M Karunanidhi

Karunanidhi?s fame had grown more and till today he is the unquestionable leader of the DMK.

An able administrator and intelligent politician, M Karunanidhi’s concern for the welfare of Tamil Nadu and Tamil culture made him more popular among DMK party men. Karunanidhi’s fame had grown more and today he is the unquestionable leader of the DMK. The party was fed, nurtured and developed by Karunanidhi alone, in spite of severe setbacks, humiliations and defeats.

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Born on June 3, 1924 in Thirukkuvalai near Tiruvarur, Karunanidhi is the son of Thiru. Muthuvelar and Thirumathi. Anjugam Ammaiyar. At the age of fourteen, he entered public life and founded the first student wing of the Dravidian Movement called “Tamil Nadu Tamil Manavar Mandram.”

He was the leader of the Opposition from 1962-1967 and from 1969 onwards DMK president. He has been representing the state assemblies from 1957 till 2001. He has had several tenures as the Chief Minister of the state - 1969-71, 1971-76, 1989-91 and again from May 1996 onwards.

The DMK leader was imprisoned on a number of occasions for political activities, especially for anti-Hindi agitation, change of name of railway station, against price raise and also resigned from his post of Member of Legislative Assembly during 1983 for the sake of Sri Lankan Tamils. Annamalai University conferred on him the title of "Doctorate" in 1971 while the Council of Doctor of Philosophy made him Tamizha vel.”

Tamil Nadu politics has always been very volatile with leaders on either side of the fence often getting down to the lowest common denominator. The arrest of Karunanidhi during the regime of J Jayalalitha can be distinctly seen as a case of political vendetta.

One of Karunanidhi's strength is his ability to stand on his own, be it on the issue of Sri Lankan Tamils or opposing imposition of Hindi language. His is image of a rebel fighting the establishment. Therein, lies his appeal.