Table of Contents
M KARUNANIDHI
•Muthuvel Karunanidhi, a key political figure in the Dravidian politics, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 94.
•He was involved in active politics for more than 50 years.
BASICS
• Party name – Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
• Was just 14 when he entered politics
• The only leader who never lost a seat in the 13 elections he contested, the latest being the 2016 general elections
NOT JUST A POLITICIAN
•Karunanidhi is known for his contributions to Tamil literature. His contributions cover a wide range: poems, letters, screenplays, novels, biographies, historical novels, stage-plays, dialogues and movie songs.
• He has written Kuraloviam for Thirukural, Tholkaappiya Poonga, Poombukar, as well as many poems, essays and books.
NOTES
He founded the newspaper ‘Murasoli’ at the tender age of 14. It is now a weekly journal and the official newspaper of the DMK
ENTRY INTO POLITICS
Karunanidhi entered politics at the age of 14, inspired by a speech by Alagiriswamy of the Justice Party, and participated in Anti-Hindi agitations. He founded an organisation for the local youth of his locality. He circulated a handwritten newspaper called Manavar Nesan to its members.
DMK’S “ANTI- HINDI IMPOSITION” POLICIES
• The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) which split from the Dravidar Kazhagam in 1949, inherited the anti-Hindi policies of its parent organisation. DMK’s founder Annadurai had earlier participated in the anti-Hindi imposition agitations during 1938–40 and in the 1940s.
• In July 1953, the DMK launched an agitation for changing the name of a town – Dalmiapuram – to Kallakudi. They claimed that the town’s name (after Ramkrishna Dalmia) symbolised the exploitation of South India by the North. On 21 September 1957 the DMK convened an anti-Hindi Conference to protest against the imposition of Hindi.
It observed 13 October 1957 as “anti-Hindi Day”. In November 1963, DMK dropped its secessionist demand in the wake of the Sino-Indian War and the passage of the antisecessionist 16th Amendment to the Indian Constitution. But the anti-Hindi stance remained and hardened with the passage of Official Languages Act of 1963
NOTES
Karunanidhi was appointed as Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister on February 10, 1969, following the death of DMK founder C.N.Annadurai
FACTS
•Karunanidhi became India’s first Chief Minister to hoist the national flag on August 15, 1974.
• Earlier, only Governors hoisted the flag on Republic Day and Independence Day
PERIYAR E. V. RAMASAMY
Kalaignar, as Karunanidhi was popularly known, was a follower of Periyar. He was mentored by another great Dravidian leader and a follower of Periyar, CN Annadurai. Both Periyar and Annadurai were buried and not cremated. While Periyar was buried at a different place in Chennai, Annadurai was buried at Marina beach.
NOTES
•Marina beach burial has a significant political connection. If one recalls the names of Tamil Nadu chief ministers, four names stand out.
•These are CN Annadurai, MG Ramachandran, M Karunanidhi and J Jayalal
THE TIMES
•1969 | Becomes chief minister for the first time after Annadurai’s death
•1972 | After falling out with Karunanidhi, MGR breaks away and forms AIADMK
•1976 | Indira Gandhi dismisses DMK govt on charges of corruption
•1977 | AIADMK comes to power, Karunanidhi sits in opposition for next 13 years
• 1989 | Karunanidhi and DMK return to power after MGR’s death
• January 1991 | Centre dismisses DMK govt allegedly for being too close to LTTE
• May 1991 | Rajiv Gandhi assassinated; AIADMK-Congress combine sweeps polls
• 1996 | Unseats Jayalalithaa and returns to power after Rajinikanth endorses DMK-TMC combine
•2001 | Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK govt arrests him on charges of corruption with Stalin, Maran
•2004 | DMK-led alliance wins 40 seats in Lok Sabha polls, gets 7 Union minister posts
•2006 | Returns to power as CM for the fifth time
•2009 | Undergoes spinal surgery, confined to wheelchair thereafter
•2010 | Union telecom minister A Raja linked to 2G spectrum scam
•2011 | Daughter Kanimozhi arrested in 2G scam case; DMK loses assembly polls
•Jan 2013 | Names Stalin his heir apparent
•March 2013 | Quit UPA, pulls ministers back from Centre over Eelam Tamils issue
•2014 | Expels older son Alagiri from party; after a long and tiring campaign, ailing Karunanidhi loses state assembly polls but retains his seat of Tiruvarur
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