CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin announced that he will lead a peace march on August 7 to commemorate the sixth death anniversary of the party’s former president, M. Karunanidhi. This march will begin at the statue of Karunanidhi at Omandurar estate and proceed to his memorial, as detailed in a letter Mr. Stalin sent to party members.

M. Karunanidhi, a prominent figure in Tamil Nadu's politics and the Dravidian movement, served as Chief Minister five times. He was at the helm of the DMK party for nearly fifty years until his death in 2018. Karunanidhi, also known as Kalaignar (Artist) and Mutthamizh Arignar (Tamil Scholar), made significant contributions to Tamil literature and politics.

Born on June 3, 1924, in Thirukkuvalai, Tamil Nadu, Karunanidhi hailed from the Isai Vellalar caste, known for their musical performances at temples and social events. He experienced the challenges of caste-based discrimination early in life. At 14, Karunanidhi led a student movement against the imposition of Hindi as India’s national language during the Anti-Hindi agitation of 1937–40. This activism was a precursor to his broader anti-Hindi protests in 1965. As a high school student, he established the Tamil Nadu Tamil Manavar Mandram, the first student wing of the Dravidian Movement, and started a newspaper that evolved into the DMK's official publication, Murasoli.

Karunanidhi was also an accomplished writer, contributing to Tamil cinema and literature. He wrote screenplays, historical novels, biographies, poems, and other literary works, using his writing to effectively promote reformist ideals. Karunanidhi passed away on August 7, 2018, in Chennai after battling prolonged, age-related illnesses.

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