Political History of Tamil Nadu

Compared with rest of India, Tamil Nadu has had a healthy administrative and political culture, more or less stable economic life, and continuity of traditions from the hoary past to the present.

Formation of Madras Presidency

Madras Presidency of South India came into existence due to the administrative and political needs of the British. The Madras Presidency was formed in A.D (C.E.) 1801. The Presidency, as it existed during the 19th and 20th centuries, comprised of the present states of Andhra Pradesh, Malabar region of Kerala, Southern Karnataka, Southern most part of Odisha and Union Territory of Lakshadweep.

Madras Presidency politics in the early part of 20th century was dominated by the "Brahmin – non – Brahmin conflicts". Scholars and political thinkers believed that understanding the conflicts between these two groups, (the Brahmins and non – Brahmins), is necessary to understand the South Indian Politics and society.

Justice Party

The Justice Party is generally accepted as the predecessor of the DMK and AIADMK. Formed in 1916, it was mainly controlled by landowners and non-Brahmin upper castes. However, it shared its ideals with the Self-Respect movement. It introduced reservations in educational institutions and brought about religious reforms while in power between 1920 and 1937. Nevertheless, it lost its relevance after being identified as a non-Brahmin elite party, and finally merged with Periyar’s Dravidar Kazhagam in 1944. The social movement began taking a political turn in 1937 after the Congress government made Hindi a compulsory language. This was vehemently opposed by followers of Periyar, who termed it a “Brahmin-Bania ploy” to colonise the “Dravidians”. From then on, until 1962, it demanded an independent nation called “Dravida Nadu”. The demand never really found any takers and fizzled out.

Decline of Justice Party

By 1929, the Self-Respect Movement had become a formidable movement in the Madras Presidency. In 1930’s the Justice Party began to face decline in the province. There were three major factors responsible for this decline. Firstly, the party lost its support among the Depressed sections of the society and minorities. Secondly the Self-Respect Movement, under Periyar had become more radical. Finally the elitist and pro- British outlook of Justice Party had also contributed significantly for its decline.

Self-Respect Movement

Peiyar E.V. Ramasamy considered the decision of Rajaji’s government to impose Hindi as a compulsory subject as a move to establish ‘North Indian imperialism’ and destroying the Tamil language and culture
In 1938, Periyar was imprisoned for his Anti-Hindi agitation and then he was elected as the president of Justice Party. In the same year, the Justice Party passed a resolution that Tamil Nadu should be made as a separate state loyal to British government and it should be under the direct control of the Secretary of State for India.

Periyar E.V.Ramaswamy who played a pioneering role in the Madras Presidency Congress, had tried his best to make the Tamilnadu Congress Committee adopt resolutions in favour of proportional representation for the non- brahmins in political arena. He gave an effective leadership to the VaikomSathyagraha and campaigned against caste-discrimination in the CheranmadeviGurukula, founded by congress.

When all his efforts failed to make congress adopt his programme, he left congress and launched the self-respect movement in 1925. He shunned electoral politics and instead campaigned for social reforms, especially for eradication of caste system, removal of indignities and gender-based restrictions on women, and rejection of hereditary priesthood. The self-respect movement carried on a vigorous campaign against age old superstitious beliefs and practices in every sphere and questioned the role of religion in justifying and sustaining such irrational traditions and inequalities. The Self Respect Movement campaigned for rationalism, and against denial of dignity and equal status of individuals (including women) under the garb of tradition and religion.

The Self Respect Movement ordained its members to give up caste surname and caste-religious identities; it introduced the self -respect marriages. It fought against not only untouchability but even against the caste-system and the caste based disabilities and indignities imposed on individuals.

The Self Respect Movement propagated not merely better treatment of women, but for equal rights, equal status an equal opportunities for women. Self Respect Movement’s role in “Women Liberation” was unparalleled and for that E.V.Ramaswamy was given the title “Periyar” in a women’s conference. Periyar’s journal ‘Kudiarasu’ ‘Revolt’ and later ‘Viduthalai’ carried on the effective propaganda of self-respect ideals.

Anti Hindi Agitation

The decline of the Justice Party and Periyar’s refusal to enter into electoral politics together with the growing popularity of Mahatma Gandhi, enabled Indian National Congress to win elections in the Madras Presidency in 1937 and Rajagopalachari became the premier.

His measures leading to closure of many schools and introduction of Hindi as compulsory language in schools provoked the admirers of self respect and Tamil Nationalists like MariamalaiAdigal to organize the ‘Anti Hindi Movement’ in 1937. 
Thousands of agitators including E.V.Ramaswamy courted arrests, and a number of agitators died in prison.

Salem Conference, 1944

In 1944, at Salem conference under the leadership of Periyar, a historic resolution was moved to change the name of Justice Party to Dravidar Kazhagam (DK). Periyar organised ‘Dravida Nadu’ conference and demanded an independent homeland for ‘Dravidians’. Further, he pronounced his very famous slogan ‘Dravida Nadu for Dravidians’ at the conference.
The Dravidar Kazhagam became very popular in many rural and urban masses, especially among the students. Many non-Brahmin leaders and students have changed their name reflecting Tamil Identity.

Anti-Hindi Agitation 1965

In accordance with the provisions of Article 313 of the Indian Constitution Hindi was made as the official language of the Indian Union on January 26, 1965. In order to protest the decision of the Union Government the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam decided to observe 26th January, 1965 as a ‘Day of Mourning’.Tamil Nadu had witnessed a large scale of Anti-Hindi agitations. The Congress party lost its base and support in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Rajaji Regime

Sri C Rajagolachari,(1878-1972), also called CR or Rajaji served as a Chief Minister for two terms spanning about five years. He was elected as a Chief Minister after 1937 elections in Madras Presidency and served till 1939.However, his tenure came to abrupt end due to the stand of his party, Congress, on the Second World War. He was also the Chief Minister of Madras State after first elections held after Indian independence. His second term also lasted only from 1952 till 1954.This time it was due to a combination of factors, one of which was the Elementary Education Scheme that was introduced in June 1953. Ten months later, CR had quit as Chief Minister, following the political controversy that the scheme had triggered.

Kamaraj Era (1954-1963)

When Kamaraj became chief minister of Tamil Nadu in 1954, after his campaign against Rajagopalachari's education policy, he made history as the state's first non-brahmin chief minister.
As chief minister from 1954 to 1963, he was instrumental in improving the educational infrastructure in the state.His stint in power was marked by a period of radical reform in education. He was the first chief minister to launch a scheme similar to the mid-day meal programme so as to bring young children to schools.

As Chief Minister, Kamaraj paid special attention to education as that was the issue that led to his predecessor's downfall.Education was made compulsory and free to all children till the age of 14. 25,234 schools were opened between 1954 and 1962 so that villages with populations greater than 500 had at least one or more schools. At the same time, secondary education was restructured—mathematics, science, and social studies were made compulsory subjects, and students were provided the opportunity to learn their language of choice as well as Hindi and English. Enrollment in primary and secondary schools doubled from 1955 to 1962.By 1954, the state government had opened 140 training schools for teachers. In 1955, the Tamil Nadu government was the first in Asia to provide a provident fund, pensions, and insurance for teachers. The School Midday Meal Scheme launched in 1957 as an incentive to increase enrollment.] Beginning in 1960, school uniforms were provided free of cost to children. The state government implemented the School Improvement Movement in 1958 which led to 24,656 schools receiving donations worth about 7,93,00,000 rupees from the public by 1963.
Irrigation was another major focus of the Tamil Nadu government as Kamaraj believed improved irrigation would increase food production and wanted to utilize the hydroelectric capabilities of dams and reservoirs. Nine large-scale irrigation projects reaching about 3,34,000 acres were completed by the state government during the first five-year plan (1951-1956) for a total cost of about 29,00,00,000 rupees.Another six irrigation projects reaching about 2,92,000 acres were completed during the second five-year plan (1965-1961). The state government pursued multiple large-scale power generation projects to improve electrification—22,103 villages had electricity in 1966, up from 813 villages in 1951.Five industrial zones were created throughout the state to spur growth in heavy industries and multiple industrial estates were created to encourage smaller industries. The Madras Cultivating Tenants Act of 1956 and the Madras Land Reforms Act of 1962 improved farmers rights. Social welfare schemes aimed at improving conditions for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes as well as women were implemented. Tamil became the official language of the state in 1958, and the first Tamil encyclopedia published by the Tamil Academy was presented in 1962.

Kamaraj resigned in 1963 to focus on the revival of the Congress party. M. Bhakthavatsalam succeeded Kamaraj and would remain Chief Minister until the election of 1967 when power shifted to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

Rise of Dravidian Politics

Dravidian parties have dominated state politics since 1967. One of the earliest regional parties was the South Indian Welfare Association, which was founded in 1916. It came to be known as the Justice Party after the name of its English-language daily, Justice. Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, renamed the party Dravidar Kazhagam in 1944. DK was a non-political party which demanded the establishment of an independent state called Dravida Nadu. However, due to the differences between its two leaders Periyar and C. N. Annadurai, the party was split. Annadurai left the party to form the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). The DMK decided to enter into politics in 1956.
The Anti-Hindi agitations in the mid-1960s made the DMK more popular and more powerful political force in the state. The DMK routed the Indian National Congress party in the 1967 elections and took control of the state government, ending Congress's stronghold in Tamil Nadu. C. N. Annadurai became the DMK's first Chief Minister, and M. Karunanidhi took over as Chief Minister and party leader after Annadurai's death in 1969. Karunanidhi's leadership was soon challenged by M. G. Ramachandran, popularly known as M.G.R. In 1972, he split from DMK and formed the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). He was the Chief Minister of the state from 1977 until his death in 1987. After the death of M.G.R, the party split again into two factions, one led by V. N. Janaki Ramachandran, wife of M.G.R, and the other led by J.Jayalalithaa. After the defeat of AIADMK in 1989 assembly polls, both factions were merged and Jayalalithaa took control of the party. She was elected as the general secretary of the unified AIADMK. There have been splits in both the DMK and the AIADMK, but since 1967 one of those two parties has held power in the state. In the State elections after M. G. Ramachandran's death, neither of the two parties could come back to power in consecutive assembly elections. Governments were formed by: DMK in 1989, AIADMK in 1991, DMK alliance in 1996, AIADMK alliance in 2001, DMK alliance in 2006, AIADMK alliance consecutively in 2011 and 2016 and DMK in 2021.

Tamil Cinema and Dravidian politics

Cinema transformed Tamil politics, providing it with an excellent platform for propagating Dravidian ideals. Parasakthi, written by Karunanidhi and released in 1952, is now considered a major milestone for the movement. Such kind of movies explicitly or implicitly propagated ideals of social justice, rationalism and anti-Brahminism. Actors like MGR, SS Rajendran, Sivaji Ganesan and MR Radha were the early torch-bearers of the DMK in the industry. When MGR formed his own party, he used his movies to build his vote base. Kollywood and Tamil politics are so inseparable that when superstar Rajinikant urged voters to vote against Jayalalithaa in the 1996 elections, her party was routed. The fact that a former actress presently rules the state, and that actors like Vijayakanth have their own party, is a testimony to the influence of cinema in Tamil Nadu’s politics.

The rise of DMK

The political plunge bore fruit in 1967, when the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, an offshoot of the Dravidar Kazhagam, swept the Assembly elections. CN Annadurai became the Chief Minister and remained in office until his death in February 1969. He was succeeded by M Karunanidhi – the incumbent president of the party. The first government legalised “self-respect marriage”, implemented pro-poor schemes like providing subsidised rice and promoted the Tamil language. The party won its second consecutive election in 1971. By then, however, inner-party rivalry and allegations of corruption weakened the ideological bearings. A year later, actor MGR left the party to form his own – All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. This splits the Dravidian movement into two and the rivalry between them continues till date.

The MGR era

The year 1977 was a landmark one in Indian politics as Marudhur Gopalan Ramachandran – popularly known by his acronym MGR – became the first film star-turned-Chief Minister of any Indian state. He remained the CM till his death in December 1987; winning three consecutive elections. The mid-day meal scheme – now almost in every state – has been the legacy of his government. However, his “populist” administration was also beset with allegations of rampant corruption and bureaucratic inefficiency, as the state economy crumbled under the burden of subsidy. He led AIADMK to share power at the Centre – a first for any Dravidian party – when Aravind Bala Pazhanoor and Satyavani Muthu were inducted into the short-lived Charan Singh government. His death split the party into two factions – one led by his wife Janaki Ramachandran and the other by Jayalalithaa who later prevailed.

The Jayalalithaa era

Jayalalithaa joined AIADMK in 1982. She was appointed Propaganda Secretary and also nominated to the Rajya Sabha. After her mentor MGR’s death, she took over the party leadership and unified the party. In the wake of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in May 1991, AIADMK swept to power in the subsequent election. Marred by allegations of blatant corruption, she lost the 1996 elections.
Consequently, a judicial probe was launched, leading to her brief imprisonment. Nevertheless, her party made a comeback in the 2001 elections. Though her second term was less controversial, she lost the 2006 elections. AIADMK came to power after routing arch-rival DMK in the 2011 elections. It is also interesting to note that she became the first sitting CM to be disqualified after conviction in September 2014. After the Supreme Court overturned the conviction, she returned to head the government in May 2015.That September, she fell severely ill and, following 75 days of hospitalisation, died on 5th December 2016 due to cardiac arrest and became the first female chief minister in India to die in office.
 AIADMK, the party which was held together by Jayalalithaa for so many years, collapsed with two groups confronting each other to take control. Her death created a vacuum which is yet to be filled.

The rise of Edappadi K Palaniswami

Edappadi K Palaniswami was appointed as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu in 2017, following the death of erstwhile CM J Jayalalithaa. Starting into politics in 1974, Palanaswami's road to the state's helm has been a long one.

Palaniswami is believed to have joined politics in 1974 with the AIADMK. He won his election debut in the 1989 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, vying for the Edappadi seat. He won the 1991 Assembly polls as well from the same constituency but then lost the 1996 Tamil Nadu polls.

Following the loss, EPS, as he is popularly known, contested the 1998 Lok Sabha elections from Tiruchengodu and won but subsequently lost the 1999 and 2004 General Elections from the same seat. EPS marked his return to Tamil Nadu politics albeit on a sour note, having lost from his home turf Eddapadi in 2006. He clawed back in the polls that followed in 2011 and 2016. Until ascending to the Chief Minister post in 2017, his most notable role was as the Minister of Highways and Minor Ports in2011 and 2016 under the late Jayalilthaa's cabinet.

Confidant of Jayalalithaa -EPS's allegiance to Jayalalithaa goes back all the way to 1987 amid the political turmoil that ensued after MGR's demise. Palaniswami pledged his alliance to Jayalilthaa after the AIADMK split into two factions — one backing Jayalalithaa, and another supporting MGR's wife V M Janaki, who eventually became the first woman CM of Tamil Nadu.

In the political front, EPS has formally announced an alliance with the BJP, an act that Jayalalithaa or Amma was opposed to doing. However, EPS has managed to keep the AIADMK flock together and prevented a rise of factionalism in the party which hadtaken place while Jayalalithaa was hospitalised.

M.K Stalin – the present C M of Tamil Nadu

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on 7th May 2021.
Stalin was born on March 1, 1953 to a five-time chief minister and prominent Dravidian leader late M Karunanidhi. He was named after the famous former Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin by his father.
Stalin's political journey started at a young age when he started the "DMK Gopalapuram Youth Wing" with some friends in the Gopalapuram neighbourhood of Chennai. Karunanidhi groomed Stalin from an early age. And, at the age of 14, Stalin campaigned in the 1967 Assembly election for his uncle Murasoli Maran.

Just 6 years later, at the age of 20 Stalin was elected to the DMK general council.

However, Stalin’s steadily progressing career hit a large obstacle as he was arrested under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act on January 31, 1976, when he protested against the Emergency. The DMK government at the same time was dismissed from power on charges of corruption.

In 1984, Stalin was appointed as a member secretary of the DMK youth wing. A position he only relinquished 4 decades later to his own son, Udhayanidhi Stalin.

The same year, he unsuccessfully fought his first election for the state assembly polls from the Thousand Lights constituency in Chennai. However, he was elected to the Tamil Nadu Assembly from the same constituency for the first time in 1989.
He was re-elected from the Thousand Lights Constituency three times from 1996 to 2006. Since 2011, he has been contesting from the Kolathur constituency.

Stalin became the first directly-elected Mayor of Chennai in 1996. Hewas re-elected as Chennai’s Mayor in 2001 and two years later, he was appointed as DMK's Deputy General Secretary. In 2008, he rose to become the party’s treasurer – a position his father Karunanidhi had held before becoming DMK president.

It was during the same time that when DMK came back to power in the state. From 2006 to 2011, Stalin held the position of Deputy CM.
Owing to his father ill health, he took over as the Executive President of the party. After Karunanidhi's death, Stalin was unanimously elected as the DMK president in 2018.
The recently concluded Assembly poll was the first election for Stalin in which he was said to not have the mass appeal of his father late M Karunanidhi. In his first electoral challenge of the parliamentary polls in 2019, after his father's death, his party managed to capture 38 of Tamil Nadu's 39 seats and this victory had paved the way for the Chief Minister’s post for M K Stalin.

At last, Stalin rode the party to the victory after 10 years of AIADMK rule.

Caste in Tamil Nadu politics

The Dravidian movement visualised a casteless society. However, political pursuits have encouraged both parties to build caste-based vote banks. Tamil Nadu politics is dominated by a few castes, mainly the Chettiars, Thevars, Nadars, Mudaliyars, Gounders and the Vanniyars. Except for the Chettiars – a forward caste, most of the other politically powerful castes are classified Backward Castes (BC). Both Dravidian parties pin their electoral hopes on BCs who constitute 68% of the population. While Thevars are generally considered a traditional AIADMK vote-bank, other caste vote-banks have straddled the political spectrum. There are few prominent caste-centric parties like the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), which represents the Vanniyars, and the Vidhuthalai Chirutigal Katchi (VCK) – a Dalit party. These parties, however, have only been at the periphery of state politics.

A virtual two-party system

Tamil Nadu is one bastion which the Congress has failed to breach since losing power in 1967. It has been relegated to playing second fiddle to either of the parties. The Bharatiya Janata Party is a virtual non-entity here while smaller Dravidian groups like the MDMK and DMDK have negligible impact on the electorate. 

Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) (Dravidian Association) is the grandparent of all the political and non-political Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu (parties that have the phrase Dravida in their names). Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) emerged as giants to dominate Tamil Nadu politics since the mid-1960s. Either DMK or AIADMK formed Tamil Nadu State Government ever since the 1967 election. Their political dominance is such that, since the 1990s, no other political party was able to win more than a few seats in the Indian parliament or state legislative assembly from Tamil Nādu unless it makes electoral alliance with either DMK or AIADMK.