M. Karunanidhi

Muthuvel Karunanidhi (3 June 1924 – 7 August 2018), also known as Kalaignar (Artist), 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 had the longest intermittent tenure as Chief Minister 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] As such, he is also referred to as Mutthamizh Arignar (Tamil Scholar) for his contributions to Tamil literature. Dravida Kazhagam prominent leader Pattukkottai Alagiri conferred the title Kalaignar on him during "Thookumedi" drama.^[7] 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 Isai Vellalar community, a caste of musicians that perform at temples and other social gatherings.^[8] Growing up in a caste-ridden culture, Karunanidhi was learned about the crippling circumstances that arose from being born into a low caste.^[9] 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.^[10] 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.^[11] Karunanidhi began participating in theatrical productions at a young age, including composing plays. Later on, he started writing for movies.^[10] As a writer, he wrote screenplays, historical novels, screenplays, biographies, poems and novels.^[12] He utilised his writing to propagate reformist ideals effectively.^[13] 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.^[14][15] He was critical of organised religion and superstition.^[16] He was an atheist and a self-described rationalist.^[17][13]

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^[11] and led the party to a landslide win in the 1971 Assembly elections.^[18] He was influenced by the rationalist and egalitarian ideology of Periyar and DMK founder C N Annadurai.^[19] Karunanidhi was among those who fought Indira Gandhi's Emergency in 1975 which led to governments getting dismissed in 1976.^[20] 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.^[18] His administration was dismissed in 1991 for its alleged links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).^[20] 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.^[18] He was arrested from his house in 2001 by the police on the orders of Jayalalithaa as an act of vendetta over alleged losses in construction of fly-overs.^[21] In the Lok Sabha elections of 2004, he teamed up with the Congress and won by a landslide.^[18] He became a chief minister again in 2006.^[20] In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he contested alone and lost. In 2016, he made his son Stalin as leader of opposition for the DMK become the Tamil Nadu Assembly's biggest opposition party.^[18]

During his political career, Karunanidhi advocated for increased state autonomy and affirmative action to favour lower castes.^[13] 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.^[10] He was frequently confronted with accusations of nepotism.^[14] He has also stirred controversies by publicly supporting the LTTE and other separatist groups in Sri Lanka.^[22] During his different tenures, he implemented a number of initiatives aimed at promoting the expansion of industry in the state.^[12] He was also instrumental in erecting a 133-foot monument of Thiruvalluvar in Kanyakumari^[12] and ensuring classical language status to Tamil language.^[23]

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