M Karunanidhi's agitations and stance against various issues
The DMK supremo was known to practise anti-religious ideologies and never shied away from taking a swipe at the religious ideologies which were followed across the country.
Published: 07th August 2018 07:27 PM | Last Updated: 07th August 2018 07:51 PM | A+A A-
Former DMK Chief M Karunanidhi stand besides DMK founder C N Annadurai at a rally (Photo | EPS)
Anti-Hindi agitation
M. Karunanidhi rose to prominence in 1953 when the Anti-Hindi agitation was at its peak with protests breaking out in different part of Tamil Nadu. On 15 July 1953, Karunanidhi along with DMK members were involved in a protest in Dalmiapuram railway station when they went on to erase its Hindi name on the board by lying down on the railway tracks. The situation worsened further when the DMK cadres had an altercation with the cops which led to two of the death of two DMK agitators and also resulted in the arrest of Karunanidhi.
Anti-religious ideologies
The DMK supremo was known to practise anti-religious ideologies and never shied away from taking a swipe at the religious ideologies which were followed across the country.
Being a well-known screenplay writer, his powerful dialogues for the 1952 movie Parasakthi cannot be forgotten easily. The court scene in the movie enacted by actor Sivaji Ganesan took a hard-hitting view on the social and religious ideologies.
Karunanidhi, who was a practising atheist has been involved in various controversies for his stance on religious ideologies. The most famous one being his remark against Ram Sethu, where he went on to demand the proof which claimed that Ram had built the bridge which connected Sri Lanka.
LTTE and LTTE leader V Prabhakaran
Karunanidhi known to be an LTTE sympathiser, in an interview with a TV channel said that he considered slain LTTE leader Prabhakaran as "a very good friend". He had even welcomed the late Tamil Nadu Chief Miniter Jayalalitha's move of 2014 to release the seven convicts who were involved in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.
Cauvery river row, Jallikattu and Sri Lankan issue
The charismatic leader stood by various social issues in the past, most prominent one being the Cauvery water sharing row between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. A few years ago he also went on a hunger strike to show his dissent against the Sri Lankan issue. The DMK chief also batted against the banning of Tamil Nadu's ancient sport Jallikattu.
