M. Karunanidhi
June 3, 1924 — August 7, 2018 — Tirukkuvalai, Tamil Nadu, India
M. Karunanidhi — full name Muthuvel Karunanidhi — was a Tamil politician, screenwriter, poet, and essayist who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu five times over five decades, led the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party from 1969 until his death, and was considered one of the most formidable political figures in independent India.
From Screenwriter to Political Force
Born on June 3, 1924, in Tirukkuvalai in what is now Tamil Nadu, Karunanidhi came from a poor family of the Isai Vellalar community. He was drawn to politics as a teenager through the Dravidian movement — a social-reform movement opposing Brahmin dominance and promoting Tamil cultural identity and the rights of lower castes. He became a prolific Tamil writer and screenwriter in the 1940s and 1950s, writing film scripts that carried social messaging to mass audiences. Tamil cinema was, in that era, an extraordinarily effective political platform, and Karunanidhi used it expertly. He was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1957 and never lost an election in his constituency over the next six decades.
Five Chief Ministerships and National Influence
Karunanidhi served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in 1969–71, 1971–76, 1989–91, 1996–2001, and 2006–2011 — the longest aggregate period of any chief minister in the state's history. He oversaw significant development of Tamil Nadu's infrastructure, industry, and educational institutions. His DMK party became a crucial kingmaker in national coalition governments, and Karunanidhi used that leverage to advance Tamil interests at the national level. His rivalry with fellow Tamil leader J. Jayalalithaa — his successor's successor, in a way — defined Tamil Nadu politics for decades. The two alternated in power, with their parties trading control of the state in a pattern that lasted into the 2010s.
Did You Know?
M. Karunanidhi was a prolific Tamil writer throughout his entire political career — authoring plays, novels, screenplays, poetry, and essays while simultaneously serving as a full-time politician and party leader. He wrote more than 1,500 songs, thirty plays, and over one hundred screenplays. He was awarded several honorary doctorates for his literary contributions and considered Tamil language and culture's protection to be as central to his political identity as any economic or governance policy. He wrote in Tamil until the end of his life, using a typewriter rather than a computer.
Final Years and Legacy
Karunanidhi remained active in politics until very late in his life, though declining health limited his activities in his final years. He died in Chennai on August 7, 2018, at age ninety-four, and was given a state funeral attended by hundreds of thousands of people. He is regarded as a transformative force in the social, cultural, and political history of Tamil Nadu — a state of more than 70 million people whose modern identity was substantially shaped by Dravidian politics and the Tamil cultural renaissance that Karunanidhi helped lead. His son M. K. Stalin became leader of the DMK and later Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.