The Book
The present volume is the ninth in a series of ten volumes of the Selected Works of C. Rajagopalachari, being published in association with the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.
This volume covers the period from January 1949 and December 1951. In his roles as the first—and subsequently the last—Indian Governor-General, a cabinet minister without portfolio, and finally as the Minister of Home Affairs, he played a key role in India’s transition to a sovereign Republic.
One of Rajaji’s main concerns was establishing relationships of trust between India and its immediate neighbours, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Afghanistan.
Rajaji advised the provisional government on matters that ranged from municipal administration, industry, journalism, agriculture, to education and employment, science and religion, the establishment of central institutions, and the allocation of central funds. We also have tributes paid by him to great personalities such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Annie Besant, Kasturba Gandhi, Thakkar Bapa, and Sarojini Naidu.
Rajaji’s views on capital punishment in the wake of the Mahatma’s assassination, his call to cultivate millets to meet nutritional deficiency, his perspective on the medium of instruction in educational institutions and on vocational education, and his disapproval of the nuclear arms race are also carefully recorded.
The Author(s)
Ravi K. Mishra is Joint Director, Prime Ministers Museum and Library.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Preface
1. New Year Greetings to Governor-General of Pakistan 1 January 1949
2. Advice on Upbringing of Children: Speech 1 January 1949
3. Speech at Bombay 7 January 1949
4. Political Wisdom of Tilak: Tribute 8 January 1949
5. Advice on Localisation of Industry 8 January 1949
6. Advice to Journalists 9 January 1949
7. Assurance to Muslims 9 January 1949
8. Inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi: Speech 10 January 1949
9. Letter to Navaratna Rama Rao 11 January 1949
10. Convocation Address: Delhi University 15 January 1949
11. Letter to John Matthai 19 January 1949
12. Message on Mahatma Gandhi’s Death Anniversary 29 January 1949
13. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 29 January 1949
14. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 30 January 1949
15. Doctrine of Unilateral Effort: Article 30 January 1949
16. Views on Gandhiji’s Message 30 January 1949
17. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 1 February 1949
18. Speech on India’s Naval Tradition 9 February 1949
19. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 15 February 1949
20. Speech at Ajmer 20 February 1949
21. Speech on Gandhiji’s Ideals 22 February 1949
22. Tribute to Sarojini Naidu 2 March 1949
23. Address at the Cremation of Sarojini Naidu 2 March 1949
24. Letter to Padmaja Naidu 3 March 1949
25. Letter to Padmaja Naidu 5 March 1949
26. Letter to Lord Mountbatten 10 March 1949
27. Use of Spirituous Drinks in India: Message 2 April 1949
28. Preface of the Book: University Addresses 2 April 1949
29. Letter to Navaratna Rama Rao 23 April 1949
30. Letter to Maharaja Mohan Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana 24 April 1949
31. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 25 April 1949
32. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 28 April 1949
33. Letter to Edwina Mountbatten 7 May 1949
34. Tribute to Lord Buddha 12 May 1949
35. India’s Spiritual Heritage: Speech 14 May 1949
36. Address to the All-India Newspaper Editors’ Conference 16 May 1949
37. Letter to Sri Prakasa 24 May 1949
38. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 24 May 1949
39. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 6 June 1949
40. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 7 June 1949
41. Letter to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad 7 June 1949
42. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 8 June 1949
43. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 11 June 1949
44. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 11 June 1949
45. Letter to Ramdas Gandhi 14 June 1949
46. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 15 June 1949
47. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 16 June 1949
48. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 16 June 1949
49. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 16 June 1949
50. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 19 June 1949
51. Letter to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad 20 June 1949
52. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 20 June 1949
53. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 24 June 1949
54. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 24 June 1949
55. Views on Capital Punishment 28 June 1949
56. Letter to Kishorilal G. Mashruwalla June 1949
57. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 1 July 1949
58. Letter to Kishorilal G. Mashruwalla 2 July 1949
59. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 3 July 1949
60. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 3 July 1949
61. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 5 July 1949
62. Appeal to Upper Classes: Broadcast to the Nation 6 July 1949
63. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 20 July 1949
64. Letter to Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi 20 July 1949
65. Value of Religious Festivals: Message on Eid 27 July 1949
66. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 4 August 1949
67. “Make India Great”: Exhortation to Students 7 August 1949
68. Suggestion on Educational Reform: Speech 8 August 1949
69. Advice to the Middle Classes on Education and Employment 10 August 1949
70. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 12 August 1949
71. Message on Pakistan’s National Day 13 August 1949
72. Letter to Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit 14 August 1949
73. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 26 August 1949
74. Letter to Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi 27 August 1949
75. Letter to Bhim Sen Sachar 27 August 1949
76. Letter to Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit 6 September 1949
77. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 8 September 1949
78. Foreword to the book Thakkar Bapa, Eightieth Birthday Commemoration Volume 16 September 1949
79. Message for Dusshera 22 September 1949
80. Condolence Message on the Death of 24 September 1949
Major-General Atma Singh
81. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 24 September 1949
82. Appeal to Farmers and Wage-Earners 1 October 1949
83. Message to the Government of Madras 2 October 1949
84. Address to the Government House Staff 2 October 1949
85. Birthday Wishes to Jawaharlal Nehru 10 October 1949
86. Letter to Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi 16 October 1949
87. United Nations should be Strengthened: Message 23 October 1949
88. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 24 October 1949
89. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 24 October 1949
90. Letter to Lord Mountbatten 27 October 1949
91. Letter to P. S. Kumaraswami Raja 6 November 1949
92. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 8 November 1949
93. Letter to Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi 14 November 1949
94. Letter to Edwina Mountbatten 16 November 1949
95. Speech at Gauhati 26 November 1949
96. Advice to People of Assam 27 November 1949
97. Speech at Cuttack 30 November 1949
98. Speech at Puri 1 December 1949
99. Message on Gita 4 December 1949
100. Letter to Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi 7 December 1949
101. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 7 December 1949
102. Letter to B. Rama Rau 8 December 1949
103. Address to Students 16 December 1949
104. Advice on Value of Millets 17 December 1949
105. Convocation Address: Mysore University 19 December 1949
106. Speech on the Integration of Hyderabad 21 December 1949
107. Address at Osmania University 22 December 1949
108. Letter to Edwina Mountbatten 31 December 1949
109. Letter to H. P. Mody 8 January 1950
110. Letter to P. N. Sampath 12 January 1950
111. Letter to Mira Behn 12 January 1950
112. Letter to P. Subbarayan 13 January 1950
113. Follow Dharma and Eschew Adharma: Article 17 January 1950
114. People must Work Harder: Advice to the Refugees 19 January 1950
115. Enriching Modern Medicine 19 January 1950
116. Advice on Scientists’ Role in India 21 January 1950
117. Advice to Government House Employees 22 January 1950
118. Letter to Dalai Lama 23 January 1950
119. Letter to Sri Prakasa 23 January 1950
120. Speech on Value of Truth in Life 24 January 1950
121. Message to the Union Cabinet and the Prime Minister 25 January 1950
122. Letter to Rajendra Prasad 27 January 1950
123. Letter to Navaratna Rama Rao 20 March 1950
124. Message on Prohibition 5 April 1950
125. Nehru-Liaquat Pact Welcomed 8 April 1950
126. Nation Saved from Catastrophe: Comments to the Press 10 April 1950
127. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 11 April 1950
128. Letter to Syama Prasad Mookerjee 17 April 1950
129. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 18 April 1950
130. Advice to Government on Indians in Ceylon 23 April 1950
131. Great Achievement of Friendship 27 April 1950
132. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 15 May 1950
133. Interview to the Press Trust of India 22 May 1950
134. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 27 May 1950
135. Letter to Sri Prakasa 4 June 1950
136. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 8 June 1950
137. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 24 June 1950
138. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 30 June 1950
139. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 11 August 1950
140. Letter to Loy W. Henderson 25 August 1950
141. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 27 August 1950
142. Letter to Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke 29 August 1950
143. Letter to K. P. S. Menon 29 August 1950
144. Letter to the Secretary, Reception Committee 9 September 1950
145. Letter to Joginder Nath Kumar 11 September 1950
146. Letter to Herbert Anderson 12 September 1950
147. Letter to the Secretary, Reception Committee: 12 September 1950
Annual Session of Indian National Congress,
1950
148. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 14 September 1950
149. Letter to K. R. K. Menon 14 September 1950
150. Letter to F. W. Pollack 22 September 1950
151. Review of Nasik Session of Congress 22 September 1950
152. Letter to Ghanshyam Das Birla 23 September 1950
153. Letter to Mohanlal Saksena 25 September 1950
154. Letter to Bidhan Chandra Roy 28 September 1950
155. Letter to Purushottam Das Tandon 28 September 1950
156. Tribute to Annie Besant 1 October 1950
157. Tribute to Kasturba Gandhi 2 October 1950
158. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 3 October 1950
159. Letter to Surendra Nath Sen 3 October 1950
160. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 4 October 1950
161. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 5 October 1950
162. Letter to Chou Hsiang-Kuang 5 October 1950
163. Letter to P. S. Kumaraswami Raja 6 October 1950
164. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 11 October 1950
165. Letter to Purushottam Das Tandon 12 October 1950
166. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 13 October 1950
167. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 13 October 1950
168. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 13 October 1950
169. Letter to Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke 13 October 1950
170. Letter to Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar 14 October 1950
171. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 15 October 1950
172. Letter to the Chairman, Reception Committee, 15 October 1950
All India Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Kotah
173. Letter to P. T. Rajan 17 October 1950
174. Solving Food Problem: Speech 21 October 1950
175. Speech at Ramakrishna Mission Student’s Home 22 October 1950
176. Speech at Bangalore 23 October 1950
177. Speech in Mysore Legislative Assembly 23 October 1950
178. Tribute to K. P. Lakshamana Rao 24 October 1950
179. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 26 October 1950
180. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 29 October 1950
181. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 29 October 1950
182. Letter to Louis Fischer 31 October 1950
183. Letter to Fathima Ismail 2 November 1950
184. Letter to V. M. Obaidullah 2 November 1950
185. Note to V. P. Menon 7 November 1950
186. Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel 11 November 1950
187. Letter to William Bross Llyod Jr 15 November 1950
188. Speech on Science and Religion 17 November 1950
189. Speech on Origin of the Universe 18 November 1950
190. Letter to Raghu Vira 18 November 1950
191. Address on Teachings of the Gita 20 November 1950
192. Letter to K. Madhava Menon 20 November 1950
193. Letter to V. K. Krishna Menon 30 November 1950
194. Letter to K. Venkataswami Naidu 5 December 1950
195. Letter to A. Seethapathy 7 December 1950
196. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 10 December 1950
197. Letter to Harekrushna Mahatab 13 December 1950
198. Letter to P. Govinda Menon 13 December 1950
199. Tribute to Vallabhbhai Patel 15 December 1950
200. Letter to Francis Robert Roy Bucher 16 December 1950
201. Letter to Dame Isobel Cripps 17 December 1950
202. Letter to H. C. Dasappa 18 December 1950
203. Letter to K. Balasubramania Ayyar 18 December 1950
204. Letter to K. C. Reddy 19 December 1950
205. Convocation Address: Lucknow University 20 December 1950
206. Letter to K. C. Reddy 22 December 1950
207. Letter to K. C. Reddy 23 December 1950
208. Appeal for Eradication of Drink Evil 26 December 1950
209. Propagation of Hindi: Message 27 December 1950
210. Letter to Navaratna Rama Rao 29 December 1950
211. Appeal for Strengthening the Authority 29 December 1950
of Parliament
212. Letter to P. S. Kumaraswami Raja 30 December 1950
213. Letter to Harekrushna Mahatab 30 December 1950
214. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 1 January 1951
215. Speech at World Power Conference, Delhi 11 January 1951
216. Speech at Olive Sapling Planting Ceremony, 15 January 1951
Delhi
217. Welcome Speech for the Prime Minister 16 January 1951
of Afghanistan
218. Letter to P. Govinda Menon 17 January 1951
219. Message to the Census Enumerators 17 January 1951
220. Letter to B. G. Kher 19 January 1951
221. Letter to M. K. Vellodi 20 January 1951
222. Tribute to Thyagaraja 26 January 1951
223. Recalling First Visit to Sabarmati 31 January 1951
224. Speech on Extension of the Preventive Detention Act 9 February 1951
225. Speech on Preventive Detention Act 15 February 1951
226. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 24 February 1951
227. Government’s Policy towards Communists and Hindu Mahasabha: Statement 10 March 1951
228. Letter to K. M. Panikkar 19 March 1951
229. Letter to Purushottam Das Tandon 24 March 1951
230. Notes on Middle Class 27 March 1951
231. Letter to Sri Prakasa 1 April 1951
232. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 4 April 1951
233. Speech in Parliament 5 April 1951
234. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 7 April 1951
235. Letter to P. S. Kumaraswami Raja 14 April 1951
236. Letter to Ranganath Ramachandra Diwakar 17 April 1951
237. Letter to Bidhan Chandra Roy 20 April 1951
238. Letter to B. R. Ambedkar 21 April 1951
239. Speech at the Intelligence Bureau Conference, Delhi 26 April 1951
240. Letter to P. S. Kumaraswami Raja 28 April 1951
241. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 19 May 1951
242. Government and the Press: Speech on the Constitution Bill 31 May 1951
243. Hindi in Various Competitive Examinations: Government’s Decision Explained 8 June 1951
244. Letter to Gulzarilal Nanda 9 June 1951
245. Letter to Devadas Gandhi 10 June 1951
246. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 10 June 1951
247. Letter to Frank Moraes 12 June 1951
248. Letter to K. Ramunni Menon 29 June 1951
249. Note on Communist Party 1 July 1951
250. Inaugural Speech at the Opening Ceremony of the New College by the Muslim Educational Association of South India 2 July 1951
251. Speech on the Opening of the Jamal Mahomed College 11 July 1951
252. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 16 July 1951
253. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 26 July 1951
254. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 26 July 1951
255. Letter to V. Natarajan 27 July 1951
256. Speech at the Inauguration of the Special Police Establishment Conference, Delhi 30 July 1951
257. Letter to Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah 1 August 1951
258. President Rule in Punjab: Speech in Parliament 9 August 1951
259. Letter to C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar 13 August 1951
260. Letter to K. Kamaraj 23 August 1951
261. Letter to C. R. Narasimhan 23 August 1951
262. Note on the Madras Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Bill 1951 25 August 1951
263. No pre-censorship will be imposed: Speech at Parliament 31 August 1951
264. Convocation Address: University of Jammu and Kashmir 1 September 1951
265. Letter to Gopichand Bhargava 2 September 1951
266. Letter to C.R. Narasimhan 6 September 1951
267. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 15 September 1951
268. Speech on Press Bill 15 September 1951
269. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 22 September 1951
270. Letter to J. Natarajan 23 September 1951
271. Letter to M. S. Krishnaswamy 6 October 1951
272. The Press Bill: Speech in Parliament 7 October 1951
273. Letter to Lord Mountbatten 8 October 1951
274. Deplores Press Reports 11 October 1951
275. Letter to Ghulam Mohammed Sahib 24 October 1951
276. Indo-America Friendship: Article 15 November 1951
Appendices
Appendix I
1. First President of Indian Republic: Rajaji Racing Rajendra 4 June 1949
2. Rajaji’s Sad Moments 4 June 1949
3. Letter to C. Rajagopalachari 30 May 1949
4. Enclosure 7 June 1949
5. Extract from Fortnightly Letter dated the 29 May 1949
29th May 1949 from the Hon’ble Premier of
Assam to the Hon’ble the Prime Minister of India
6. Extract from G.V. Mavalankar’s letter 27 June 1949
dated 27 June 1949 to C. Rajagopalachari
7. Prisoners after Freedom 3 July 1949
8. Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru 26/29 June 1949
9. Note by the University Education Commission 1949
10. Council of Scientific & Industrial Research
11. Copy of Daily Report from the Central 3 November 1950 431
Intelligence Officer, Madhya Pradesh, Nagpur,
dated 3 November 1950, to the Director,
Intelligence Bureau, New Delhi
Appendix II: Miscellaneous Items
1. An Extract from The Gazette of India 28 January 1949
(Extraordinary)
Chronology (1949–51)
Index