C. N. Annadurai
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| C. N. Annadurai | |
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| Born | September 15, 1909 Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu, India |
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| Died | February 3, 1969 (aged 59) Tamil Nadu, India |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Net worth | Unknown |
| Spouse | Rani Annadurai |
| Children | None |
- In this Indian name, the name "Conjeevaram Natarajan" is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, "Annadurai". The abbreviations "s/o" or "d/o", if used, mean "son of" or "daughter of" respectively.
C. N. Annadurai (Tamil: அண்ணாதுரை) (1909 to 1969), popularly called Anna (which means elder brother in Tamil language) was the first non Congress Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, India after independence. He was also an accomplished writer and even before his entry into politics his penmanship and oratorial style had captivated many audiences.
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[edit] Early life
Annadurai was born on 15 September 1909 in the town of Kancheepuram (formerly known as Conjeevaram). Their family migrated during the times of Vijayanagar dynasty. Natarajan was his father and Bangaru Ammal was his mother, though he was raised by his sister Rajamani. After attending Pachaiyappa's High School, he worked as a clerk in the town's Municipal office. In 1934, he graduated with a B.A. degree (Hons) from Pachaiyappa's College in Chennai. He followed that up with a M.A degree in Economics and Politics from the same college. After having been employed as a professor for a short period of time, he began involving himself in journalism and politics.[1]
[edit] Entry into politics
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Dravidian movement |
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Former Dravidian parties Justice party · Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani · Thayga Marumalarchi Kazhagam |
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Contemporary Dravidian parties Dravidar Kazhagam |
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Chief Ministers from Dravidian parties
C. N. Annadurai · V. R. Nedunchezhiyan · M. Karunanidhi · M. G. Ramachandran · Janaki Ramachandran · J. Jayalalithaa · O. Panneerselvam |
[edit] Term in Office
The actual term of Annadurai in office was amongst the shortest ever in Tamil Nadu. From 1967 until his death in 1969, he was seen as the change that many people needed to improve the worsening condition. However the inflation could not be effectively controlled despite his best efforts[citation needed]. But his work in enhancing and uplifting the lower classes through welfare schemes started to improve the social scene[citation needed]. He also renamed the Madras State to its current name Tamil Nadu. He was able to gain more power for the south from the Centre and sought greater autonomy for the states in the union. His tenure was however cut short by oral cancer as he had the habit of inhaling snuff tobacco. Despite treatments in U.S. he died on midnight February 2, 1969 just two years after becoming the Chief Minister. His death shocked many in Tamil Nadu who had become fond of Anna and an estimated 15 million people attended his funeral, the most for anyone in the world.[2]
[edit] Literary contributions
Throughout his public life, he was publishing literary works and was involved in political journalism. In 1942 he started the Tamil weekly, 'Dravida Nadu'. In 1957 and later in 1966 he started the English weeklies 'Homeland' and 'Home Rule' respectively, though both didn't do too well. He returned to his forte of Tamil short stories and plays. Among his works are the novels "Or Iravu" (One Night) and "Velaikkari" (Servant-maid), which were later made to movies. Most of his stories revolved around social causes like exploitation of women or weaker classes. Some of the books were also controversial, like "Arya Mayai" (Aryan Illusion) where he scathingly attacks the Brahmin/Aryan combine and portrays them in poor light. He also wrote Kambarasam, a highly controversial work that attacked the Kambaramayanam in an indelicate fashion. These plays, books and stage speeches enhanced Anna's visibility. Under Anna's dynamic leadership, The DMK gained a sizeable number of seats in 1957 in the state assembly elections and ultimately forming the government a decade later.
[edit] Legacy
He is credited with infusing new spirit into the Dravidian movement and providing a vocal voice from the south[citation needed]. His influence was so powerful that his work on Tamil importance ensured that to this day Tamil Nadu remains one of the few states where Hindi is not a compulsory language in schools. His political victory was the first of sorts including being the first regional party in any major state in India to serve the full term breaking the monotony[citation needed] of Congress rule. Furthermore after Congress' defeat in 1967, they were never again able to form the government in the state and were relegated to the background following further dravidian parties like the DMK. Mr. M. Karunanidhi succeded him.
[edit] Photo Gallery
 MGR with Annadurai, brother Chakrapani |
 MGR with C.N.Annadurai |
 MGR with Annadurai, Karunanidhi, Dilip Kumar, EVK Sampath at the inauguration of the N.S.Krishnan's statue in GN Chetty Road |
 MGR with Annadurai's family |
 MGR paying respects to C.Annadurai's mortal remains(MGR in tense situation) |
 Annadurai with Edouard Goubert |
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- ^ Vandemataram.com - Patriots
- ^ Guinness Book Records, 1986 UK edition, Religions, accidents and disasters, p.219. Largest funeral : The funeral of the charismatic CN Annadurai (died 3 February 1969), Madras chief minister, was, according to a police estimate, attended by 15 million people.
| Preceded by: |
Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu | Followed by: |
