At a time when Indian democracy is facing very tough challenges, the book ‘Oru Manidhan Oru Iyakkam Kalaignar Mu. Karunanidhi’, published by Frontline , a publication of The Hindu group, will serve as a guide and a tool for the next generation to know about how one person could become a movement, bring about changes in a democracy and make Indian politics look at him in awe, DMK president M.K. Stalin said.
The book was launched by K. Veeramani, president, Dravidar Kazhagam, who handed over the first copy to R.S. Bharathi, organising secretary, DMK, on Tuesday. Sending his wishes through a statement, Mr. Stalin said the book was being launched one day before the late DMK leader’s first death anniversary. It “brings out Kalaignar’s achievements, work and multi-faceted personality”.
Mr. Veeramani said the book was in a sense a historical work detailing Karunanidhi’s life. “He was a person who stood for the State’s autonomy. This is not just a book but a weapon given by Kalaignar for State’s autonomy, a weapon of knowledge,” he said.
Recalling his association with Karunanidhi, Mr. Veeramani said, “The book’s name itself is a message for youngsters. Don’t doubt whether being one person you can achieve anything. Periyar, Karunanidhi, Anna were all just separate individuals, but each of them became a movement. Each of you might be one person, but each one of you is a movement,” he said.
Mr. Bharathi said even for someone like him who had worked with Karunanidhi for nearly 50 years, reading the essays in the book gave him a lot of new information about the late DMK leader.
N. Ram, Chairman, THG Publishing Pvt Ltd said, “His (Karunanidhi’s) rhetorical skills marked by eloquence and a sense of history, enlightened by wit and humour, became a major asset to his party and the Dravidian movement and also to the State that strove to claim its rights under the Constitutional scheme, which has now been grossly violated.”
R. Vijaya Sankar, Editor, Frontline , said, "The book gives an assessment of Karunanidhi’s life as a person who spent about eight decades in public life as an extraordinary writer, poet, playwright and politician, helmed the party for more than half a century, held the record of being a legislator for 60 continuous years and, as a five-time Chief Minister, laid a strong foundation for the development Tamil Nadu."
