In the last week, a black and white photograph of four men all smiles, clearly enjoying each other’s company has been doing the rounds. In the frame with Dravidian ideologue Periyar were CN Annadurai, MG Ramachandran and M Karunanidhi, all of who went on to become chief ministers of Tamil Nadu. It was political greatness captured in one frame as the quartet had shaped and influenced the politics of Tamil Nadu to a great extent.
But history books tell a different story. Periyar was never in favour of Annadurai, Karunanidhi and company floating the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in 1949. He suspected the group wanted to launch a political party fuelled by personal ambitions and also to take on the Congress effectively in an electoral contest. The Dravida Kazhagam of Periyar, in contrast, did not encourage a political role. It was the first recorded instance of Karunanidhi and his mentor, Annadurai, displaying they were not content being social reformers but wanted to be active politicians. And that anything went as far as politics was concerned, including going against their ideologue, Periyar.
What marked the politics of Tamil Nadu distinct from that in any other state in India was the marriage of cinema and politics. Here again, Karunanidhi was a leading light. The silver screen was a willing accomplice to push the Dravidian ideology that incorporated anti-Brahminism, anti-Hindi and an atheist way of life on an unsuspecting audience, brainwashed in the darkness of the theatre. Karunanidhi’s skill as a fiery dialogue writer and poet added sheen to the screen presence of an MGR. Both gift-wrapped the DMK philosophy, selling their politics through make-believe stories. It was as if Karunanidhi and MGR were in campaign mode, 24×7.
It culminated in 1957, when Karunanidhi won his first Assembly election from Kulithalai. It was to mark the beginning of an illustrious political career that would see him get elected 12 more times to the Tamil Nadu Assembly and become CM five times.
If there is another aspect in which Karunanidhi is equally to blame, it is the ecosystem of acrimony, vitriol, bordering on hatred for political opponents in Tamil Nadu politics. The falling apart of Karunanidhi and MGR had a lot to do with this atmosphere. Karunanidhi believed that MGR, his junior in politics and a “mere actor” emerged as the star campaigner of the DMK. With envy the dominant emotion, Karunanidhi pushed his eldest son MK Muthu to celluloid, to rival MGR with greasepaint. It came to a cropper and ended with a dispute over accounts of the DMK. MGR was shown the door, and the actor-politician went on to float his Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK).
Another aspect the Tamil Nadu political theatre is known for is its uncanny knack of playing a role in New Delhi and using the clout to settle scores back home. MGR was the first to seize this opportunity when he submitted a memorandum listing corruption charges against Karunanidhi’s government. In January 1976, the DMK government was dismissed and Justice Sarkaria commission set up to probe the allegations. Karunanidhi was to return the compliment in 1980, getting MGR dismissed. Jayalalithaa tried the same, putting pressure on the Vajpayee government after 1998 to get the Karunanidhi regime sacked.
The secret behind having a presence at the Centre was the “Never fight with Delhi” motto of MGR. Karunanidhi borrowed a leaf out of his book, engaging with parties across the political spectrum. His DMK was part of the NDA government and switched sides to join the UPA as well. The presence of leaders from just about every other political party at Kauvery hospital, where Karunanidhi was admitted, is a testimony to his friendships across the aisle.
Unfortunately, for Karunanidhi, this temptation to play a national role also proved to be his downfall. While the DMK, when in power, controlled almost every other sphere of economic activity in Tamil Nadu through different branches of its family tree, the role of Karunanidhi’s blue-eyed boy, A Raja in the Telecom ministry played a critical part in the party losing power in 2011. Karunanidhi’s legacy was tainted by the 2G scam in which daughter Kanimozhi was arrested and spent time in jail. Her subsequent acquittal did not reduce the pain or help repair the damage to the image and perception on the ground.
What impact is Karunanidhi’s demise likely to have on national politics? With Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi gone, the days of Tamil Nadu playing a kingmaker’s role in Delhi are a thing of the past. Neither MK Stalin nor the AIADMK leadership have a national profile and are seen only as regional players. Stalin is still an untested force in national politics, seen all these years just as a Prince Charles in waiting. And that the AIADMK leaders are more than willing to do the BJP’s bidding is the worst kept secret in Chennai.
Karunanidhi was not the kind of leader who would fly the Chennai-Delhi route to get things done for Tamil Nadu. He preferred to operate instead through his trusted nephew, the late Murasoli Maran and after his demise, through his MPs like Dayanidhi Maran and Kanimozhi. Karunanidhi derived his power not by breathing down Delhi’s neck but by pulling strings sitting in Gopalpuram.
Unlike the AIADMK, the succession plan is apparent in the DMK. Stalin is the man in charge, with Kanimozhi as of now content to play second fiddle. Though elder brother Alagiri is out of the party, do not rule out trouble from his end. He will probably wait to see how the DMK under Stalin does in 2019. A below par performance will bring the knives out in the grand old party.
On 28 July, the day Karunanidhi was admitted to the hospital, he had stepped into his 50th year as DMK president. It is time for the party to take fresh guard now.