A quintessential product of Gandhian era

Food for thought

I have never claimed to be a universal leader of suffering humanity. The problem of the untouchables is quite enough for my slender strength. I do not say that other causes are not equally noble. But knowing that life is short, one can only serve one cause and I have never aspired to do more than serve the Untouchables.Babasaheb Dr.B.R.Ambedkar 

Former First and Last Home of Minister of Tamil Nadu From Schedule caste Shri P.Kakkan

When Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi made an unscheduled visit to Thumbaipatti, a nondescript village near Madurai, on Wednesday, it was to pay homage to P. Kakkan (1909-1981), a quintessential product of the Gandhian era of Congress politics which was marked by simplicity and integrity.

Mr. Gandhi's visit came on the eve of 29 {+t} {+h} death anniversary of Kakkan. A few km from Thumbaipatti lies Melur where Rajiv Gandhi, father of the Congress general secretary, unveiled Kakkan's statue in June 1988.

Like many persons of his generation, Kakkan too was drawn to the national movement and was arrested during the Quit India struggle in 1942. He was sentenced to one and a half years imprisonment. His parliamentary innings began with his election to the State Legislative Assembly in 1946. He went on to become a member of the Constituent Assembly. Kakkan also had the distinction of getting elected to the first Lok Sabha in 1952 from the Madurai constituency (Scheduled Castes).

Two years later, he became the first SC person to occupy the post of president of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee. In 1957, Kakkan found a place in the second Kamaraj Cabinet. Initially, he held the portfolios of Public Works and Harijan Welfare. Later, he was put in charge of other portfolios including Home, Agriculture and Food. In the Bakthavatsalam Cabinet (1963-67), he was Home Minister.

In the 1967 Assembly elections when the Congress was swept out of power, Kakkan also lost. He was defeated by O.P. Raman of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in the Melur South (SC) constituency. When he contested in the 1971 Lok Sabha elections as a candidate of the Congress (Organisation) in Sriperumbudur, he again lost.

Gradually, he withdrew from active politics.

In December 1981, he died at the General Hospital here following prolonged illness.

In August 1997, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi unveiled a bronze statue of the Congress leader in Madurai and declared open a memorial at the birth place of Kakkan in February 2001. A postal stamp in honour of the Congress leader was released in 1999 in memory of the Congress leader.
Source: The Hindu dated 25.12.2010