C. Rajagopalachari

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
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
Premier of Madras
In office 14 July 1937 – 9 October 1939
Governor	The Lord Erskine
Preceded by	Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu
Succeeded by	Tanguturi Prakasam
Personal details
Born	(1878-12-10)10 December 1878 Thorapalli, Madras Presidency, British India (now in Tamil Nadu, India)
Died	25 December 1972(1972-12-25) (aged 94) Madras, Tamil Nadu, India (now Chennai)
Political party	Swatantra Party (1959–1972)
Other political affiliations	Indian National Congress (Before 1957) Indian National Democratic Congress (1957–1959)
Spouse(s)	Alamelu Mangalamma (1897–1916)
Alma mater	Central College Presidency College, Madras
Profession	Lawyer Writer
Religion	Hinduism
Awards	Bharat Ratna (1954)
Signature

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972) informally called Rajaji or C.R., 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, Premier of the Madras Presidency, Governor of West Bengal, Minister for Home Affairs of the Indian Union and Chief Minister of Madras state. Rajagopalachari founded the Swatantra Party and was one of the first recipients of India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna. He vehemently opposed the use of nuclear weapons and was a proponent of world peace and disarmament. 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 educated at Central College, Bangalore, and Presidency College, Madras. In 1900 he started a legal practice that in time became prosperous. 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. He favoured talks with both Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League and proposed what later came to be known as the C. R. formula. 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, Union Home Minister from 1951 to 1952 and as Chief Minister of Madras state 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.