing from his family, and from a 'low' caste, became the Chief Minister of the state of Tamil Nadu, succeeding C. Rajagopalchari. For the next nine years he remained the Chief Minister and this period was often referred to as the 'Golden Age of Tamil Nadu Politics'.
A man who had only studied upto 5th standard, as the Chief Minister brought innumerable changes in the state. Ironically enough, the most noted changes were brought about in the field of school education. He established primary schools in every village and high schools in every panchayat. It was Kamarajar who, for the first time ever in the history of the world, initiated a meal scheme in schools. It was done to bring a sense of equality among all students who came from varied backgrounds and castes. All sitting together and eating the same food brought a sense of brotherhood among the students. To further this goal he also made uniforms mandatory in all schools and it was provided free of cost by the government. These measures went a long way and was appreciated by many leaders of that day.
His ministerial cabinet is worth mentioning. With only 8 members in the cabinet, he held the record of having the smallest cabinet. The choice of ministers to the cabinet, the criteria was not personal allegiance or nepotism, but was based on the member's will to best serve the public. It is of much relevance today because the choice of selection and size of the cabinet is often guided by the members' loyalty to the Chief Minister.
His legacy is also in maintaining the ethics inside the Assembly, as was done by Rajaji. This is clear when Kamarajar cut short the speech of his party's MLA and rebuked her for she was about to say something about the wife of C. N. Annadurai, the then leader of opposition, in response to latter's comment on Kamarajar being a bachelor and hence not knowing about the pressure price rise brought on families.
His resignation as the Chief Minister in 1963 is again worth noting. He made up his mind to resign because he felt that his party was loosing public support. Despite the advice of the revered E. V. Ramasamy Periyar against his decision and warning him that it may prove fatal to his political life, Kamrajar stood by his decision, for it was the party that was more important to him rather than the Chief Minster's chair. Today we can probably only dream of a sitting Chief Minister resigning for strengthening and building up his party's base. But what we can definitely see today is the race for the chair.
Kamarajar was soon rewarded by being elected as the President of the All India Congress Party. Nehruji, the then Prime Minister, was already at loggerheads with the party presidents as there emerged issues with regards to the powers and superiority of the party president and the Prime Minister. Nehruji, whose health was deteriorating, sought advice from Kamarajar, which shows the respect, regard and faith Nehruji deposed in Kamarajar.
After the death of Nehruji, there was a serious leadership crisis. Kamarajar amicably resolved the issue by means of consensus and democratically gave the power to Lal Bahadur Shastriji, despite strong claims from Morarji Desai for the Prime Ministership. Two years hence, Kamarajar's leadership was put to test yet again when Shastriji passed away suddenly. Claims of the Morarji Desai faction still came up but Kamarajar took the electoral route, which turned the way of Smt. Indira Gandhi.
Kamarajar could have taken the Prime Ministership for himself, but he resorted to consensus and thus proved his selflessness. For crowning the 2 Prime Minsters, Kamarajar was known as the kingmaker. This, too, can hardly be seen in today's political arena. We live in an era where obsession for power and posts has become so large that an aspirant wouldn't even mind planning a coup to remove the incumbent.
All through Kamarajar led a simple life, true to Gandhiji, whom he was a follower of. While succumbing to his illness he had only some pairs of khadi dresses and some hundreds of Rupees in his possession. Leaders like Kamarajar are a rare commodity today. It is only when the love is for the nation and it's people and not for oneself and one's family alone that such leaders are born.
We can only pray that great men like these are born in plenitude. Also, let us all work in our respective fields with devotion and a clear agenda for the betterment of all so that a day comes in our lifetime when we can proudly, without an iota of doubt, say that 'my life is my message', just like how Gandhiji could do. Let this be the aim of our life.
JAI HIND!
