Muthuvel Karunanidhi, the man who rewrote Tamil politics

THE ECONOMIC TIMES Wed, Aug 08, 2018 | 11:27 AM IST Muthuvel Karunanidhi: 1924-2018

An era ends in Dravidian politics The end came on Tuesday evening, 11 days after he was admitted in hospital with fever and urinary infection. Karunanidhi to be buried next to his mentor at Marina beach DMK had moved the court hours after the state government announced its inability to allot burial space on the Marina beach citing legal hurdles. The politician who campaigned against social evils He was livid over religious hypocrisy, and his words sliced through such human behaviour like a sharp-edged knife. Groomed for years, MK Stalin will have to employ all he learned Karunanidhi created space for Stalin within the party, at times pushing aside his trusted lieutenants, but never allowed him full autonomy. There were occasions when Karunanidhi made Stalin fight for his political space by creating road blocks within the family. As politician turned patriarch, family became centre of party ​For young Karunanidhi, who took the plunge into the Dravidian movement as a teenager, the movement and the party were his family. A script writer par excellence Karunanidhi, who passed away yesterday aged 94, took a keen interest in Tamil literature, poetry and drama. He made regional pride his political capital The wily satrap could ally with the Congress after suffering its Emergency-era excesses. He could sign up with the BJP, a party that seemed to stand for everything the Dravidian movement opposed. A huge void in Tamil Nadu politics M Karunanidhi to the end remained a people's politician, attuned to their hopes and aspirations. Tough act for new stars to match old-guard aura Without M Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa, Tamil Nadu politics will never be the same. When DMK founder CN Annadurai died in 1969, the political space was quickly occupied by Karunanidhi. DMK politics will miss Karunanidhi's wit & wisdom Muthuvel Karunanidhi was also a man known for his repartee, oratorical prowess and wry wit that lended much colour to his career spanning over six decades.

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