President of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for the last 49 years, five-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, powerful orator, screenwriter and playwright – Muthuvel Karunanidhi was many things rolled into one. As a politician, he won 13 elections on the trot. As a screenwriter, he struck a collaboration with MG Ramachandran that spilled over to politics and propelled both to great heights. The DMK patriarch passed away in Chennai on August 7, 2018, following complications from age-related conditions.
Here’s a brief timeline of his illustrious life and career:
Image courtesy: The Times of India
- June 3, 1924 – Born in Thirukkuvalai village of Nagapattinam district.
- 1938 – Enters politics at the age of 14 after closely observing the reformist leaders of the Dravidian Movement. Their efforts prompt him to write, “The compelling arguments of Periyar’s (Periyar E. V. Ramasamy) speeches, the bravery and courage in Azhagiri’s (Pattukottai Azhagirisamy) sentences, CN Annadurai’s beautiful Tamil – these mesmerised me.”
- April 1947 – Rajakumari, the first movie penned by Karunanidhi releases, marking his first collaboration with MG Ramachandran. What followed were films that propagated the socialist and rationalist values of the Dravidian Movement. The scripts of these movies were moulded in such a way that they served as a mouthpiece for the Movement’s political ideology.
- 1953 – Forays into politics by participating in the Kallakudy agitation demanding that the town retain its original rename rather than adopting ‘Dalmiapuram’ after the establishment of Dalmia Cements there. Subsequently, two people die and Karunanidhi is arrested.
- 1957 – Enters the Tamil Nadu Assembly after winning the Kulithalai seat.
- 1967 – Becomes the Minister of Public Works.
Image Courtesy – www.oneindia.com
- 1969 – Becomes Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for the first time and takes over as DMK president following the death of his mentor CN Annadurai. He begins to gradually weed out the rivals within his party to ensure an heir of his takes over the reins from him.
- 1971– Becomes Chief Minister for the second time and has a fallout with long-time partner MG Ramachandran, who was instrumental in bringing him to power. This prompts MGR to form the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in 1972 and convert his fan clubs into party units.
- 1977 – Loses the election to MG Ramachandran’s AIADMK.
- 1989 – Regains power after a 12-year wait following MG Ramachandran’s death.
- 1991 – His government is dismissed for 145 days over accusations of supporting anti-national activities. Months later, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated by an LTTE suicide bomber in Sriperumbudur.
- 1996 – Comes back to power defeating J Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK
- 2001 – Arrested over corruption charges in the construction of 10 flyovers in Chennai.
- 2011 – 2G scam surfaces. DMK’s Andimuthu Raja, the Union Minister Of Communications & Information Technology, is accused of allegedly receiving millions of dollars in kickbacks. Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi is named co-accused in the case for accepting bribes. Subsequently, the DMK loses the 2011 Assembly elections.
- 2016: Karunanidhi becomes the Thiruvarur MLA. He trounces R Paneerselvam, his opponent from the AIADMK, by 68,366 votes.
- August 7, 2018, 6.10 p.m.: Passes away at the age of 94 due to age-related complications.
Image Courtesy: http://post.jagran.com
