M. Karunanidhi

"Karunanidhi" redirects here. For the actor, see A. Karunanidhi.
For the television channel, see Kalaignar TV.

In this Tamil name, there is no surname or family name. The name Muthuvel is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Karunanidhi.

M. Karunanidhi
Official portrait of Karunanidhi
2nd Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
In office
13 May 2006 – 15 May 2011
GovernorSurjit Singh Barnala
DeputyM. K. Stalin
(from 2009)
Preceded byJ. Jayalalithaa
Succeeded byJ. Jayalalithaa
ConstituencyChepauk
In office
13 May 1996 – 13 May 2001
GovernorMarri Chenna Reddy (1996)
Krishan Kant (Addition Charge) (1996–1997)
M. Fathima Beevi (from 1997)
Preceded byJ. Jayalalithaa
Succeeded byJ. Jayalalithaa
ConstituencyChepauk
In office
27 January 1989 – 30 January 1991
GovernorP. C. Alexander (until 1990)
Surjit Singh Barnala (from 1990)
Preceded byPresident's rule
Succeeded byPresident's rule
ConstituencyChennai Harbour
In office
10 February 1969 – 31 January 1976
GovernorUjjal Singh (until 1971)
Kodardas Kalidas Shah (from 1971)
Preceded byC. N. Annadurai [a]
Succeeded byPresident's rule
ConstituencySaidapet
Legislative offices
Leader of the Opposition in Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
In office
25 July 1977 – 18 August 1983
Chief MinisterM. G. Ramachandran
Preceded byP. G. Karuthiruman
Succeeded byK. S. G. Haja Shareef
ConstituencyAnna Nagar
Member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
In office
22 May 1996 – 7 August 2018
ConstituencyChepauk (1996–2011)
Thiruvarur (2011–2018)
In office
27 January 1989 – 1 July 1991
ConstituencyHarbour (1989–1991)
In office
1 April 1957 – 18 August 1983
ConstituencyKulithalai (1957–1962)
Thanjavur (1962–1967)
Saidapet (1967–1977)
Anna Nagar (1977–1983)
Member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council
In office
30 March 1984[1] – 1 November 1986[2]
Leader of the HouseR. M. Veerappan
Preceded byK. A. Krishnasway
Succeeded byposition abolished
ConstituencyElected by MLAs
1st President of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
In office
27 July 1969 – 7 August 2018
General Secretary
Preceded byposition established
Succeeded byM. K. Stalin
Personal details
Born
Muthuvel Karunanidhi

(1924-06-03)3 June 1924
Thirukuvalai, Madras Presidency, British India
(present-day Tamil Nadu, India)
Died7 August 2018(2018-08-07) (aged 94)[3]
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Resting placeKalaignar Karunanidhi Ninaividam
Political partyDravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Other political
affiliations		Justice Party, Dravidar Kazhagam (before 1949)
Spouse
  • Padmavathi Ammal
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1944; died 1948)​

    Dayalu Ammal
    ​
    (m. 1948)​

    Rajathi Ammal
    ​
    (m. 1966)​
Children6, including M. K. Muthu, M. K. Alagiri, M. K. Stalin and Kanimozhi Karunanidhi
RelativesKarunanidhi family
Residences
AwardsHonorary Doctorate (1971)
Signature
Websitekalaignar.dmk.in
Nickname(s)Kalaignar, Mutthamizh Arignar
En uyirinum melana anbu udan pirappukkale
("My beloved siblings who are esteemed loftier than my life")

Muthuvel Karunanidhi (3 June 1924 – 7 August 2018) was an Indian writer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades over five terms between 1969 and 2011. He is popularly referred to as Kalaignar (Artist) and Mutthamizh Arignar (Tamil Scholar) for his contributions to Tamil literature. He had the longest intermittent tenure as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu with 6,863 days in office. He was also a long-standing leader of the Dravidian movement and ten-time president of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam political party. Karunanidhi has the record of never losing an election to the Tamil Nadu Assembly, having won 13 times since his first victory in 1957.[4] Before entering politics, he worked in the Tamil film industry as a screenwriter. He also made contributions to Tamil literature, having written stories, plays, novels, and a multiple-volume memoir.[5][6] Karunanidhi died on 7 August 2018 at Kauvery Hospital in Chennai after a series of prolonged, age-related illnesses.[3]

Karunanidhi was born in the Tamil Nadu village of Thirukkuvalai on 3 June 1924. His parents were from the Tamil-speaking Isai Vellalar community, a caste of musicians that perform at temples and other social gatherings.[7] Growing up in a caste-ridden culture, Karunanidhi was learned about the crippling circumstances that arose from being born into a low caste.[8] When he was 14, he formed a student movement against the imposition of Hindi as India's National Language during the Anti-Hindi agitation of 1937–40. This served as a forerunner to Karunanidhi's wider anti-Hindi demonstrations in 1965.[9] As a high school student, Karunanidhi created the Tamil Nadu Tamil Manavar Mandram, the Dravidian movement's first student wing. He also started a news paper during his school days, which grew into the Murasoli, the DMK's official publication.[10] Karunanidhi began participating in theatrical productions at a young age, including composing plays. Later on, he started writing for movies.[9] As a writer, he wrote screenplays, historical novels, screenplays, biographies, poems and novels.[11] He utilised his writing to propagate reformist ideals effectively.[12] He wrote the script and dialogue for M. G. Ramachandran's maiden film as a hero, Rajakumari. He also composed the dialogue for Sivaji Ganesan's debut film, Parasakthi.[13][14] He was critical of organised religion and superstition.[15] He was an atheist and a self-described rationalist.[16][12]

Karunanidhi started his political career in 1957, when he was voted to the Madras state legislature. When the DMK first entered the state legislature the following year, he was named treasurer and deputy leader of the opposition. Karunanidhi ascended quickly through the ranks. After the death of C.N. Annadurai in 1969, he became the DMK's leader and Chief minister of Tamil Nadu[10] and led the party to a landslide win in the 1971 Assembly elections.[17] He was influenced by the rationalist and egalitarian ideology of Periyar and DMK founder C N Annadurai.[18] Karunanidhi was among those who fought Indira Gandhi's Emergency in 1975 which led to governments getting dismissed in 1976.[19] In the 1976 Assembly elections, he gave the Congress 50 per cent of the seats, but the partnership fell apart, and MGR prevailed. After MGR's death in 1989, he led the party to power.[17] His administration was dismissed in 1991 for its alleged links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).[19] He came to power in the state in 1996 after forming a partnership with the Tamil Maanila Congress and joined the United Front led by Deve Gowda in the centre. His party allied with the BJP in 1999.[17] He was arrested from his house in 2001 by the police on the orders of Jayalalitha as an act of vendetta over alleged losses in construction of fly-overs.[20] In the Lok Sabha elections of 2004, he teamed up with the Congress and won by a landslide.[17] He became a chief minister again in 2006.[19] In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he contested alone and lost. In 2016, he made the DMK become the Tamil Nadu Assembly's biggest opposition party.[17]

During his political career, Karunanidhi advocated for increased state autonomy and affirmative action to favour lower castes.[12] He implemented a caste-based quota system for government employment and government school students, as well as subsidies to the poor. His initiatives were quickly adopted in other Indian states. His initiatives earned him popularity among the lower castes.[9] He was frequently confronted with accusations of nepotism.[13] He has also stirred controversies by publicly supporting the LTTE and other separatist groups in Sri Lanka.[21] During his different tenures, he implemented a number of initiatives aimed at promoting the expansion of industry in the state.[11] He was also instrumental in erecting a 133-foot monument of Thiruvalluvar in Kanyakumari[11] and ensuring classical language status to Tamil language.[22]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ http://www.assembly.tn.gov.in/archive/7th_1980/7threview_80-84.pdf 7th Review 1980–84
  2. ^ indiankanoon.org.
  3. ^ a b Narayan, Pushpa. "M Karunanidhi, DMK chief and former Tamil Nadu chief minister, dies aged 94". The Times of India. No. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  4. ^ Chandrashekhar, Anandi; Vaitheesvaran, Bharani. "Karunanidhi Death: M Karunanidhi dies at 94, an era ends in Dravidian politics". The Economic Times. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  5. ^ "M Karunanidhi: India's 91-year-old politician who is still fighting". BBC. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  6. ^ Mohan, Gopu (31 May 2009). "Karunanidhi's Kutumbam". The Indian Express. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  7. ^ Abi-Habib, Maria (13 August 2018). "Muthuvel Karunanidhi, 94, Screenwriter Turned Politician, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Muthuvel Karunanidhi: From failing Class X to changing the social fabric of Tamil Nadu". 8 August 2018.
  9. ^ a b c Abi-Habib, Maria (13 August 2018). "Muthuvel Karunanidhi, 94, Screenwriter Turned Politician, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  10. ^ a b Manveena Suri (7 August 2018). "M. Karunanidhi, Indian political icon, dies at 94". CNN.
  11. ^ a b c Narasimhan, T. E. (7 August 2018). "End of an era: DMK President M Karunanidhi passes away at 94". Business Standard India. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  12. ^ a b c Kazmin, Amy (10 August 2018). "Muthuvel Karunanidhi, Indian politician and screenwriter, 1924–2018". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  13. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference BBC News 2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ "Karunanidhi: The script writer who wrote Tamil Nadu's destiny". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Tamil leader Karunanidhi, crusader for social justice, dies". Reuters. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  16. ^ "M Karunanidhi: Veteran Indian politician dies at 94". BBC News. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  17. ^ a b c d e Kolappan, B. (27 July 2018). "M. Karunanidhi: at the 50th year of being at the helm of DMK". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  18. ^ "DMK Chief And Former Tamil Nadu CM M Karunanidhi Dies". outlookindia.com/. 14 February 2022.
  19. ^ a b c "M Karunanidhi (1924–2018): A Titan Departs". 8 August 2018.
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference Subramanian 2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ "Obituary: Karunanidhi, the doyen of Dravidian politics". Deccan Herald. 7 August 2018.
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference Deccan Chronicle 2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).