M. Bhaktavatsalam

Minjur Bhaktavatsalam
Bhaktavatsalam at the Haripura session of the Indian National Congress, ca. 1938
Chief Minister of Madras state
In office 2 October 1963 – 6 March 1967
Prime Minister	Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi
Governor	Bhishnuram Medhi, Jayachamaraja Wodeyar Bahadur, P. Chandra Reddy (acting), Sardar Ujjal Singh (acting),
Preceded by	K. Kamaraj
Succeeded by	C. N. Annadurai
Minister of Public Works and Planning (Madras Presidency)
In office 24 March 1947 – 6 April 1949
Premier	O. P. Ramaswamy Reddiyar
Personal details
Born	(1897-10-09)9 October 1897
Died	31 January 1987(1987-01-31) (aged 89) Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Spouse(s)	Gnanasundarambal
Children	Sarojini Varadappan
Occupation	Politician

Minjur Bhaktavatsalam or Minjur Kanakasabhapathi Bhaktavatsalam (9 October 1897 – 31 January 1987) was an Indian lawyer, politician and freedom fighter from the state of Tamil Nadu. He served as the Chief Minister of Madras state from 2 October 1963 to 6 March 1967. He was the last Congress chief minister of Tamil Nadu and the last to have taken part in the Indian independence movement.

Bhaktavatsalam was born on 9 October 1897 in the Madras Presidency. He studied law and practised as an advocate in the Madras High Court. He involved himself in politics and the freedom movement right from an early age and was imprisoned during the Salt Satyagraha and the Quit India Movement. He was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1937 and served as Parliamentary Secretary in the Rajaji government and as a minister in the O. P. Ramaswamy Reddiyar government. He led the Indian National Congress during the 1950s and served as the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency from 1963 to 1967. Following the defeat of the Indian National Congress in the 1967 elections, Bhaktavatsalam partially retired from politics. He died on 31 January 1987 at the age of 89.

Bhaktavatsalam was born to C. N. Kanakasabhapathi Mudaliar and his wife Mallika in a Vellalar family of Nazarethpet or Nazareth village, Madras Presidency. His father died when he was five and Bhaktavatsalam was brought up by his uncles C. N. Muthuranga Mudaliar and C. N. Evalappa Mudaliar. He completed his schooling in Madras and enrolled at Madras Law College. On graduation in 1923, Bhaktavatsalam commenced practice as a lawyer of the Madras High Court.

Bhaktavatsalam joined the Indian Independence Movement even during graduation. He joined the Indian National Congress and became a member of the Madras Provincial Congress Committee in 1922. In 1926, he became a member of the Congress Working Committee.