C. Rajagopalachari - Second World War

Second World War

At the outbreak of the Second World War Rajaji immediately resigned as Premier along with other members of his cabinet in protest at the declaration of war by the Viceroy of India. Rajaji was arrested in December 1940 in accordance with the Defence of India rules and sentenced to one-year in prison. However, subsequently, Rajaji differed in opposition to the British war effort. He also opposed the Quit India Movement and instead advocated dialogue with the British. He reasoned that passivity and neutrality would be harmful to India's interests at a time when the country was threatened with invasion. He also advocated dialogue with the Muslim League, which was demanding the partition of India. He subsequently resigned from the party and the assembly following differences over resolutions passed by the Madras Congress legislative party and disagreements with the leader of the Madras provincial Congress K. Kamaraj.

Following the end of the war in 1945, elections followed in the Madras Presidency in 1946. Kamaraj, President of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee backed Tanguturi Prakasam as Chief Ministerial candidate to prevent Rajaji from winning. However, he did not contest the elections and Prakasam was elected.

During the last years of the war, Rajaji was instrumental in initiating negotiations between Gandhi and Jinnah. In 1944, he proposed a solution to the Indian Constitutional tangle. In the same year, he proposed an "absolute majority" threshold of 55 per cent when deciding whether a district should become part of India or Pakistan, triggering a huge controversy among nationalists.

From 1946 to 1947, Rajaji served as the Minister for Industry, Supply, Education and Finance in the Interim Government headed by Jawaharlal Nehru.