Chennai, Feb 3 Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President M.K. Stalin led a peace march on Monday from the Anna statue at Wallajah Road in Chennai to Anna Square at Kamarajar Salai.
The march was organised by the DMK to commemorate the 56th death anniversary of C.N. Annadurai, the first Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from a Dravidian political party.
Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, Minister P.K. Sekarbabu, DMK General Secretary and State Water Resources Minister S. Duraimurugan, senior DMK leader and Lok Sabha MP T.R. Baalu, DMK Deputy General Secretary and former Union Minister A. Raja, and Chennai Mayor R. Priya participated in the rally.
Following the march, CM Stalin paid floral tributes at the memorial of Perarignar Annadurai.
Udhayanidhi Stalin, ministers, and MPs also paid their respects.
C.N. Annadurai, who passed away on February 3, 1969, was an iconic Dravidian leader and the first General Secretary of the DMK.
He was the first leader from a Dravidian political party to become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Renowned for his oratory skills, Annadurai was also an acclaimed writer in the Tamil language.
He scripted and acted in several plays, some of which were later adapted into films.
He was the first politician from Dravidian parties to use Tamil cinema extensively for political propaganda.
Born into a middle-class family, Annadurai initially worked as a schoolteacher before moving into journalism and later joining the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK), founded by Periyar E.V. Ramasamy.
As an ardent follower of Periyar, he rose to prominence within the party. However, differences arose between them regarding the demand for an independent Dravida Nadu and its union with India.
Due to these ideological differences, Annadurai parted ways with Periyar and, along with his supporters, founded the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
Initially, the DMK adhered to the same ideologies as its parent organization, Dravidar Kazhagam. However, with the evolution of national politics and the Indian Constitution, Annadurai eventually abandoned the demand for an independent Dravida Nadu.
Annadurai led several protests against the ruling Congress government, which resulted in his imprisonment on multiple occasions. The most notable of these was during the anti-Hindi agitation of 1965, which significantly boosted his popularity. In the 1967 Tamil Nadu state elections, Annadurai’s party achieved a landslide victory, making him the Chief Minister. His cabinet was the youngest in India at that time.
However, his tenure was cut short when he succumbed to cancer just two years after taking office.
Several institutions and organisations have been named in his honour, including the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), founded by movie star-turned-politician M.G. Ramachandran (MGR).
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