C. Rajagopalachari

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji, the Scholar Emeritus), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and Indian independence activist. Rajagopalachari was the last Governor-General of India, serving until the abolition of that office upon India becoming a republic in 1950. He was the only Indian-born Governor-General or Viceroy of India; all previous holders of these posts had been British nationals. He was an accomplished writer and one of the first recipients of India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna. He was close to both Gandhi and Nehru. He vehemently opposed the use of nuclear weapons, and was a proponent of world peace and disarmament, until his death at the age of 94 in 1972. Rajagopalachari also served—at different times—as leader of the Indian National Congress, Premier of the Madras Presidency, Governor of West Bengal (he was serving in this post when appointed by the King to take over from Lord Mountbatten), a member of the national cabinet as Minister for Home Affairs of the Indian Union, and as Chief Minister of Madras State. Rajagopalachari founded the Swatantra Party in 1959. Rajagopalachari was born in the Thorapalli village of Hosur taluk in the Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu. He was a sickly child, and his parents constantly feared that he might not live long. He was educated at Central College, Bengaluru, and Presidency College, Madras. In the 1900s he started legal practice at the Salem court. On entering politics, he became a member and later Chairperson of the Salem municipality. One of Mahatma Gandhi's earliest political lieutenants, 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,...