Chennai: Nothing embodies the vibrancy of Indian democracy than the rags-to-riches story of M Karunanidhi, the five-time chief minister of Tamil Nadu. When he started off, he was the underdog among underdogs. Money power and caste influence determine success in politics in post-independent India, but Karunanidhi reached dizzying heights in Tamil Nadu with neither.
The flood of eulogies and the outpouring of sadness that have followed Karunanidhi’s death is proof to his significance not only in Tamil Nadu but also in Indian politics. He had become such a political giant that a party with no pretence to any ideological moorings other than anti-Karunanidhi views ruled Tamil Nadu for a quarter of a century.
There is no doubt that Periyar, the patriarch of the Dravidian movement in Tamil Nadu, is one of the original thinkers of modern India. But he enjoyed a crucial advantage that Karunanidhi never had in his formative years: money. In addition to sincerity and hard work, Periyar also owed his meteoric rise in the Congress party to his wealthy background.
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Party posts those days had been the preserve of the rich and Periyar wouldn’t have made the cut had he not hailed from an affluent family. Even a crusader like Periyar would have had few takers had he not been a wealthy man.
After being disillusioned with the Congress over its failure to address discrimination against non-Brahmins within the organisation, Periyar joined Justice Party, the ideological forerunner of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Despite introducing caste-based reservation, Justice Party wasn’t able to shake off its image as an organisation of rich, upper caste Hindus.
Karunanidhi may not well have risen to the top post in state politics had he been forced to come his way up in Justice Party because he was neither a Mudaliar nor a pannaiyar (who own huge tracts of land). When day-to-day existence was an ordeal, where could Karunanidhi have gone for money to further his political career?
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Although Karunanidhi was an avowed atheist, C.N. Annadurai was his political god. If not for Anna, there was no way a person with so many inherent disadvantages like Karunanidhi could have achieved his political goals. Anna ensured that his DMK would be the antithesis of Congress, a party of the rich and upper caste people. DMK was tailor-made for the ambitious Karunanidhi. That he had talent to match his ambitions was obvious to all. While Periyar didn’t have great faith in the transformative powers of cinema in particular and art in general, Anna not only had an eye for both but also firmly believed that the two could be the vehicle to reach out to the masses. For someone with supreme oratorical and writing gifts like Karunanidhi, Anna naturally became a mentor.
Anna’s blueprint for political success was a masterstroke as it opened the floodgates for people from non-dominant castes to have a career in politics. Generous to a fault, Anna was a rarity in Indian politics because he never resented the growth of his thambis (younger brothers).
Karunanidhi’s failure to complete his school education was another hurdle he had to overcome in his political journey. With Annamalai University being the hotbed of Dravidian politics, no wonder many of Anna’s comrades were graduates from the institution in Chidambaram.
DMK’s general secretary K. Anbazhagan, an Annamalai alumnus, was said to have been reluctant to accept Karunanidhi as his leader but he had to fall in line ultimately because the plebeian from Tiruvarur had a brain to rival Rajaji’s. After reportedly saying that “even his wife wouldn’t respect him if he accepted Karunanidhi as his leader”, Anbazhagan became the most trusted lieutenant of the charismatic DMK leader.
Until his death, Karunanidhi had to endure caste-based slurs. Vaiko, now a born-again Karunanidhi acolyte, had no qualms in slandering him with casteist abuses two years ago. No one took greater pleasure in listening to Karunanidhi’s penurious early days than the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalithaa. She also relished her minions’ caste-based jibes at Karunanidhi.
It is a tribute to Indian democracy that someone born in the Isai Vellalar community could go on to become one of its most powerful political leaders. In addition to being a numerically insignificant group, Isai Vellalars faced prejudice and humiliation based on their occupation. Although they played the musical instruments primarily in temples, members of the community faced constant ridicule because devadasi system had been prevalent among Isai Vellalar women for many years.
The politically astute Karunanidhi never got tired of attributing the step-motherly treatment he received in the media to his caste and he wasn’t wrong on most of the occasions. If ever there was an Indian politician who made a flourishing career out of trials by fire, it was Muthuvel Karunanidhi.
