Editing C. Rajagopalachari (section)

== Early life ==

Rajagopalachari was born to Chakravarti Venkatarya Achari (Iyengar) and his wife Singaramma on 10 December 1878<ref>[[#Gandhi|Gandhi]], p. 4</ref> in [[Thorapalli]] village on the outskirts of [[Hosur]], in [[hosur taluk]], [[Krishnagiri district]], [[Madras Presidency]], [[British Raj]].<ref>[[#Gandhi|Gandhi]], p. 3</ref> His father was the ''[[District Munsiff Court|munsiff]]'' of Thorapalli.<ref name="srbakship1">[[#Bakshi|Bakshi]], p. 1</ref> He hailed from a [[Hindu]] [[Brahmin]] family belonging to the [[Vaishnavism|Sri Vaishnava sect]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Krishna|first=T. m|date=2020-01-30|title=Keeping the cow and brahmin apart|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/keeping-the-cow-and-brahmin-apart/article30686002.ece|access-date=2020-09-08|issn=0971-751X|archive-date=12 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512235700/https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/keeping-the-cow-and-brahmin-apart/article30686002.ece|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Harad|first=Tejas|title=Does Ramachandra Guha have a caste?|url=https://www.newslaundry.com/2017/06/14/response-ramchandra-guha-gandhi-caste|access-date=2020-09-08|website=Newslaundry|date=14 June 2017|language=en|archive-date=5 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705204955/https://www.newslaundry.com/2017/06/14/response-ramchandra-guha-gandhi-caste|url-status=live}}</ref> The couple already had two sons, Narasimhachari and Srinivasa.<ref name="ourleadersp50">[[#Varma et al.|Varma et al.]], p. 50</ref>

A weak and sickly child, Rajagopalachari was a constant worry to his parents who feared that he might not live long.<ref name="ourleadersp50" /> As a young child, he was admitted to a village school in [[Thorapalli]]<ref name="ourleadersp50" /> then at the age of five moved with his family to [[Hosur]] where Rajagopalachari enrolled at R. V. Government Boys Higher Secondary School.<ref name="ourleadersp50" /> He passed his matriculation examinations in 1891 and graduated in arts from Central College, [[Bangalore]] in 1894.<ref name="ourleadersp50" /> Rajagopalachari graduated in law from [[Presidency College, Chennai|Presidency College, Madras]] in 1897.<ref name="oxforddnb">{{cite ODNB|last=Copley|first=Antony R. H.|date=23 September 2004|title=Chakravarti Rajagopalachari|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/31579|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211181037/http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/31579|archive-date=11 February 2015|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/31579 }}</ref>

Rajagopalachari married Alamelu Mangalamma in 1897 <ref name="oxforddnb" /> when she was ten years old<ref>[[#Gandhi|Gandhi]], p. 8</ref> and she gave birth to her son a day after her thirteenth birthday.<ref>[[#Gandhi|Gandhi]], p. 10</ref> The couple had five children, three sons: [[C. R. Narasimhan]], C. R. Krishnaswamy, and C. R. Ramaswami, and two daughters: Lakshmi Gandhi (''née'' Rajagopalachari) and Namagiri Ammal.<ref name="oxforddnb" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geni.com/people/Chakravarti-Rajagopalachari/6000000009056489225|title=Chakravarti Rajagopalachari|website=geni_family_tree|date=10 December 1878|language=en-US|access-date=17 January 2018|archive-date=28 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328110725/https://www.geni.com/people/Chakravarti-Rajagopalachari/6000000009056489225|url-status=live}}</ref> Mangamma died in 1916 whereupon Rajagopalachari took sole responsibility for the care of his children.<ref name="oxforddnb" /> His son [[C. R. Narasimhan|Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari Narasimhan]] was elected to the Lok Sabha from [[Krishnagiri]] in the 1952 and 1957 elections and served as a member of parliament for Krishnagiri from 1952 to 1962.<ref name="1951elections">{{cite web|title=Statistical Report on General Elections 1951 to the First Lok Sabha |url=http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/LS_1951/VOL_1_51_LS.PDF |publisher=Election Commission of India |access-date=15 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008191615/http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/LS_1951/VOL_1_51_LS.PDF |archive-date=8 October 2014 }}</ref><ref name="1957elections">{{cite web|title=Statistical Report on General Elections 1957 to the Second Lok Sabha|url=http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/LS_1957/Vol_I_57_LS.pdf|publisher=Election Commission of India|access-date=15 August 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008104728/http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/LS_1957/Vol_I_57_LS.pdf|archive-date=8 October 2014}}</ref> He later wrote a biography of his father. Rajagopalachari's daughter Lakshmi married [[Devdas Gandhi]], son of Mahatma Gandhi<ref name="oxforddnb" /><ref name="ourleadersp52" /> while his grandsons include biographer [[Rajmohan Gandhi]], philosopher [[Ramchandra Gandhi]] and former governor of [[West Bengal]] [[Gopalkrishna Gandhi]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Guha|first=Ramachandra|author-link=Ramachandra Guha|date=15 August 2009|title=The Rise and Fall of the Bilingual Intellectual|journal=[[Economic and Political Weekly]]|volume=XLIV|issue=33|url=http://www.epw.in/epw/uploads/articles/13825.pdf|access-date=5 April 2010|archive-date=9 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109043549/https://www.epw.in/epw/uploads/articles/13825.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Rajagopalachari's great-grandson, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari Kesavan, is a spokesperson of the Congress Party and Trustee of the [[Tamil Nadu Congress Committee]].<ref>{{Cite news|url = https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/motilal-vora-appointed-as-tamil-nadu-congress-committee-trustee/articleshow/46235465.cms|title = Motilal Vora appointed as Tamil Nadu Congress Committee trustee|newspaper = The Economic Times|access-date = 13 January 2019|archive-date = 13 January 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190113182243/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/motilal-vora-appointed-as-tamil-nadu-congress-committee-trustee/articleshow/46235465.cms|url-status = live}}</ref>