C. N. Annadurai (Arignar Anna) – Dravidar Kazhagam, Founding of the DMK, Chief Minister 1967–69, Renaming Tamil Nadu & Two-Language Policy | TNPSC Notes

C. N. Annadurai (Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai, 1909–1969), popularly called Anna and honoured as Arignar Anna / Perarignar Anna, was a writer, orator and political leader from Kancheepuram. A leading figure of the Justice Party and the Dravidar Kazhagam, he founded the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in 1949 and, after the DMK victory of 1967, became Chief Minister at the head of the first DMK government, ending Congress rule in the State. His government renamed Madras State as Tamil Nadu, adopted the two-language policy (Tamil and English) and gave legal validity to Self-Respect marriages.

தமிழில் படிக்க

These notes are written for TNPSC Group 1, 2/2A and 4 aspirants and are meant to be complete on their own. Anna is a core topic in History, Culture, Heritage and Socio-Political Movements of Tamil Nadu (Justice Party, Dravidar Kazhagam, the Dravidian movement, anti-Hindi agitations, founding of the DMK). The renaming of the State, the Sixteenth Amendment and his views on State autonomy link to Indian Polity; his welfare measures and the two-language policy come under Development Administration in Tamil Nadu; and his titles, plays, novels and journals are asked in General Tamil. Read each section, then use the tables, the quick revision table and the key points at the end.

Anna at a Glance

Early Life, Family and Education

• Born: 15 September 1909 at Kancheepuram (then spelt Conjeevaram) in a family of modest means.
• Parents: Natarajan and Bangaru Ammal. He was brought up with the affectionate care of Rajamani Ammal, an elder relative of the family.
• Schooling: Pachaiyappa's High School, Kancheepuram.
• College: He moved to Madras for the intermediate course at Pachaiyappa's College, then took the B.A. (Honours) course and graduated in 1934. He also obtained the M.A. degree in Economics and Politics from the same college.
• Marriage: he married Rani in 1930, while still a student. They had no children.
• First job: after graduation he worked briefly as a school teacher before turning to journalism.

Journalism and the Justice Party (1934–1944)

Anna's political life began in the non-Brahmin movement. He met E. V. Ramasamy (Periyar) at a conference in Tiruppur in the mid-1930s (sources give 1934 or 1935); Periyar soon took him under his wing.

• Justice Party: he joined the Justice Party in the mid-1930s and in 1935 contested a Madras Corporation ward (Peddunaickenpet) as its candidate, without success.
• Journalism: he was sub-editor of Justice, the English daily of the Justice Party, and edited Periyar's Tamil paper Viduthalai.
• Dravida Nadu (1942): on 8 March 1942 he launched his own Tamil weekly, Dravida Nadu, from Kancheepuram – named after the separate Dravidian homeland that the movement then demanded.

Anti-Hindi Agitation of 1937–1940

In 1937 the Congress ministry of C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) made Hindi compulsory in a number of schools of the Madras Presidency. Periyar, Maraimalai Adigal and others led an agitation against it.

• Anna was one of Periyar's chief lieutenants in this agitation; it marked the real beginning of his political career.
• He was arrested in 1938 and imprisoned (sources differ on the length of his detention).
• Two protesters, L. Natarajan and Thalamuthu, died in jail (January and March 1939); they are remembered as the first martyrs of the anti-Hindi struggle.
• The compulsory Hindi order was withdrawn by the Governor, Lord Erskine, in February 1940.

The 1944 Salem Conference and the Dravidar Kazhagam

At the Justice Party conference held at Salem in 1944, a resolution moved by Anna – remembered as the "Annadurai Resolution" – converted the Justice Party into the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) under Periyar. The new body gave up electoral politics and concentrated on social reform, rationalism and the demand for a separate Dravida Nadu. The resolution established Anna as the most important leader after Periyar.

Differences with Periyar and the Founding of the DMK (1949)

Within the DK, Anna and the younger leaders gradually differed from Periyar on several issues:

• Elections: Anna wanted the movement to enter electoral politics; Periyar firmly opposed it.
• Independence Day: Periyar asked the DK to observe 15 August 1947 as a day of mourning; Anna disagreed and treated it as a day of joy.
• Black shirts: Anna did not accept Periyar's insistence that every member wear a black shirt.
• Drama and cinema: Anna saw them as powerful means of reaching people; Periyar was less enthusiastic.
• Immediate cause: Periyar's marriage to Maniammai on 9 July 1949, and his plan to make her the successor in the organisation.

Anna and most of the DK's second-rank leaders walked out. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) was launched on 17 September 1949 at a public meeting in Robinson Park, Royapuram, North Madras. The date was Periyar's birthday. Anna became the party's first General Secretary; more than three-fourths of the DK's cadres are said to have followed him.

The DMK in Elections: 1957, 1962 and 1967

At its Tiruchirappalli conference in 1956 the DMK decided to contest elections. Its rise is shown below.

Exam tip: in 1967 a regional party formed a government with its own majority, ending Congress rule in the State – a landmark in Indian politics. K. Kamaraj lost his own Virudhunagar seat to P. Seenivasan of the DMK.

Rajya Sabha Years and the Dravida Nadu Question (1962–1967)

• Maiden speech (1962): in the Rajya Sabha Anna spoke in English, describing himself as belonging to the "Dravidian stock" and arguing for self-determination of the South. His speeches won praise across party lines.
• China war and the Sixteenth Amendment: after the Chinese aggression of 1962, Parliament passed the Constitution (Sixteenth Amendment) Act, 1963, which allowed reasonable restrictions on freedom of speech and association in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, and required legislators to swear to uphold them. A party demanding secession could no longer contest elections.
• Dropping Dravida Nadu: Anna first suspended the demand during the war and the DMK formally gave up the Dravida Nadu demand in 1963. The party's focus moved to State autonomy within the Indian Union.

The Anti-Hindi Agitation of 1965

Under the Official Languages Act, 1963, Hindi was to become the sole official language of the Union from 26 January 1965. Students and the DMK launched a massive agitation in Madras State.

• The DMK announced that 26 January 1965 would be observed as a day of mourning; Anna was arrested before the planned protest.
• The agitation turned violent and many people died, including some who set themselves on fire.
• Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri assured that English would continue as an associate official language as long as non-Hindi States wanted it.

Chief Minister of Madras State / Tamil Nadu (1967–1969)

• Oath: Anna was sworn in on 6 March 1967 by Governor Ujjal Singh.
• Seat: he had been elected to the Lok Sabha from Madras South; after becoming Chief Minister he entered the State legislature through the Legislative Council.
• Respect for Periyar: soon after the victory he visited Periyar at Tiruchirappalli and credited the success to him.
• Tenure: 6 March 1967 to his death on 3 February 1969 – less than two years. From 14 January 1969 he was the first Chief Minister of "Tamil Nadu".

Renaming Madras State as Tamil Nadu

The demand to name the State after its language was old. In 1956 the Gandhian Sankaralinganar undertook a fast unto death demanding, among other things, that Madras State be given a Tamil name, and died during the fast. Proposals for renaming were moved by the DMK and others in the Assembly and in Parliament in the late 1950s and early 1960s, but the Congress majority rejected them.

• Under Article 3 of the Constitution, only Parliament can change the name of a State; the State legislature's views are obtained first. That is why the Assembly resolution (1967) was followed by a Central Act (1968).
• Tamil Nadu Day: since 2022 the State observes 18 July – the day of Anna's resolution – as Tamil Nadu Day (announced by the State government in 2021). Earlier, from 2019, 1 November had been observed.

The Two-Language Policy (1968)

In January 1968 Anna moved a resolution in the Assembly rejecting the three-language formula (mother tongue, Hindi and English) recommended at the national level. After a debate, the House adopted the two-language policy:

• Only Tamil and English are taught in State schools; Hindi was removed from the curriculum.
• Anna's argument: English is enough to connect Tamils with the rest of India and the world, and Tamil is the language of the people; a third compulsory language is an unnecessary burden.
• The policy has been continued by every later government of Tamil Nadu, of both the DMK and the AIADMK.

Legalising Self-Respect Marriages

Self-Respect (Suyamariyathai) marriages – conducted without priests, Sanskrit mantras or the usual rituals, often as inter-caste marriages – had been promoted by Periyar's Self-Respect Movement since the late 1920s, but they had no legal validity. Anna's government changed this.

• Law: the Hindu Marriage (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act, 1967 (Tamil Nadu Act 21 of 1967), which inserted Section 7-A into the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. It received the President's assent in January 1968.
• Names used in the law: "suyamariyathai" and "seerthiruththa" (reform) marriages.
• Essentials: the marriage is solemnized in the presence of relatives, friends or other persons by any one of three modes – (a) each party declares, in a language both understand, that each takes the other as spouse; or (b) each garlands the other or puts a ring on the other's finger; or (c) the thali is tied.
• Retrospective validity: Self-Respect marriages performed before the Act were also declared valid, and children of such marriages legitimate.
• The amendment applies only to Tamil Nadu.

Other Measures of the Anna Government

• Yale (1967–68): Anna was named a Chubb Fellow at Yale University for 1967–68.
• Honorary doctorate: Annamalai University conferred an honorary doctorate on him in 1968.

Writer, Dramatist and Orator

Anna was one of the most powerful speakers and writers of modern Tamil. He used plays, films, short novels, essays and letters to carry the ideas of the Dravidian movement – rationalism, social justice, opposition to caste and to superstition – to ordinary people. His preserved writings run into thousands of pages.

• Sivaji Ganesan: the actor V. C. Ganesan played Shivaji in Anna's play Sivaji Kanda Hindu Rajyam; at a function presided over by Periyar he was given the name "Sivaji".
• Velaikkari (1949): the film based on his play, directed by A. S. A. Sami, was a major hit and is seen as the start of the long link between Tamil cinema and the Dravidian movement.
• "Bernard Shaw of the South": the writer Kalki Krishnamurthy compared his plays with those of Bernard Shaw.

Journals Founded or Edited by Anna

Illness and Death (1969)

• Anna was found to have cancer in 1968. He went to New York for surgery in September 1968 and returned to Madras in November, continuing his work against medical advice.
• He died in the early hours of 3 February 1969 in Madras, aged 59.
• Guinness World Records lists his funeral as the largest funeral gathering, putting the attendance at 15 million (1.5 crore); other estimates are lower.
• He was buried at the northern end of the Marina beach; the site is now the Anna Memorial (Anna Samadhi).
• Successor: V. R. Nedunchezhiyan served briefly as acting Chief Minister, and M. Karunanidhi then became Chief Minister and later DMK president.

Titles and Slogans

Honours and Memorials

• Postage stamp: 20 paise, issued on 3 February 1970, his first death anniversary.
• Anna University, Chennai – established on 4 September 1978 and named after him.
• Anna Centenary Library, Kotturpuram, Chennai – opened on 15 September 2010 for his birth centenary; one of the largest libraries in South Asia.
• Birth centenary coin: a ₹5 commemorative coin was issued for his birth centenary (1909–2009).
• Statue in Parliament House: unveiled by President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam on 1 October 2002.
• AIADMK: the party founded by M. G. Ramachandran in 1972 is named after him (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam).
• Places named after him: Anna Salai (formerly Mount Road), the Anna Memorial on the Marina and Anna Arivalayam (DMK headquarters, Chennai).
• Bharat Ratna recommendation: in September 2018 the Tamil Nadu Cabinet resolved to recommend him for the Bharat Ratna; he has not been awarded it.

Writing Mains Answers on Anna (Group 1 / Group 2)

Descriptive papers ask about Anna's role in the Dravidian movement and the achievements of his short tenure. Build your answer around these points and support each with a fact from the notes above.

Contribution of C. N. Annadurai to Tamil Nadu (about 150–250 words)

• Introduction: writer, orator and leader from Kancheepuram; founder of the DMK (17 September 1949); Chief Minister 1967–69.
• Movement builder: Annadurai Resolution at Salem (1944) created the DK; took the Dravidian movement into electoral politics through the DMK (15 seats in 1957, 50 in 1962, majority in 1967).
• Language: anti-Hindi agitations of 1938 and 1965; two-language policy (Tamil and English) adopted in January 1968.
• Identity: resolution of 18 July 1967 to rename the State; Tamil Nadu from 14 January 1969; Second World Tamil Conference (1968).
• Social reform: legal validity for Self-Respect marriages through Section 7-A of the Hindu Marriage Act.
• Welfare: rice at one rupee per measure, abolition of land tax on dry lands.
• Conclusion: first DMK government, ending Congress rule in the State; shift from separatism to State autonomy; his values – Duty, Dignity, Discipline – still guide Dravidian parties.

Renaming of Madras State as Tamil Nadu (about 150 words)

• Background: linguistic identity; Sankaralinganar's fast and death (1956); earlier proposals rejected.
• Process: Assembly resolution moved by Anna on 18 July 1967 → Madras State (Alteration of Name) Act, 1968 by Parliament under Article 3 → in force from 14 January 1969.
• Significance: fulfilled a long-standing popular demand; strengthened Tamil identity within the Indian Union; 18 July is now Tamil Nadu Day.

Practice: Match the Following

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Resolution vs Act vs effect: Assembly resolution on 18 July 1967; Central Act of 1968; name in force from 14 January 1969. Do not write "renamed in 1967".
• 17 September: it is both Periyar's birthday and the DMK's founding day (1949). Anna's own birthday is 15 September.
• DK vs DMK: the Dravidar Kazhagam was formed in 1944 (Salem) under Periyar; the DMK in 1949 under Anna.
• Anna's post in the DMK: General Secretary – not President.
• Two-language policy: Tamil and English – not Tamil and Hindi.
• Self-Respect marriage law: Section 7-A of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (amended by Tamil Nadu in 1967; assent 1968) – not the Special Marriage Act.
• Bharat Ratna: Anna has not received it (only a 2018 State recommendation). Kamaraj (1976) and MGR (1988) are the Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers who received it.

Quick Revision Table

TNPSC Key Points (PYQ-style facts)

• Sub-editor of Justice; edited Viduthalai; founded Dravida Nadu (1942); edited Kanchi; English weeklies Homeland (1957) and Home Rule (1966).
• 1944 Salem conference: Annadurai Resolution – Justice Party renamed Dravidar Kazhagam.
• DMK founded on 17 September 1949 (Periyar's birthday) at Robinson Park, Royapuram; Anna was General Secretary.
• DMK decided to contest elections at Tiruchirappalli (1956); 15 seats (1957), 50 seats (1962), 137 seats (1967).
• Rajya Sabha member 1962–67; Dravida Nadu demand dropped in 1963 after the Sixteenth Amendment.
• Chief Minister: 6 March 1967 – 3 February 1969; last CM of Madras State and first CM of Tamil Nadu.
• Renaming: resolution 18 July 1967; Madras State (Alteration of Name) Act, 1968; in force 14 January 1969.
• Two-language policy (Tamil and English) – January 1968.
• Self-Respect marriages: Hindu Marriage (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act, 1967 – Section 7-A.
• Slogan: Kadamai, Kanniyam, Kattupadu. He popularised Tirumular's line "Ondre Kulam, Oruvane Devan".
• Called the "Bernard Shaw of the South"; Sivaji Ganesan got his name from Anna's play Sivaji Kanda Hindu Rajyam.
• Works: Velaikkari, Nallathambi, Or Iravu, Sorgavasal, Chandrodhayam (plays/films); Kambarasam, Arya Mayai (critiques); Thambikku Kadithangal (letters).

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Annadurai leave the Dravidar Kazhagam and found the DMK?

Anna had several differences with Periyar: he wanted the movement to contest elections, he did not agree that Independence Day (1947) should be treated as a day of mourning, he disliked the insistence on black shirts, and he valued drama and cinema as tools of propaganda. The immediate trigger was Periyar's marriage to Maniammai on 9 July 1949. Anna and most of the younger leaders left and launched the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on 17 September 1949 – Periyar's birthday – at Robinson Park, Royapuram, Madras.

When and how was Madras State renamed Tamil Nadu?

On 18 July 1967 Chief Minister Annadurai moved a resolution in the Madras Legislative Assembly to rename the State as Tamil Nadu, and the Assembly passed it. Parliament then enacted the Madras State (Alteration of Name) Act, 1968, which came into force on 14 January 1969. Anna thus became the last Chief Minister of Madras State and the first Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

What is the two-language policy introduced by Annadurai?

In January 1968 the Madras Assembly, on Anna's initiative, adopted a resolution rejecting the three-language formula. Under the two-language policy, only Tamil and English are taught in State schools and Hindi was removed from the curriculum. Successive governments of Tamil Nadu have continued this policy.

How were Self-Respect marriages legalised?

Self-Respect (Suyamariyathai) marriages, promoted by the Self-Respect Movement from the 1920s, were held without priests or Sanskrit rituals and had no legal validity. Anna's government passed the Hindu Marriage (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act, 1967, which inserted Section 7-A into the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. It received the President's assent in January 1968. A marriage solemnized before relatives, friends or others is valid if the parties either declare each other as spouses, or exchange garlands or rings, or tie a thali; earlier Self-Respect marriages were also validated.

Why is Annadurai called Arignar Anna and the 'Bernard Shaw of the South'?

'Anna' means elder brother; his followers called him Anna, and for his learning and oratory he was honoured as Arignar Anna or Perarignar Anna (the great scholar). Because his social plays such as Velaikkari attacked superstition and injustice with sharp dialogue, and the writer Kalki Krishnamurthy compared his plays with Bernard Shaw's, he came to be called the 'Bernard Shaw of the South'.

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