Fall of the southern colossus: How foreign media covered DMK chief M Karunanidhi's demise
The foreign media at par with the Indian media penned down reports on one of the longest-serving politicians of India.
Published: 08th August 2018 02:36 PM | Last Updated: 08th August 2018 02:37 PM | A+A A-
Late Tamil Nadu chief Minister M Karunanidhi (File photo | EPS)
As grief enveloped the nation with the demise of Dravidian patriarch M Karunanidhi, the shockwaves quickly travelled unrestricted beyond the Himalayas. The foreign media in the South and SE Asia, Europe and US woke up to the heartrending occasion.
Here is how some section of the foreign media reacted to M Karunanidhi’s death:
The International media giant BBC, in their article, called Karunanidhi a veteran Indian politician and a radical wordsmith who shook up Indian politics.
The media house wrote: He was being treated for age-related illnesses in Chennai (formerly Madras) in southern India's Tamil Nadu state. Mr Karunanidhi served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu five times between 1969 and 2011, and also played a key role in federal politics. He contested - and won - 13 elections in the state.
For CNN, Karunanidhi was one of India's largest serving politician and a political icon who breathed his last on Tuesday. In their article, they wrote: Muthuvel Karunanidhi, one of India's longest-serving politicians, died Tuesday at the age of 94. Karunanidhi, chief of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party in southern Tamil Nadu state, was admitted into the hospital on July 28 after a drop in his blood pressure.
The New York Times in their report termed the last Dravidian stalwart as 'popular scriptwriter-turned-politician' who died of prolonged illness.
Neighbouring Pakistan's national daily The Dawn penned a report on the "Towering Tamil leader's" death who began his "career as an anti-Hindi agitator at the age of 14 and fought regressive social mores all his life". Experts: As per his political creed, his remains will be buried and not cremated, an assertion of his lifelong contest with upper caste Hinduism. This has been the tradition also with other Dravidian leaders, including those from the rival AIDMK.
The Sri Lankan news portal, "Ceylon daily" too joined the bandwagon of the foreign media in reporting the death of Karunanidhi, a "charismatic self-styled champion of the poor, had been in Intensive Care ... since 28 July in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu State."
