Kamaraj was born on July 15, 1903 in a trading family of Virudhunagar, Ramanathanapuram District in Tamil Nadu. His interest in politics was accentuated when he heard of the ‘Jallianwala Bagh massacre’. Kamaraj participated in the famous Viakom Satyagraha, and, following Mahatma Gandhi Ji’s appeal for non-cooperation, he started propaganda for khadi and prohibition.
Kamaraj was first jailed in 1921 for two years for participation in ‘Salt Satyagraha’. Thereafter, he had been to prison several times in the course of the national struggle for freedom. He was elected
as Chairman of Virudhunagar Municipal Council while he was in jail and after release he took up the post for one day and resigned. He took an active part in individual Satyagraha and the ‘Quit India’ movement.
As a strange and apt coincidence, Kamaraj, who was considered to be an ardent follower of Gandhi Ji, passed away in Madras on October 2, 1975, the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi Ji’s birthday. He was posthumously conferred “Bharat Ratna”, the highest national award in 1976.