News Tamil Nadu

Dravidianist Prof Claims Rajaji’s Daughter Was Married As A Child And Her Head Shaved After Being Widowed, Gets Fact-Checked By Rajaji’s Grandson

September 19, 2023
The Commune

A Dravidian Stockist professor who goes by the name Prof. Sumathi peddled canards about Indian Independence activist C. Rajagopalachari (popularly known as Rajaji) and his family claiming that his daughter was married off as a child and was isolated by her family after she got widowed at a young age.

Prof Sumathi claimed that Lakshmi Rajagopalachari was widowed at a young age and Rajaji’s family had her head shaved and kept her in isolation. According to the Dravidian Stockist professor, it was only after the intervention of EV Ramasamy Naicker (hailed as ‘Periyar’ by his followers) that her remarriage with Gandhi’s son happened. She claims that it was this moment that led to remarriage taking place in large numbers in the Brahmin community.

In a social media post, the Dravidianist professor wrote: “Scholar Rajaji’s daughter was married at a young age. Her husband dies at a young age of 12. Rajaji’s family shaves her head and makes her sit in one corner. Incidentally, Periyar goes to Rajaji’s house. He sees this girl. He scolds Rajaji and makes the girl get back to normal. Periyar then tells this information to Gandhi and arranges for remarriage.“

“As Gandhi and Rajaji are close friends, he tells his son Devdas Gandhi (who founded the Hindi Prachar Sabha) that he will marry Rajaji’s daughter. At that time Rajaji’s daughter was 15 years old and Devdas was 28 years old. After waiting for 5 years, Periyar got them married.“, she claimed adding that in this way, “even Sanatanis need a Periyar“. 

She said that Gopal Krishna Gandhi was born to this couple who in the later days was considered as one of the candidates by the Opposition for the Presidential elections. 

“Today in the Brahmin society, remarriage is taking place in large numbers and it is because of Periyar”, she said.

To substantiate her claims, she gave a web link to an article of a shady website named “Nakkeran”, not the original Tamil Nadu-based media outlet “Nakkheeran”.

However, Rajaji’s grandson and BJP leader C.R.Kesavan who was former board member of Prasar Bharati repudiated these claim of the Dravidianist professor. Kesavan who had written a book called Unfolding Rajaji said that Lakshmi was aged 21 when she married Devdas Gandhi and was not a widow.

He also pointed out that it was EVR who had met the then Governor-General Rajaji in 1949 in Tiruvannamalai to seek his advice on his remarriage to Maniammai which Rajaji advised against it.

It must be noted that EVR was 70 years old when he married Maniammai aged 32 who was his adopted daughter and it was this reason that led to the split of Dravida Kazhagam and the formation of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

CR Kesavan also shared a snippet from Rajmohan Gandhi’s book “Rajaji – A Life” in which it is clearly said that though Lakshmi was interested in Devdas Gandhi since she was 15, the couple waited 6 years to get married. 

Lakshmi apparently made it clear to that while she would not wed Devdas Gandhi without her father’s permission, he shouldn’t expect her to marry anyone else.  

The book also notes that caste was not at all an issue between the Gandhi and Rajaji family and that both Gandhi and Rajaji wanted to ensure that it was indeed love and not infatuation. 

Laskhmi who was 15 was told by both her father Rajaji and Gandhi that she should put her love to test by waiting and during the course of her wait there can be no meetings or letters. 

In total, Lakshmi and Devdas Gandhi waited for 6 years to get married. 

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