Birth Anniversary of K. Kamaraj

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to freedom fighter Thiru K. Kamaraj on his birth anniversary to honor his dedication to nation-building.

K. Kamaraj was born in Tamil Nadu in 1903 and joined the freedom movement after being deeply moved by the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
He participated in the Salt Satyagraha in April 1930 and was imprisoned in 1942 for taking part in the Quit India Movement.
He was elected to the Constituent Assembly of India in 1946 and later won a seat in Parliament in 1952.

He became the Chief Minister of the Madras Province in 1954 and later took over as President of the Indian National Congress in 1963.
He achieved distinction as the first non-English-speaking Chief Minister of an Indian state.
In 1963, he proposed the famous Kamaraj Plan to Jawaharlal Nehru, asking senior leaders to resign from government posts to strengthen party work.
He pioneered social welfare in education by introducing free schooling and the mid-day meal scheme for children.
The state of Tamil Nadu marks his birth anniversary every year as Education Development Day.

The Indian government posthumously honored him with the Bharat Ratna in 1976, which is the highest civilian award in India.
He passed away in 1975 at the age of 72.