| Perumal Varadarajulu Naidu | |
|---|---|
| Portrait of Varadarajulu Naidu | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 4, 1887 Rasipuram, Madras Presidency, British India |
| Died | July 23, 1957 (aged 70) |
| Political party | Indian National Congress |
Perumal Varadarajulu Naidu (June 4, 1887 - July 23, 1957) was an Indian physician, politician, journalist and Indian independence activist.
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Varadarajulu Naidu was born in an affluent Balija Naidu family in Rasipuram near Salem on June 4, 1887.[1] His father Perumal Naidu was a rich landlord. He had his early education in Madras and trained as an Ayurvedic physician.
Varadarajulu Naidu entered politics at an early age and joined the Indian National Congress. In 1917, he gave up medical practice. He participated in the Indian Home Rule Movement and was President of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee at the time of the Cheranmahadevi school controversy.
Varadarajulu joined Periyar and Kalyanasundara Mudaliar and strongly opposed the practice of separate dining for Brahman and non-Brahman students in Shermadevi Gurukulam, a national school run by V. V. S. Aiyar. The issue was brought to the notice of Gandhi and Aiyar later resigned. When the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee met in April 1925 to discuss the issue, the recommendation of C. Rajagopalachari and Rajan that Congress should not interfere and that the school should instead be advised to eliminate the practice was swept aside. The resolution which prevented gradations of merit based on birth should not be observed by nationalist parties moved by Ramanathan passed. Rajagopalachari and six of his associates resigned from TNCC citing that caste prejudices could not be overcome by coercion.[2] However, Varadarajulu Naidu stayed on in the Congress even as Periyar left the party.
In his later years, Varadarajulu Naidu actively participated in the temple-entry movements in Madras Presidency.
Varadarajulu started the weekly Tamil newspaper Tamil Nadu in 1925. In 1931, Varadarajulu Naidu started The Indian Express but had to sell off the newspaper within a year due to financial difficulties.