When an anti-cow slaughter mob tried to burn down Kamaraj’s house in New Delhi in 1966

Tamil Nadu InFocus

The recent allegations of US President Donald Trump handing over $21 million in USAID to India for influencing the 2024 general elections has led to a war of words between the Congress and the BJP. In this context, All India Congress Committee (AICC) spokesperson Pawan Khera alleged that the BJP and its affiliates were spreading “stories” to “distract from their sins” of using foreign funds to destabilize Congress-led central governments. Among the incidents he listed was that of 1966 when the US Central Intelligence Agency allegedly financed a cow-killing protest during which an attempt was made to burn down the New Delhi house of K. Kamaraj, the then national president of the Congress and former chief minister of Madras.

For Kamaraj, November 7, 1966 was like any other day until his siesta was interrupted by a mob that gathered in Parliament demanding a law banning cow slaughter in the country. The agitators, including self-proclaimed sadhus and activists, unleashed violence on government buildings and property in the streets near the parliament when they found the gates of the parliament closed.

The Supreme Court stayed the Madras HC order ordering a ban on cow slaughter in Tamil Nadu

While there are differing opinions on how the mob chose Kamaraj’s house, a report from The Hindu Archives details: “The Congress President’s residence on Jantar Mantar Road was partially burnt, the biggest damage to the salon’s furnishings being caused by the anti-cow slaughter protesters. Mr. Kamaraj was unhurt. Ambi protesters tried to deal with his injuries. As a violent mob of slogan-shouting protesters converged on his residence, the Congress President fled to an adjacent hostel for MP Vithalbhai along with some friends.

The report praised the resistance put up by Niranjan, Kamaraj’s aide and the only guard on duty, saying “escape could have been difficult”. A more detailed account, citing news reports and sources of the day, can be found in the book Kamaraj Oru Sagaptham written by Congress leader A. Gopanna. The book claims that the mob’s intention was to destroy Kamaraj’s residence. “After the police opened fire in the air, a section of the protesters entered Jantar Mantar Road. They surrounded the residence of Social Welfare Minister K. Raghuramaiah. But one of the mob leaders shouted, ‘you are attacking the wrong house. Our target is the house opposite this one’, which was Kamaraj’s residence.”

Unfavorable attitude

According to the book, Kamaraj’s stance against the anti-cow slaughter group at the November 2 Congress Working Committee meeting would have sparked violence. The Congress veteran is said not to have taken a stand in favor of the protesters and reportedly said, “New Delhi is not the place to hold such protests. Let them hold such demonstrations in Madras.” However, how the crowd came to know about Kamaraj’s statements at the party meeting remains a mystery.

Asked about the various claims, Mr. Gopanna told The Hindu that while there was a “possibility” of the arson attempt being deliberate, it was likely that the mob just happened to pass through the area where important leaders lived and targeted Kamaraj’s residence on the way. “With so many accounts, it is difficult to come to a conclusion. It was also likely that the mob decided to attack (Kamaraj’s) residence after seeing a board bearing his AICC sign.”

However, other leaders, especially those from the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK), blamed the attack on the RSS. “The DK, led by ‘Periyar’ EV Ramasamy, held demonstrations condemning the attack. In fact, it even published a book on the incident,” he added. In the book, references can be found to the minutes of the DK meeting held in Thanjavur on December 4, 1966, in which slogans in support of Kamaraj were raised.

Prior to Mr Khera’s reference to the incident, Congress MP Jothimani had blamed the RSS for the attack in a post on X (formerly Twitter) in 2017. He quotes Kamaraj as saying, “They (RSS) are afraid of me. This Kamaraj is the one who is determined to introduce socialist rule in the society. He is the one who has been persistent in this approach.”

“Reckless”

However, Kamarajar Makkal Katchi leader Tamilaruvi Manian says, “If we go by the claim that Kamarajar is a socialist, there were many socialists like (former prime minister) Chandra Shekhar and George Fernandes living in Delhi at the time of the incident. So why target Kamarajar alone? It was not a planned attack,” he told The Hindu.

Besides, Mr. Manian claims that Kamaraj was never against the RSS or the Jana Sangh. “Had he been against these organisations, he would never have joined the Grand Alliance (of which the Jana Sangh was a member) in 1971. Moreover, the attack took place in 1966 when the Jana Sangh was ideologically at war with the Congress. If anything, Kamaraj’s residence could have been targeted only because he was the head of the AICC at the time.”

Author and commentator on Dravidian politics R. Kannan is also not sure about the socialist links to the attack. “Kamaraj was a pragmatist. He was somewhere in the middle of the road. In 1971, he took a right turn by forming an alliance with Rajaji (C. Rajagopalachari). Maybe the RSS considered him irreligious by their standards, but he was certainly not a cow protection man or vice versa,” he says. He felt that things like era., education are more important than work and work.

Kamaraj was given a grand welcome in Madras on his return on 26 November. Reports in The Hindu Archives reveal that DK members were also present at the airport to receive the Congress president, who was given police protection after the incident. The next month, a meeting of the Tamil Nadu unit of the Jana Sangh passed a resolution condemning the “acts of violence and hooliganism near Parliament and the attack on Kamarajar’s house”.

Published – 28 Feb 2025 0:53 IST