In the demise of DMK supremo M Karunanidhi (MuKa) Tamil Nadu has lost one of its tallest leaders. Multifaceted is the right description for him – journalist, writer, litterateur, poet, playwright, orator, organiser,  strategist, politician, administrator, rationalist, parliamentarian… all rolled in one. In each of these attributes, Karunanidhi excelled.
Muthuvel Karunanidhi (Mu Ka) strode the Tamil Nadu polity like a colossus.His public life spanned seven decades. All through these, he had put in long hours of tireless work. Dravidar Kazhagam leader E V Ramaswamy Naicker and his lieutenant C N Annadurai groomed him. His style of powerful oration mixed with humour, sarcasm and poetry won him lakhs of fans. The speeches were spontaneous and dealt with issues of the day. The strong anti-Brahmin stance and sustained effort to use political power to further his social objectives were the hallmarks of this titan.
MuKa made the best use of the powerful medium of cinema. His strong dialogues on social issues proved instant hits. It also threw up several stars including Sivaji Ganesan, M G Ramachandran and S S Rajendran. Parasakthi (1952) was a game-changer in Tamil cinema that catapulted MuKa into stardom. MK’s baani of public speaking became a model to emulate.
Used the power of mass media
MuKa effectively used mass media for attracting the attention of the masses. Films, his own newspaper Murasoli, plays and public meetings, contributed to nurturing loyal party-men and women. The sheer delight of listening to his witty and thought-provoking speeches attracted the youth.
Within months of the DMK coming to power in Tamil Nadu in 1967, MuKa made a mark as an administrator. The first World Tamil Conference organised in 1968 with several statues of Tamil savants unveiled on the seashore of Marina, was the first instance of this. Pretty soon, as Minister of Transport, he nationalised the state’s bus transport. I remember his address at the SGS Sabha, T Nagar, explaining the plan to large numbers of bus transport operators, led by TVS’ T S Santhanam. By the ingenuous method of not renewing the permits he avoided compensating the bus operators for taking over their businesses, points out S Narayan, IAS (Retd) in his recent book.
On the demise of Annadurai, despite the seniority and closeness of other leaders like V R Nedunchezhiyan, MuKa mobilised a more substantial following and assumed charge as the chief minister.
