Karunanidhi’s books should be nationalized: CM Stalin

CHENNAI: All books written by former chief minister M Karunanidhi have been nationalised without any compensation from the government, Chief Minister MK Stalin announced on Thursday. The announcement marks the conclusion of the birth anniversary of the DMK patriarch.

Sources said Karunanidhi’s works are likely to be uploaded to the web portal of Tamil Virtual Academy where nationalised works of various leaders are available.

An official release recalled that the Tamil Development Department has nationalised the books of 179 Tamil scholars and a sum of Rs 14.42 crore has been given as compensation to their heirs.

The release also recalled that Karunanidhi began his literary career when he was 14 and edited a manuscript magazine called ‘Maanava Nesan’ (Friend of Students) when he was 15. Later, at 18, his first article appeared in ‘Dravida Nadu’ magazine edited by former CM CN Annadurai.

At 20, he founded the Thiruvarur Tamil Tamil Students Forum, a youth revivalist organisation. Karunanidhi penned the script for the film ‘Rajakumari’ when he was 23 and launched ‘Murasoli’ in 1942.

‘Kavithaiyalla Mutharam’ (collection of poetic verses written during his imprisonment), his commentary on Tirukkural and Tholkappiyarm, 54 volumes of letters written by Karunanidhi to his party cadre, ‘Nenjukku Neethi’, his autobiography in six volumes, are considered testaments to his writing prowess.

Karunanidhi’s speeches in the Assembly from 1957 to 2018 have been published in 12 volumes. He has written stories and screenplay for 75 feature films, 15 novels, 20 plays, 15 short stories and 210 poems. He has also written articles in several newspapers.

“During his tenure as Chief Minister, he nationalised the works of 108 Tamil scholars and provided Rs 7.76 crore as compensation to their heirs. Since all the books of the ‘Kalaignar’ have been nationalized, Tamils living not only in Tamil Nadu but all over the world will have a rare opportunity to study the rich works of Muthamizhar Kalaignar,” the release added.