Kamarajar: Kumaraswami Kamaraj

Kumaraswami Kamaraj , born on July 15, 1903, in Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu, emerged from humble beginnings to become one of India's most revered political leaders and a symbol of simplicity and service. Kamaraj was born in what is now southern Tamil Nadu to a family of the Nadar (next-to-lowest) caste. His father, a coconut merchant, died when Kamaraj was a young boy. When he was 12 years old, he dropped out of school and began working in a cloth shop. Kumaraswami Kamaraj (15 July 1903 – 2 October 1975), popularly known as Kamarajar was an Indian independence activist, politician and statesman who served as the Chief Minister of Madras from 13 April 1954 to 2 October 1963. He was born humble and poor in a backward area of Tamil Nadu on July 15, 1903. He was a Nadar, one of the most depressed castes of Hindu society. His schooling lasted only six years. At the age of twelve, he was already working as a shop assistant.