This is the tenth volume of the Selected Works of C. Rajagopalachari being published by the Prime Ministers Museum and Library, in association with Orient BlackSwan.
This volume focuses on Rajaji’s return to Madras politics in the early 1950s, including as Chief Minister of Madras. Rajaji took charge of Madras State at the age of 73 amidst political turmoil, with his nomination to the Madras Legislative Council being challenged in the Madras High Court. Letters and speeches bring this politically turbulent period to life.
The volume also includes a number of papers on the tenancy legislation, handloom industry, the plight of the weavers of Madras State, and Rajaji’s earnest efforts to alleviate their situation.
A crucial topic discussed in this volume is the formation of the separate state of Andhra: the boundary dispute, decision on the temporary capital for the new state, the judiciary, bureaucracy, etc., as well as the protests around linguistic state formation that the government had to face.
Ravi K. Mishra is Joint Director, Prime Ministers Museum and Library.
List of Illustrations Preface
1. Mahabharata: Preface to the Second Edition 10 January 1952 2. Letter to K. Iswara Dutt 14 January 1952 3. Letter to K. Santhanam 28 January 1952 4. Letter to K. Santhanam 30 January 1952 5. Letter to K. Santhanam 14 February 1952 6. Letter to Narayana Rao 16 February 1952 7. Letter to Narayana Rao 24 February 1952 8. Letter to Narayana Rao 27 February 1952 9. Letter to Admiral Charles Thomas Mark Pizey 18 March 1952 10. Letter to Narayana Rao 22 March 1952 11. Reply to Pressmen on the Formation of the New Government 30 March 1952 12. Letter to K. M. Munshi 1 April 1952 13. Resignation Letter to Speaker of Parliament 2 April 1952 14. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 4 April 1952 15. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 7 April 1952 16. To Jawaharlal Nehru [10 April] 1952 17. Task ahead of the new Government: Interview to the Press 10 April 1952 18. War against Evil: Speech 10 April 1952 19. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 21 April 1952 20. Letter to H. C. Mukherjee 23 April 1952 21. Let Us Do Our Duty Well: Speech 27 April 1952 22. New Spirit among People: Statement 29 April 1952 23. Service to the Community: Advice to the Bohras 11 May 1952 24. Speech on the Madras Requisitioned Land (Continuance of Powers) Bill, 1952 12 May 1952 25. Motion For Admonition Against T. Prakasam 13 May 1952 for Breach of Privilege of the House 26. Discussions on the Governor’s Address 13 May 1952 27. Note to Governor of Madras 15 May 1952 28. Letter to Sri Prakasa 16 May 1952 29. Letter to Meenambal Sivaraj 19 May 1952 30. Letter to K. Rajaram Naidu 20 May 1952 31. Letter to Mahavir Tyagi 22 May 1952 32. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 27 May 1952 33. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 30 May 1952 34. Enforcement of Prohibition: Reply to Criticisms 3 June 1952 35. Letter to C. D. Deshmukh 5 June 1952 36. Letter to C. D. Deshmukh 7 June 1952 37. Letter to Khwaja Ghulam Sayiddain 7 June 1952 38. What Cloth to Buy: A Radio Broadcast 11 June 1952 39. Circular Letter 20 June 1952 40. Budget for the Year 1952–53: Observations 27 June 1952 41. Vote of Confidence in the Council of Ministers 30 June 1952 42. Letter to N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar 1 July 1952 43. Government Motion on Vote of Confidence: Speech 3 July 1952 44. Letter to Sri Prakasa 4 July 1952 45. Letter to Govind Ballabh Pant 10 July 1952 46. Voting on Demands for Grants: Speech 15 July 1952 47. Voting on Demands for Grants: Speech on State Excise Duties 17 July 1952 48. Letter to T.T. Krishnamachari 20 July 1952 49. Letter to Begum Fatima Abbas Ali 20 July 1952 50. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 22 July 1952 51. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 22 July 1952 52. Letter to Rameshwar Das Birla 24 July 1952 53. Letter to Govind Ballabh Pant 24 July 1952 54. Letter to C. H. Bhabha 25 July 1952 55. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 29 July 1952 56. Letter to Sri Prakasa 29 July 1952 57. Letter to B.P. Singh Roy 31 July 1952 58. Appeal to Small Investors on the New Madras Loan: Radio Broadcast 1 August 1952 59. Development Schemes: Appeal to Bankers 3 August 1952 60. Revenue from Customs and Division among States: Speech 4 August 1952 61. Letter to Sri Prakasa 5 August 1952 62. Speech on Professional Social Service 6 August 1952 63. Letter to A. Vaidyanatha Iyer 7 August 1952 64. Attainment of Culture and Influence of Religion: Advice 7 August 1952 65. Letter to Rajkumari Amrit Kaur 14 August 1952 66. Minorities in India: Speech 15 August 1952 67. Work for Nation’s Welfare: Advice to Congressmen 15 August 1952 68. Agrarian Dispute in Tanjore: Interview to the Press 18 August 1952 69. Advice on Medical Aid in State 22 August 1952 70. Letter to Pyarelal 25 August 1952 71. Serve First in the Villages: Advice to the New Medical Graduates 29 August 1952 72. Speech at University of Madras 31 August 1952 73. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 3 September 1952 74. Tanjore Tenants and Pannaiyals (Protection) Ordinance: Reply to Critics 8 September 1952 75. Letter to N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar 17 September 1952 76. Letter to N. V. Gadgil 18 September 1952 77. Message to Jawaharlal Nehru (19 September) 1952 78. Letter to A. Vaidyanatha Iyer 20 September 1952 79. Reply to Sri Prakasa 22 September 1952 80. Letter to Sri Prakasa 24 September 1952 81. Letter to N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar 24 September 1952 82. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 24 September 1952 83. Letter to Rafi Ahmad Kidwai 24 September 1952 84. Letter to Sri Prakasa 25 September 1952 85. Letter to R. Nagan Gouda 27 September 1952 86. Letter to K. Hanumanthaiya 30 September 1952 87. Message of the new ‘KuruKshetra’ September 1952 88. Letter to Major-General B. Chatterjee 2 October 1952 89. Broadcast Speech on Community Projects 2 October 1952 90. Prime Minister’s Visit: Appreciation to the People of Madras 11 October 1952 91. Letter to Narayana Rao 12 October 1952 92. Letter to Rafi Ahmad Kidwai 17 October 1952 93. Letter to Rajendra Prasad 17 October 1952 94. Appeal for Strengthening the Congress Party 19 October 1952 95. Responsibilities of Freedom: Speech 21 October 1952 96. Progress of Nation: Speech 21 October 1952 97. Letter to K.P. Kesava Menon 22 October 1952 98. Letter to Sri Prakasa 23 October 1952 99. Letter to Rajkumari Amrit Kaur 23 October 1952 100. Sales Tax: No More Inter-State Litigation 23 October 1952 101. Communists in India: Views Clarified 23 October 1952 102. Reservation for Handlooms: Reply to the Press 23 October 1952 103. Utilisation of Krishna-Pennar and Nandikonda Projects 23 October 1952 104. Letter to Mahavir Tyagi 27 October 1952 105. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 27 October 1952 106. Students’ Duties Towards the College: Speech 28 October 1952 107. Letter to Rajkumari Amrit Kaur 31 October 1952 108. Letter to Maragatham Chandrasekhar 2 November 1952 109. Debate on the Handloom Industry in the Madras Legislative Assembly 4 November 1952 110. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 6 November 1952 111. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 6 November 1952 112. Felicitation to N. G. Ranga 7 November 1952 113. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 8 November 1952 114. Letter to K.N. Katju 10 November 1952 115. Letter to K.M. Munshi 10 November 1952 116. Appeal to Protesting Weavers 14 November 1952 117. Let Your Wings Grow Strong: Speech 18 November 1952 118. Letter to S. Govindarajan 22 November 1952 119. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 24 November 1952 120. Letter to K. N. Katju 24 November 1952 121. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 24 November 1952 122. Tanjore Tenants and Pannaiyal Protection Bill, 25–26 November 1952 1952: Debate in the Madras Legislative Assembly 123. Letter to Nabakrushna Chaudhuri 28 November 1952 124. Letter to K. N. Katju 28 November 1952 125. Letter to Sri Prakasa 1 December 1952 126. Debate on the Madras Motor Vehicles (Taxation of Passengers and Goods) Bill, 1952 5 December 1952 127. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 6 December 1952 128. Letter to Major-General B. Chatterjee 9 December 1952 129. Message to Press Trust of India 10 December 1952 130. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 11 December 1952 131. Letter to T.K. Palaniappan 13 December 1952 132. Letter to Chief Secretary, Government of Madras 14 December 1952 133. Speech at the Conference of the Weavers 15 December 1952 134. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 17 December 1952 135. Happenings in Andhra: Condemns Violence and Appeals for Harmony 17 December 1952 136. Government’s Assurance of Relief Measures to the Cyclone Affected People: Speech 17 December 1952 137. Help Must be Rendered from the Entire Country to Cyclone Affected Tamil People: Interview to the Press 18 December 1952 138. Formation of the Andhra State and Financial Assistance to Tanjore and Tiruchi: Statement to the Press 19 December 1952 139. Letter to the Editor, Madras Mail 19 December 1952 140. Letter to the Editor, Madras Mail 19 December 1952 141. Buy Handloom Fabrics: Appeal to the Masses 21 December 1952 142. Letter to Rajkumari Amrit Kaur 23 December 1952 143. Message of the Gita: Speech 27 December 1952 144. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 3 January 1953 145. Letter to A. Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar 4 January 1953 146. Letter to Mary Clubwala 5 January 1953 147. Letter to K. N. Katju 6 January 1953 148. Letter to the Editor, KuruKshetra 10 January 1953 149. Letter to C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar 10 January 1953 150. Letter to Rajendra Prasad 13 January 1953 151. Letter to I. Thiagaraj 13 January 1953 152. Letter to R. Saran 19 January 1953 153. Letter to V. K. Thiruvenkatachari 20 January 1953 154. Letter to N. Sanjiva Reddy 21 January 1953 155. Letter to Sri Prakasa 22 January 1953 156. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 22 January 1953 157. Letter to Jivaraj N. Mehta 22 January 1953 158. Letter to Dame Isobel Cripps 22 January 1953 159. Letter to B. Chatterjee 22 January 1953 160. Letter to A.K. Dandapani 22 January 1953 161. Letter to R. Prasad 23 January 1953 162. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 23 January 1953 163. Message 24 January 1953 164. Statement on the Criminal Case against Yogacharya Goswami 27 January 1953 165. Letter to Kata Subba Rao 31 January 1953 166. Letter to Chummy Perera 1 February 1953 167. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 1 February 1953 168. Speech Addressed to Malayan Students 2 February 1953 169. Letter to Sri Prakasa 6 February 1953 170. Letter to Srinivasan 6 February 1953 171. Letter to V. K. Thiruvenkatachari 7 February 1953 172. Letter to Sri Prakasa 9 February 1953 173. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 10 February 1953 174. Letter to Devadas Gandhi 10 February 1953 175. Letter to the General Secretary, AICC 11 February 1953 176. Telegram to Prime Minister 11 February 1953 177. Letter to M. Bhaktavatsalam 12 February 1953 178. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 15 February 1953 179. Letter to A.B. Shetty 16 February 1953 180. Letter to C. Narasimhan 16 February 1953 181. Letter to V. V. Giri 16 February 1953 182. Speech on Basic Education 17 February 1953 183. Letter to Navaratna Rama Rao 20 February 1953 184. Letter to T. K. Rama 20 February 1953 185. Letter to K. Hanumanthaiya 20 February 1953 186. Letter to B. Gopala Reddi 21 February 1953 187. Letter to V. V. Giri 23 February 1953 188. Letter to T. R. Venkatarama Sastri 23 February 1953 189. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 24 February 1953 190. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 25 February 1953 191. Letter to Sri Prakasa 25 February 1953 192. Letter to Sri Kidav 25 February 1953 193. Letter to M. Bhaktavatsalam 26 February 1953 194. Endorsing Andhra Decision: Letter to Secretary, A.I.C.C. 27 February 1953 195. Letter to B.V. Keskar 27 February 1953 196. Speech on the New Scheme of Elementary Education [February] 1953 197. Speech at Madras 1 March 1953 198. Letter to Major General H.M. Mohite 1 March 1953 199. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 4 March 1953 200. Letter to Chester Bliss Bowles 4 March 1953 201. Letter to Rajendra Prasad 4 March 1953 202. Letter to Panjabrao Shamrao Deshmukh 5 March 1953 203. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 11 March 1953 204. Discussions on the Governor’s Address 13 March 1953 205. Letter to P. J. Chester 14 March 1953 206. Speech on Sanskrit 16 March 1953 207. Letter to Maganbhai P. Desai 19 March 1953 208. Letter to P.J. Chester 19 March 1953 209. General Discussion on the Budget for the Year 1953–54 20 March 1953 210. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 22 March 1953 211. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 22 March 1953 212. Voting on Demand for Advance for Harijan Uplift 24 March 1953 213. Voting on Demands for Advance for Heads of States, Ministers and Headquarters Staff 24 March 1953 214. Letter to Ajit Prasad Jain 25 March 1953 215. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 26 March 1953 216. Letter to Atulya Ghosh 27 March 1953 217. Letter to R. Krishnamurthi 28 March 1953 218. Letter to Sri Rama 31 March 1953 219. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 31 March 1953 220. Letter to Gauri Shankar Misra 31 March 1953 221. Letter to K.N. Katju 1 April 1953 222. Letter to K. Hanumanthaiya 3 April 1953 223. Letter to Director, Jamia Millia 3 April 1953 224. Letter to Ralph R. Keithahn 3 April 1953 225. Letter to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad 3 April 1953 226. Madras District Boards (Amendment) Bill, 1953 4 April 1953 227. Letter to Devadas Gandhi 8 April 1953 228. Letter to Sri Prakasa 14 April 1953 229. Letter to V. V. Giri 14 April 1953 230. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 14 April 1953 231. Letter to B. Gopala Reddi 14 April 1953 232. Letter to H. Govindachar 15 April 1953 233. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 16 April 1953 234. Letter to K. Vinayakam 18 April 1953 235. Letter to Gaganvihari Lallubhai Mehta 18 April 1953 236. Letter to T. Chengalvarayan 20 April 1953 237. Letter to Balvantray Mehta 21 April 1953 238. Letter to K. Hanumanthaiya 21 April 1953 239. Letter to N. Sanjiva Reddy 24 April 1953 240. Letter to K. Vinayakam 24 April 1953 241. Letter to B. R. Nagaraja 24 April 1953 242. Letter to A. S. P. Ayyar 25 April 1953 243. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 29 April 1953 244. Letter to Balvantray Mehta 30 April 1953 245. Letter to S. Govindarajulu 30 April 1953 246. Note on Palm Jaggery 30 April 1953
Appendices
Appendix I 1. Telegram from Jawaharlal Nehru to Sri Prakasa 8 April 1952 2. Letter to C. Rajagopalachari 14 May 1952 3. Letter to C. Rajagopalachari 6 June 1952 4. Letter to C. Rajagopalachari 13 June 1952 5. Letter from the Advocate General, Madras to the Chief Justice, Madras High Court 12 January 1953 6. Programme Planned by Prakasam’s Council of Action 16 February 1953 7. Note from A. B. Shetty and Nagan Gowda 24 February 1953 8. Extract from the “Statesman” dated 10th March 1953 10 March 1953 9. Statement made by the Prime Minister on the Andhra State Formation 25 March 1953
Chronology (1952–53) Index