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2004 Bharat Ratna Shri K.Kamraj (1903-1975) -Mumbai
Mint Mint Mark (Proof):'M' Below hyphen of (1903-1975)
Date Of Issue :27th October ,2004
Above is the 2004 Bharat Ratna Shri K.Kamraj 2 Coins Proof Set.The Set Contains only Two Coin (100 Rs S50 and 5 Rs Cu-Ni)
You can get proof coins of 100 rs and 5 rs only throught this set as there was no other proof set was issued .Single Coin 100rs and 2 Coin Unc Set were also issued .
History Of Kamraj
.The person shown on the obverse is Kumaraswami Kamaraj, one of India's political leaders who hailed from the Southern state of Tamil Nadu. Kamaraj was a kingmaker and worked behind the scenes to elevate people like Lal Bahadur shastri and Indira Gandhi to the position of Prime Minister.
Kamaraj was born into a family of Nadars, the traditional toddy tapping community in Southern Tamil Nadu, and had little formal education.
Politics attracted Kamaraj at an early age after seeing Mohandas Gandhi at a meeting in the nearby temple city of Madurai.
Kamaraj quickly joined the Congress party and national resistance against the British colonists. For his protests against the British, Kamaraj was thrown into jail several times and spent eight years in prison.
Hailing from a low caste, Kamaraj naturally threw in his lot with the non-Brahmins, who were resentful of the domination of the Brahmins in state politics.
Kamaraj became Chief Minister of Madras in 1954, a post he held until 1963. During his stint as Chief Minister, he introduced the mid-day meal scheme for poor children, a step that was later significantly expanded by one of his successors M.G.Ramachandran.
Kamaraj became president of the Congress party in 1964 under the so called Kamaraj Plan, which led to several senior Congress ministers in Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet and Chief Ministers resigning so that they could devote their energies to revitalizing the party.
Kamaraj is believed to have led a spartan life unlike most Indian politicians for whom politics is just an easy way to feather their nest.
Writing in The New York Times, the late Pulitzer Prize winning journalist J.Anthony Lukas described Kamaraj thus:
"Kamaraj's real achievement, then, has not been in remaking the party but in manipulating the diverse and disputatious elements within it. His genius lies in dealing with men as they are, not in changing them, and this ability is based on a realistc assessment of human nature."
Despite the DMK-Congress (I) alliance, Kamaraj won the 1971 Parliamentary elections from the Nagercoil constituency with 58.37% of the total valid votes polled compared to 31.11% for his DMK rival M.C.Balan. Kamaraj was the sole victor for the Congress (O) in Tamil Nadu.
After the 1971 elections, the Congress (O) became completely marginalized in the country and Kamaraj's influence waned considerably.
A bachelor, Kamaraj died of a heart attack in Madras (now Chennai) on October 2. This simple man was honored with India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna in 1976. |
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