Chakravarti Rajagopalachari

(1878 - 1972)

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari joined Mahatma Gandhi’s movement in 1919 and in 1948 became the only Indian to serve as governor-­general; the position was abolished at the end of his term. At odds with Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru over his support for free enterprise, Rajagopalachari left the Congress Party in 1959, five years after he had supported censoring a satirical performance of the Ramayana that many Hindus found offensive, insisting that “the government is the lawful guardian in the matter of safeguarding the sentiments of the people.”