Poosapati Sanjeevi Kumaraswamy Raja (8 July 1898 – 16 March 1957) was an Indian politician who served as the last

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

of Madras Presidency from 6 April 1949 to 26 January 1950 and first

Madras State Madras State was a state of India during the mid-20th century. At the time of its formation in 1950, it included the whole of present-day Tamil Nadu (except Kanyakumari district), Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema, the Malabar region of North and ...

from 26 January 1950 to 10 April 1952 and Governor of

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of S ...

between 1954 till 1956. He was born in

Rajapalayam Rajapalayam () is a City in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the largest municipality in the Virudhunagar district. Rajapalayam is located in the Madurai to Quilon National Highway at a distance of 562 km south to the state capita ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

Early life

Raja was born on 8 July 1898 in

to Poosapati Sanjeevi Raja. His mother died when he was eight days old and his father when he was three. Raja had no brothers and sisters and was brought up by his grandmother. After schooling, Raja was connected with the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

organisation at its every level. He took a prominent part in

Panchayat The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical men ...

organisations, local Board administration. He served as the President of Rajapalayam Union, the Panchayat court, the District Board of Ramnathapuram and the District educational Council among others. He was an uncle of military officer

K.A.S. Raja Kottimukula Alagaraja Singaparaja Raja, known as K.A.S. Raja, was an Indian military officer. Early life K.A.S. Raja was born to a politically prominent family from Madras, India. He was a nephew of P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja, who served as the Ch ...

Political and social work

The lives and writings of Annie Besant and Satyamurthy had great influence on his mind and character in his formative years. It was in 1919 that he met

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

for the first time and started following with great interest the events in Gandhi's life. Gandhi's epic struggle in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, the founding of the Ashram in Ahmedabad and the

Champaran Champaran is a region of Bihar in India. It is now divided into an East Champaran district and a West Champaran district. Notable people * Manoj Bajpai – Indian film actor * Dinesh Bhramar – poet and noted figure in Hindi and Bhojpuri l ...

struggle made a profound impression on him and the utter simplicity of Mahatma's life also evoked his unbounded admiration. In 1932, he was arrested for disobeying the unjust laws. Thus Rajapalayam gained a distinct place in political map, the credit went to Raja's lead. In 1934, Raja won central legislature for constituency comprising

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tam ...

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

Ramanathapuram Ramanathapuram (), also known as Ramnad, is a town and a municipality in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Ramanathapuram district and the second largest town (by population) in ...

. At the age of 39, he entered the Assembly as

M.L.A A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. ...

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 independence activis ...

ministry successfully contesting the 1937 election. He was elected as the leader of Madras Legislature Congress Party in 1939 defeating Dr. P. Subbaroyan by 105 to 89 in March 31, 1949 and took oath as the Premier (Chief Minister) of Tamil Nadu on April 6, 1949. Prior to becoming the Chief Minister he served as a cabinet minister under Mr. Prakasam formed in April 1946. He also served as the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

from 1954 to 1956. In all the years of his life, most of Raja's wealth was spent in helping the poor and in serving public causes, particularly for the Congress movement. He was much interested in co-operative movement also. He founded Bhupathi Raju Co-operative Credit Bank, an urban bank for the benefit of local people especially farmers named after his friend, Bhupathi Raju of Andhra Pradesh, who accompanied him in prison during freedom movement. He constructed the monument Congress Ponvizha Grounds (Golden Jubilee Grounds) in Rajapalayam commemorating the fifty years completion of founding of All India Congress Party in 1935. Raja's life was one of noble activity, dedication and selfless service for the people of the country. He was a staunch proponent of the concept of "Separation of the

Judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

from the

Executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

". Prohibition, promotion of

Khādī Khadi (, ), derived from khaddar, is a hand-spun and woven natural fibre cloth promoted by Mahatma Gandhi as ''swadeshi'' (self-sufficiency) for the freedom struggle of the Indian subcontinent, and the term is used throughout India, Pakistan ...

and Temple entry legislation were his other notable achievements. He donated his house for starting an institution of culture called "Gandhi Kalai Mandram". Rajapalayam became a great industrial centre mainly due to his drive and interest. It was said that Raja studied in Srivilliputtur G.S. Hindu higher secondary school and thus he chose his temple as the symbol of Tamil Nadu emblem. And his successor Rajagopalachari might not have minded that the shrine of Andal was now the Madras government's symbol. Raja died on 16 March 1957 in Madras, upon not recovering from an illness following his return from a visit to his ancestral village in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

Commemoration

Raja has been commemorated on an

Indian Postal Service India Post is a government-operated postal system in India, part of the Department of Post under the Ministry of Communications. Generally known as the Post Office, it is the most widely distributed postal system in the world. Warren Hastings ...

stamp. P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja centenary marriage hall was opened in 1998 by then chief minister to commemorate his centenary birthday celebrations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumaraswamy Raja, P. S. Indian National Congress politicians from Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu ministers 1898 births 1957 deaths People from Virudhunagar district Chief ministers from Indian National Congress

Early life

Political and social work

Commemoration

See also

References