Dravidian Chronicles
1989: The election that ended the succession battle between MGR’s heroines-
The battle to take control over the AIADMK party commenced no sooner than December 24, 1987 – the day MGR died.
Anna Isaac| Tuesday, May 10, 2016 - 17:06
The News Minute brings you the Dravidian Chronicles, a collection of narratives on the margins of the 2016 election spotlight. Here we chronicle smaller, subtler shifts that catalyse and metamorphose the grand narratives of the electoral juggernaut.
“History will judge a man by his heirs,” goes a loosely-translated Thirukurral couplet. So too, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MG Ramachandran will be remembered, not just for his list of achievements, but also for not anointing a political successor until his death.
The battle to take control over the AIADMK party commenced no sooner than December 24, 1987 – the day MGR died. The party was split into two factions – one set pledged loyalty to MGR’s legal wife, Janaki and the other to his leading lady in 28 films, Jayalalithaa.
For Janaki, who had given up acting after marriage, becoming her husband’s successor was more personal than political. “She had a score to settle with Jayalalithaa,” says TN Gopalan, a veteran journalist. She succumbed to the pressures of senior leaders like RM Veerappan, who wanted to keep Jaylalaithaa out at any cost. Many still vividly remember the image of Jayalalitha being pushed and abused by party leaders like KP Ramalingam from atop the gun carriage carrying MGR’s body during his funeral procession.
Jayalalithaa, on the other hand, who had been hand-picked by MGR and initiated into the party in 1982, had been waiting in the wings to take over the AIADMK. “One of the main reasons MGR brought Jayalalithaa into the party then, was because there had been no one else who was popular and could win voters over,” Gopalan points out. And while MGR had groomed Jayalalithaa, he stopped short of announcing her as his political heir. Gopalan cites a conversation he had with a source close to the AIADMK leader, who stated, “MGR did not want to name Jayalalithaa as his heir. He did not want the party to survive.”
Two weeks after her husband’s death, Janaki was sworn in as Tamil Nadu’s first woman Chief Minister, with her faction producing 97 MLAs out of AIADMK’s 132 before the Governor. In his book ‘Tales of Old and New Madras: The Dalliance of Miss Mansel and 37 other stories of 375 years’, historian S. Muthiah writes, “It was the first instance of wife succeeding husband to this office in India, but the Governor made the appointment conditional on her proving within 21 days her claim of ‘enjoying the support of the majority of members of the legislature. ‘”
But Janaki Ramachandran’s government was short-lived, lasting 22 days. On the day of the vote of confidence, pandemonium broke out at the state Assembly. Two days later, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi dismissed her government, invoking Article 356 of the Constitution. The state was under President’s Rule for over a year before elections were held in January 1989.
Although the DMK went onto sweep the polls, 1989 is still remembered for settling the succession battle of the AIADMK. With MGR’s heroines claiming their right to his legacy, the campaigning befitted the occasion. Old movie posters featuring the late matinee idol and a young Jayalalithaa were spruced up and pasted across towns. Although MGR’s fan clubs were torn over whom to support, Janaki managed to win the support of another leading man in the film industry – Sivaji Ganesan, who had exited the Congress to start his own party.
But more than sparring over which faction deserved the AIADMK’s two leaves symbol (which the Election Commission ended up freezing), it was the way they positioned themselves vis-a-vis DMK chief Karunanidhi that set them apart. “Jayalalithaa grasped early on that the gravity of Tamil Nadu politics is anti-Karunanidhi,” notes R. Mani, a senior journalist. He points out that what cost Janaki the election was not only her lack of aggression but her outright praise of MGR’s arch-rival, Karunanidhi – something an average AIADMK voter is unable to stomach. By marking Karunanidhi as her political adversary, Jayalalithaa ended up with 27 seats against Janaki’s 2.
Ten days after the elections, MGR’s wife announced that she had “decided to quit politics and not hinder anyone.” The AIADMK was Jayalalithaa’s to take.
Also read:
How Biju Patnaik nearly pulled off a DMK and AIADMK merger
Indira Gandhi never forgave MGR for 1977
Dravidian Chronicles: TN’s first polls saw a jailed communist elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly
Dravidian Chronicles: MGR's first electoral victory was from a hospital bed
Dravidian Chronicles: 1984- The year Karunanidhi skipped an election
Dravidian Chronicles:
MGR's first electoral victory was from a hospital bed - It was the same year, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) swept to the power in the state for the first time, dislodging the Congress.
TNM Staff| Wednesday, April 20, 2016 - 16:04
The News Minute brings you the Dravidian Chronicles, a collection of narratives on the margins of the 2016 election spotlight. Here we chronicle smaller, subtler shifts that catalyse and metamorphose the grand narratives of the electoral juggernaut.
A stiff white cast swathed around his neck and finding support on the shoulders of a bare-bodied, wide-eyed man sitting on a hospital bed, his hands folded together in prayer and in humble appeal. It was an image that moved the masses. Actor-turned-politician Marudhur Gopalan Ramachandran, affectionately known as MGR, won his first election in 1967 from a hospital bed in Madras. It was the same year, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) swept to the power in the state for the first time, dislodging the Congress.
It was January 1967, a month before Madras State, as it was known then, headed to the polls. Actor MR Radha along with producer KK Vasu had gone over to MGR’s residence in Madras. There are several theories over what happens next. Actor and film historian Mohan Raman, who was 11-years-old at the time, remembers a blood-soaked Vasu turning up at his Llyods Road residence, just shortly after MGR had been shot. His father VP Raman, a public prosecutor at the time, had to excuse himself from the case to turn witness. Raman says the “officially acceptable version” is that Vasu and Radha had gone over to MGR’s following the poor box office collection of their film ‘Petralthan Pillaiya.’ Radha, who had starred alongside MGR in the 1967 film, wanted fresh money to reboot the losses of ‘Petralthan Pillaiya’. Raman says, MGR had reportedly dilly-dallied over the money and Radha eventually ran out of patience.
In their court testimony, MGR and the lone witness Vasu, narrated what happened in the former’s drawing room that fateful evening. MGR was shot by MR Radha in his left ear, reports The Hindu. Radha, then, turned the revolver upon himself, first shooting himself in the right temple and then the neck. Radha, however, spun a different story in court. After a heated argument, the matinee idol shot Radha, writes The Hindu. The actor, who had played the role of villain in a number of films, snatched the gun from MGR, and as a reflex shot him in return.
Both MGR and Radha had also fallen out for political reasons, notes Mohan Raman. While MR Radha was close to Congress’ former Chief Minister K Kamaraj, MGR was firmly rooted in the DMK. Both parties were in election campaign mode when the shooting took place. From his hospital bed, MGR campaigned for the St. Thomas Mount constituency in Madras. The DMK and the actor’s army of fans ensured that the iconic photograph of him recovering from his bullet wound was plastered across the state. In his first electoral triumph, MGR defeated his Congress rival by a margin of over 27,000 votes. His party, the DMK swept to power winning 137 seats, as the Congress ended its rule in Madras.
TNM Staff| Wednesday, April 20, 2016 - 16:04
The News Minute brings you the Dravidian Chronicles, a collection of narratives on the margins of the 2016 election spotlight. Here we chronicle smaller, subtler shifts that catalyse and metamorphose the grand narratives of the electoral juggernaut.
A stiff white cast swathed around his neck and finding support on the shoulders of a bare-bodied, wide-eyed man sitting on a hospital bed, his hands folded together in prayer and in humble appeal. It was an image that moved the masses. Actor-turned-politician Marudhur Gopalan Ramachandran, affectionately known as MGR, won his first election in 1967 from a hospital bed in Madras. It was the same year, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) swept to the power in the state for the first time, dislodging the Congress.
It was January 1967, a month before Madras State, as it was known then, headed to the polls. Actor MR Radha along with producer KK Vasu had gone over to MGR’s residence in Madras. There are several theories over what happens next. Actor and film historian Mohan Raman, who was 11-years-old at the time, remembers a blood-soaked Vasu turning up at his Llyods Road residence, just shortly after MGR had been shot. His father VP Raman, a public prosecutor at the time, had to excuse himself from the case to turn witness. Raman says the “officially acceptable version” is that Vasu and Radha had gone over to MGR’s following the poor box office collection of their film ‘Petralthan Pillaiya.’ Radha, who had starred alongside MGR in the 1967 film, wanted fresh money to reboot the losses of ‘Petralthan Pillaiya’. Raman says, MGR had reportedly dilly-dallied over the money and Radha eventually ran out of patience.
In their court testimony, MGR and the lone witness Vasu, narrated what happened in the former’s drawing room that fateful evening. MGR was shot by MR Radha in his left ear, reports The Hindu. Radha, then, turned the revolver upon himself, first shooting himself in the right temple and then the neck. Radha, however, spun a different story in court. After a heated argument, the matinee idol shot Radha, writes The Hindu. The actor, who had played the role of villain in a number of films, snatched the gun from MGR, and as a reflex shot him in return.
Both MGR and Radha had also fallen out for political reasons, notes Mohan Raman. While MR Radha was close to Congress’ former Chief Minister K Kamaraj, MGR was firmly rooted in the DMK. Both parties were in election campaign mode when the shooting took place. From his hospital bed, MGR campaigned for the St. Thomas Mount constituency in Madras. The DMK and the actor’s army of fans ensured that the iconic photograph of him recovering from his bullet wound was plastered across the state. In his first electoral triumph, MGR defeated his Congress rival by a margin of over 27,000 votes. His party, the DMK swept to power winning 137 seats, as the Congress ended its rule in Madras.
Dravidian Chronicles
How Biju Patnaik nearly pulled off a DMK and AIADMK merger
It was September 1979. India was going through a politically uncertain period.
TNM Staff| Wednesday, April 20, 2016 - 15:00
The News Minute brings you the Dravidian Chronicles, a collection of narratives from the past on the margins of the 2016 election spotlight. Here we chronicle smaller, subtler shifts that catalyse and metamorphose the grand narratives of the electoral juggernaut.
The political landscape of Tamil Nadu may have been vastly different if former Union Minister Biju Patnaik’s master plan had succeeded. He had attempted what looks a distant dream now – the merger of the DMK and the AIADMK.
It was September 1979. India was going through a politically uncertain period. It had been two years since the Emergency. Charan Singh was caretaker Prime Minister, having had to resign after 24 days as Congress (I)’s Indira Gandhi withdrew support to his government. Just weeks earlier, India’s first non-Congress Prime Minister Morarji Desai was forced to resign after mass defections from his Janata Party coalition.
In Tamil Nadu, MG Ramachandran (MGR) was two years into his first term as Chief Minister. His party, the AIADMK had lent support to Charan Singh’s government. With India facing general elections once more, MGR was now in talks with Indira Gandhi. But when a scheduled meeting on September 6thbetween Indira Gandhi and MGR failed to materialise, Patnaik swooped in.
Biju Patnaik was a part of the Janata Party and had been a Union Minister of Steel for Morarji Desai and thereafter Charan Singh.
The former Orissa Chief Minister shared a good rapport with DMK Chief M. Karunanidhi especially following DMK’s nation-wide movement for state autonomy vis-a-vis centre-state relations in the early 1970s.
On September 12, 1979, Patnaik brought up the idea of merging the DMK and the AIADMK with Karunanidhi at his residence in Madras. When the DMK patriarch wondered whose suggestion it was, Patnaik explained that it was MGR who had wanted the merger and wanted to know Karunanidhi’s conditions.
Karunanidhi’s conditions included retaining DMK’s name and AIADMK’s flag which had Anna on it. He also proposed MGR continue as Chief Minister while Karunanidhi would be the president of the merged party. On hearing the conditions, Patnaik hugged the DMK chief, telling him that he thought he would put forth impossible terms.
The next day Patnaik arranged for a meeting between Karunanidhi and MGR at the Chepauk Guest House. While DMK General Secretary Prof. K Anbazhagan and AIADMK’s VR Nedunchezhian and Panruti Ramachandran were present at the Guest House, MGR and Karunanidhi had a one-on-one meeting in another room. Following the two sides agreeing to the conditions, the leaders decided to convene an emergency executive council meeting of their respective parties to pass resolutions on the merger.
The next day at a public meeting in Vellore, MGR made no mention of the merger. Instead, the DMK came under attack from MGR’s ministers. The proposal to merge the two parties was as good as dead.
More than 30 years after the secret meeting, the DMK Chief at an awards function in Chennai, said it was MGR’s Cabinet Minister Panruti Ramachandran who had played spoilsport.
Karunanidhi’s conditions included retaining DMK’s name and AIADMK’s flag which had Anna on it. He also proposed MGR continue as Chief Minister while Karunanidhi would be the president of the merged party. On hearing the conditions, Patnaik hugged the DMK chief, telling him that he thought he would put forth impossible terms.
The next day Patnaik arranged for a meeting between Karunanidhi and MGR at the Chepauk Guest House. While DMK General Secretary Prof. K Anbazhagan and AIADMK’s VR Nedunchezhian and Panruti Ramachandran were present at the Guest House, MGR and Karunanidhi had a one-on-one meeting in another room. Following the two sides agreeing to the conditions, the leaders decided to convene an emergency executive council meeting of their respective parties to pass resolutions on the merger.
The next day at a public meeting in Vellore, MGR made no mention of the merger. Instead, the DMK came under attack from MGR’s ministers. The proposal to merge the two parties was as good as dead.
More than 30 years after the secret meeting, the DMK Chief at an awards function in Chennai, said it was MGR’s Cabinet Minister Panruti Ramachandran who had played spoilsport.
While the one-on-one with MGR was cordial, “he left for Vellore after the meeting. I do not know what happened in the car,” said Karunanidhi, but hinted that an ‘undesirable’ person who was with MGR may have turned him away.
With that, the chapter of merging the Dravidian heavyweights had closed. For Patnaik, perhaps, it was a failed attempt to put a check on the rising Congress (I).
Indira Gandhi never forgave MGR for 1977
http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/indira-gandhi-never-forgave-mgr-1977-42511
Matinee idol and DMK’s star campaigner MG Ramachandran had broken away from the parent party, floating the ADMK in 1972
Sunday, May 1, 2016 - 16:01
The News Minute brings you the Dravidian Chronicles, a collection of narratives from the past on the margins of the 2016 election spotlight. Here we chronicle smaller, subtler shifts that catalyse and metamorphose the grand narratives of the electoral juggernaut.
Indian history remembers 1977 for being the year the Emergency was lifted. Fear had enveloped people across the country in the 21-month period. Democracy, as Morarji Desai succinctly put it, had been vasectomised. It was also the year the country’s first non-Congress government – the loosely knit Janata Party – was voted in to power.
The political landscape was shifting in states like Tamil Nadu as well. Matinee idol and DMK’s star campaigner MG Ramachandran had broken away from the parent party, floating the ADMK in 1972. There were whispers of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi engineering the split as the DMK and the Congress drifted apart. When Mrs. Gandhi declared a state of Emergency, the DMK condemned the imposition of Emergency and stridently opposed it. Several DMK leaders including Murasoli Maran, MK Stalin and Arcot Veerasamy were thrown into jail and allegedly beaten up.
While the DMK sheltered those from the resistance including leaders like George Fernandes and Subramaniam Swamy, arch-rival MGR and his fledgling ADMK party supported Indira Gandhi and her 20-point programme. “In Tamil Nadu, Indira Gandhi helped sustain the anti-DMK movement during the Emergency through MGR,” says veteran journalist S. Murari. The actor-turned-politician submitted a memorandum listing corruption charges against Karunanidhi’s government to the governor. On January 31, 1976, the DMK government was dismissed by the Centre on charges of corruption while the Justice Sarkaria Commission was set up to probe the allegations.
When Emergency was finally lifted and Parliamentary Elections ordered, it came as no surprise when MGR aligned with Indira Gandhi. Karunanidhi was forced into the arms of the newly-formed Janata Party. “Unlike the north, everyday life wasn’t affected for the average man during the Emergency in Tamil Nadu. As a result, the Emergency was not a voter’s issue during the elections,” notes Gnani Sankaran, a writer and political commentator. The corruption charges against Karunanidhi’s regime became a talking point in the 1977 Lok Sabha polls as the ADMK-Congress-Left alliance swept the elections bagging 34 out of 39 seats in the state. The rest of the country was however, not so forgiving, as the Grand Old Party was dislodged by the Janata Party. Indira Gandhi suffered a personal blow, losing her Rae Bareli seat.
More than two months later when Tamil Nadu went to polls, MGR was quick to dump Indira Gandhi. The polls saw a four-cornered contest among the ADMK, DMK, Congress and the Janata Party. MGR’s charisma and mass following together with the corruption charges plaguing the DMK ensured that the ADMK sailed through its first Assembly elections, winning 130 seats. As Chief Minister, MGR realised it was prudent to be on the right side of the Centre, especially after Morarji Desai dismissed a number of Congress-led state governments. “MGR realised maintaining good relations with the Centre would be beneficial to the state. There were also rumours that MGR was fearful of IT raids,” observes N. Sathiyamoorthy, director of the Chennai-Chaper of ORF. The ADMK not only went on to support the Janata Party but also became the first regional party to be a part of the Union Cabinet during Charan Singh’s tenure.
Indira Gandhi, however, never forgot nor forgave MGR’s betrayal. In an about face, the 1980 Parliamentary Elections saw Mrs Gandhi align with the DMK, whose leaders she persecuted and whose government she dismissed in 1976. MGR went with the Janata Party and came a cropper – winning just 2 seats. Indira Gandhi, who had ascended to the Prime Minister’s chair once more, dismissed the MGR government
Matinee idol and DMK’s star campaigner MG Ramachandran had broken away from the parent party, floating the ADMK in 1972
Sunday, May 1, 2016 - 16:01
The News Minute brings you the Dravidian Chronicles, a collection of narratives from the past on the margins of the 2016 election spotlight. Here we chronicle smaller, subtler shifts that catalyse and metamorphose the grand narratives of the electoral juggernaut.
Indian history remembers 1977 for being the year the Emergency was lifted. Fear had enveloped people across the country in the 21-month period. Democracy, as Morarji Desai succinctly put it, had been vasectomised. It was also the year the country’s first non-Congress government – the loosely knit Janata Party – was voted in to power.
The political landscape was shifting in states like Tamil Nadu as well. Matinee idol and DMK’s star campaigner MG Ramachandran had broken away from the parent party, floating the ADMK in 1972. There were whispers of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi engineering the split as the DMK and the Congress drifted apart. When Mrs. Gandhi declared a state of Emergency, the DMK condemned the imposition of Emergency and stridently opposed it. Several DMK leaders including Murasoli Maran, MK Stalin and Arcot Veerasamy were thrown into jail and allegedly beaten up.
While the DMK sheltered those from the resistance including leaders like George Fernandes and Subramaniam Swamy, arch-rival MGR and his fledgling ADMK party supported Indira Gandhi and her 20-point programme. “In Tamil Nadu, Indira Gandhi helped sustain the anti-DMK movement during the Emergency through MGR,” says veteran journalist S. Murari. The actor-turned-politician submitted a memorandum listing corruption charges against Karunanidhi’s government to the governor. On January 31, 1976, the DMK government was dismissed by the Centre on charges of corruption while the Justice Sarkaria Commission was set up to probe the allegations.
When Emergency was finally lifted and Parliamentary Elections ordered, it came as no surprise when MGR aligned with Indira Gandhi. Karunanidhi was forced into the arms of the newly-formed Janata Party. “Unlike the north, everyday life wasn’t affected for the average man during the Emergency in Tamil Nadu. As a result, the Emergency was not a voter’s issue during the elections,” notes Gnani Sankaran, a writer and political commentator. The corruption charges against Karunanidhi’s regime became a talking point in the 1977 Lok Sabha polls as the ADMK-Congress-Left alliance swept the elections bagging 34 out of 39 seats in the state. The rest of the country was however, not so forgiving, as the Grand Old Party was dislodged by the Janata Party. Indira Gandhi suffered a personal blow, losing her Rae Bareli seat.
More than two months later when Tamil Nadu went to polls, MGR was quick to dump Indira Gandhi. The polls saw a four-cornered contest among the ADMK, DMK, Congress and the Janata Party. MGR’s charisma and mass following together with the corruption charges plaguing the DMK ensured that the ADMK sailed through its first Assembly elections, winning 130 seats. As Chief Minister, MGR realised it was prudent to be on the right side of the Centre, especially after Morarji Desai dismissed a number of Congress-led state governments. “MGR realised maintaining good relations with the Centre would be beneficial to the state. There were also rumours that MGR was fearful of IT raids,” observes N. Sathiyamoorthy, director of the Chennai-Chaper of ORF. The ADMK not only went on to support the Janata Party but also became the first regional party to be a part of the Union Cabinet during Charan Singh’s tenure.
Indira Gandhi, however, never forgot nor forgave MGR’s betrayal. In an about face, the 1980 Parliamentary Elections saw Mrs Gandhi align with the DMK, whose leaders she persecuted and whose government she dismissed in 1976. MGR went with the Janata Party and came a cropper – winning just 2 seats. Indira Gandhi, who had ascended to the Prime Minister’s chair once more, dismissed the MGR government
Dravidian Chronicles: 1984- The year Karunanidhi skipped an election
Despite the multiple electoral wins, did you know that the only time Karunanidhi did not contest was in the 1984 assembly elections?
Wednesday, May 4, 2016 - 18:24
http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/dravidian-chronicles-1984-year-karunanidhi-skipped-election-42683
The News Minute brings you the Dravidian Chronicles, a collection of narratives on the margins of the 2016 election spotlight. Here we chronicle smaller, subtler shifts that catalyse and metamorphose the grand narratives of the electoral juggernaut.
Pushing 92, he’s one of the oldest active politicians in India. He’s also a five-time Chief Minister. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam patriarch Muthuval Karunanidhi, in his 59-year long career has never tasted defeat, winning every time he has contested. Under his leadership, the party has suffered a number of defeats including remaining out of power for 12 successive years when his archrival MGR was Chief Minister. But on the 12 occasions he has contested as an MLA, from his electoral debut in 1957 up until 2011, Karunanidhi has been given the vote of confidence by the people in his constituency.
Despite the multiple electoral wins, did you know that the only time Karunanidhi did not contest was in the 1984 assembly elections?
The DMK president chose to give the polls a miss, having been elected as a member of the legislative council in April 1984. Karunanidhi together with K. Anbhazhagan had resigned from their MLA posts a year earlier, to express solidarity with Sri Lankan Tamils following the riots in the island-nation.
This picture was taken on 3.10.1969; It shows the then Governor Sardar Ujjal Singh and Karunanidhi receiving Indira Gandhi at the Meenambakkam airport.
In hindsight, sitting out of the 1984 Assembly Elections may have also been a tactical move, on Karunanidhi’s part. These elections saw the AIADMK’s MGR re-elected Chief Minister despite convalescing from a kidney transplant at a New York hospital, all through the party’s poll campaign. The year 1984 also saw the AIADMK’s poll partner, Congress win a significant sympathy wave following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In sitting out, Karunanidhi escaped the embarrassment of having to lose an assembly election since MGR’s victory was a foregone conclusion.
The News Minute brings you the Dravidian Chronicles, a collection of narratives on the margins of the 2016 election spotlight. Here we chronicle smaller, subtler shifts that catalyse and metamorphose the grand narratives of the electoral juggernaut.
Pushing 92, he’s one of the oldest active politicians in India. He’s also a five-time Chief Minister. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam patriarch Muthuval Karunanidhi, in his 59-year long career has never tasted defeat, winning every time he has contested. Under his leadership, the party has suffered a number of defeats including remaining out of power for 12 successive years when his archrival MGR was Chief Minister. But on the 12 occasions he has contested as an MLA, from his electoral debut in 1957 up until 2011, Karunanidhi has been given the vote of confidence by the people in his constituency.
Despite the multiple electoral wins, did you know that the only time Karunanidhi did not contest was in the 1984 assembly elections?
The DMK president chose to give the polls a miss, having been elected as a member of the legislative council in April 1984. Karunanidhi together with K. Anbhazhagan had resigned from their MLA posts a year earlier, to express solidarity with Sri Lankan Tamils following the riots in the island-nation.
This picture was taken on 3.10.1969; It shows the then Governor Sardar Ujjal Singh and Karunanidhi receiving Indira Gandhi at the Meenambakkam airport.
In hindsight, sitting out of the 1984 Assembly Elections may have also been a tactical move, on Karunanidhi’s part. These elections saw the AIADMK’s MGR re-elected Chief Minister despite convalescing from a kidney transplant at a New York hospital, all through the party’s poll campaign. The year 1984 also saw the AIADMK’s poll partner, Congress win a significant sympathy wave following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In sitting out, Karunanidhi escaped the embarrassment of having to lose an assembly election since MGR’s victory was a foregone conclusion.
TN’s first polls saw a jailed communist elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly
PR was not only a popular leader in Madurai but was the architect of the trade union movement in the state.
Monday, April 25, 2016 - 15:54
PR was not only a popular leader in Madurai but was the architect of the trade union movement in the state.
Monday, April 25, 2016 - 15:54
http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/dravidian-chronicles-tn%E2%80%99s-first-polls-saw-jailed-communist-elected-madras-legislative
The News Minute brings you the Dravidian Chronicles, a collection of narratives on the margins of the 2016 election spotlight. Here we chronicle smaller, subtler shifts that catalyse and metamorphose the grand narratives of the electoral juggernaut.
India was slowly finding her feet in the years after Independence. The country’s first general election, which began in October 1951 and concluded in the spring of 1952, had 176 million eligible voters, aged 21 and above, and about 85 per cent of them were illiterate[1]. It was, as historian Ramachandra Guha [2] put it, “an act of faith.”
PR in the early 40's with another legendary communist, P.C. Joshi, in Bombay. These were times when the party was banned.
There was a churning in the country. The Congress under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was accused by the Communist Party of betraying the cause of workers and peasants in the interest of landlords and capitalists. With the aim of bringing down the Congress government, the communists began a nation-wide revolution. What followed was a crackdown, as state after state banned the Communist Party of India from 1948, forcing several of its members underground.
Circa 60s: PR leading a protest in Madurai.
This was a jeep procession being taken out on PR's 60th birthday in Madurai. Seen standing on PR's left is a young P. Mohan, who later went on to become MP from Madurai twice for the CPM.
The general elections were held concurrently with the state assembly polls. Madras State held its first ever assembly elections in March 1952. Several of the Communist leaders in the state including P. Ramamurti, the founder of the party in Madras had gone underground following arrest warrants against them. “Because of his physical inability, Ramamurti could not move about in day time. He went to different places only during night and met comrades to explain new situations to them,” wrote N. Rama Krishnan in his biography on Ramamurti. The government had even announced a reward to anyone giving information about him.
Late 70s: PR led a CPM delegation to China in the late 1970s (exact year unsure) at the invitation of the CPC. Outside the plane after landing in Beijing along with legendary Maharasthrian Communist Godavari Parulekhar.
In late 1951, the Communist leader was arrested while travelling by train to Bombay. Ramamurti, who was dressed in disguise was spotted and apprehended by a CID officer from Madras, who happened to be travelling in the same compartment. In his 2008 book, Rama Krishnan explains that Ramamurti’s arrest got “wide publicity” in the press. He was taken to Madurai Central Jail from the Amalapuram Railway Station.
50s: PR in Moscow with Soviet Union delegates
The timing of Ramamurti’s arrest coincided with elections in the state The Communist Party decided to field Ramamurti as its candidate from Madurai North. His incarceration was not an inconvenience or a disadvantage. PR, as he was affectionaly known, was not only a popular leader in Madurai but was the architect of the trade union movement in the state. He built a reputation as an organiser of the working class, having helped launch strikes and agitations for over 20 years. PR was also deeply involved in organising textile mill workers in Madurai in the 1940s, not only founding AITUC union but even appearing and arguing before labour tribunals on behalf of mill workers.
Circa 70s: PR with former President VV Giri. Both were close friends and would often take the other's cane and return it later. Giri used to carry a nicer, more polished one, while PR wouldn't pay much attention. The joke here could be about getting the cane right the next time!
PR's trade mark style of public address and lessons in Marxism to workers in the later years - 80s. He would climb onto a table, sit on it and talk.
“During his time in jail, he adopted various ways to come before the public. He even feigned illness in order to be taken to hospital. En route, he would talk loudly to draw people’s attention,” said R. Vaigai, Ramamurti’s daughter and a lawyer at the Madras High Court. When the Election Commission announced the results, it came as no surprise when a jailed Ramamurti ended up defeating Congress’ T. Chidambara Bharathi by a margin of 3332 votes.[1] Guha, Ramachandra (2007) “India After Gandhi”, p. 133
[2] Guha, Ramachandra (2007) “India After Gandhi”, p. 133
Photo credit: P Ramamurti Family Archives.
The News Minute brings you the Dravidian Chronicles, a collection of narratives on the margins of the 2016 election spotlight. Here we chronicle smaller, subtler shifts that catalyse and metamorphose the grand narratives of the electoral juggernaut.
India was slowly finding her feet in the years after Independence. The country’s first general election, which began in October 1951 and concluded in the spring of 1952, had 176 million eligible voters, aged 21 and above, and about 85 per cent of them were illiterate[1]. It was, as historian Ramachandra Guha [2] put it, “an act of faith.”
PR in the early 40's with another legendary communist, P.C. Joshi, in Bombay. These were times when the party was banned.
There was a churning in the country. The Congress under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was accused by the Communist Party of betraying the cause of workers and peasants in the interest of landlords and capitalists. With the aim of bringing down the Congress government, the communists began a nation-wide revolution. What followed was a crackdown, as state after state banned the Communist Party of India from 1948, forcing several of its members underground.
Circa 60s: PR leading a protest in Madurai.
This was a jeep procession being taken out on PR's 60th birthday in Madurai. Seen standing on PR's left is a young P. Mohan, who later went on to become MP from Madurai twice for the CPM.
The general elections were held concurrently with the state assembly polls. Madras State held its first ever assembly elections in March 1952. Several of the Communist leaders in the state including P. Ramamurti, the founder of the party in Madras had gone underground following arrest warrants against them. “Because of his physical inability, Ramamurti could not move about in day time. He went to different places only during night and met comrades to explain new situations to them,” wrote N. Rama Krishnan in his biography on Ramamurti. The government had even announced a reward to anyone giving information about him.
Late 70s: PR led a CPM delegation to China in the late 1970s (exact year unsure) at the invitation of the CPC. Outside the plane after landing in Beijing along with legendary Maharasthrian Communist Godavari Parulekhar.
In late 1951, the Communist leader was arrested while travelling by train to Bombay. Ramamurti, who was dressed in disguise was spotted and apprehended by a CID officer from Madras, who happened to be travelling in the same compartment. In his 2008 book, Rama Krishnan explains that Ramamurti’s arrest got “wide publicity” in the press. He was taken to Madurai Central Jail from the Amalapuram Railway Station.
50s: PR in Moscow with Soviet Union delegates
The timing of Ramamurti’s arrest coincided with elections in the state The Communist Party decided to field Ramamurti as its candidate from Madurai North. His incarceration was not an inconvenience or a disadvantage. PR, as he was affectionaly known, was not only a popular leader in Madurai but was the architect of the trade union movement in the state. He built a reputation as an organiser of the working class, having helped launch strikes and agitations for over 20 years. PR was also deeply involved in organising textile mill workers in Madurai in the 1940s, not only founding AITUC union but even appearing and arguing before labour tribunals on behalf of mill workers.
Circa 70s: PR with former President VV Giri. Both were close friends and would often take the other's cane and return it later. Giri used to carry a nicer, more polished one, while PR wouldn't pay much attention. The joke here could be about getting the cane right the next time!
PR's trade mark style of public address and lessons in Marxism to workers in the later years - 80s. He would climb onto a table, sit on it and talk.
“During his time in jail, he adopted various ways to come before the public. He even feigned illness in order to be taken to hospital. En route, he would talk loudly to draw people’s attention,” said R. Vaigai, Ramamurti’s daughter and a lawyer at the Madras High Court. When the Election Commission announced the results, it came as no surprise when a jailed Ramamurti ended up defeating Congress’ T. Chidambara Bharathi by a margin of 3332 votes.[1] Guha, Ramachandra (2007) “India After Gandhi”, p. 133
[2] Guha, Ramachandra (2007) “India After Gandhi”, p. 133
Photo credit: P Ramamurti Family Archives.
The story of Udaya Suriyan: How the rising sun became the symbol of DMK
A red sun rising from twin peaks as its yellow rays spread far and wide. This is the symbol people across Tamil Nadu recognise as the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
The News Minute brings you the Dravidian Chronicles, a collection of narratives on the margins of the 2016 election spotlight. Here we chronicle smaller, subtler shifts that catalyse and metamorphose the grand narratives of the electoral juggernaut.
Eight years after breaking away from the Dravida Kazhagam, the DMK took the electoral plunge in the 1957 general elections. According to The Economic Weekly the DMK won 15 out of the 112 Assembly seats it contested in. The party also won 2 parliamentary seats in the same elections.
But the Dravidian giant that we know of today was not recognised by the Election Commission in the 1957 poll. Grouped as independents, the DMK was not united by its rising sun symbol. In fact, many of DMK’s candidates were forced to contest under another symbol – the rooster. (Interestingly, following the death of MGR and the split of the AIADMK into two factions, Jayalalithaa’s party was allotted the very same rooster symbol for the 1989 Assembly Elections.)
By 1962, the Election Commission formally recognized the DMK as a political party and had by then also allotted it the rising sun symbol. The origin of the party symbol was, in fact, inspired from leader and scriptwriter M. Karunanidhi’s 1950s play ‘Udaya Surya’ (Rising Sun in Tamil) which had been banned, writes historian S. Muthiah in his ‘Tales of Old and New Madras: The Dalliance of Miss Mansel and 37 Other Stories of 375 Years’. As far as symbolism goes, the DMK’s poll symbol signifies the ‘rising’ spirit of the Dravidian people.
Over the years, the party has appropriated the rising sun to English weekly of the same name and to the brand logo of its television channel – Kalaignar TV. Of course, numerous journalists and their editors also share a love for the DMK’s poll symbol for the ample punning opportunities it provides – the most obvious being a reference to party chief M. Karunanidhi’s heir apparent and younger son MK Stalin.
DMK’s symbol has had its fair share of controversies too. Actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi had wanted the Election Commission to allot his Praja Rajyam party the ‘rising sun’symbol in 2008. While the DMK had objected on the grounds that it had presence in Andhra Pradesh, Chiranjeevi was eventually allotted the ‘rail engine’.
In 2009, a PIL was filed in the Supreme Court seeking to prohibit the DMK from using the ‘rising sun’ symbol on the grounds that it was a religious symbol and the Sun was worshipped as a God (the DMK is aethist). The country’s apex court dismissed the petition observing, “Many of the signs allocated as symbol to the political parties are in one or the other way is related to religion. In India, cow, sheep, horn etc are related to religion.”
http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/story-udaya-suriyan-how-rising-sun-became-symbol-dmk-43247
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