On 96th
Birth Anniversary - R.
Kannan, 15 September 2005 "..Today is the 96th birth
anniversary of Anna. His sense of mission, his simplicity,
compassion, and talents may seem outmoded. But so long as
human values remain a worthy goal, his legacy will be
relevant..."
more
On Anna- A.S.Venu "The Guinness Book of
records has it that the funeral of ‘Anna’ was attended by the largest number of
people in the world. I was closely associated with him from 1936 to 1969.."
On Anna -
S.G.Manvalaramanujam -
Former V.C., Annamalai University "It is appropriate that the speeches
and writings of the wonder-man of the South who made political history in the
brief span of there decades as the author, and builder of a reformist
part-political and social-should be made known to a much larger reading public.
His political and reformist speech were made mostly in his native tongue of
Tamil in which developed a new style of oratory and eloquence – a style pleasing
and captivating to the masses – a new style now characteristic of the party and
his followers. It is gratifying that these Tamil speeches will rendered into
English but it is no easy task to bring out his easy flow and the alliterative
character of his speeches."
Perarijnar Annadurai on Independence - "It is we who make the nation"
"India
is a continent; it should be divided into a number of
countries. The continent of Europe has 32 independent
countries. No one argues that it should be a single country
ruled by a single government. Similarly there is no need for
India to be under a single government... Aryan influence
increases within a single country called India. Welfare of
the other races is crushed under Aryan rule. Uniting
different races (nations) under a single country leads to
rebellions and troubles. In order to prevent such troubles
and bloodshed in India, we should divide India according to
racial (national) lines now... Even during the days of the
emperors Ashoka, Kanishkar, Samudra Gupta and Akbar, India
was not a single country.
If
India is divided into many countries, each country could
develop its economy according to its circumstances. It would
also put an end to one region robbing the resources of
another. All races (nations) can achieve equality only if
each race (nation) has its own country and government. We
fear the thought of one race (nation) living under the rule
of another. This fear gives birth to violent rebellion. It
is necessary to divide India racially (nationally) to
prevent such violent revolutions. The reason one race
(nation) has not choked another race (nation) to death in
India so far is the British guns. When the British leave,
India will become a killing field [unless it is divided into
different countries on racial (national) basis]."
Annadurai at the Dravidar Kazagam State Conference in
Tiruchi in the 1940s (Translated from Tamil to English by
Thanjai Nalankilli)
Tamil Tribune
"If Anna's Dravidian nationalism has to be counted as a failure, then
the Gandhian, Rooseveltian and Leninist-Stalinist ideals also have met
the same fate in their places of origin. However, Gandhian ideals were
picked up by Martin Luther King Jr. in America and these led to
advancement of civil rights for Blacks in the 1960s. The
liberal-democratic ideals of Roosevelt got rooted (however imperfectly)
and supplanted the existing feudalistic social arrangement in Japan.
Even the Leninist-Stalinist ideals found roots in Cuba under the
leadership of Fidel Castro in 1959 and is still not supplanted, despite
aggressive bullying by Yankee capitalism. Similarly, though Anna's
ideology of a 'separate state for Tamils' became a lost cause in India,
it did become a rallying cry
for the younger generation of Eelam Tamils in mid-1970s. Thus,
Anna's legacy lives in Eelam."
Annadurai's Legacy lives in Eelam - Sachi Sri Kantha
[see also
For Province Read Nation,
Pramatha Chaudhuri,
1920 "It is not a bad thing
to try and weld many into one but to jumble them all up is
dangerous, because the only way we can do that is by force.
If you say that this does not apply to India, the reply is
that if self determination is not suited to us, then it is
not suited at all to Europe. No people in Europe are as
different, one from another, as our people. There is not
that much difference between England and Holland as there is
between Madras and Bengal. Even France and Germany are not
that far apart. If some of our politicians shudder at
the mention of provincial patriotism, it is because their
beliefs smack of narrow national selfishness."]
"ANNA"
as he was endearingly called by millions of Tamilians, was born at
Kancheepyram, in a lower middle calss family, on 15th September 1909.
After completing his education in the Pachaiappa's High School,
Kancheepuram, he joined the Pachiappa's College, Madras from which he
graduated. Even as student, he had reputed action for oratory in Tamil
and English, and a flair for journalism. He was the editor of the "Bala
BHarati" and later the "Nava YUvan", Tamil weeklies published in Madras.
He also served as Sub-Editor of the "Justice", an English daily and was
on the editorial staff of the "Viduthalai", Tamil weekly of Erode,
published by Periyar E.V.Ramaswami Naicker, leader of the Dravida
Kazhagam.
In 1942,Thiru C.N. Annadurai started his own weekly, the Dravida
Nadu, and developed a distinct style of his own. He also edited the
Tamil weekly "Kanchi", He was as fluent, scholarly and versatile in
English as in Tamil. In 1957, he started an English weekly, the
"Homeland" and in 1966 founded another weekly, the "Homerule".
He wrote stories. He was considered to be the doyenamong
dialogue-writer, renowned for his catchy and flowery descriptive
passanges and conversational pieces. He also acted on the stage.
As an orator, few could equal Thiru Annadurai. He could whip up the
emotions of vast audiences, and could also pacify agitated crowds. He
made full use of this gift in the interests it was a mammoth crowd that
thronged the sands of Madras beach to hear him in Tamil, or a select
audience pressing to get seats in the front rows of a public hall bound
for hours by his oratory which abounded in wit, sarcasm and humour.
Thiru Annadurai had a genius for oraganisation. Along with Periyar,
he was responsible for the consolidation of the Justice Party, later
renamed as the Dravida Kazhagam split and the majority followed Thiru
Annadurai who founded the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. In 1957, the
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam contested the General Elections, Thiru
Annadurai contested from the Kancheepuram constituency and won with a
large majority.
His speeches on the floor of the House as Leader of the D.M.K.
Legislature Party had a great impact. In February 1967, he was elected
to the Lok Sabha from the South Madras Parliamentary Constutuency and
subsequently to the Madras Legislative Council from the Madras Local
Authoritis Constituency in April 1967.
In the Fourth General Elections held in February1967, the D.M.K.
under the able leadership of Thiru Annadurai succeeded in capturingall
the seats in Parliment for which it had fielded candidates.
Thiru Annadurai was elected leader of the D.M.K. Legislature Party
and became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. During the two years of his
Chief Ministership he earned universal respect, and his sobriety,
simplicity and sincerity won the esteem and affection of all.
He had the interests of the common man at heart and he was a friend
of the poor and the working classes, and his 'rupee-a-measure of rice
scheme' was one of the measures which bore testimony to this. His
interest in, and love for, Tamil and Tamil literature was high-lighted
by the great success of the World Tamil Conference held in Madras in
February 1968.
He proceeded on a world tour as an invitee of the Yale University's
Chubb Fellowship Programme and was also a guest of the State Department
in the U.S.A. in April-May 1968. He was awarded the Chubb Fellowship at
Yale University, being the first non-American to receive this honour.
Anna at Yale University
Thiru C.N. Annadurai passed away in the early hours of 3rd February
1969. With his passing, the country has lost a great patriot and leader.
On the First Anniversary of his passing, the Posts & Telegraphs
Department feels privileged to bring out a special stamp as a tribute to
his memory.
Stamp Issue Date
:
03/02/1970
Postage Stamp Dinomination
:
0.20
Postal Stamp Serial Number
:
0607
Philatelic Stamp Description
:
The design of the stamp is
vertical and depicts autographed portrait of Tiru C. N. Annadurai.
Maatran Thottathu Malligayilum manam undu
மாற்றான் தோட்டத்து மல்லிகையிலும் மணமுண்டு
Ventha punnil velai paichatheer
வெந்த புண்ணில் வேலை பாய்ச்சாதீர்
Satta Sabayil Thappu Thalangal podatheer
சட்ட சபையில் தப்பு தாலங்கள் போடாதீர்
Banumathi onrum padi thaanda pathini alla, naanum mutrum thurantha
munivanum alla.
பானுமதி ஒன்றும் படிதாண்டா பத்தினி அல்ல, நானும் முற்றும்
துறந்த முனிவனுமல்ல
Thedi chelvathillai, naadi vanthaal viduvathillai.
தேடிச் செல்வதில்லை, நாடி வந்தால் விடுவதில்லை
“இந்த நாட்டிலே நம்மவர் வீடு
கட்டுவர், அதிலே பல அறைகளும் அமைப்பர். மாட்டுக்கொட்டகை ஒரு பால், பொக்கிஷ அறை
ஒருபால், சமையலறை மற்றொருபால் . . . மற்றெதை மறக்கினும் ஆண்டவனுக்குப் பூசை
செய்ய அறை அமைக்க மட்டும் மறவார்; ஆனால் அறிவூட்டும் ஏடுகள் நிறைந்த
படிப்பறையைப் பற்றிய பகற்கனவும் காணார். படிப்பறை மிகவும் முக்கியமானது.
அவசியமானது. அலட்சியப்படுத்தக் கூடியதன்று. ஆயினும் அது அவர்தம் சிந்தனையில்
தோன்றாது”
“எனக்கோ 'எதையும் தாங்கும் இதயம்
வேண்டும்' என்ற கவிதை மனப்பாடம்” தம்பிக்கு கடிதம் 24.07.1960
“சட்டியில் காய்கறி வேகுகிறது. அடுப்பின் வெப்பத்தை சட்டி தாங்கிக் கொண்டு
வேண்டிய வெப்பத்தை மட்டும் கொடுத்து, காய்கறி வேகுகிறது. தலைவன் சட்டியைப்
போன்றவன். எதையும் தாங்க வேண்டும்.” கைதி எண் 6342, 14.03.1964.
" கழகத்தின் சார்பில் எடுக்கப்படும் எந்த முடிவும் நான் என்னிச்சையாகவோ எனக்கு
ஏற்படக்கூடிய விருப்பு வெறுப்பினை மட்டும் கணக்கிட்டோ மேற்கொள்வதில்லை
என்றாலும் எனக்கென்று ஏதேனும் ஒரு விருப்பம் எழுகின்றது என்றால் அதை
நிறைவேற்றிவைக்கும் விருப்பம் கழத்தினர் சிலருக்கு இருப்பதில்லை என்பதை பல
சந்தர்ப்பங்களில் நான் உணர்ந்து வருகிறேன். உணர்ந்து என்ன பயன்? காரணம் என்ன
என்று ஆராய்வதிலேதான் என்ன பயன்? நிலமை இவ்விதம், அவ்வளவுதான்." தம்பிக்கு
கடிதம், 15.11.1964.
" A man had two dogs - a big one and a small one. He wanted his dogs to go
in and out of the house freely without him having to keep the house door
open all the time. So he built two "trap doors" - one big trap door for the
big dog and one small for the small dog. Neighbours who saw these two doors
laughed at him and called him an idiot. Why put a big door and a small door?
All that was needed was the big door. Both the big and the small dog could
use it!
Indian government's arguments for making Hindi the official or
link language of India are as ridiculous as the need for a big door and a
small door for the big dog and the small dog. Indian government agrees that
English is needed for communication with the world, and every school in
India teaches English after the fifth grade. Then the Indian government says
that all of us should know Hindi also in order to communicate amongst
ourselves within India. I ask, "Since every school in India teaches English,
why can't it be our link language? Why do Tamils have to study English for
communication with the world and Hindi for communications within India? Do
we need a big door for the big dog and a small door for the small dog? I
say, let the small dog use the big door too!"
more
பேரறிஞர் அண்ணா -
Biography
at Government of Tamil Nadu
எளிய குடும்பத்தில் பிறந்து, நல்ல
மாணவராக, ஆற்றல் மிக்க பேச்சாளராக, சிறந்த பத்திரிக்கை ஆசிரியராக, நல்ல
நூலாசிரியராக , நாடக ஆசிரியராக, நாடக நடிகராக, ஒரு பேரியக்கத்தின் தலைவராக, பண்பட்ட
அரசியல்வாதியாக, நாடு போற்றிய முதலமைச்சராக, ஓங்கு புகழ் பெற்றவர் பேரறிஞர் அண்ணா
அவர்கள்.
திராவிட நாடு, ஹோம் லேண்ட், காஞ்சி, ஜஸ்டிஸ், குடியரசு, நம்நாடு, பாலபாரதி, நவயுகா,
ஹோம் ரூல், போன்ற பத்திரிகைகளின் ஆசிரியராக விளங்கியவர். சிங்கப்பூர், மலேசியா,
தாய்லாந்து, ஹாங்காங், கம்போடியா, ஜப்பான், அமெரிக்கா, ஆகிய நாடுகளில் பயணம்
மேற்கொண்டவர். விலைவாசி உயர்வு எதிர்ப்பு மறியல் போராட்டம், மும்முனைப் போராட்டம்,
கட்டாய இந்தி பதினேழாவது மொழிப் பிரிவு சட்ட நகல் எரிப்புப் போராட்டம் என பல
போராட்டங்களில் ஈடுபட்டு சிறை சென்றவர்.
1967ஆம் ஆண்டு முதல் 1969 வரை தமிழ்நாட்டின் முதலமைச்சராக இருந்த காலத்தில் சென்னை
மாநிலத்தை தமிழ்நாடு என்று அழைக்க, அரசியல் சட்டத்தில் உரிய திருத்தம் செய்ய வகை
செய்தவர். சீரும் சிறப்புமாக இரண்டாம் உலகத் தமிழ் மாநாட்டை சென்னையில் நடத்திக்
காட்டியவர். தாய்மொழி தமிழ், உலக மொழி ஆங்கிலம் ஆகிய இருமொழித் தீர்மானத்தை சட்டப்
பேரவையில் நிறைவேற்றச் செய்தவர். கலப்புத் திருமணத்திற்கு சட்ட அங்கீகாரம்
அளித்தவர். மேடைப் பேச்சுக்கு இலக்கணம் வகுத்தவர். அரசியல் நாகரிகத்தைக்
கடைபிடித்தவர். தமிழ், தமிழர், தமிழ்நாடு உயரவும், இளைஞர்கள் எழுச்சி பெறவும்,
தூங்கிக் கிடந்த தமிழர்களைத் தட்டியெழுப்பி விழிப்புணர்ச்சி ஊட்டவும், காலமெல்லாம்
தம் எழுத்துக்களைப் பயன்படுத்தியவர்.
பேரறிஞர் அண்ணாவின் புகழுக்குப் பெருமை சேர்க்கும் வகையில் அவர் வாழ்ந்த
காஞ்சிபுரம் இல்லம் நினைவு இல்லமாகவும், சென்னை மெரினா கடற்கரையில்
சந்தனப்பெட்டியில் உறங்கிக் கொண்டிருக்கும் அவரது உடல் பேரறிஞர் அண்ணா
நினைவிடமாகவும், வேலூரில் உள்ள அரசு திரையரங்கம் அண்ணா கலை அரங்கம் என பெயர்
சூட்டப்பட்டும் போற்றிப் பாதுகாக்கப்பட்டு வருகின்றது.
From
1934 to 1968 Dr. C. N. Annadurai, with his niagaral flow, alliterative
style, devastating arguments, ardent championship of Tamil Renaissance,
was the darling orator of Tamilnadu. As the lieutenant of
Periyar E.V.Ramasamy, he ceaselessly worked for the establishment of
a casteless, classless society.
His Tamil Professor in
Pachaiappa's College, Mosur Kandasami Mudaliar, by a skilful
presentation of choice passages from the Sangam literature, instilled in
him an ardent desire to study the masters from Tholkappiyar to
Maraimalai Adigal.
Anna, with his admirable insight, keen perception and penetrating
analysis, grasped the glories of Poompuhar, the early sea-faring saga of
the Tamils, the heroic deeds of Cheran Senguttuvan, the magnanimity of
Kumanan, the heroines of Agam, the heroes in Puram, the craze in Rome
and Egypt for the pearls and ' ahil ' of Tamilagam and the great
influence wielded by poets like Kapilar and
Avvaiyar.
Anna was very much moved by the pathetic plight to which
his great people had been reduced. The heroes of
Purananuru considered it rank cowardice to even bat their eyelids on
seeing an oncoming spear. The Tamils of Anna's days withdrew at the mere
sight of a cat crossing their path ! The sangam poets depicted the
valour of Tamil warriors who never bowed down to the foes. The Tamils in
Anna's days prostrated before alien godmen who mumbled in an alien
tongue.
The conquerors of the Sangam age had been reduced to
coolies who were the victims of leeches in plantations.
Young Anna was determined to instil a sense of self respect into his
people. He became an ardent exponent of a twentieth century Mohenjadaro.
In 1934, he met
Periyar in Tiruppur and was completely won over by the Socrates of
the South. From thereon, Anna wielded his powerful tongue and pen to
disseminate the ideas of Periyar.
Anna's Tamil writings and
speeches, and his espousal of the cause of a fallen people, completely
captivated the younger generation. His influence will last as long as
Tamil lives. As the architect of Dravidian destinies, as the statesman
who impressed Pandit Nehru with his maturity and sobriety, as the
affectionate elder brother with the big heart, as the ideal chief
minister who bled for the lowliest of the low, as the ambassador of
Tamil good-will to Yale, and as the finest flower of Tamil culture,
loved by the Tamils everywhere, he will take rank in history as the
great savant from Kanchee.
As Anna distilled the essence of pure Tamil literature
into his heady wine of eloquence, I was his close admirer from 1937. By
his lucid presentation, superb marshalling of facts, packing punch in
well chosen epithets, coining apt statements which have enriched Tamil,
by telling sayings which have gained wide currency, by shafts of humour
which sparked off salvoes of applause, by the sweet resonance and timbre
in his voice, Anna mesmirised the Tamils. Those who came to scoff
remained to listen. Even his opponents tried to imitate his alliterative
style which still sets the pattern for all orators in Tamil. Periyar's
steel became shimmering Kanchi silk in Anna's speeches.
Anna took
Tamil, enslaved in the tomes of jawbreaking, puritan scholars to the
Tamil masses, and created a great urge for good, chaste simple Tamil.
Anna made Tamil sweet to ears that were attuned to English. Tamil slowly
replaced English. The Tamils were made conscious of their
great heritage. Tamil oratory, drama, writing and films secured
patronage. Anna made the Tamil youth firebrand champions of social
reform. Anna attracted, shaped and moulded a gallant band of writers and
orators.
Anna addressed the Tamil Writers' Association in the
early forties. Eminent writers like Va. Ra. were thrilled by his
eloquence. Anna's lectures to college literary societies .... drew
praise from the presiding Tamil Professors. Anna's vivid portrayal of
the classics, rationalist emphasis and praise of great scholors like
Maraimalai Adigal, won him batches of dedicated youngsters.
Anna
mastered Kambaramayana. He held that Kamban had extolled Rama to the
detriment of the Tamils. On this fiery issue he debated with two great
scholars, Sollin Selvar Sethu pillai and Navalar S.S. Bharathiar. As the
able lieutenant of Periyar, he countered the arguments of great scholors
like Thiru V. Ka.
In the first Anti-Hindi movement in 1938, Anna
fought along with great Tamil scholors. In jail, he studied thoroughly
"Abhidhana Chinthamani ", the inimitable encyclopaedia.
Anna's
contributions to Tamil, as a writer, are voluminous. Two theses, one on
his dramas, by Dr. R. Janarthanam, and the other by Dr. Sethu, on his
short stories, have come out. Many theses are bound to follow. Foreign
scholors like Dr. Asher of Edinburgh have made a deep study of Anna's
works. Dr. M. S. Udayamurthy and Dr. Muthu Chidambaram have popularised
Anna in America.
Anna's journalistic writings have been
spear-heads in the spread of Periyar's ideas, moulders of opinion in
support of the Dravidian renaissance, magnetic in attracting the youth
to the battle for mother-tongue. As editor of " Viduthalai" and "Kudi
Arasu ", Anna wrote reviews, editorials, articles, satires and short
tories. As a young lad of thirty, under the direct guidance
of the lion-hearted Periyar, Anna lashed out against the monopolists and
reactionaries. He challenged the old order, lambasted the
charlatans and exposed their political myopia. This was in the 30's.
In 1942, Anna launched his weekly, " Dravida Nadu ". As
I was Anna's affectionate younger brother, I used to go to Kanchee
often. I was just 22, a fiery orator, petted and patted by Anna. I saw
Anna writing far into the night, sheet after sheet, in his round hand,
without any correction, myself picking them up one by one, eagerly
lapping up the contents. By studying his weekly, intoxicated by his
radical speeches, I used to purchase 10 or 12 copies of " Dravida Nadu "
in my town and distribute them to students urging themto read through
the contents, hoping to convert them to the movement.
College
students steadily became avid readers of "Dravida Nadu". Even the
opponents stealthily lapped up his " Roman Queens ". Anna gave a
rich fare. Dravidian glories were depicted. The call to reason by
quoting Valluvar, Vallalar and Vemana, had very good effect. The very
titles were breathtaking. " Beautiful statute-minus the head ", "
Rinsing with Tiger's milk ", " Amery's Akbar Puja ", " The Bat's
predicament ", so on.
Lampoons, satirical hits, Kambarasam doses,
racy editorials, references to Emile Zola, Walt Whitman, Abraham
Lincoln, Angelina, Lenin and Stalin, all made the weekly the most sought
after, the most quoted and the proudest possession of the Dravidian
dynamos.
Later Anna had his weekly "Kanchee". That weekly had, as
its main attraction, his letters to his younger brothers (Thambikku).
These letters were his clarion-call, observations on current affairs,
penpictures of the leading personalities of the day, replies to attacks
from Periyar, Kamaraj and other parties.
Anna's special articles
during Pongal were poetic in their conceptions, cameos of Tamil valour,
gems of the ideal scenes of the days of Kerikala and Raja Raja.
Anna encouraged young writers - Comrades Vanan, Dasarathan,
Kalaignar
Karunanidhi, Arangannal, Thillai Villalan, Radhamanalan, Ezhathu
Adigal and Kanchi Kalyanasundaram - all scintillating stars in the Anna
galaxy! Anna had great respect and admiration for
Bharathidasan, the ace poet of his movement. He presented him with a
purse in 1946 and often quoted him.Anna was very magnanimous even to
opponents. He readily recognised the talents of Va. Ra., Khandekar,
comrade Jeevanandam and Ma. Po. Si.
So, from 1934 to 1968, Anna
was the Voltaire of the Dravidian movement, the Ingersoll of the
self-respect movement.
Anna's contributions to oratory and
journalism are outstanding. People used to purchase tickets for his
special meetings, travel hundreds of miles, walk 10 to 12 miles, to hear
him. Anna usually came very late. Normally he spoke for 40, 45 minutes.
But from first to last, he held the people spell bound, moving them to
heights of feeling, producing peals of laughter, mesmerising them with
his matchless eloquence. It is very moving, even now, to hear Anna's
voice, in tapes. Easily he is the best orator Tamilnad has produced. He
took Tamil to the masses and enthroned it in Fort St. George. His
crowning act was the naming of the then Madras State as " Tamilnadu ".
Bound volumes of his Weekly are trend-setters, models, an inspiration
for generations to come. They are the thoughts of our Garibaldi, whose
golden heart would shine through the ages.
Anna's contributions
to Tamil as film, script, story, dialogue writer are substantial. Anna,
in order to popularise his ideals, utilised these media very
effectively. His first drama " Chandrodayam " was thematic. He formed a
troupe in Kanchi in his "Dravidanadu " office and gave roles to his
comrades C. V. Rajagopal, K. Subramaniam and Ezhathu Adigal. He took the
leading role of Dorairaj himself. His " Nallathambi " and " Velaikkari "
were fine film hits. " Velaikkari " and 'One Night" with K. R. Ramasami
in the lead were staged in Thanjavur for many months. Anna's dialogues
were so superb, telling, magnetic and effective that Kalki
Krishnamoorthy compared them to Shaw and Ibsen.
Anna's great
historical drama, " Shivaji's Hindu Raj " was sensational. It pinpointed
the dominance of Kaka bhatta, the Varanasi Priest over Sivaji, the great
ruler. Anna as Kakabhatta and
Mr. V. C. Ganesan
as Shivaji, held the audiences spell-bound. Anna's dialogues in
"Sorgavasal" exposed the machinations of the Hindu Rasputins. In 'Needhi
Devan Mayakkam' Anna's cross-examination of mythological heroes is
breath-taking. Anna's camp was proud of cine actors like
M. G. R.,
Sivaji Ganesan, S.
S. Rajendran, K. R. Ramasami and D. V. Narayanasami.
As chief
minister, Anna convened the
World Tamil Conference in 1968. Anna's address to the delegates was
very moving. Anna's versatile genius enthroned Tamil in the hearts
of the Tamil people the world over. Participants of the
Fifth World Tamil Conference will remember him with gratitude.
Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai, endearingly called
‘Anna’ (elder brother), was born on 15 September 1909 in a
Hindu lower middle class family of the weaver community at
Kancheepuram, the famous city of temples near Madras. Her
father Natarajan was a handloom weaver. His mother’s name
was Bangaru Ammal. Her younger sister Rajamani Ammal was the
foster-mother of Annadurai. She brought him up and educated
him from the elementary school to the College. In 1930,
while still a student, he married Rani who came from a
suburb of Madras. The couple had no offspring and Annadurai
later adopted the four grandsons of his elder sister.
Annadurai had his early education at the Panchiyappa’s High
School at Kancheepuram and completed his School Final in
1929. He had to break his studies for a while on account of
financial difficulties and worked as a clerk in the Local
Municipal Office. He later joined the Panchaiyappa’s
College, Madras, and passed the Intermediate Examination in
1931. Continuing his studies in the same College he obtained
his B. A. Honours and then M. A. degree in Econimics and
Politics (1934).
After his M. A. he worked as a teacher in a Panchaiyappa
School for nearly a year, and then turned to journalism and
politics which became his principal field interest in later
life.
In his early life he was associated with the South Indian
Liberal Federation, the organisation of the non-Brahmins,
founded in 1917 by Sir P. Theagaraya and Dr. T. M. Nair. It
was popularly known as the Justice Party after the name of
the Party’s English daily. Annadurai served as sub-editor of
the Justice. As an active member of the Justice Party, he
was opposed to the Congress Party. During this period he
once contested the election to the Madras City Corporation
but lost.
Annadurai was deeply interested in the conditions of the
poor and the down-trodden and organised small labour unions.
In this field he was greatly influenced by two Communist
leaders, M. Singaravelu and C. Basudev. He first met the
iconoclast and agitator Periyar E. V. Ramaswamy in 1934 at
Tiruppur (Coimbatore District) at a Youth Conference and was
immediately attracted to him. Even after the parting of ways
starting of the DMK in 1949, Annadurai continued to be
magnanimous enough to acknowledge openly that the leader
whom he met early in his life was his one and only leader.
As a stormy petrel of the Justice Party, Annadurai was
arrested during the first Rajaji Ministry for taking part in
the anti-Hindi campaigns. After release he became the editor
of the Viduthalai under the aegis of Periyar at Erod. He was
also associated with the Tamil weekly Kudi Arusu. In 1942 he
started his own weekly, the Daviddnadu, and developed a
distinct style of his own. In 1949 he assumed the editorship
of a Tamil daily, the Malai Mani, started to propagate the
cause of the Dravidian Progressive Federation (DMK).
He also edited till 1967 another Tamil weekly, the Kanchi.
Annadurai was a good writer in English as well. In 1957 he
started an English weekly, the Homeland, which continued for
a few years. In 1966 he founded another English weekly, the
Home Rule.
Annadurai had great interest in literature also, and early
made his mark as a playwright and writer of short stories.
Social reform and championing the cause of he exploited
class were the principal themes of his stories and plays.
By slow degrees and relentless efforts
Periyar and Annadurai provided a mass-base for the
Justice Party which had been confined to a small class till
then. They infused the party with radical ideas. Their
efforts were crowned with success at the Confederation of
the Party held at Salem in 1944, when the Party was renamed
as Dravida Kazhagam (Dravidian Federation). At the same time
the party dropped its pro-British attitude. These changes
attracted the student community and soon the party came to
have a wider following. Particularly among the young.
Though a follower of Periyar, Annadurai did not hesitate to
differ with him sharply when the occasion arose. Periyar
essentially a separatist, and when independence came, he
wanted 15th August to be declared a day of mourning for the
Dravidians. Annadurai, on the other hand, was keep on
preserving national unity, although fighting for the due
rights of the Dravidians within the national political
framework. The split came in September 1949 when the
majority of the Dravida Kazhagam under Annadurai’s
leadership started the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Dravidian
Progressive Federation).
The DMK conducted agitational campaigns against the Congress
rule in Madras, Hindi domination and spiralling of prices.
The party soon became a formidable political force in
Madras, and in 1957 secured a sizable number of seats in the
Madras Legislative Assembly. In 1962 Annadurai was elected
to the Rajya Sabha where he strongly opposed the imposition
of Hindi as the sole official language of the Union. In 1965
he led the Anti-Hindi agitation in Madras. In the 1967
General Election the DMK Party obtained an absolute majority
in the Madras Legislature and formed the first DMK
Government, with Annadurai as the Chief Minister.
As chief Minister for about two years Annadurai showed great
statesmanship and did much not only to introduce needed
reforms in Madras but also to make the voice of South India
heard and appreciated at seat of the Central Power. He was
never against the political unity of India but he insisted
that the unity would be best preserved by granting the
greatest amount of autonomy to the States.
In 1965 and again in 1968 he travelled widely in Asia,
Europe and America. In September 1968 he went to America
again for medical treatment. He had cancerous growth in the
gullet. He underwent two surgical operations in America and
India which could not cure him. He breathed his last in the
midnight of February 2-3, 1969. The mortal remains were laid
to rest under the Marina sands.
Annadurai had his roots deep in the land of his birth and
its culture. He was always dressed in simple South Indian
style and presented a picture of tenderness. He was austere
and quiet, but strong and dynamic when occasion needed. He
had contempt for ceremonials and superstitions but was
tolerant to other men’s views. A statesman and a scholar, a
litterateur and a social reformer, a mass leader and a
friend of poor, Anna will be ever remembered specially as
the maker of the new Tamilnadu.
Aringnar Anna on
Name Change
of Madras State to Tamil Nadu, May 1963
[Debate in
Rajya Sabha in May 1963. DMK Founder Aringnar Anna
ultimately changed the name of Madras State as Tamil
Nadu and fulfilled the centuries old desire of the Tamil
Nation on his becoming the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
in 1967. In 1963 he spoke in Parliament on the question
of renaming Tamil Nadu. Courtesy: Dravida Peravai]
Annadurai -
Mr. Vice Chairman,
I am rarely in full agreement with my friend Mr.Bhupesh
Gupta, but today I rise to support him whole-heartedly,
fully and sincerely. The only weakness of the Bill is that
it is a non-official one. I would have liked an official
Bill to be brought forward for this very necessary and very
simple thing that would have satisfied millions of Tamilians
in Tamil Nadu.
Many arguments that
were advanced against the Bill brought forward are perhaps
more due to the colour of the mover rather than the
arguments advanced for its support. One Honorable Member was
saying that he was not moving a Bill, which the Madras State
has asked him to move. I regret very much that sometimes it
becomes necessary to explain some rudimentary principles.
The Madras
Government will never ask a non-official Bill to be brought
forward on its behalf. If the state government wants the
Bill to be brought forward, there are the state
representatives in this Assembly and they would have brought
it forward, and therefore, to say that the Bill cannot be
supported just because the Madras Government has not asked
Mr.Gupta to bring the Bill shows that their only argument to
fight against the Bill is that their party or their State
Government has not instructed them to act in this way.
I can well
understand the political tremor in their hearts, but that is
no argument against this Bill. The arguments advanced by the
sponsors of the Bill for renaming Madras as Tamil Nadu have
not been answered by any one of the speakers who spoke about
it.
Sheel Badra
Yajee: I have answered it.
Anna: I
cannot understand- I very rarely understand- your language
and, therefore, I do not know whether there is logic or not
but I would say that some of the arguments advanced were not
proper. One Honorable Member was saying that there are
Telugu knowing people in Tamil Nadu, Malayalam and Kanarese
speaking people and, therefore, to name Madras as Tamil Nadu
will create a sort of tremor in their hearts.
May I inform this
House, through you, Sir, that all these arguments were
advanced and shattered in my part of the country. All these
arguments did not stand the onslaught of reason and logic.
For the sake of informing this House I may inform you Sir,
that on 24th February 1961 the Leader of the House in the
state assembly stood up to say that he was accepting part of
the non official resolution brought forward not by the DMK
or any other political party which is considered to be
inimical to Congress, but by a PSP [Praja Socialist
Party]Member.
That PSP member
brought forward a non official resolution for renaming
Madras as Tamil Nadu and it was discussed many days and
finally the then Finance Minister and the Leader of the
House Mr.C.Subramaniam, stood up to say that he was
accepting a part or the spirit of the resolution and added
that thereafter all publications of the Madras government
would appear in the name of Tamil Nadu Government.
It is in such a way
that all publications in Tamil in the Tamil Nadu government
are being printed and published. As a matter of fact, after
making the historic declaration on the floor of the Madras
assembly on 24 th February, the very next day the Finance
Minister had to present his budget and in presenting the
budget, the opening words of the Finance Minister were: " In
consonance with the declaration made yesterday, I am now
presenting to budget for Tamil Nadu."
Therefore all the
arguments that Telugu speaking, the Malayalam speaking, and
the Kanarese speaking people will be up against this change
in name fall to ground because part of this has been
accepted by the Government.
The part
relating to the amendment of Constitution, the word
Madras to be deleted and the word Tamil Nadu to be
inserted was not accepted.
Therefore, even the
Government much less by the Madras Congress leaders cannot
accommodate the sentimental arguments advanced. Sir, I am
really surprised to see how ill informed my Hon. friends
are, those who advanced arguments against the Bill. One Hon.
Member stated here that Kollegal is in Tamil Nadu. That Hon.
Member unfortunately not present in the House at present. I
may tell them and his friends may tell him, that Kollegal
today is part of Mysore. It has been taken away from the
composite State of Madras and after the formation of
linguistic states, has gone to Mysore.
If my Hon. friend
is so ill informed about Kollegal, I am not surprised at his
arguments that nowhere in Tamil literature does the word
Tamil Nadu occur. A politician who cannot understand that
Kollegal does not form part of Tamil Nadu cannot be expected
to be conversant with Tamil literature. For the edification
of the House and for his own edification, I will point out
the names of certain books wherein the word Tamil Nadu is to
be found.
These are books
written 1800 or 2000 years ago. I am reading the name in
Tamil but the Hon. Member who made this allegation is a
Tamilian Congressman and he can understand and the Hon.
Deputy Minister who will be making the reply. She being also
a Tamilian may tell him. The names of
Paripaadal,
Pathitrupathu and more popular names of
Silapathigaram and
Manimegalai.
These are all
Tamil
classics written more than 1000 years ago and in
Paripaadal it is stated " Thandamizh veli Thamizh Naatu
agamellam" which means Tamil Nadu that is surrounded by
sweet Tamil on all three sides. In
Pathitrupathu, a classic written about 1800 years it is
stated "Imizh kadal veli Thamizhagam" meaning Tamil Nadu
which has got sea as boundary.
In
Silapathigaram
it is stated "Then Thamizh nannadu" meaning good Tamil Nadu
and in
Manimegalai it is stated"Sambutheevinul Tamizhaga
marungil " Tamil Nadu which is called Sambutheevu.
If my Hon. Members
would like to have more popular illustrations I would like
to refer them to the poems of
Poet Kamban and Sekkilar both of whom have definitely
used the word Tamil Nadu. It was only afterwards that there
were three kingdoms, the
Cheranadu, The
Cholanadu and the
Pandyanadu. Tamil Nadu is to be found in the classics of
Tamil. It is not that there is poverty of ideas in the
classics.
It only shows that
my Hon. friend does not spend much thought or time over the
Tamil classics. I may point out for the edification of this
House that when the Congress government in Tamil Nadu
purchased the Jaipur Palace at Ooty known as Aranmore Palace
they immediately renamed the Palace as Thamizhagam.
I am pointing this
out to say that the Congress there is trying to assuage our
feelings, is trying to carry Tamil Nadu people along with
them by saying they have renamed the Aranmore Palace as
Thamizhagam, that they are publishing all the Tamil
manifestos as Tamil Nadu Government publications, that only
for international correspondence they want the name
"Madras".
They are not
prepared to amend the Constitution. If the arguments
advanced by some of the Tamil Nadu Congress people were to
be read by the Chief Minister of Madras, he would turn
around and say "You too Brutus". All the arguments advanced
for not renaming it falls flat on the ground because even
the Congress Government there does not approve of these
arguments.
Another particular
issue was raised here that the Bill is being brought forward
only as a publicity stunt of the Communist party. Why don't
we appreciate the Communist Party for its sense of political
expediency? Are not all political parties interested in
getting political publicity? Is publicity a heinous crime?
Why do you publish reports and books on Five-year plans? Is
that not publicity done at public cost? Yet you accuse other
political parties saying that this is publicity.
But let me tell
this House through you, that even though you defeat the
Bill, he has gained that publicity. You are not going to rob
him anymore of that publicity. When he comes to Tamil Nadu
he can conveniently face Tamilians and say, "I pleaded for
you but it is the ruling party that let you down." Therefore
you have unawares walked into Mr.Gupta's snare. I would have
appreciated if the ruling party had approached Mr.Bhupesh
Gupta and stated, "Do not bring in this non-official Bill,
we ourselves are interested in it, we will bring it
forward."
Then Mr.Santhanam
pointed out that we have an uphill task in retaining Madras,
we had to fight with so many people and we retained Madras.
I can claim some amount of credit in that fight and when I
was in the thick of that fight, I did not find Mr.Santhanam
by my side.
Akbar Ali Khan:
At the cost of Andhra
Anna: With
the consent of the Andhras, I can say that. That is because
the present government there is providing even today, in the
border areas, measures for safeguarding Telugu culture and
for imparting Telugu language. Therefore though Madras has
been taken by Tamilians, we have no enmity with the Andhras.
But my friend
Santhanam was saying that it was such an uphill task,
retaining Madras that we would like to keep Madras. This is
not a question of keeping Madras or giving it up. This is
the question of keeping Madras in Tamilnadu and renaming the
state as Tamil Nadu. Madras, after all is the capital city
of Tamil Nadu, as Ahamadabad happens to be the capital city
of Gujarat, as Chandigrah happens to be the capital city of
Punjab.
If this logic of
naming the state after the name of capital city is to be
followed, Kerala should be renamed Trivandrum, Andhra is to
renamed Hyderabad, Punjab is to be renamed Chandigarh and
Gujarat to be renamed Ahamadabad.
Bhubesh Gupta:
And Bengal should be renamed Calcutta.
Anna: My
government, my Congress government in Madras is interested
in bilingualism. That is because its head Government is
interested to have two names for everything, India that is
Bharat, Jana Gana Mana and Vandhe Madaram. They always want
to keep two blocks.
Take something from
here, take something from there. So the Madras government is
having Tamil Nadu for the consumption of Tamilians and
Madras for all India consumption.
It is a very
awkward word "duplicity". And that is why my friend
Mr.Bhupesh Gupta was saying that some of the congress people
talk in one way there and talk in another way here. No
Congress can face a Tamilian audience and say that the name
Madras should be retained. I challenge it.
T.S.Pattabhiraman
{Madras}: We have faced it during the agitation of Tamil
Arasu Kazhagam and my friend knows it. What he is saying is
complete travesty of facts.
Anna: I know
how Pattabhiraman faces agitation. I wont say it. Let us not
face each other as Congress and DMK. Let us face the
Tamilian public on this single sanctified issue of renaming
the state and if you carry along with you 51 percent of the
people I am prepared to bow my head before you. This is not
a party issue at all. The renaming of Madras as Tamil Nadu
has been accepted by the Communist Party, by the DMK, by the
PSP and you will be surprised, by the Madras branch of
Swatantra Party too. Therefore all parties are one in this
issue of renaming Madras as Tamil Nadu.
T.S.Pattabhiraman: None of them put it in their election
manifesto.
Anna: I
would present a copy of the DMK election manifesto to him
tomorrow. I am sure Pattabhiraman knows Tamil. This issue
has been an issue for more than 10 to 15 years. He was
saying that only Tamil Arasu Kazhagam was fighting for it.
It is true partially because it was only the Tamil Arasu
Kazhagam that started an agitation for it, but all other
political parties were immensely intimately interested in
this issue.
They have printed
it in their manifestos, in their political speeches and no
District Conference of DMK took place without passing this
resolution of renaming Madras as Tamil Nadu. Therefore it is
not simply on the spur of the moment that I am pleading for
it. My sorrow is that my friend Mr.Bhupesh Gupta had stolen
the thunder from me by sponsoring this Bill. But for that, I
would like to present before this House that this has been
an issue all along in Tamil Nadu.
And they have not
answered Mr.Bhupesh Gupta; What do you loose by renaming
Madras as Tamil Nadu? Nobody has answered that.
N.M.Lingam
[Madras] Anyway what do you gain by renaming it as Tamil
Nadu?
Anna: What
do I gain? What have you gained by renaming Parliament as
Lok Sabha? What have you gained by renaming Council of
States as Rajya Sabha? What have you gained by renaming
President as Rastrapathi? Therefore I say what do you loose?
This is important because if you were to loose something
precious, we would not press for it. If you do not loose
something fundamental, we will press for it.
The other point was
raised, what do you gain? We gain satisfaction
sentimentally; we gain satisfaction that an ancient name is
inculcated in the hearts of millions and scores of millions
of people. Is that not enough compensation for the small
trouble of changing the name? Therefore all the arguments
that have been advanced have been shattered.
They have advanced
an apologetic argument saying that if the State government
had come forward with this, we would have accepted this. And
they are perfectly aware of the composition of the State
legislature where the Congress party is in a majority. Would
you ask the Congress member in Madras State legislature to
vote for such a bill if it were to come there, without party
whip? No
T.S.Pattabhiraman: Your party members could have brought
forward a resolution in the House and changed the name. Why
have you not done it for past seven or eight years?
Anna: I am
coming to that. When we present such a bill to the Madras
legislature, they say that if you want to rename, an
amendment to the constitution is necessary and an amendment
of the Constitution is possible only when you go to
Parliament.
T.S.Pattabhiraman: I am saying a resolution, not a Bill.
A resolution can be made.
Anna: I may
say for the information of the Hon. Member that we pressed
this point during the discussion on the non-official Bill of
PSP. In fact we even staged a walk out. The DMK and
Communist party joined together in the walk out. That is our
numerical position there. When the non-official resolution
was discussed in the Madras assembly we pressed for the
constitutional amendment and the only explanation offered to
us was that it was only possible at the level of Parliament.
And when we come to Parliament we are asked to go back to
the state legislature. We are asked to go to Parliament
because you are entrenched in both places not because your
logic is sound but simply because you are entrenched in both
places.
G.Rajagopalan
[Madras] We are entrenched because the people vote for
us. It has been discussed even during elections. There had
been fasts by certain members and one person even lost his
life after fasting. Even after that we won elections. That
shows the people still want as it is- not for the
satisfaction of some politicians who want a slogan.
Anna: Madam
Deputy Chairman, I am very glad that the discussion is
becoming very interesting. But I may say for the information
of the House that DMK has nothing to do with fasting. The
fasting was undertaken by a non-party man, in fact a
relative of the Chief minister of Madras Mr.Sankaralinga
[Nadar}. And to say that in spite of fasting you have not
changed shows how human you are. Therefore the question was
discussed there. We were asked to go to Parliament. When we
come to Parliament we are again sent back to legislature. In
both places the answer is as my Hon. friend had stated, "
The people had voted for us". Well that is a fact, a tragic
fact, and a black fact that ought to be seen.
G.Rajagopalan:
In spite of you tragedy is still there
T.S.Pattabhiraman: He says tragedy will be permanent.
The tragedy of Congress getting a majority at every election
will be a permanent feature and we are prepared to
accommodate you.
Anna: Madam
Deputy Chairman my friend was saying that this tragedy is
going to be permanent. Woe to the country and to the people.
That is all what I can say. But I would like to press this
point that a Constitution amendment can be thought of and
made only through Parliament. That is why we have approached
The Parliament. If any amendment is brought forward on this
or any suggestion is given that it should be circulated to
gather public opinion, we take up that challenge. I do not
ask you to take this as an election issue. Do not be afraid
of that.
[Interruptions]
We are not making
it an election issue. This is an issue to be taken to the
people for getting their consent or otherwise. That is not
going to affect your offices. Nobody thinks about that. You
may remain there. This is not a question of analysis of our
different parties. This is a question wherein a particular
issue has to be referred to the public. Are you prepared for
that? That is what we ask. You are not prepared for that and
that is why I say
N.M.Anwar
[Madras]
Madam on a point of information I have got the highest
respect and regard for my good friend Mr.annadurai. But will
he kindly explain what there is in retaining the name Madras
that has got such worldwide publicity? How is he going to
meet that point of view? Where is the difficulty in
retaining this worldwide name of Madras?
[Interruptions]
Anna: The
only point in answer to the Hon. member Mr.Anwar is this.
What we gain is our sentimental satisfaction and status of
our ancient land. If in Madras we change the name of China
Bazaar into Nethaji Subhas Chandra Road nothing is changed
in the street but something is changed in our thinking, in
our soul, in our fibre. That is why we are pressing for it.
Not because we think that keeping Madras will be wrong.
N.M.Anwar:
My question is not that. We agree that there is something
good in calling it Tamil Nadu. But what is your allergy to
Madras, which has got a worldwide publicity.
Anna: My
allergy is if Madras is used as name of the state, you
confuse the capital with the state. Madras is the name of
the capital city. Tamil Nadu is the name that ought to be
given to the state. There ought to be a distinction between
the name of the state and its capital, and therefore, I
whole-heartedly support the Bill brought forward and I would
commend it to the House.
Today
is the 96th birth anniversary of Anna. His sense of mission,
his simplicity, compassion, and talents may seem outmoded.
But so long as human values remain a worthy goal, his legacy
will be relevant.
THE NIGHT of March 5, 1967, C.N. Annadurai, known better by
his diminutive `Anna' or elder brother, remained sleepless.
There was reason to be excited. He was to be sworn in Chief
Minister of Madras State the next day. But it was not his
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's flush of victory against the
Congress Goliath that kept him in that state. Anna
explained: "I was wide awake through the break of dawn. I
visualised huts, the faces of those in search of food and
those waiting in queues, with their legs aching, before
ration shops. I kept wondering how I could remedy the
situation. I could not fall asleep."
Anna opted for public life over a potential career to serve.
Office, Anna soon realised, was also a sentence. Only 20
days into his new job, he wrote dolefully: "I am already
tired of my new ministerial status filled with mirthless
laughter, contacts devoid of context and insipid
conversations." He wondered how Congressmen had spent 20
years in this state.
Let us be clear. Anna was neither antipathetic to power as
an instrument nor averse to the Machiavellian machinations
that politicking entailed. In fact, he parted company with
his mentor E.V. Ramasamy (Periyar) in pursuit of power. He
possessed great equanimity and a vision.
In his four decades of public life, Anna espoused social
justice, regional autonomy, and the interests of Tamils and
Tamil Nadu. As party leader, he felt secure unlike many
others in similar positions. While nurturing talent and
leadership within the party, he remained faithful to
democratic precepts — staying clear of nominating an heir
even when he was afflicted with a serious illness. In the
end, the party witnessed an organic choice in the election
of `Kalaignar' M. Karunanidhi.
The DMK was Anna's family. Partymen or thambis (younger
brothers) found their Anna at once awesome and accessible.
The thambis and their families began to internalise Anna's
successes and defeats as their own, even as their elder
brother instilled self-esteem and Tamil nationalist pride in
them. Anna treated all thambis with equal affection although
he showed great judgment and foresight in tapping their
potential. He thus invited the genial `Navalar' V.R.
Nedunchezian, an Annamalai University graduate, to take over
from him as party general secretary. Early on, a
multifaceted Mr. Karunanidhi attracted Anna's attention for
his organisational and other abilities. Anna also skilfully
utilised the services of the charismatic actor, `Makkal
Thilagam' (the people's darling) M.G. Ramachandran.
To one hailing from a modest family background, a backward
class scholarship brought a college education in Madras.
Drawn to public service and the non-Brahmin ferment, Anna
resigned his job as schoolteacher and spurned other offers
and suggestions of employment. Anna's gifted oratory and
élan in both Tamil and English marked him out quickly.
Together with Periyar, he espoused rationalism, social
justice, and an independent south India (Dravida Nadu). A
more mellowed Anna, secular to the core, later described
himself as a Hindu sans the sacred ash, a Christian minus
the holy cross, and a Muslim without the prayer cap. He was
also to give up the Dravida Nadu demand, although he had
seen separation as a panacea and believed that Pakistan's
emergence would have a domino effect.
Barely 40 years old, Anna had founded the DMK in 1949. The
young leader beckoned `thazhntha Tamizhagam' (the fallen
Tamil nation) to rise to its former splendour through his
dazzling powers of oratory and writing. Anna's plays,
Chandrodayam (Moonrise), Oar Iravu (One night) — Anna
literally wrote it overnight — Velaikkari (Servant Maid),
Sorgavasal (The entrance to paradise) and Needhi Devan
Mayakkam (The Judge's dilemma), heralded a new era of social
introspection and revolutionised an entertainment industry
long captive to epics and legends. His script was no less
scintillating.
The poet, Bharatidasan, and the nationalist journalist,
Kalki Krishnamurthy, aptly called Anna Arignar (scholar)
with the latter comparing him with playwright George Bernard
Shaw. As Anna's genius enlisted actors N.S. Krishnan, K.R.
Ramasamy, Sivaji V.C. Ganesan, D.V. Narayanasamy, S.S.
Rajendran and M.G. Ramachandran in the party's service, the
organisation grew in strength. It finally captured power in
a span of just 18 years.
But how has Anna's legacy fared since? Institutionally,
social justice — Anna's main plank — remains strong. The
unanimous demand from political parties for legislation to
undo the effects of the recent apex court judgment on
affirmative action in self-financing colleges is a classic
case. In practice, however, the sense of alienation of the
Adi Dravidas (Dalits) in Tamil Nadu and also elsewhere
appears to have accentuated. While the intermediary
communities and individual Dalits have shown social
mobility, a cross-section of them seems to feel excluded
despite the Dravidian parties' casteless and social welfare
moorings. The emergence of caste-based and exclusive Dalit
organisations is testimony that Anna's vision of
inclusiveness has not been fully realised. Some parties seem
to have reacted by installing the depressed classes and
women in senior positions. Institutional arrangements
notwithstanding, it is time to de-emphasise caste-based
politics and vigorously promote social reform.
Cooperation and opposition
Ironically, the proliferation of regional parties has
achieved little in securing more power for the States. In
Anna's native Tamil Nadu, the Congress remains permanently
emaciated. The Dravidian parties, which between themselves
have a two-thirds share of the popular vote, remain the
largest players. Despite their long stint in power and their
significant roles in coalition governments at the Centre,
their influence is yet to fully translate into the State's
gains. Anna's political philosophy of "opposition if
necessary and cooperation where possible" is eminently worth
recall.
In retrospect, Anna's Dravida Nadu demand might be
interpreted as a carefully preserved negotiating position
for regional autonomy leading to a more equitable
distribution of power, wealth, and resources between the
Centre and the States. Regretfully, however, the Sarkaria
Commission recommendations on Centre-State relations
continue to gather dust even as regional parties concentrate
on power-sharing at the Centre. Compare this with Anna's
disinterested response to Congress leader P. G. Karuthiruman
— the latter wondered about Anna's reaction in the wake of
speculation that his Government might face punitive action
for excluding Hindi from government schools as part of the
DMK's two-language formula. Anna's response was that he
would tender his resignation and leave as happily as when he
had taken office. Today education remains on the concurrent
list (since its transfer in 1976 from the States' list, a
post-Anna development). Is anyone seriously interested in
getting it back to the State list?
Language was an important issue during Anna's time. Some
might argue it remains crucial even today. It is important
to note that Anna himself had an open mind on the question,
asking only for a home-grown solution over a period of time.
He wanted all `regional languages' to have the status of
national languages. This is yet to become a reality.
Apart from practicalities, concerns about the quality of
education, governance, and integration remain. It is surely
a matter of satisfaction that civil servants who did their
exams in the `regional languages' have proved just as able
and committed as has anyone else. Anna would have treated
the question of language as a personal one, leaving the
choice in the individual's hands. Besides, globalisation and
the Internet revolution seem to have taken the political
sting out of the language issue.
Thirtysix years on, Anna appears ubiquitous in Tamil Nadu.
His statues abound even as thousands of streets and hundreds
of institutions and buildings proclaim his name, thanks to
the efforts of those claiming his legacy. Yet Anna remains
at best a symbol. His individual thambis and thangais
(younger sisters) are a generally prosperous lot. The elder
brother, however, might have found a large majority of them
otherwise poor. Anna's sense of mission, his simplicity,
compassion, and talents may look outmoded. But so long as
human values remain a worthy goal, his legacy will be
relevant — he cared not for those who could help themselves,
but for those who needed help.
That
polymath Conjeepuram Natarajan Annadurai (Anna,
1909-1969) had been badly served by the infighting of
his beloved thambis (lieutenants) is a curse to
befall the Tamils.
One usurped the reins of DMK, by back-stabbing the
designated heir apparent.
Another one, peeved by the power and stronghold of
the usurper, then left the party founded by Anna, and
established his own party, tagging to it Anna’s name as
a moniker. A few others, like poet
Kannadasan
(1927-1981), who had parted company with Anna while he
was alive, occasionally lamented on the magnanimity of
Anna. This being the birth centenary year of Anna and
the 60th
anniversary year of the founding of DMK by him, I bring
to limelight some items and issues that have eluded the
Anna scholars.
Poet Kannadasan’s Lament
I begin this Anna’s birth centennial anthology series,
with Kannadasan’s lament on the last days of Anna, and
what he had watched first hand. This material appears in
the volume 2 of Kannadasan’s posthumously published
autobiography
Mana Vaasam (1988) in Tamil. I have translated
into English, the chapter 28, entitled ‘Ithu Thaan
Jathakam’ (This is the Horoscope, pp. 192-197).
Kannadasan had modestly addressed himself in third
person singular in Tamil, ‘Avan’ (He).
Kannadasan’s passing reference to ‘another person’ in
this memoir is self-explanatory and refers to the
current Tamil Nadu chief minister Karunanidhi.
“Anna wanted to see him, but he had rejected it.
Later, he thought about it for long. ‘He had been
friendly with him. We also loved him. Whatever the
reason, he wants to see me when he is down. If I
reject this, it will be an ingratitude’. After
thinking long, he picked up the phone; called Anna,
the chief minister.
I’ll come to see him that night itself. Anna’s
assistant Mr. Gajendran who received the message on
phone had scheduled the time. That night, he with
R.S. Pandian and two more friends, visited with Anna
at his house in Nungambakkam. Expecting him that
night, Anna had relieved his security that night.
When he went in, Anna was struggling to eat the
white protein of one egg, while coughing repeatedly.
Anna asked him, ‘How are you? Are all your kids
keeping fine.’
‘We are all fine. How are you Anna?’ he asked.
He said: ‘Nothing had get set up’, while coughing.
For half an hour, he sat in front of Anna. Anna
couldn’t speak. Mr. Arangannal came nearby to talk.
Anna looked at his face and sighed ‘Go – Go’. After
a while, Anna looked at him and said, ‘Still not
feeling well. Can you come tomorrow evening?’
‘OK Anna’, he left. Returning home, he wrote a
letter in his
Kaditham
paper, ‘God, Please help Anna’. In that letter, he
wrote, ‘His life with cough is full of complexities.
Doctors have lost the ability to save Anna.
Hereafter, only God can save Anna’.
Next evening, he heard that Anna had been admitted to
Adaiyar Hospital. Anna never bothered about diseases and
ill health. Until then, he never took any pills; not a
single injection. Operation in America couldn’t help. If
death was the endpoint for that disease, his body could
have been cared like a flower without shredding it.
In this country, treatments that increase the pains are
numerous. Is Adaiyar Hospital the Lord’s House? It’s
merely a place of rest, but cannot protect the soul.
He realized that Anna is nearing death. More than him,
another person got the message clearly. He called that
person and complained, ‘What you’ll have done?’
That person responded, ‘What can we do? He doesn’t
listen to any of us.’
If the temple head priest falls ill, his protégé will
break coconut to Lord Yama!...like that.
He couldn’t doubt that some were anxiously awaiting for
Anna’s death. All the bigwigs of DMK from Tamil Nadu
landed at Adaiyar Hospital. Even near Anna’s head-board,
this camp-grouping scene occurred.
In the party, Anna was No. 1; Nedunchezhiyan was No.2
among the ranking leaders. After Anna’s death, this
ranking was to be disrupted.
Whether Navalar [Nedunchezhiyan] realized it or not, he
clearly grasped it. Only he could know the horoscopes of
some bigwigs of Kazhagam. Even Anna had felt this. He
wished that nobody would disturb his peace. Doesn’t he
know that there are folks who thank God for the disease
that had crippled him? But there were many who really
dripped blood tears for Anna’s misfortune.”
It is to the credit of Kannadasan that ,while he was
alive he had accurately anticipated the misfortunes of
DMK party in the post-Anna phase. To quote Kannadasan
again,
“That Anna had died fell on his ears like a loud
thud then. Unexpectedly such a tremendous gathering
wailed and convulsed. His last journey was attended
by millions who thronged to Madras. Right or wrong,
he wrote an elegy ‘Anna’s Long Journey’ in his
Thenral journal. Even the meaning of its title,
he could grasp only after a long time.
Anna had rested near the Bengal seabeach. None of
the doctors cannot need him thereafter. Then only,
the history turned. The younger sibling killing the
elder to gain the crown – the son killing the father
to rule – These stories of Nawabs recurred in the
DMK’s second part.
Knowingly or unknowingly, MGR had supported
Karunanidhi. That MGR was siding with Karunanidhi
made it easy for the latter to gain an upper hand.
Thus, rejecting Nedunchezhiyan’s claim and making
Karunanidhi the leader came to be an easy task.
In those days, Karunanidhi met MGR in morning and
afternoon. Party’s MLA’s met and Karunanidhi was
chosen as the leader. Navalar and Madhavan cried and
complained at Anna’s tomb. Before the tomb’s
moisture dried, it appeared that the party may split
in two. But, Karunanidhi with his shrewd skills
saved the split then.
Karunanidhi’s horoscope had lucky streaks then.
After he became the chief minister, the Congress
Party came to split.”
For comparison, I provide Karunanidhi’s version on how
he succeeded Anna as the DMK leader in 1969 from his
autobiography, Nenjukku Neethi (vol.1, 1985, 2nd
ed., pp. 751-752). Here is its English translation:
“To follow the Indian Constitutional rules and
tradition, within half an hour of Anna’s death, a new
temporary cabinet took oaths at the Governor’s Mansion
in Guinty. Navalar (Nedunchezhiyan) became the temporary
chief minister. Other ministers took oaths for their
respective ministeries.
Next, to form a permanent cabinet, a meeting of DMK
MLAs’ was held on Feb.10, 1969 to select the DMK leader
of the legislative assembly. Late minister A.
Govindasamy presided that session. Following the
election, to the reporters awaiting outside, Navalar
announced that ‘Mr. M. Karunanidhi was elected
unanimously as the leader of DMK MLAs.’ That evening
itself, I took oaths as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu
at the Governor’s Mansion in Guinty.”
Kindly make note that the events and the roles played by
MGR and Nedunchezhiyan as described by Kannadasan, does
not appear in Karunanidhi’s version.
Mohana Muhari and a Musical Glimpse of Anna
The following anecdote, I had recorded as a brief
feature in a note that appeared in the Sudar(Colombo)
magazine in Oct. 1980. Unfortunately, I cannot recollect
the original source of this authentic anecdote,
mentioned in my note of Oct. 1980. And I also don’t have
a copy of my Sudar note with me now to verify the
original source.
I
have no doubt that it’s an authentic story, since as a
fan of Karnatic music, I enjoyed its appeal as it
featured one of my favorite singers Chidambaram S.
Jayaraman, a brother-in-law of Karunanidhi.
Jayaraman’s inimitable tremolo voice is well known to
Tamils, for its scintillating nuances and resonance. His
enunciation of Tamil words had a mystic charm and grace.
He even had a title Tamil Isai Chittar (Tamil
Music Mystic). Though his voice can amply depict any
mood, Jayaraman was considered as an exponent in
eliciting profound pathos. His countless Tamil movie
songs of 1940s and 1950s, that remain popular even now,
attest to this fact. Since he was considered as a DMK
pillar, in those days Jayaraman was not permitted to
give music concerts in Ceylon. If memory serves,
Jayaraman visited Colombo in 1968 at the invitation of
then Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation’s ghatam artist
Guruvayoor K.K.Atchuthan master merely as a ‘tourist’,
but was not allowed to give concerts!
Mohanam and Muhari are two well known ragas in the
Karnatic Music lexicon and have entered the Tamil
language as separate idioms. While Mohanam represents
the joy mood, Muhari symbolizes the pathos. Once Anna
taught of a caption ‘Mohana Muhari’ for one of his
columns. Just being practical minded, he requested to
hum the ascension notes of Mohana raga and decension
notes of Muhari raga, to Chidambaram Jayaraman, who was
nearby. Jayaraman, was astounded when he hummed the
ascension-decension notes of the two ragas in a
combinatorial mode. Anna had created a new raga – Mohana
Muhari, not recorded in the Karnatic Music lexicon.
Jayaraman then pleaded to Anna in banter, ‘Anna – you
better limit your range to oratory, prose and drama.
Just leave the music to us. If not, you’ll make us
starve.’ That banter of Chidambaram Jayaraman – a master
singer, stage-movie actor and a music director of repute
– was Anna’s pleasure to enjoy.
Anna’s Point-Pedro Connection
That atheist and social reformer
E.V. Ramasamy
Naicker (1879-1973) was Anna’s mentor is well known
to many. But, before Naicker, Anna had a theist mentor
and beneficiary at college is not that well known. Anna
was a student at the Pachiyappa’s College, Chennai, from
1928 to 1933. The principal of Pachiyappa’s College at
that time was one K. Chinnatambi Pillai (1860 - ?).
About this principal, little is known or remembered now,
though he might have played the Socrates role to Anna’s
Plato. But that Chinnatambi Pillai was from Point Pedro
has been recorded. I learnt about this educationist,
from a short entry in S. Arumugam’s collection,
A Dictionary of Biography of Ceylon Tamils
(London, 1996, p. 38). It is as follows:
“K. Chinnatambi Pillai, an uncle of S. Nadarasar,
university lecturer, Colombo, was from Puloly, Point
Pedro. He proceeded to Madras, for higher studies,
on completion of which he became a teacher at
Christian College, Madras. Eventually he rose to be
principal of Pachiappa’s College, Madras. It is said
he encouraged and helped C.N. Annadurai to continue
with his studies, when he was in difficulties at
college.”
From a website dedicated to Anna (http://arignaranna.info/),
a few descriptions appear about principal Chinnatambi
Pillai. One contemporary teacher at the college in late
1920s, C. Ramachandran, had noted that “Mr. C.
Chinnatambi Pillai, was the Principal with sacred ash
and sandal wood paste displayed prominently on his
forehead.”
Another teacher named Prof. Krishnamurthy had
recollected: “I still remember the school principal’s
reference to Anna: ‘This youth has a bright future. He
will be the leader of hundreds of thousands of folks,
and he will revolutionize this land…’”
As the story goes, Anna had passed the intermediate exam
in first class. The principal Chinnatamby Pillai wished
to have Anna enrolled in the B.A. honours class. But due
to limited family means, Anna wished to enroll in the
ordinary B.A. class and graduate in two years, to take
some kind of a job to support his family. A three year
study was needed to complete the B.A. honours degree.
The principal influenced Anna’s mind positively with the
allure that he would make special provisions for Anna’s
free education and thus made Anna to complete the B.A.
honours degree. That the well-meaning timely assist of
mentor Chinnatamby Pillai was a gift that changed young
Anna’s career cannot be doubted. Observers could note
that the brand of atheism adopted and popularized by
Anna in the late 1930s and 1940s differed from that of
his political mentor Periyar, by a degree or two. This
variance can be attributed to the influence of Anna’s
theist mentor Chinnatambi Pillai at Pachaiyappa College.
The birth centenary year, 2008-2009, of one of the greatest
Tamil leaders of modern history commences on 15th September,
the day and month on which in 1909 Chinna Kaanchipuram
Natarajan Annadurai was born.
Chinna Kaanchipuram is part of Kaanchipuram, the capital of
Pallava Kings, the ancient seat of learning, a place where
Jainism and Buddhism, and then Saivism and Vaishnavism
contended to gain supremacy.
Parents
Natarajan and Bangaru Ammal, father and mother of
C.N.Annadurai, belonged to a lower middle class family
engaged traditionally in spinning and weaving. While in the
elementary school, he used to attend to the simple jobs
connected with this occupation. As a student of the local
high school, he voluntarily learned tailoring in the spare
time. Among the members of his family, his maternal aunt
(younger sister of his mother) Rajamani, fondly called
‘Thotha’, had the greatest influence on the growing boy.
In the college
As a student of Pachaiyappa’s college, Madras (now Chennai)
C.N.Annadurai finished with distinction his Intermediate
course , and then M.A. in economics in 1935. While in
college he married Rani Ammal in 1930.
While in college he took part in debates and won prizes in
the inter-collegiate oratorical contests. He served as the
Secretary to the College Union and as the Chairman of the
College Economics Association.
Fresh from college
Before going to Chennai for college studies, Annadurai
worked for some time as clerk in the Kaanchipuram
Municipality in 1927. After obtaining M.A. degree, he worked
for about a year as teacher in the Govindu Naicker School in
1935.
C.N.Annadurai edited Bala Bharathi and later Nava Yuvan,
Tamil weeklies published from Madras. He also served as a
sub-editor of Justice, English daily of South Indian Liberal
Federation (Justice Party), under the aegis of the Raja
Saheb Bobbili, the then Chief Minister of the (composite)
Madras State.
In the meanwhile Anna had taken part in labour union
activities; he contested the Madras Corporation election
from Peddunaickenpet as Justice Party candidate and lost in
1935. In the elections to the Provincial Legislative
Assembly held in1937 under the 1935 India Act, he campaigned
for the Raja of Bobbili along with P.Balasubramaniam and
T.A.V.Nathan.
Became Periyar’s disciple
The spark of idealism in young Anna made him an admirer of
the Self-Respect Movement of Periyar E.V.Ramasamy. He joined
the Self-Respect Youth League in 1930. He met his mentor for
the first time in 1935 at a conference in Tirupur, a textile
centre between Coimbatore and Erode. Anna had just finished
his formal collegiate education. Periyar enquired him of his
future plans. Anna expressed his wish to enter public
service. Periyar was very much impressed by this attitude of
Anna. While unveiling the portrait of Anna, along with those
of Dr. B.R.Ambedkar and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, on the
occasion of the inauguration of Forum of Thought, at Vada
Kovai in Coimbatore on 2nd September 1970, Periyar referred
to this rare attitude and said: “At a time when educated
persons were seeking the security and comfort, prestige and
authority of the life of bureaucrats, Anna wanted to serve
the common people. When the popularity of Congress party was
rising, he came forward to propagate the ideals of
Self-Respect, racial dignity and the principles of
rationalism. He swam against the current. Being a genius he
succeeded in his efforts to a great extend.”
Anna was coming closer to Periyar from 1937. He presided
over the Thuraiyur Self-Respect Conference (Thuraiyur is 50
km north of Tiruchirappalli). When C.Rajagopalachari, the
then Chief Minister of Madras State, made the study of Hindi
compulsory in the high schools, the people of Tamil Nadu
opposed it cutting across party differences. They raised the
slogan Tamil Nadu for Tamils. Periyar spearheaded the
agitation against this attempt of linguistic imperialism and
cultural domination. Anna participated in the agitation
leading a team of volunteers, and was imprisoned for four
months. This happened in 1938 and in the same year he became
the editor of Viduthalai, the Tamil Daily that Periyar was
publishing from Erode. He was also on the editorial staff of
the weekly, Kudi Arasu. He became the Secretary of Justice
Party in 1939. In the next year, the Justice Party
conference was held in Tiruvarur. Anna seconded a resolution
that demanded Dravida Naadu for Dravidians.
In 1942, Anna founded and edited his own Tamil weekly
Dravida Nadu, publishing it from his native town
Kanchipuram. This he continued to edit for more than twenty
years. He also edited the following during the various
stages in his life: Malai Mani, Tamil daily, Nam Naadu,
Tamil daily, Kaanchi, Tamil weekly, Home Rule, English
weekly, Homeland, English weekly.
His reputation rises high
In 1943-44, two events of the same nature took place in
Anna’s life, marking a take off stage in his reputation,
specially among the educated youth and the students. He
participated in two public debates against two great Tamil
scholars, and came out successful in both, justifying his
point of view. “Should the Ramayanam of Kamban and Periya
Puranam be burnt?” was the subject of the debate. The Tamil
scholars were admirers of the two works as great literary
creations. But Anna, following Periyar’s policy, wanted them
to be destroyed as they degraded and enslaved the Tamils to
alien culture, made the common people crippled in outlook
and superstitions in practice. The first open debate took
place at Law College Chennai, on 9th Feb., 1943 and the
second one at Sevvaipet, Salem on 14th March 1944. Prof.
R.P.Sethupillai in Chennai and Naavalar S.Somasundara
Bharatiar in Salem took the stand against Anna in the
debate. In both the debates Anna established
incontrovertibly that the Tamil literature based on
principles of Hinduism would be injurious to the distinct
culture and the Self-Respect of the Tamil people.
So far he had been known as C.N.Annadurai or C.N.A. or Anna.
From now on he was popularly known as Arignar Anna. Arignar
means genius in Tamil.
The impact of Anna’s speeches and writings
Arignar Anna was a keen and sympathetic observer of the
social life around. He read widely and thought deeply. He
used his unique oratorical skills to propagate and explain
his point of view with telling effect. Even as a writer he
established a style of his own. His writings and speeches
were marked by euphony and alliteration. He used simple and
interesting metaphors, similes and analogies to make his
ideas and arguments interesting and convincing. His essays,
editorials, short stories, humorous skits, novels and plays,
whether polemical or pensive, became very popular, and the
readers, particularly the youth, eagerly waited for the
arrival of the periodicals that carried his writings, and
the books he had authored. Reading them avidly and listening
to his interesting and instructive talks, the common people
felt their horizon widening and they imbibed the spirit of
renaissance and self-respect. Several thousands gave up
their faith in traditional gods and began to ridicule the
ludicrous behaviour of deities, described in Vedas,
Ithihasas (epics), Puranas (mythologies) and other ‘holy’
Sastras (scriptures).
Demands and cinemas
Besides being a commanding orator and a charming writer,
Anna was also a fascinating actor. People thronged in
thousands to see him acting in his own dramas like
Chandrothayam and Sivaji Kanda Indu Rajyam (The Hindu Raj
founded by Sivaji). His plays - Nalla Thambi, Oer Iravu,
Velaikkari and Sorggavaasal - were filmed after independence
in 1947, and they became very popular cinemas. Popular stage
and cine actors who stood by Anna in early years were
D.V.Narayanasamy, K.R.Ramasamy, N.S.Krishnan and
S.S.Rajendran. Sivaji Ganesan left him in 1950s and
M.G.Ramachandran joined DMK at about the same period.The
stage plays and films extended the propagation of the ideas
and ideals of socio-economic changes, intellectual
emancipation, rationalism etc among several lakhs of people
and also made Anna a very popular leader of Self-respect
movement, next only to Periyar.
A new demand
While Periyar’s Self-respect movement fought primarily
against birth-based social oppression and exploitation under
Varna-Jaathi (caste system), sanctioned and sanctified by
vedic principle and the Hindu religion, a very important
political measure, inimical to the Tamils as a nation or
race, was introduced in 1938 by C.Rajagopalachari (Rajaji)
in the form of compulsory study of Hindi language in the
High school classes of composite Madras province of which he
was the Chief Minister for about two years between 1937 and
1939, heading the Congress ministry that came to power under
the 1935 Government of India Act. The non-Hindi speaking
people naturally felt that they would become second-class
citizens and their distinct culture and other interests
would come under the domination of north Indians. So cutting
across the divisions of caste, creed, parties etc., the
people of Tamil Nadu raised the demand : ‘Tamil Nadu for
Tamils’ from 1937-38. As the composite Madras province of
those days consisted of parts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka
and Kerala, the slogan ‘Tamil Nadu for Tamils’ got
transformed into ‘Dravida Nadu for Dravidians’ after 1940.
After the reorganisation of States on linguistic lines in
1956, Periyar explained that his demand for Dravida Nadu
meant thereafter only for Tamil Nadu. His demand for a
sovereign state was prompted primarily by the fact that the
combination of the Brahmin and the north Indian capitalists
(Bania) stood in the way of bring about social equality and
promoting social justice.
Arignar Anna conceived Dravida Nadu as a federation of four
southern states that have geographical contiguity as well as
linguistic and racial affinity - Tamil Nadu of Tamils,
Andhra Pradesh of Telugus, Karnataka of Kannadigas and
Kerala of Malayalis. But after Chinese invasion in 1962, he
gave up the demand for such a sovereign federation, and
emphasised the need for state autonomy and linguistic
equality as basic requirements to make Indian federation a
perfect one.
But our consideration of one particular political aspect,
namely the demand for Dravida Nadu, has made us deviate from
the chronological sequence in Anna’s life. Let us resume it.
In December 1938, when Periyar was in prison for
participating in agitation against imposition of Hindi, he
was elected the President of the South Indian Liberal
Federation (Justice Party). Anna, who was editing,
Viduthalai, the Tamil Daily, from 1939, was elected the
Secretary of the Justice Party in 1939. He seconded the
resolution ‘ Dravida Nadu for Dravidians’ at the August 1940
Provincial conference of the Justice Party in Tiruvarur.
During Second World War, Periyar permitted his Viduthalai to
be utilised by the British Government as an organ of
propaganda to fight against Italian Fascism, German Nazism
and Japanese militarism. So Anna published his own weekly
Dravida Nadu from Kancheepuram from 1942. In 1943, his
social drama Chandrodayam was staged, he himself acting the
role of the hero, Durairaj.
Dravidar Kazhagam
The year 1944 marked a turning point in the history of Tamil
Nadu. It was in that year on 27th August the Justice Party
and the Self-respect Movement merged as one organisation
known as Dravidar Kazhagam under the leadership of Periyar
by a famous resolution moved by Anna in the Provincial
conference of the Justice Party in Salem. Though the
resolution stood in the name of ‘Annadurai’, the prime mover
or the real force behind the move was Periyar. And Anna
fully shared his views.
Anna became the General Secretary of Dravidar Kazhagam
Justice Party was started in 1916 by great stalwarts Sir
Pitty Theogarayar, Dr.T.M.Nair and Dr.C.Natesanar to work
for the upliftment of the non-Brahmin community. Well known
leaders like Sir A.Ramasami Mudaliar, Sir K.V.Reddi Naidu,
Sir.R.K.Shanmugam Chettiar, Sir P.T.Rajan, Raja of Panagal
P.Ramarayaningar, Sir A.P.Patro, S.Muthiah Mudaliar, O.
Thanikachalam Chettiar, W.P.A. Soundarapandian, Sir
A.T.Pannirselvam, Ramachandran Servai etc., guided the party
and served the common people by implementing several
socio-economic measures, and by doing justice to various
communities. The Justice Party was in power in the composite
Madras State from 1921 to 1937, except for an year in 1927.
Though incorruptible as administrators and politicians, the
leaders who rose to some position at a later stage clamoured
for offices and titles. Moreover, the influential among them
were aristocrats - Zamindars, big landlords and business
men. All these factors alienated the Justice Party leaders
from the ordinary people.
The main resolution at the 1944 conference also demanded
that the members of newly named Dravidar Kazhagam should not
hold any office of power in the government, nor should they
either accept or retain the titles conferred by the
government. The old guards who formed the elite section in
the party were dissatisfied with this decision. They claimed
that they constituted the ‘real’ or ‘original’ South Indian
Liberal Federation (SILF) popularly known as Justice Party.
But they could not function effectively.
Social change
In the meanwhile Periyar and Anna were able to build up
Dravidar Kazhagam as a broad-based dynamic movement mainly
with the support of the socially deprived poor and the lower
middle class youth. The movement fought against social
degradation and inequality by eradicating caste and
supestitious beliefs that perpetuated the social evils and
disabilities. It sought to promote social justice and basic
transformation on egalitarian lines, through intellectual
awakening and the pressure exerted on the rulers by citizens
imbued with the spirit of Self-respect. In place of Justice
Party’s flag with maroon colour having the emblem of balance
(scales), the DK had designed a new flag - with a red circle
in the middle surrounded by black. The black background
represented the feeling of sorrow of Dravidians caused by
the condition of their social and religious degradation for
several centuries. The red circle stood for their awakening
and determined efforts to get rid of beliefs, traditions,
institutions, practices, customs, habits etc. that deprive
them of their rights, self-respect, hope, freedom, equality
and peaceful progress.
Independence
Though Anna closely followed the footsteps of Periyar, he
differed from Periyar’s assessment of India’s attainment of
independence in 1947. He welcomed the event whereas Periyar
called August 15 a day of mourning. Anna viewed the issue in
the following manner: The Dravidians were exploited by three
sections of people: the Brahmins, the Banias and the
British. Of the three, the British imperialists were going
away. So it was a day of rejoicing to that extent. But
Periyar took a different stand: The Britishers were
transferring their power to the combination of Brahmins and
Banias (the north Indian business people). The role of the
Brahmin-Bania combination will be worse than that of the
British. Though the Britishers exploited India economically,
there was scope for the promotion of Social Justice
(communal representation), and enlightened outlook through
the spread of modern knowledge. But the Brahmin-Bania
domination will perpetuate social oppression, economic
exploitation and the return of the obscurantist religious
values, principles and traditions. This would hinder the
march of progress and might even put the clock back - that
was Periyar’s apprehension.
Inspite of such differences, Anna continued to be the
General Secretary of Dravidar Kazhagam. He took part in the
agitation against Hindi imposition once again in 1948 and
was imprisoned on that account. Periyar arranged for a
special conference of the movement at Erode on 23rd and 24th
October 1948. Anna presided over the conference, and he was
taken in a grand procession seated in a chariot while
Periyar came walking with other functionaries. It was in
this conference that Periyar hinted of handing over the
responsibility of running the movement to Anna.
Moves away from Periyar
But that was not to be. Perhaps Anna and his associates had
decided to enter into electoral politics to capture power
which could be utilised to bring about the desired social
transformation. It was Periyar’s experience that politics
would corrupt most of the politicians. It could not be
relied upon to eradicate caste, a well-entrenched social
evil safeguarded by the Brahminical upper castes with the
backing of Hindu religious sentiments, principles and
philosophy. So he wanted Dravidar Kazhagam to grow as a
determined and disciplined non-political movement of
dedicated activists, powerful enough to pressure the
government to follow on enlightened, just and egalitarian
policy particularly in socio-cultural sphere. As no such
unique movement had been formed anywhere in the country, he
wanted to safeguard the one he had founded, and the property
he had secured for its functioning. When he felt Anna and
his admirers were leaning towards direct involvement in
politics, he came to the conclusion that they would fritter
away the mental and material strength of the movement. So to
keep the movement and its property intact, he married in
1949 Maniammaiyar, a trusted colleague who had been
attending to his personal needs and helping him in the
activities of the movement. This was an arrangement in
public interest. But Anna and his followers made a big issue
of the difference between their ages - Periyar was 70 and
Maniammaiyar 30 in 1949. They quit DK and formed DMK,
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Anna became its General
Secretary. It was inaugurated at Robinson Park, Royapuram,
Chennai, on 17th September 1949.
Functioning of a political party
Besides socio-cultural issues, the DMK began to pay
attention to political and economic problems from the
beginning. In the initial stages the party highlighted that
the South was neglected and the North favoured in
developmental projects. Huge hydro-electric projects, dams,
large-scale industries etc were started in the north India
while the southern part received only a step-motherly
treatment. While carrying out such propaganda, Anna also
encouraged the cadres to help the poor handloom weavers by
directly taking up the sales of unsold cloth.
In 1950 he was sent to prison at Tiruchirappalli for
publishing his Tamil book, Ariya Maayai (Aryan allure).
Periyar was also imprisoned in the same jail at the same
period for his book Pon Mozhikal (Golden sayings).
Constitution amended
The DMK agitated for the continuation of the Communal
Government Order. Periyar had taken the initiative for the
agitation when the Communal G.O. of the then Madras province
was declared null and void by the Madras High Court as well
as the Supreme Court in 1950. It is this agitation that
ultimately led the first Constitutional Amendment in 1951.
Clause 4 was added to Article 15, safeguarding laws making
reservations in the professional, educational institutions
in the States. In the first general elections conducted in
free India on the basis of adult franchise in 1952, DMK
supported the independent candidates or those belonging to
small parties who subscribed to the policies of this party.
With the support of DMK, 44 candidates were elected to the
then Composite Madras State Assembly and eight to the
Parliament.
Agitation
In 1953, Anna directed the DMK to undertake a three pronged
agitation: against the Prime Minister Nehru for using
language of disparagement with reference to leaders of Tamil
Nadu, against the Chief Minister, C.Rajagopalachari for
introducing a new educational system that indirectly
encouraged traditional caste-based occupations (Kula Kalvi
Thittam), and finally demanding the renaming of Dalmiyapuram
as Kallakkudi, its original name, because the name
Dalmiyapuram symbolised north Indian domination. Anna was
sentenced to three months imprisonment in this agitation.
Election
When the second provincial conference of DMK was held at
Tiruchirappalli in May 1956, Anna stepped down from the
General Secretaryship of the party, and Naavalar
Nedunchezhian was elected to that top position. (The first
DMK provincial conference was held in Madras in 1951 and
Anna presided over it.) The Tiruchirappalli conference
decided to contest free India’s second general elections to
be held in 1957, the DMK secured 15 Assembly seats and two
parliamentary seats. Anna was elected from his home
constituency, Kanchipuram as an MLA.
In 1959, a DMK councillor was elected the Mayor of Madras
(now Chennai) a major political victory. In recognition of
Kalaignar M.Karunanidhi’s hard work to make this significant
victory possible, Anna presented him a ring in a function
organised to celebrate historic occasion.
In view of continued threat to impose Hindi, the DMK held a
massive open-air conference against Hindi imposition at
Kodambakkam, Chennai in August 1960. Anna presided over it.
He gave black flags to leading functionaries, to be shown to
the President of India during his tour in the state. As a
response to these awakened activities, Prime Minister, Nehru
assured in the floor of Parliament that English would
continue to be the official language of India, as long as
non-Hindi speaking people desire. D.M.K. gave up the plan of
showing black flags. Anyhow, Anna appealed to the Union
Government to bring about a constitutional amendment
incorporating the assurance.
Anna faced a major challenge to his leadership in 1961.
E.V.K.Sampath, a nephew of Periyar and a founder member of
DMK was dissatisfied with Anna’s style of functioning, quit
the party and formed Tamil National Party on 19 April 1961.
But the third State Conference of DMK held in Madurai in
July 1961 showed that the party’s strength was growing in a
big way inspite of Sampath’s opposition. (The TNP merged
with Congress in July 1964.)
Though Anna was defeated in the 1962 General Elections in
his home constituency, his party won 50 seats in the State
Assembly, a result that stunned the tradition-bound
politicians of India. Anna became a member of Rajya Sabha in
April 1962 and delivered his famous maiden speech on first
May.
Anna was imprisoned for 10 weeks in Vellore prison for
leading an agitation against rise in price level in 1962. In
1963 he was again imprisoned for six months for opposing the
imposition of Hindi. He was jailed for a few days for
observing the Republic Day (26 Jan, 1965) as a day of
mourning. He appealed to the students to stop their
anti-Hindi agitation on 9th February the same year.
Anna formed a strategic coalition to fight the Indian
Congress Party in the February 1967 General Elections,
joining hands with C.Rajagopalachari of Swatantra Party,
Quid-i-milleth Ismail Sahib of All India Muslim League,
CPI(M) etc. The DMK secured absolute majority in the State
Assembly and formed the ministry on 06-03-1967 with Anna as
Chief Minister. He changed the name of Madras State as Tamil
Nadu, put an end to three language formula and introduced
two language formula as the basic policy of Tamil Nadu, and
enacted a law making Self-respect marriages retrospectively
lawful.
Anna made arrangement to supply rice for Rupee one per
measure. It was during the period of his Chief Ministership,
the Second World Tamil Conference was conducted on a grand
scale on 3rd January 1968. Anna was responsible for the
Tamil Nadu government to issue an order for the removal of
the pictures of gods and religious symbols from public
offices and buildings.
Anna was afflicted with cancer and he could not be cured of
the disease inspite of best medical care. He passed away on
3rd February 1969, mounred by several crores of Tamil
people. He propagated values of self-respect, racial
dignity, linguistic and social equality, socialism,
secularism and democracy. He sincerely followed and
implemented those values and principles when in power. This
was the greatness of Arignar Anna.
Assembly speeches of Anna
editor-in-chief, A. K. Moorthy ; associate editor, G.
Sankaran ;
with a foreword by S. G. Manavala Ramanujam
Thanjavur : Anna Pub. House, 1975.
Atiyapatam
Chennai : Pumpukar Patippakam, 1988.
Camatarmam. [1962]
Camukacevaki Carupala
Chennai : Parati Patippakam, 1988
Convocation addresses of Anna
editor-in-chief, A. K. Moorthy ; associate editor, G.
Sankaran ;
with a foreword by S. G. Manavala Ramanujam. Rev. ed.
Thanjavur : Anna Pub. House, 1975. Series title: Anna's
literature. Series title: Oratorical series ; 2.
Cumar Cuppaiya
Chennai: Parati Patippakam, 1986
E, talnta Tamilakame
Chennai, Muttami_l Nilaiyam]; vi_rpa_nai urimai: Pari
Nilaiyam [1968].
Felicitation addresses of Anna
editor-in-chief, A. K. Moorthy ; associate editor, G.
Sankaran ;
with a foreword by S. G. Manavala Ramanujam
Thanjavur : Anna Pub. House, 1975. Series title: Anna's
literature. Series title: Oratorical series ; 3.
Inaugural and presidential addresses of Anna
editor-in-chief, A. K. Moorthy, associate editor, G.
Sankaran ;
with a foreword by S. G. Manavala Ramanujam.
Thanjavur : Anna Pub. House, 1975.
Series title: Anna's literature : Oratorical series ; 4.
Series title: Oratorical series
Nitipati vakkilanar
Chennai : Pumpukar Patippakam, 1989
Nititevan mayakkam
Chennai : Pumpukar Piracuram Piras, 1980
Or iravu
Cennai: Pari Nilaiyam, 1954., 1st Ed.
Occasional speeches of Anna
editor-in-chief, A. K. Moorthy, associate editor, G.
Sankaran ;
with a foreword by S. G. Manavala Ramanujam
Thanjavur : Anna Pub. House, 1975. Series title: Anna's
literature. Series title: Oratorical series ; 5.
Paratam
Chennai: Pumpukar Patippakam, 1989.
Parvati. [1967]
Pavaiyin payanam
Chennai : Pumpukar Patippakam, 1989
Piti campal
Chennai: Pumpukar Piracuram, 1980
Pittalai alla, ponnetan!
Chennai: Pumpukar Piracuram Piras, 1980
"Pon vilanku"
Kancipuram : Ma_ru Malarccip Patippakam, 1953. Series title:
SAMP early 20th-century Indian books project ; item 41198
Radio talks of Anna
editor-in-chief, A. K. Moorthy ; associate editor,
G. Sankaran ; with a foreword by S. G. Manavalaramanujam.
1st ed.
Thanjavur : Anna Pub. House, 1975.
Series title: Anna's literature. Series title: Oratorical
series ; 6
1 ரோமாபுரி ராணிகள் 1942
2 புத்தர் புன்னகை 1942
3 இந்து மதமும் தமிபுரும் 1942
4 களிமண்ணும் கையுமாக 1943
5 பூதேவர் புலம்பல் 1943
6 பூதேவர் பிரதாபம் 1943
7 ஊரார் உரையாடல் 1943
8 கம்பரசம் 1943
9 ஆரிய மாயை 1943
10 வர்ணா°ரமம் ஒழிக 1943
11 விடுதலைப் போர் (திராவிடர் கழகம்) 1944
12 கட்சியில் கடவுள் மதம் 1944
13 திராவிடரும் கடவுளாரும் 1944
14 கடவுள் விளக்கம் 1944
15 நிக்கோல°தீர்ப்பு 1945
16 தேவலீலைகள் 1945
17 அமெரிக்காவில் ஒரு பாரதிதாசன் 1945
18 வில்லவன் கோதை விருந்து 1945
19 சிவலோகவாசிகள் 1945
20 பெரியப்புராணப் புதையல் 1945
21 வால்டேர் வீசிய வெடிகுண்டு 1945
22 மாற்றானின் மல்லிகைத் தோட்டம் 1945
23 கோடு உயர்ந்தது குன்றம் தாழ்ந்தது 1946
24 புராணம் போதைதரும் லேகியம் 1946
25 காமவேள் நடனசாலையில் கற்பூரக்கடை 1946
26 எரியிட்டார் என் செய்தீர் 1946
27 விதைக்காது விளையும் கழநி 1946
28 சிந்தனைச் சிற்பி சிங்காரவேலர் 1946
29 பணத்தோட்டம் 1946
30 இலட்சிய வரலாறு (மரணசாசனம்) 1946
31 காண்டேர்கார் 1946
32 பயங்கரப்பாதை 1946
33 இயற்கை ஓர் அழகிய விதவை 1947
34 1858-1948 (விசித்ர வினா) 1947
35 லேபிள் வேண்டாம் 1947
36 இதுவா தமிழர் சமயம் 1947
37 அக்ரகாரத்தில் ஓர் அதிசயமனிதர் 1947
38 படமும் பாடமும் 1947
39 ஏழைப்பங்காளன் எமிலிஜோலா 1947
40 ஏழை எரிமலை 1947
41 ஆக°ட் பதினைந்து 1947
42 இப்படைத் தோற்கின் எப்படை ஜெயிக்கும் 1947
43 பாரதி பாதை 1947
44 எண்ணிப்பார் கோபியாமல் 1947
45 ரயிலேறி ராமே°வரம் போவதும் 1947
46 உலகப்பெரியார் காந்தி 1948
47 ஆதென்ஸ் நகரில் அன்றொருநாள் 1948
48 அறப்போர் 1948
49 சர்க்கார் விடுமுறை நாட்கள் 1948
50 சைவ வைணவ மத போதனை 1948
51 சீனா சிவப்பாகிறது 1948
52 படகாட்சிகளில் பரமன் 1949
53 ஆதித்தன் கனவு படமல்ல - பாடம் 1949
54 திருக்குறள் ஒரு திருப்பணி 1949
55 செக்கோ°லோவோகியா 1949
56 பெண்ணினம் பேசுகிறது 1949
57 மூடநம்பிக்கை 1949
58 வெட்கப்படுகிறோம், வேதனைப்படுகிறோம், விரட்டப்படுகிறோம்
1949
59 மாஜிக் கடவுள்கள் 1949
60 கடவுள் விஷயம் 1949
61 இந்தியும் தமிழ் மகனும் 1950
62 பிருந்தாவனம் முன்ஷி திட்டம் 1950
63 இருளில் ஒளி 1951
64 வாழ்க வசவாளர்கள் 1951
65 தாயகமே! தாயே! 1952
67 பொன்னொளி 1953
68 மக்கள்தீர்ப்பு மகத்தான பாடம் 1954
69 நாட்டின் நாயகர்கள் 1956
70 அரோகரா, கோவிந்தா 1956
71 படமும், பாடமும் 1957
72 ஆயிரம் கோடி 1960
73 அன்பின் பிணைப்பு நாம் கண்ட இயக்கம் 1960
74 எல்லோரும் இந்நாட்டு மன்னர் 1960
75 அந்திக் கலம்பகம் 1960
76 பூச்சுவேலை கடன்பட்டு 1961
77 பைங்கிளிக்குப் பாலூட்டும் செந்தாமரையாள் 1961
78 பூங்காவில் புலவர் 1962
79 இருளகல 1962
80 நண்பர்கள் கேட்பதற்கு 1962
81 மழு ஏந்திய மங்கை 1963
82 காணாமல் போன கப்பல் 1963
83 குடியாட்சி கோமான் 1965
84 மொழியும் வாழ்க்கை வழியும் 1966
85 கார்டுனாயனம் 1967
86 அவன் கேட்பது வாழ்வு 1967
புதினங்கள்
என் வாழ்வு (அ) வீங்கிய உதடு 1940
கலிங்கராணி 1942 ரங்கோன்
ராதா 1943
பார்வதி க்ஷ.ஹ 1944
தசாவதாரம் 1945
நாடகங்கள்
சந்திரோதயம் 1943
சிவாஜி கண்ட இந்து இராச்சியம் 1945
வேலைக்காரி 1946
ஓர் இரவு 1946
நீதிதேவன் மயக்கம் 1947
நல்லதம்பி 1949
காதல்ஜோதி 1953
சொர்க்கவாசல் 1954
பாவையின் பயணம் 1956
கண்ணாயிரத்தின் உலகம் 1966
ரொட்டித்துண்டு 1967
இன்ப ஒளி 1968
குறும் புதினங்கள்
கபோதிபுரத்துக்
காதல் 1939
கோமளத்தின் கோபம் 1939
சிங்களச் சீமாட்டி 1939
குமாஸ்தாவின் பெண்தான் 1942
குமரிக்கோட்டம் 1946
பிடிசாம்பல் 1947
மக்கள் தீர்ப்பு 1950
திருமலை கண்ட திவ்யஜோதி 1952
தஞ்சை வீழ்ச்சி 1953
பவழ ப°பம் 1954
சந்திரோதயம் 1955
அரசாண்ட ஆண்டி 1955
மக்கள்கரமும் மன்னன்சிரமும் 1955
எட்டு நாட்கள் 1955
புதிய பொலிவு 1956
ஒளியூரில் ஓமகுண்டம் 1956
கடைசீக் களவு 1957
இதயம் இரும்பானால் 1960
இரத்தம் பொங்கிய இருபது ஆண்டுகள் 1963
தழும்புகள் 1965
வண்டிக்காரன் மகன் 1966 இரும்பு
முள்வேலி 1966
அப்போதே சொன்னேன் 1968
"India
is a continent; it should be divided into a number of
countries. The continent of Europe has 32 independent
countries. No one argues that it should be a single country
ruled by a single government. Similarly there is no need for
India to be under a single government... Aryan influence
increases within a single country called India. Welfare of
the other races is crushed under Aryan rule. Uniting
different races (nations) under a single country leads to
rebellions and troubles. In order to prevent such troubles
and bloodshed in India, we should divide India according to
racial (national) lines now... Even during the days of the
emperors Ashoka, Kanishkar, Samudra Gupta and Akbar, India
was not a single country.
"ANNA"
as he was endearingly called by millions of Tamilians, was born at
Kancheepyram, in a lower middle calss family, on 15th September 1909.
Today
is the 96th birth anniversary of Anna. His sense of mission,
his simplicity, compassion, and talents may seem outmoded.
But so long as human values remain a worthy goal, his legacy
will be relevant.
I
have no doubt that it’s an authentic story, since as a
fan of Karnatic music, I enjoyed its appeal as it
featured one of my favorite singers Chidambaram S.
Jayaraman, a brother-in-law of Karunanidhi. 
Annavin
kalvic cintanaikal
