13.Muthuvel Karunanidhi

M. Karunanidhi

M. Karunanidhi in Chief Minister's office

15th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

In office

May 13, 2006 – May 15, 2011

Preceded by

J.Jayalalithaa

Succeeded by

J.Jayalalithaa

Constituency

Chepauk

12th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

In office

13 May 1996 – 13 May 2001

Preceded by

J.Jayalalithaa

Succeeded by

O. Panneerselvam

Constituency

Chepauk

10th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

In office

27 January 1989 – 30 January 1991

Preceded by

Janaki Ramachandran

Succeeded by

J. Jayalalithaa

Constituency

Harbour

4th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

In office

15 March 1971 – 31 January 1976

Preceded by

President's rule

Succeeded by

President's rule

Constituency

Saidapet

3rd Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

In office

10 February 1969 – 4 January 1971

Preceded by

V.R. Nedunchezhiyan (acting)

Succeeded by

President's rule

Constituency

Saidapet

Personal details

Born

Dakshinamurthi

June 3, 1924 (age 87)

Thirukkuvalai, Madras Presidency, British India

Political party

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

Spouse(s)

Padmavathi (deceased)

Dayalu

Rajathi

Children

M. K. Muthu

M. K. Azhagiri

M. K. Stalin

M. K. Tamilarasu

M. K. Selvi

M. K. Kanimozhi

Residence

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Religion

Atheist

Muthuvel Karunanidhi (born Dakshinamurthi, June 3, 1924)is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK),a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N. Annadurai, in 1969 and has served as chief minister five times (1969–71, 1971–76, 1989–91, 1996–2001 and 2006–2011). He holds the record of winning his seat in every election in which he has participated in a political career spanning more than 60 years.In the 2004 Lok Sabha Elections, he led the DMK-led DPA (UPA and Left Parties) in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry to win all 40 Lok Sabha seats. In the following 2009 Lok Sabha Elections, he was able to increase the number of seats for the DMK from 16 to 18 seats, and led the UPA in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, to win 28 seats, even with a significantly smaller coalition. He is also a playwright and screenwriter in Tamil cinema. He is called by his supporters as Kalaignar, "scholar of arts").

 Early life

Muthuvel Karunanidhi was born as Dakshinamurthy in Thirukuvalai in Tiruvarur, British India,on 3 June 1924 to Muthuvel and Anjugam.He belongs to Isai Vellalar community based in Tamilnadu.

Personal life

He has claimed that the secret of his energy and success lies in the daily practice of yoga. He married three times; his wives are the late Padmavathy, Dayalu Ammal and Rajathiammal.

His sons are M. K. Muthu, M. K. Alagiri, M. K. Stalin, and M. K. Tamilarasu. His daughters are Selvi and Kanimozhi. Kanimozhi is a Rajya Sabha MP. M. K. Muthu, his eldest son was born to Padmavathy, who died early. Azhagiri, Stalin, Selvi and Tamilarasu were born to Dayaluammal, while Kanimozhi is the only daughter from his third wife, Rajathiammal.[citation needed] He has donated his house, that is to be converted into a free hospital for the poor after his death.

Screenwriting

Karunanidhi began his career as a screenwriter in the Tamil film industry.Through his wit and oratorical skills he rapidly rose as a popular politician. He was famous for writing historical and social (reformist) stories which propagated the socialist and rationalist ideals of the Dravidian movement to which he belonged. He first began using Tamil cinema to propagate his political ideas through the movie Parasakthi. Parasakthi was a turning point in Tamil cinema, as it espoused the ideologies of the Dravidian movement and also introduced two prominent actors of Tamil filmdom, Sivaji Ganesan and S. S. Rajendran.The movie was initially banned but was eventually released in 1952. It was a huge box office hit, but its release was marred with controversies. The movie was opposed by orthodox Hindus since it contained elements that criticized Brahmanism.Two other movies written by Karunanidhi that contained such messages were Panam and Thangarathnam.These movies contained themes such as widow remarriage, abolition of untouchability, self-respect marriages, abolition of zamindari and abolition of religious hypocrisy.[19] As his movies and plays with strong social messages became popular, they suffered from increased censorship; two of his plays in the 1950s were banned.

Literature

Karunanidhi is known for his contributions to Tamil literature. His contributions cover a wide range: poems, letters, screenplays, novels, biographies, historic novels, stageplays, dialogues, songs, etc. He has written Kuraloviam for Thirukural, Tholkaappiya Poonga, Poombukar, as well as many poems, essays and books.

Apart from literature, Karunanidhi has also contributed to the Tamil language through art and architecture. Like the Kuraloviyam, in which Kalaignar wrote about Thirukkural, through the construction of Valluvar Kottam he gave an architectural presence to Thiruvalluvar, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. At Kanniyakumari, Karunanidhi has constructed a 133-foot-high statue of Thiruvalluvar, which portrays his feelings about the scholar.

Books

Books Karunanidhi's writings include: Sanga Thamizh, Thirukkural Urai, Ponnar Sankar, Romapuri Pandian, Thenpandi Singam, Vellikizhamai, Nenjukku Needhi,Iniyavai Irubathu and Kuraloviam. His books of prose and poetry number more than 100.