Karunanidhi Passed away at 94 – A Glimpse into His Life

Karunanidhi's golden jubilee as DMK's (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam)

Karunanidhi's golden jubilee as DMK's (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam)

God works in mysterious ways. Just when there was an atmosphere of happiness, excitement, there rolled in a tragic turn of events. Everybody was in a festive mood celebrating Karunanidhi’s golden jubilee as DMK’s (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) president on Friday, 27 July. But, suddenly his health declined and he was soon rushed to the Kauvery hospital – his blood pressure dropping way below the normal. He passed away on August 7, 2018.

His last moments were nothing but ceremonious. Highly loved and respected, he was visited by a number of chief political leaders, including the rival party leaders.

Career Highlights

We all know him as an established politician and a long-serving Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, but very few know that he’s contributed largely to Tamil literature – writing poems, songs, and novels. He also worked as a scriptwriter for a number of South Indian movies.

Talking about his appearance in the political arena, his political career technically started at the ripe age of 14 and his first steps in the political domain were believed to be motivated by a speech of Justice Party’s Alagiriswamii which he was an audience to.

However, his sizeable chunk of success came when he got elected to Tamil Nadu assembly in 1957. He soon climbed the success ladder and became the state’s CM and DMK’s first ever leader in 1969, after the demise of Annadurai. Nonetheless, his journey was not too different from a roller-coaster ride. He suffered multiple defeats at the hand of his opponent M.G.Ramachandran. And, in 1980, the Central government dismissed his government on the grounds of deteriorating law and order situation in the state.

However, he rose back again to power in 1996 and this time registering a sweeping success at the polls. His up and down journey continued nevertheless. His party lost to J. Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK after being in power for 5 years in 2001. But then he again rose to the CM’s post for the fifth time in 2006 and continued at that until 2011.

Throughout his career, he was elected to the Assembly 13 times!

The Last Moments

Karunanidhi saw the last of daylight at the upscale location of Alwarpet, where he was hospitalised in the Kauvery Hospital. DMK cadres and other people crowded the premises of the hospital to have one final glimpse of their beloved leader.

Crossing a 50-year milestone in DMK on Friday and then getting admitted to the hospital the very next day – from joy to misery, from pleasure to pain – all happened in a span of less than 24 hours.

Karunanidhi was 94, but still, it seems early for him to leave us.