Career
He joined IAS as an officer in 1968 and served in Tamil Nadu state till 1985. Thereafter,he remained secretary to the vice-president of India (1985–1987),joint secretary to the president of India (1987–1992).
In 1992,after retiring voluntarily from the IAS,he became minister (culture) in high commission of India,UK and director of The Nehru Centre,London,UK. This was followed by various diplomatic and administrative positions for the rest of his career,including high commissioner of India to South Africa and Lesotho (1996),secretary to the president of India (1997–2000),high commissioner of India in Sri Lanka (2000),and ambassador of India to Norway,and Iceland (2002). [5]
On 14 December 2004,he was appointed governor of West Bengal following the expiry of the term of office of incumbent Viren J. Shah. He was succeeded by Devanand Konwar (the serving governor of Tripura),who was given additional charge of West Bengal. For a few months in 2006 he also took on additional duties as the governor of Bihar. [6]
He was the chairman of Kalakshetra Foundation,Chennai from December 2011 to May 2014. [7] In 2015,he translated the Tamil classic,the Tirukkural,into English. [8] He was the chairman of governing body of Indian Institute of Advanced Study,and president of its society on 5 March 2012 and served until May 2014. [5] [9]
Gandhi teaches at Ashoka University,where he is a professor of history and politics. [10]
Controversies
While delivering the 15th D P Kohli Memorial Lecture for CBI on "Eclipse at Noon:Shadows Over India's Conscience" with nearly 3000 officers of the agency in the audience,Gandhi noted that "The CBI is seen as the government's hatchet,rather than honesty's ally. It is often called DDT —meaning not the dichloro diphenyl trichloroethane,the colourless,tasteless,odourless insecticide it should be,but the department of dirty tricks." [11]
In 2015,he wrote a letter to the then President of India,Pranab Mukherjee,to reconsider the rejection of the mercy plea of the 1993 Mumbai serial blast convict,Yakub Memon. [12] [13]
Chakravarti Rajagopalachari BR, popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji, was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and independence activist. Rajagopalachari was the last Governor-General of India, as when India became a republic in 1950 the office was abolished. He was also the only Indian-born Governor-General, as all previous holders of the post were British nationals. 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 Salem'.
Devdas Mohandas Gandhi was the fourth and youngest son of Mahatma Gandhi. He was born in the Colony of Natal and came to India with his parents as a grown man. He became active in his father's movement, spending many terms in jail. He also became a prominent journalist, serving as editor of Hindustan Times. He was also the first pracharak of the Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha (DBHPS), established by Mohandas Gandhi in Tamil Nadu in 1918. The purpose of the Sabha was to propagate Hindi in southern India.
Buta Singh was an Indian politician and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress. He was the Union Home Minister of India, Governor of Bihar and was chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes from 2007 to 2010.
The National College, Trichy is an autonomous institution, located in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. It was recognized as the 'College with Potential for Excellence' by the University Grants Commission in 2011.
The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India, occurred as a result of a suicide bombing in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, India on 21 May 1991. At least 14 others, in addition to Gandhi and the assassin, were killed. It was carried out by 22-year-old Kalaivani Rajaratnam, a member of the banned Sri Lankan Tamil separatist rebel organization Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). At the time, India had just ended its involvement, through the Indian Peace Keeping Force, in the Sri Lankan Civil War.
G. Ramachandhran was a soldier for the Gandhian cause, social reformer and a teacher. With his wife, Dr. T. S. Soundram, daughter of T V Sundaram Iyengar, founder of TVS Group, he started the Gandhigram, Tamil Nadu in 1945. He authored several books. Viswabharati, Rabindranath Tagore's University, in Santhiniketan awarded him the higher title "Desikottama".
Kumaraswami Kamaraj, popularly known as Kamarajar was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the Chief Minister of Madras from 13 April 1954 to 2 October 1963. He also served as the president of the Indian National Congress between 1964–1967 and was responsible for the elevation of Lal Bahadur Shastri and later Indira Gandhi to the position of Prime Minister of India, because of which he was widely acknowledged as the "Kingmaker" in Indian politics during the 1960s. Later, he was the founder and president of the Indian National Congress (O).
Kurai Onrum Illai is a Tamil devotional song written by C. Rajagopalachari. The song set in Carnatic music was written in gratitude to Hindu God and compassionate mother.
Chakravarti Rajagopalachari Narasimhan (1909–1989) was an Indian politician, freedom-fighter and member of the Indian Parliament from 1952 to 1962. He was the son of Indian statesman Chakravarti Rajagopalachari.
The National Defence College, located in New Delhi, is the defence service training institute and highest seat of strategic learning for officers of the Defence Service and the Civil Services. This is a very prestigious course attended only by a few hand-picked defence officers of One-Star rank and civil servants of the rank of Joint secretary to the Government of India. Each year, approximately 25 officers from friendly foreign countries like the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Nepal, UAE and others attend the course.
C. Rajagopalachari was the Prime Minister of the erstwhile Madras Presidency and the Chief Minister of Madras State of Independent India. He was the first Indian National Congress member to assume office in Madras Presidency. He served as the head of government for two terms spanning about five years. He was elected as a Prime Minister after 1937 elections in Madras Presidency and served till 1939. He was also the Chief Minister of Madras State after first elections held after Indian independence. His second term lasted from 1952 till 1954.
The second legislative council election for the Madras Presidency after the establishment of a bicameral legislature by the Government of India Act of 1935 was held in March 1946. The election was held after 6 years of Governor's rule starting from 1939, when the Indian National Congress government of C. Rajagopalachari resigned protesting Indian involvement in World War II. This was the last direct election held for the Madras Legislative Council in the presidency - after Indian independence in 1947, the presidency became the Madras state and direct elections to the council were abolished. The election was held simultaneously with that of the Legislative Assembly. The Congress swept the polls by winning 32 out of 46 seats. The years after this election saw factionalism in Madras Congress party with divisions across regional and communal lines. Competition among T. Prakasam, C. Rajagopalachari and K. Kamaraj resulted in the election of Prakasam as the Prime Minister initially. But he was later defeated by Omandur Ramaswamy Reddiar with Kamaraj's support. In turn, Reddiar himself was ousted to make way for P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja with the support of Kamaraj.
Leela Samson is a Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, instructor, writer and actress from India. As a soloist, she is known for her technical virtuosity and has taught Bharatanatyam at Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra in Delhi for many years.
The anti-Hindi imposition agitation of 1937–1940 refers to a series of protests that happened in Madras Province of British India during 1937–1940. It was launched in 1937 in opposition to the introduction of compulsory teaching of Hindi in the schools of the province by the Indian National Congress government led by C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji). This move was immediately opposed by E. V. Ramasamy (Periyar) and the opposition Justice Party. The agitation, which lasted for about 30 months, was multifaceted and involved fasts, conferences, marches, picketing and protests. The government responded with a crackdown resulting in the death of two protesters and the arrest of 1,198 persons including women and children. The mandatory Hindi education was later withdrawn by the British governor of Madras Lord Erskine in February 1940 after the resignation of the Congress government in 1939.
The Vedaranyam March was a framework of the nonviolent civil disobedience movement in British India. Modeled on the lines of Dandi March, which was led by Mahatma Gandhi on the western coast of India the month before, it was organised to protest the salt tax imposed by the British Raj in the colonial India.
The elections to the next vice president of India, were held on 5 August 2017. The announcement was made by the Election Commission of India.
