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Profile
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Name: |
Muthuvel Karunanidhi |
Birth Date:
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03 June 1924
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| Birthplace: |
Thirukkuvalai, Tamil Nadu |
| Occupation: |
Chief Minister |
| Born In: |
Tamil Nadu |
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Biography
Muthuvel Karunanidhi (generally referred to as M. Karunanidhi or Dr. Kalaignar), born on June 3, 1924 in the Tanjore District, Tamil Nadu, India, is one of the founder members and the present leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the president of the DMK party since 1969. He has been the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu five times (1969-71, 1971-74, 1989-91, 1996-2001 and 2006-date). He took over as the Chief Minister on 13 May 2006 after his coalition defeated his main opponent J. Jayalalithaa in the May 2006 elections. He currently represents the constituency of Chepauk in Central Chennai in the Tamil Nadu state Legislative Assembly. He holds the record of winning every election that he fought in his political career spanning over 60 years. [1] He has been elected to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly for 11 times and once to the now abolished Tamil Nadu Legislative Council. [2]
Karunanidhi began his career as a scriptwriter in the Tamil film industry. He is known for his wit and oratorical skills, qualities which helped his rapid rise as a popular politician. He was famous for writing historicals and mythological stories which propagated the socialist and rationalist (in Tamil Nadu's politics, these usually stand for atheism and anti-caste views) ideals of Dravidian movement to which he belonged. His long political career spans over 60 years.On June 30, 2001 he was controversially arrested for alleged involvement in the "flyover scam".
He has championed the cause of the Tamil language in the past and has rallied against the "imposition" of the Hindi language in Tamil Nadu. According to him, "Hindi is like 'carrier-food' delivered from the hotel; English is akin to the food made by a cook by his own instructions; Tamil, whereas, is loving food from a mother who knows intimately of her family's needs and preferences, and so feeds them accordingly".
His son, M.K. Stalin is widely expected to succeed him as leader of the party, causing some political opponents to criticise him for attempting to establish a political dynasty. His defenders counter that Stalin has been in the party for several years and has contributed to its growth. His grand-nephew, Dayanidhi Maran, is currently the Union Minister of Communications & Information Technology.
In his political career, he has often strategically changed allegiances to garner power. For instance, he had opposed Indira Gandhi during the 1978 Emergency in India, but in the early 1980s he entered into a coalition with the Congress Party (the political party headed by Indira Gandhi)
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