அறிஞர் அண்ணா

Sep 15 [[1909]] - Feb 3 [[1969]]

• Founder and first general-secretary of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
• He served as the fourth and last chief minister of Madras State from 1967 until 1969, and then as the first chief minister of Tamil Nadu for 20 days before his death in office.
• He was the first member of a Dravidian party to hold either post.

Birth

• His father Nataraja Mudaliar was a weaver whereas his mother Bangaru Ammal was a temple servant. His sister Rajamani Ammal.

Early Life

• In 1934, he graduated with a B.A. degree from Pachaiyappa’s College in Chennai.
• He then earned an MA degree in economics and politics from the same college.
• He worked as an English teacher in Pachaiyappa High School.
• Later he quit the teaching job and began involving himself in journalism and he served as an editor in few weekly magazine and then he indulged into politics.

Religion

• Though Annadurai was an atheist in his personal life as he took oath as the Chief Minister of the state in the ‘name of conscience’ rather than in the ‘name of god’,
• he proclaimed as “Only one race, Only one God” (ஒன்றே குலம் ஒருவனே தேவன்) from the Tamil work [[திருமந்திரம்‌]] penned by [[திருமூலர்]] in order to unify the people of Tamil Nadu.
• Though secular to the core, he later described himself as a Hindu sans the sacred ash, a Christian minus the holy cross, and a Muslim without the prayer cap.

Entry into politics

• Annadurai’s interest in politics made him join the [[Justice Party]] in 1935.
• Annadurai served as the sub-editor of the [[Justice magazine]]. He later became the editor for [[விடுதலை]] (Freedom in English) and was also associated with the Tamil weekly paper, [[குடியரசு]].
• He started his own journal [[திராவிட நாடு]] (named after the Dravida Nadu – an independent state that the party called for).
• In 1944, Periyar renamed the Justice party to [[திராவிடர் கழகம்]] and gave up contesting in the elections.

Differences with Periyar and birth of DMK

• [[INC]] was dominated by [[Brahmins]].
• Periyar assumed that independent India would bring South Indians, especially Tamils, under the dominance of Brahmins and North Indians.
• For these reasons Periyar called for 15 August 1947, the day of Indian independence, to be a day of mourning.
• Annadurai opposed this move and the schism between his supporters and Periyar widened
• He saw the gaining of independence as an overall achievement of India rather than solely that of Aryan North.
• Moreover, Periyar’s decision on giving up participating in democratic elections was also opposed by Annadurai, in reaction to which he walked out of a party meeting in 1948.
• Periyar considered that candidates in elections must compromise their ideologies.
• Moreover, it was Periyar’s idea that social reformation can be better achieved outside politics, through education and canvassing the masses, rather than governments.
• Eventually, when Periyar married Maniammai, who was 40 years younger than he, the personal differences between Annadurai and Periyar split their supporters.
• Annadurai launched his own party with his party fragment, along with E. V. K. Sampath (Periyar’s nephew and until then considered his political heir).
• The new party was named Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
• DMK’s presence was initially restricted to urban centres and its surrounding areas. But by appealing to the urban lower, lower middle and working classes, students, Dalits and lower castes, Annadurai was able to accelerate its growth and spread. He fought for the social justice of the lower castes and thus rapidly gained popular support.

Annadurai stated he would attack superstitions and religious exploitation but would never fight against the spiritual values of society. He once explained his stance towards God and religion as “I do not break coconuts for Pillaiyar, (a form of worship) neither do I break his idols.” (Nan Thengayum udaipathillai; Pillaiyarum Udaipathillai)[13]

• The DMK initially followed the same ideologies as its parent, [[Dravidar Kazhagam]]. But with the evolution of national politics and the constitution of India after the [[Sino-Indian War]]in 1962, Annadurai dropped the claim for an independent Dravida Nadu.
• Various protests against the ruling [[Congress]] government took him to prison on several occasions; the last of which was during the [[Madras anti-Hindi agitation]] of 1965. The agitation itself helped Annadurai to gain popular support for his party.
• His party won a landslide victory in the 1967 state elections.
• His cabinet was the youngest at that time in India.
• He legalised [[Self-Respect marriages]], enforced a [[Two-language policy]] (in preference to the three-language formula in other southern states), implemented subsidies for rice, and renamed Madras State to Tamil Nadu.
• However, he died of cancer just two years into office.
• His funeral had the highest attendance of any to that date.
• A splinter party launched by [[M.G.R]] in 1972 was named after him as All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
• He attended Pachaiyappa’s High School,[8] but left school to work as a clerk in the town’s Municipal office to assist with the family finances.

களம்புகத் துடித்து நின்ற உனக்கு, வெற்றிச்சாறு கிடைத்துவிட்டது. உண்டு மகிழ்ந்தாய்; உன் புன்னகைத்தான் அதற்குச் சான்று

அவர் (பெரியார் ஈ.வெ.ரா) பேசாத நாள் உண்டோ? குரல் கேட்காத ஊர் உண்டா? அவரிடம் சிக்கித் திணறாத பழமை உண்டா? எதைக் கண்டு அவர் திகைத்தார்? எந்தம் புராணம் அவரிடம் தாக்குதலைப் பெறாதது? எனவேதான், பெரியாருடைய பெரும்பணியை நான் ஒரு தனிமனிதனின் வரலாறு என்றல்ல ஒரு சகாப்தம் ஒரு கால கட்டம் ஒரு திருப்பம் - என்று கூறுகிறேன்”

வீட்டிற்கோர் புத்தகசாலை - அண்ணாவின் வானொலி உரைத் தொகுப்பு

• தென்னகத்துப் பெர்னாட்ஷா

• சிவாஜி கண்ட இந்து சாம்ராஜ்யம்

• இன்பஒளி

• 1935 இல் சென்னை, பெத்தநாயக்கன் பேட்டை, கோவிந்தப்ப நாயக்கன் பள்ளியில் ஆங்கில ஆசிரியர்.

• Home Rule, Homeland, நம்நாடு, திராவிடநாடு, மாலைமணி, காஞ்சி போன்ற இதழ்களில் ஆசிரியர்

• குடியரசு, விடுதலை ஆகிய இதழ்களில் துணையாசிரியர்

• இருமொழிச் சட்டத்தை உருவாக்கினார்.

• சென்னை மாகாணம் - தமிழ்நாடு

Quotes by Anna

• மாற்றான் தோட்டத்து மல்லிகைக்கும் மணம் உண்டு
• கத்தியைத் தீட்டாதே உன்றன் புத்தியைத் தீட்டு,
• வன்முறை இருபக்கமும் கூர் உள்ள கத்தி ஆகும்.
• எதையும் தாங்கும் இதயம் வேண்டும்.
• சட்டம் ஒரு இருட்டறை அதில் வழக்கறிஞரின் வாதம் ஒரு விளக்கு
• மக்களின் மதியைக் கெடுக்கும் ஏடுகள் நமக்குத் தேவையில்லை; தமிழரைத் தட்டி எழுப்பும் தன்மான இலக்கியங்கள் தேவை;தன்னம்பிக்கை ஊட்டி மதிப்பைப் பெருக்கும் நூல்கள் தேவை.
• நல்ல வரலாறுகளைப் படித்தால்தான் இளம் உள்ளத்திலே புது முறுக்கு ஏற்படும்.
• இளைஞர்களுக்குப் பகுத்தறிவும் சுயமரியாதையும் தேவை.
• இளைஞர்கள் உரிமைப் போர்ப்படையின் ஈட்டி முனைகள்.
• நடந்தவை நடந்தவையாக இருக்கட்டும்; இனி நடப்பவை நல்லவையாக இருக்கட்டும்.
• வாழ்க்கையில் அடிப்படைத் தேவைகளுக்கு அடுத்த இடம் புத்தகசாலைக்குத் தரப்படவேண்டும்! - அறிஞர் அண்ணா

==”இராவண காவியம் காலத்தின் விளைவு.ஆராய்ச்சியின் அறிகுறி. புரட்சிப் பொறி. உண்மையை உணர வைக்கும் உன்னத நூல்”==