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| Politics of Tamil Nadu |
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| Life in Tamil Nadu |
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Politics of Tamil Nadu is the politics related to the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of Tamil Nadu |
|---|
| |
| |
| Life in Tamil Nadu |
|---|
Politics of Tamil Nadu is the politics related to the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
The region of Tamil Nadu indicates historical records of human habitation at least for 3,800 years. The current state of Tamil Nadu was formed by renaming Madras State on 14 January 1969.After the independence of India, the Telugu and Malayalam parts of Madras state were separated from Tamilagam state in 1956, it was renamed Tamil Nadu on January 14, 1969, by the state government.
The era of pre-Dravidian politics of Tamil Nadu is dominated by the Indian National Congress (INC). The Indian National Congress was the ruling party of Tamil Nadu for the first twenty years after independence, until a Dravidian party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), swept the 1967 elections. [1] Power has since shifted between the two major Dravidian parties of the state, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). [1]
K. Kamaraj was the most influential leader during the Congress era in Tamil Nadu. [2] Kamaraj was instrumental in the ascension and downfall of the first six Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu following independence: T. Prakasam, O.P. Ramaswamy Reddiar, Kumaraswamy Raja, C. Rajagopalachari, M. Bhakthavatsalam, and himself. Kamaraj originally threw his support behind T. Prakasam to prevent C. Rajagopalachari from becoming Chief Minister in 1946, however, Kamaraj felt it was too difficult to control Prakasam as he was Telugu and didn't feel the need to report to the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee. [2] Kamaraj facilitated the ouster of Prakasam and the ascension of O.P. Ramaswamy Reddiar as Chief Minister in 1947. [2] Ramaswamy and Kamaraj eventually had a falling out which led to Ramaswamy's downfall though he was Tamil and originally became Chief Minister with Kamaraj's support. [2] Kamaraj eventually elevated Kumaraswamy Raja to the position of Chief Minister in 1949—a position which Raja retained till he lost his seat in the general election of 1952. [2]
The general election of 1952 temporarily reduced the Congress Party to a minority in the state legislative assembly. Though Congress held the most seats in the state legislative assembly—152 out of 375, they did not meet the required 188 seats to prove a governing majority. [3] In response, communist parties began to build a post-election coalition challenging the Congress party. [3] The coalition, the United Democratic Front (UDF), comprised 30 independents as well as the Communist Party of India (CPI) and CPI backed independents, Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party (KMPP), Tamil Nadu Toilers Party, Commonweal Party, Forward Block (Marxist Group) also known as FBL (MG), All India Scheduled Caste Federation (SCF), and Justice Party (JUSP). [3] With 166 legislative seats, the UDF staked their claim to form a government. The Governor at the time, Maharaja Krishna Kumarsinhji Bhavsinhji, decided to refer the matter to the President of India, Rajendra Prasad, rather than cause controversy at the end of his term as governor. [3] Per the Constitution, the President sought the advice of the Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who was unable to make a decision on the matter. [3] With the situation at a standstill, Kamaraj was in favor of allowing the UDF to form a government as he believed the coalition government would be short-lived thus providing an opportunity for Congress to gain power back. [3] However, many were opposed to Kamaraj's proposal as they were outraged by the possibility of a Communist government, and turned to Rajagopalachari, a staunch anti-Communist, to lead the government as Chief Minister. [3] Set to lead the state government, Rajagopalachari decided he would not seek election to the state legislature as he believed it was below his status. [3] As Rajagopalachari would not seek election to the lower house of the state legislature, the interim Chief Minister, Kumaraswamy Raja, promptly recommended Rajagopalachari's appointment to the upper house of the state legislature, and the new governor, Sri Prakasa, swiftly accepted the recommendation. [3] Rajagopalachari was then invited by Prakasa to form the state government and asked to prove his majority in the state legislature. Rajagopalachari proved a majority more than three months later by convincing opposition members to defect, and allying himself with parties that had not joined the UDF. [3]
Kamaraj increased his stronghold over Tamil Nadu politics following the separation of the Telugu-speaking areas from Tamil Nadu in 1953, and facilitated the removal of Rajagopalachari as Chief Minister in 1954 after Rajagopalachari's implementation of the unpopular Modified Scheme of Elementary Education. [2] Kamaraj then ascended to the Chief Ministership himself, and would remain in that position for the next nine years.
As Chief Minister, Kamaraj paid special attention to education as that was the issue that led to his predecessor's downfall. [2] [4] Education was made compulsory and free to all children till the age of 14. [4] 25,234 schools were opened between 1954 and 1962 so that villages with populations greater than 500 had at least one or more schools. [4] 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. [4] Enrollment in primary and secondary schools doubled from 1955 to 1962. [4] By 1954, the state government had opened 140 training schools for teachers. [4] In 1955, the Tamil Nadu government was the first in Asia to provide a provident fund, pensions, and insurance for teachers. [4] The School Midday Meal Scheme launched in 1957 as an incentive to increase enrollment. [4] Beginning in 1960, school uniforms were provided free of cost to children. [4] 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. [4]
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. [4] Another six irrigation projects reaching about 2,92,000 acres were completed during the second five-year plan (1965–1961). [4] 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. [4] Five industrial zones were created throughout the state to spur growth in heavy industries and multiple industrial estates were created to encourage smaller industries. [4] The Madras Cultivating Tenants Act of 1956 and the Madras Land Reforms Act of 1962 improved farmers rights. [4] 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. [4]
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. [4]
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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 and AIADMK alliance consecutively in 2011 and 2016.
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Tamil Nationalism has been part of the Tamil political Arena ever since a Tamil identity pride has been created among the Tamil populace in the late 19th century. Dravidian movement and Tamil nationalism rose from the same roots. They differed in very few but were identical in important topics, such as eradication of casteism, promoting religious equality and extermination of untouchability. While Dravidian parties take these topics at the same level of Promotion of Tamil, the Tamil organizations sole priority was promotion of Tamil. On multiple occasions they were religious and sometimes refused to acknowledge the caste problems. [5]
During the Anti Hindi Imposition Movement, the Tamil Nationalist organizations converged with Dravidian parties on the common ground of Protecting and Promoting Tamil. [6] In the next oncoming decades, the relevance of the Tamil Nationalist Parties reduced to a great degree. Still many Tamil Nationalist organizations keep on working on promotion of Tamil identity.
Such parties and their policies can be classified into a wider spectrum. There are organizations which claim every person with an intent to promote Tamil identity as a Tamil. At the same time, few elements classify and deny Tamil identity to the people of Tamil Nadu based on Caste lines, which is in total contrast to the former type.[ citation needed ]
After the death of Velupillai Prabhakaran, a revival, even though not a big enough to create an impact in political balance, is seen. The success of this new wave is yet to be seen.
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Politics in Tamil Nadu has had a strongly socialist character since the rise of Dravidian politics in the 1960s. In Tamil Nadu, AIADMK and DMK are alternately elected by people in Tamil Nadu and a strong third party does not exist. Both AIADMK and DMK, the major political parties in Tamil Nadu, as per their political and economic policy, made sure that the people of the state receive the fruits of the modern technology. [7] Whichever party was in the rule, made sure that all the households have a television set, the womenfolk have access to work on the economy of their family by providing them household appliances [8] and the students have all the necessary tools to reach and complete their education namely bicycle, textbooks, stationery and laptops. [9]
At the same time, the promise of and distribution of freebies is considered and criticized to be a form of bribery, disguised as people welfare. The right wing political parties and economists feel that the fiscal profligacy and handouts don't make economic sense and, importantly, they tend to make people lazy. [10] The leftists and the left leaning parties have raised concerns about the revenue model used for financing the freebie schemes. They accuse the two parties of depoliticizing the electorate and bribing the voters to turn blind eye to the corruptions of the regimes [11] [12] [13] These social welfare schemes provide the Dravidian faction of the Tamil Nadu politics an edge over the other regional and national parties.
Tamil Nadu has seen numerous caste based parties, serving two purposes. Either to represent the genuine concerns of the oppressed communities or to create Votebanks for ruling parties. [14]
The Dalit political parties, representing the oppressed societies have been fighting for social justice. Typically reservation in education and job opportunities are demanded by such parties. [15] In Tamil Nadu such parties are also supporters of Tamil Nationalism. Rarely some of the parties have claimed that the castes they represent are oppressed by being declared a part of the Scheduled castes list. They demand removal of their caste from Scheduled castes list and to rename their caste. [16]
However, people from the relatively upper castes also have founded political parties. They fear that their opportunities are robbed by the concessions extended to the SC and ST communities. They have demanded to get their castes declared as backward to avail reservation. [17]
The effect of the caste politics is debatable and could not be expected to end in near future. [18] In 2001, the sitting DMK government came up with a huge alliance with caste parties and was defeated in 2001 assembly election. Still caste based political parties are part of both the ruling and opposition alliances in all the successive elections.
Many people from the Tamil film industry are active in Tamil Nadu politics. Some of the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu like M. Karunanidhi, M. G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa have their background in the Tamil film industry. Kamal Haasan who enjoys a great stardom entered into Tamil Nadu politics in 2018 by starting his own political party. Rajinikanth who is enjoying a popular status in Tamil Nadu was in the race to start a political party in 2020, later reverted the decision due to health issues during covid pandemic. The worship of party leader by members is widely spread in Tamil Nadu, sometimes it reaches a fanatical level. This worship culture originates during the era of M.G.R. [19]
The youngsters were often a factor that changes the dynamic of Tamil Nadu politics, what can be seen in Anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil Nadu, 2013 Anti–Sri Lanka protests and 2017 pro-jallikattu protests.[ citation needed ]
Political parties in Tamil Nadu are dominated by two major parties,Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK),All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), along with national parties like Indian National Congress (INC), Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM),Communist Party of India (CPI) and few minor parties such as Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), Kongu Munnetra Kazhagam (KMK), Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC).Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), Tamilaga Vettri Kazhalagam (TVK)
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is an Indian political party based in the state of Tamil Nadu, where it is currently the ruling party, and the union territory of Puducherry, where it is currently the main opposition.
Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran , popularly known by his initials M.G.R., was an Indian actor, politician, and philanthropist who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987. He was the founder and first general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. On 19 March 1988, Ramachandran was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. Ramachandran is regarded as one of the most influential politicians of post-independence India.
The thirteenth legislative assembly election, of Tamil Nadu was held on 8 May 2006. It was held for all 234 constituencies to elect the government in the state for the following five years. The votes were counted three days later on 11 May 2006 and all the results were out by the end of the day. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led (DMK) front won the elections, with the DMK emerging as the single-largest party with 96 seats, and its leader, M Karunanidhi was sworn in as Chief Minister for a fifth and final term. This election marked the first time the state saw a hung assembly with no party gaining a majority of its own. As a result, DMK formed a minority government with its allies, which is the first in the state since the 1952 election. 13th Assembly was instituted due to this election.
V. R. Nedunchezhiyan was an Indian politician and writer. He served thrice as the Chief Minister of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. He was also senior cabinet minister under the governments of C. N. Annadurai, M. Karunanidhi, M. G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa. For his literary contributions, he was also known as "Navalar" or the eloquent.
Dravidian parties include an array of regional political parties in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, which trace their origins and ideologies either directly or indirectly to the Justice Party and the Dravidian movement of C. Natesanar and Periyar E. V. Ramasamy. The Dravidian movement was based on the linguistic divide in India, where most of the Northern Indian, Eastern Indian and Western Indian languages are classified as Indo-Aryan, whereas the South Indian languages are classified as Dravidian. Dravidian politics has developed by associating itself to the Dravidian community. The original goal of Dravidian politics was to achieve social equality, but it later championed the cause of ending the domination of North India over the politics and economy of the South Indian province known as Madras Presidency.
Erode Venkatappa Krishnasamy Sampath, usually referred to as E. V. K. Sampath was a prominent politician from Tamil Nadu, India. He was an advocate of the Dravidian Movement of Periyar E. V. Ramasamy and was considered by some as his political heir. He later split from Periyar's Dravidar Kazhagam to form Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) along with C. N. Annadurai. In spite of being one of the founders of DMK he later left and formed his own party, by the name, Tamil National Party. Nevertheless, he later merged his party with the Indian National Congress. He is a former Member of Parliament from the constituency of Namakkal.
Dravidian parties rose to power and prominence in the political stage of Tamil Nadu, a state in India, in the 1960s. The rise in power and political support was gradual until Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), a Dravidian party, formed the government in the state in 1967. Although since the 1970s the Dravidian parties have met with many break-aways and have taken rival stances against each other, the seat of power in Tamil Nadu has been with one or another Dravidian party. The increase in popularity of the Dravidian parties in the 1960s is attributed to several factors, including the fall of popularity of the Congress Government in the centre and the north–south disparity, as claimed by the Dravidian politics. The series of events climaxed with anti-Hindi agitation which led to the downfall of popularity of the then Indian National Congress government in the state and the eventual rise of Dravidian parties to power.
Tamil cinema has played a vital role in Dravidian politics in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Films have been influential in Indian politics since the days of the British Raj, when movies were used for anti-British propaganda. Nevertheless, the leaders of the Indian National Congress viewed movie media with contempt. It was the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), a Dravidian party, that made extensive use of this media for propaganda purposes. Adversaries of Dravidian parties despised the use of films and screen popularity for political gain, and Congress leaders like K. Kamaraj questioned the possibility of movie stars forming governments.
The eighth legislative assembly election for Tamil Nadu was held on 24 December 1984. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) won the election and its general secretary, incumbent M. G. Ramachandran (M.G.R) was sworn in as Chief Minister, for the third time. The election victory was mainly attributed to the sympathy wave created by Indira Gandhi's assassination and M.G.R's illness coupled with Rajiv Gandhi's popularity. This is the last election M.G.R contested as he died in office in 1987. This is also the only General Election which M. Karunanidhi did not contest since 1957 until his death. As of 2023, this is the last election where the ruling party gained seats.
The sixth legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on 10 June 1977. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) won the election defeating its rival Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). M. G. Ramachandran, the AIADMK founder and a leading Tamil film actor, was sworn in as Chief Minister for the first time. The election was a four-cornered contest between the AIADMK, DMK, the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Janata Party. Earlier in 1972, M.G.R had founded the AIADMK following his expulsion from the DMK after differences arose between him and DMK leader M. Karunanidhi. On 31 January 1976, Karunanidhi's government was dismissed by the central government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi citing non-co-operation for MISA and President's rule was imposed on the state. Karunanidhi had been at odds with Indira Gandhi over his opposition to Emergency and allied with Janata Party founded by Jayaprakash Narayan. M.G.R remained as Chief Minister until he died in 1987, winning the next two elections held in 1980 and 1984. Due to this feat, M.G.R inadvertently became an example for entry of famous actors to enter politics, with a hope that they too may become Chief minister one day. then Telugu superstar N.T.R followed M.G.R's suit in 1983 and won the Andhra Pradesh general Elections to become the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Since then, no other actor has been able to recreate M.G.R's achievements in electoral Politics.
The fifth legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held in March 1971. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was re-elected, after its first victory under the leadership of C N Annadurai in 1967. This was the first time M. Karunanidhi, contested as the leader of DMK party won the election, since he assumed Chief Ministership for the first time, after the death of C N Annadurai. Karunanidhi had emerged successfully in the leadership crisis (having supported by M. G. Ramachandran, against Nedunchezhiyan, which ensued after the death of C. N. Annadurai. The main opposition party in the election was Indian National Congress led by K. Kamaraj, whereas the Indian National Congress faction aligned with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
The fourth legislative assembly election of Madras State was held in February 1967. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) led coalition under the leadership of C.N. Annadurai won the election defeating the Indian National Congress (Congress). Anti-Hindi agitations, the rising prices of essential commodities, and a shortage of rice were the dominant issues. K. Kamaraj's resignation as the Chief Minister in 1963, to concentrate on party affairs, along with persistent rumors of corruption had weakened the incumbent Congress Government. This was the second time after Communist Party of India winning Kerala assembly elections in 1957, for a non-Congress party to gain the majority in a state in India, and the last time that Congress held power in Tamil Nadu. It was the first time a party or pre-election alliance formed a non-Congress government with an absolute majority. It marked the beginning of Dravidian dominance in the politics of Tamil Nadu. Annadurai, who became the first non-Congress chief minister of post-independence Tamil Nadu, died in office in 1969 and V.R. Nedunchezhiyan took over as acting chief minister.
K. A. Mathiazhagan was an Indian politician and co-founder of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). He served as the Finance Minister, Minister of Food, Revenue and Commercial Taxes in the Tamil Nadu government and Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.
The third legislative assembly election to the Madras state was held on 21 February 1962. The Indian National Congress party, led by K. Kamaraj, won the election. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam made significant in-roads in the election and emerged as the second party for the first time by winning 50 seats. 1962 Election remains the most recent election in which Indian National Congress to form a majority Government in the State as its support was heavily declined due to rise of Dravidian political parties.
S. Natarajan Udayar was an Indian politician and 3 time DMK MLA from Thanjavur Constituency. A close friend and supporter of Periyar E.V. Ramaswamy, he was an early member of Dravidar Kazhagam. His association with Aringar C N Annadurai made him part ways with E.V.R. politically and join Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) as one of the earliest and founding members of DMK.
S. Madhavan was an Indian politician and former Member of the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu. He was elected to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly as a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate from the Thirukoshtiyur constituency in the 1962 election, from the Tiruppattur constituency in 1967 and 1971, and as an Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate in 1984 election.
Thazhthapattor Munnetra Kazhagam was a short-lived political party formed in 1974 in Tamil Nadu, India. The party was formed by the exit of Sathyavani Muthu and V. R. Nedunchezhiyan from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). The party eventually merged with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) led by M. G. Ramachandran (MGR) in 1977.
R. M. Veerappan is an Indian politician, an early Dravidian Leader, and a movie producer and screenwriter from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He is the founder and leader of the MGR Kazhagam party. He served as a Cabinet Minister in five governments from 1977 to 1996, is a three-time Member of Legislative Council and a two-time member of the Legislative Assembly. He was the Leader of the House for Legislative Assembly and Leader of ADMK party of the Legislative Council. He was the architect behind the ADMK organization, unified the MGR fan clubs for the party formation. He was called as the 'Chanakya' of AIADMK politics in the 70's and 80's.
The fifth legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held in March 1971. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was re-elected, after its first victory under the leadership of C N Annadurai in 1967. This was the first time M. Karunanidhi, contested as the leader of DMK party won the election, since he assumed Chief Ministership for the first time, after the death of C N Annadurai. Karunanidhi had emerged successfully in the leadership crisis with other party leaders M. G. Ramachandran, and Nedunchezhiyan, which ensued after the death of C. N. Annadurai. The main opposition party in the election was Indian National Congress (Organisation) led by K. Kamaraj, whereas the Indian National Congress (Indira) faction aligned with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. This was the last election that had only 2 major parties in Tamilnadu. After the election, MGR was slowly cornered out of DMK, and finally he formed AIADMK, which has since then been the close equal of DMK.
The Kallakudi demonstration was organised by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on 15 July 1953 in Kallakudi in the erstwhile Tiruchirappalli district against naming the place as Dalmiapuram. Ramakrishna Dalmia, a businessman from Bihar, established a cement factory in Kallakudi and the place was renamed Dalmiapuram on his request. DMK opposed the move as a suppression of South Indians by North India. It was the first notable demonstration by M Karunanidhi, the five-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and his party, the DMK. The DMK party blocked passenger trains during the protest.