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M. Karunanidhi

Muthuvel Karunanidhi (3 June 1924 – 7 August 2018) was an Indian writer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades over five terms between 1969 and 2011. He is popularly referred to as Kalaignar (Artist) and Mutthamizh Arignar (Tamil Scholar) for his contributions to Tamil literature. He had the longest intermittent tenure as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu with 6,863 days in office. He was also a long-standing leader of the Dravidian movement and ten-time president of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam political party. Karunanidhi has the record of never losing an election to the Tamil Nadu Assembly, having won 13 times since his first victory in 1957. Before entering politics, he worked in the Tamil film industry as a screenwriter. He also made contributions to Tamil literature, having written stories, plays, novels, and a multiple-volume memoir. Karunanidhi died on 7 August 2018 at Kauvery Hospital in Chennai after a series of prolonged, age-related illnesses.

Karunanidhi was born in the Tamil Nadu village of Thirukkuvalai on 3 June 1924. His parents were from the Isai Vellalar caste, a caste of musicians that perform at temples and other social gatherings. Growing up in a caste-ridden culture, Karunanidhi was learned about the crippling circumstances that arose from being born into a low caste. When he was 14, he formed a student movement against the imposition of Hindi as India's national language during the Anti-Hindi agitation of 1937–40. This served as a forerunner to Karunanidhi's wider anti-Hindi demonstrations in 1965. As a high school student, Karunanidhi created the Tamil Nadu Tamil Manavar Mandram, the Dravidian Movement's first student wing. He also started a news paper during his school days, which grew into the Murasoli, the DMK's official publication. Karunanidhi began participating in theatrical productions at a young age, including composing plays. Later on, he started writing for movies. As a writer, he wrote screenplays, historical novels, screenplays, biographies, poems and novels. He utilised his writing to propagate reformist ideals effectively. He wrote the script and dialogue for M.G. Ramachandran's (MGR) maiden film as a hero, Rajakumari. He also composed the dialogue for Sivaji Ganesan's debut film, Parasakthi. He was critical of organised religion and superstition. He was an atheist and a self-described rationalist.

Karunanidhi started his political career in 1957, when he was voted to the Madras state legislature. When the DMK first entered the state legislature the following year, he was named treasurer and deputy leader of the opposition. Karunanidhi ascended quickly through the ranks. After the death of C.N. Annadurai in 1969, he became the DMK's leader and Chief minister of Tamil Nadu and led the party to a landslide win in the 1971 Assembly elections. He was influenced by the rationalist and egalitarian ideology of Periyar and DMK founder C N Annadurai. Karunanidhi was among those who fought Indira Gandhi's Emergency in 1975 which led to governments getting dismissed in 1976. In the 1976 Assembly elections, he gave the Congress 50 per cent of the seats, but the partnership fell apart, and MGR prevailed. After MGR's death in 1989, he led the party to power. His administration was dismissed in 1991 for its alleged links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). He came to power in the state in 1996 after forming a partnership with the Tamil Maanila Congress and joined the United Front led by Deve Gowda in the centre. His party allied with the BJP in 1999. He was arrested from his house in 2001 by the police on the orders of Jayalalitha as an act of vendetta over alleged losses in construction of fly-overs. In the Lok Sabha elections of 2004, he teamed up with the Congress and won by a landslide. He became a chief minister again in 2006. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he contested alone and lost. In 2016, he made the DMK become the Tamil Nadu Assembly's biggest opposition party.

During his political career, Karunanidhi advocated for increased state autonomy and affirmative action to favour lower castes. He implemented a caste-based quota system for government employment and government school students, as well as subsidies to the poor. His initiatives were quickly adopted in other Indian states. His initiatives earned him popularity among the lower castes. He was frequently confronted with accusations of nepotism. He has also stirred controversies by publicly supporting the LTTE and other separatist groups in Sri Lanka. During his different tenures, he implemented a number of initiatives aimed at promoting the expansion of industry in the state. He was also instrumental in erecting a 133-foot monument of Thiruvalluvar in Kanyakumari and ensuring classical language status to Tamil language.

Early life and family
Karunanidhi was born on 3 June 1924, in the village of Thirukkuvalai in Tanjore district (currently Nagapattinam district), Madras Presidency, to Ayyadurai (Grand father) Muthuvel and Anjugam. He had two elder sisters, Periyanayaki and Shanmugasundari. There was some misconception that his birth name was Dakshinamurthy, later changed to Karunanidhi as influenced by Dravidian and rationalist movements, Karunanidhi himself stated that C.N. Annadurai asked him to keep his birthname "Karunanidhi", since it is already popular among the people. In his own writings Karunanidhi said that his family were of the Isai Vellalar, a community who had traditionally played musical instruments at ceremonial occasions; however his political rival M. G. Ramachandran and some observers contested that and said that he was of Telugu ancestry. Karunanidhi started his education at a local school. Karunanidhi's father was eager to teach him music. His music teachers were from the Isai Vellalar group, and the lessons were conducted in temples where he was not allowed to cover his upper body, wear slippers, or wear a cotton cloth around his hips as a sign of respect for the upper caste people. He couldn't tolerate learning in an environment where he wasn't treated with respect, which made his father agree to stop his music classes. His father also asked the local headmaster to set up special tutoring courses for Karunanidhi and paid a tuition fee of milk every morning and evening. My music lessons were actually my first political studies. I learnt about the oppression of humans based on their caste. I saw the delight with which certain individuals could humiliate others, and the self-righteousness of others in carrying out their customs without realising that they were mistreating a large majority of the people.

At the age of 12, he left to Thiruvarur to start his high school. Karunanidhi started to organise school students for the Anti-Hindi agitations. The deaths of two anti-Hindi agitators by the police made a profound impact on him. At the age of 13, he wrote his first Tamil historical novel titled Selvachandira.

Entry into politics and early writing career
Karunanidhi entered politics at the age of 14, inspired by a speech by Alagirisamy of the Justice Party, and participated in Anti-Hindi agitations. As a teenager he was captivated by the political writings of Tamil leaders including Panagal Arasar, Periyar and Pattukottai Azhagirisamy (after whom Karunanidhi later named one of his sons). Karunanidhi joined the anti-Hindi protests sparked by the provincial government's legislation making Hindi-education mandatory in schools, and in 1938 organised a group of boys to hold demonstrations travelling around Tiruvarur on a cycle rickshaw. The law was rescinded in 1939. The taste for activism however stuck and in the ensuing years, after a brief flirtation with Communism, Karunanidhi started following the work and speeches of leaders of Justice Party, Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam. According to Karunanidhi, he joined the Periyar's movement when he saw his father hurriedly rising and tied his towel to his waist from his head as a gesture of servitude when an upper caste landlord walked past him.

At the age of fifteen, Karunanidhi started his own magazine Maanavanesan. He along with his friends would make fifty copies of the magazine and circulate it and also sometimes mailed them to the leaders of Self-respect movement. A political activist after reading his magazine asked him to lead the forum for peace, liberty equality and justice, he accepted and became its elected secretary. Later, he dissolved the forum after there was a blatant attempt to convert the forum into as a front of the Congress party. He refunded the subscription money many refused to take the refund. Using the rest of ₹75, he started the Tamil Nadu Tamil students association in 1941. In 1942, the association held an annual function attended by Bharathidasan K.A Anbazhagan and K. A. Mathiazhagan and student leaders from Annamalai university. He couldn't afford to pay for the invitees' and guest speakers' travels and expenditures, so he was forced to steal a gold necklace that his mother had made for him but which he rarely wore, pawned it for ₹50, and paid his invitees.

As his writings were gaining popularity in Thiruvarur, he started Murasoli to widen his publishing platform. Its writer and chief editor was Karunanidhi, and its secretary was his friend Thennavan. It had a large print run, was mailed to many Tamil political organisations, and was in the forefront of the fight against caste, social isolation, sophistry, and supremacy. He wrote a critical piece in Murasoli titled "Varnama, Maanama?" in 1944 when a conference was organised by conservatives in support of varna system. He penned an article named 'Ilamaibali' (Youth Sacrifice) and sent it to C.N Annadurai's Dravida Nadu magazine. It appeared in the next issue. For a week, he wandered the streets of Thiruvarur with a print in hand, persuading many others to read it. He also penned an article that was never published. Within a week, Annadurai arrived in Thiruvarur for a public gathering and asked for Karunanidhi, he was stunned to find Karunanidhi as an 18-year-old school student. He instructed him to cease writing until he completed his education and asked him not to send any more articles. Karunanidhi refused to go back as a school student.

He failed three times in his final exams. During the result day, unable to face his family over his third consecutive failure, he left to Thopputhurai in search of his classmate Asan Abdul Kaathar who consoled him. He then started his passion of writing as a career. In Thiruvarur, he started writing and staging plays. These plays served as a channel for the Dravidian movement's ideology to spread. In Thiruvarur, he presented a play named Palaniappan to raise cash for his student association. The total amount collected was only ₹80, despite the fact that the performance had cost him ₹200 to stage. He had no idea how he was going to repay the debt he owed to the individuals who were now harassing him for it. He travelled with his friend Thennavan for Nagapattinam, keen to take his chances somewhere else and met with R. V Gopal, a local leader of the Dravidar Kazhagam. Gopal sympathised with his situation but was hesitant to lend him the money but Instead bought the play for ₹100. The sale of his first play made his to write more ideological plays.

His parents didn't approve of his writing career. They advised him to look for a job that would pay him at least ₹50 per month. He was determined on not taking a regular job. Karunanidhi then fell in love with a girl. He was certain that the girl was infatuated with him as well. When he and his family met the girl's parents, they demanded that if a wedding was to take place, it must be performed in the presence of Brahmin priests and vedic chanting. Karunanidhi rejected, citing his belief in the Self-Respect movement as justification.

After marriage, he worked as a playwright through the help of R.V Gopal who help his earlier with his play. Their first camp for the troupe was at Villupuram where he was joined by his friends Thennavan and C.T Murthy. Their plays failed to bring people even after the attendance of Periyar and Annadurai. The failure was due to their comments against the caste prejudices, the troupe was named "Dravida Theatre group", the term "Dravida" was perceived to be a term for Dalits and hence non-Dalits boycotted it. The troupe started to play in Pondicherry which was at the time a hub for social cultural and political change. His plays were an instant success and people started to call him as "Sivaguru", the name of his character. During his stay in Pondicherry, Karunanidhi penned "That Pen!" a criticism of Gandhi and the Congress centred on a pen which was lost from the Sabarmati Ashram, which infuriated the congress workers. He followed up with a piece titled "What If Gandhi Became Viceroy?" Later, members of the congress attacked a public gathering in Pondicherry attended by Periyar, Annadurai, and Pattukottai Azhagirisamy. Karunanidhi was chased down and beaten until he fell unconscious. They dropped his unconscious body into the sewers and departed, thinking he was dead. He was nursed back by an old women and taken to Periyar who applied medicines to him and took him to Erode along with him where he worked as an assistant editor with Periyar's Kudi Arasu magazine in Erode for a year.

Early political career
Karunanidhi along with a group of young band of Tamil enthusiasts led by Annadurai dissented from Dravidar Kazhagam and formed the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on 17 September 1949.

Kallakudi demonstration
The first major protest that aided Karunanidhi in gaining ground in Tamil politics was his involvement in the Kallakudi demonstration in Kallakudi in 1953 when he was 29. The original name of this industrial town was Kallakudi. Kallakudi was renamed as "Dalmiapuram" by the state administration led by Rajagopalachari to commemorate the North Indian business magnate Ram Krishan Dalmia, who owned a cement factory there. DMK wanted to change the name back to Kallakudi because Ram Krishna Dalmia depicted north Indian hegemonic power and predatory businesses. In the protest Karunanidhi and his companions erased the name Dalmiapuram from the railway station and lay down on the tracks blocking the course of trains. Six people died in the protest and Karunanidhi was arrested and was sent to jail for six months.

MLA and deputy leader of opposition
At the age of 33, Karunanidhi entered the Tamil Nadu assembly by winning the Kulithalai seat in Tiruchirapalli during the 1957 election among the 15 DMK legislators elected and were elected as the Chief Whip. During the 1959 elections of the Madras Municipal Corporation, he was managing the party campaigns, the party won 45 out of the 90 contested. He was elected as DMK treasurer on 25 September 1960. Karunanidhi was elected to the state assembly for the second time on 21 February 1962, from the Thanjavur constituency. He defeated Congress candidate A.Y.S. Parisutha Nadar. In the same year, he became the deputy leader of opposition in the state assembly.

During this time, Karunanidhi recognised the necessity for a regular engagement with party cadres. He began sending daily letters to his party members, whom he referred to as udan pirappukal (blood brothers), a practice he followed for fifty years.

1965 Anti-Hindi Agitations and imprisonment
Anti-Hindi agitations in Tamil Nadu started when the Union government announced that Hindi would become the single official language. The DMK, led by CN Annadurai, planned to organise a series of rallies against the action and declared 26 January to be a day of mourning. Chants of 'Hindi Ozhiga, Tamil Vaazhga' (Down with Hindi, long live Tamil) were heard everywhere. Violence continued across the state and several set themselves on fire. Karunanidhi, the leader of the DMK's anti-Hindi agitation, was arrested on 16 February 1965, and was sentenced to six months imprisonment at the Central Prison in Palayamkottai. He was later released at 15 April 1985.

Cabinet Minister of state
Annadurai declared Karunnanidhi as a DMK candidate for the February 1967 Madras Legislative Assembly election, at the DMK's State-level meeting at Virugambakkam, Chennai. Karunanidhi, as DMK treasurer, raised ₹11 lakh for the party's election campaign. For the first time, the DMK was elected with an absolute majority in February 1967 and Annadurai became the Chief minister. After being elected to the Saidapet Assembly constituency in Chennai in March 1967, Karunanidhi was appointed as the Minister of Tamil Nadu Public Works Department.

On 14 January 1969, under CN Annadurai's administration, Madras State was rechristened as Tamil Nadu. Karunanidhi was in control of five ministries at the time: Transportation, Public Works, Highways, Ports, and Minor Irrigation.

First term as Chief minister (1969–1971)
On 3 February 1969, the existing chief minister Annadurai died of cancer. On 9 February 1969, the DMK's MLAs chose Karunanidhi to lead the party. He was also chosen as the DMK's legislative assembly leader. Karunanidhi was appointed chief minister on 10 February 1969, the next day and was sworn in by Governor Sardar Ujjal Singh. Members of the DMK selected him as the leader of the DMK on 27 July 1969, a position that had been kept vacant during Annadurai's tenure in honour of Periyar.

The six Ministers of Annadurai's Cabinet were kept by Karunanidhi. In addition to his own ministries, Karunanidhi took on the ministries of late Annadurai and Nedunchezhiyan, who had refused to join his cabinet.

He once found himself in a difficult situation in the state Assembly when members of the Congress party and Rajagopalachari's Swatantra Party hammered him and his amateur ministers with hard questions. Swatantra Party MP HV Hande described his new government as 'third rate.' Karunanidhi sprang up and exclaimed, 'Sorry, this is not third-rate government', This is a fourth-rate government." The house was startled for a few minutes. Some people believed Karunanidhi had admitted to the government's incompetence. Then Karunanidhi indicated that his government of Shudras, the lowest caste in the caste hierarchy which enraged the opposition.

Karunanidhi started sending letters to his party members in Murasoli, opening with the words "Udan pirappe" (My blood brothers). These letters covered a wide range of themes, including the DMK's philosophy, his justifications for various party actions, and encouragements to party members to work very hard throughout electoral campaigns, among other things. Karunanidhi sent around 7,000 of these letters to party leaders between 1969 and his death in December 2016. They were later published in seven volumes.

Karunanidhi sponsored and presided over a State Autonomy Conference in Madras on 12 September 1970, which included Periyar, West Bengal Chief Minister Ajoy Mukherjee, numerous Parliamentarians, and other dignitaries.

During his tenure, he granted legal status to self-respect marriages and implemented a number of other programs aimed at protecting women and children. Karunanidhi's administration established the Sattanathan commission for backward classes in 1969 to recognise underprivileged groups and give them with representation in government employment and educational institutions. He implemented the "Manu Needhi Thittam", which mandated district officials to set aside a day every week to hear public grievances, and set up grievance redress procedures. Karunanidhi founded the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board in September 1970 to build permanent houses for those living in slums. His government gave free eye surgeries for the blind from the 'Kannoli Thittam" In 1970, he proposed the Tamil Nadu Land Reforms (Reduction of Ceiling on Land) Act, which cut the maximum amount of land a family could possess up to 15 standard acres, down from 30 acres under the previous Congress rule.

Second term as Chief Minister (1971–1976)
In March 1971, Karunanidhi formed an alliance with the Congress headed by Indira Gandhi, on the precondition that her party will not contest in any Assembly seats. In March 1971, the DMK contests for both the Assembly and the Lok Sabha. The DMK-Congress combination beat the Swatantra Party-Congress (Organisation) alliance led by Kamaraj and Rajagopalachari. The DMK won a landslide victory, with its candidates capturing 184 of the 234 seats on the ballot. Karunanidhi is re-elected as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for the second time. He was elected from Saidapet.

Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi dismissed DMK's Treasurer M.G. Ramachandran from the party. He made this decision in response to a request from 26 of the executive council's 31 members. Karunanidhi later described the decision as "painful" at a public platform. The DMK send him a requisition accusing him of breaking party rules. MGR said he was banned because he "demanded the party's finances, especially those connected to elections". But the finances were submitted to the party executive committee. There had been conflict in the past, with MGR wanting to be Health Minister but Karunanidhi unwilling to satisfy him. On 18 October 1972, MGR founded the ADMK.

M Karunanidhi in 1970 issued an order that he said would "eliminate the thorn in the heart" of social reformer Periyar. The decree made it possible for people of all castes to become priests in public temples. However, the Supreme Court overturned this decision in 1972.

Until 1973, Governors raised the national flag in state capitals on both Republic Day and Independence Day. Karunanidhi protested in February of that year that the Chief Ministers were "ignored" on Independence Day and Republic Day. In view of the Rajamannar Committee's report on Centre-State relations(1969-1971) being submitted at the time, he was reinforcing his call for State autonomy. In July, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi gave in to his demands, announcing that Chief Ministers would now hoist the flag on Independence Day, while Governors would do so on Republic Day. Karunanidhi became the first Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu to raise the national flag at Fort St. George on 15 August 1974.

Karunanidhi launched the "Beggar rehabitation scheme" on his 48th birthday on 3 June 1971, and begged for funds for the scheme from shopkeepers near his residence, collecting ₹3,000 and said "Begging is not an insult to the person doing the begging. But it is an insult to the country and society that made him a beggar." Karunanidhi established the Government Servants' Family Benefit Fund Scheme to give financial compensation to an employee's relatives in the event that he loses his job owing to permanent complete disability, medical incapacity, or death. In 1971, his government increased reservation for BC from 25% to 31% and the reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) from 16% to 18%. Karunanidhi established a separate Ministry for the Welfare of the backward class, the first such in the country. During 1973, women were first inducted into the police force.

The Emergency and government dismissal
He resisted to let the Emergency's on Tamil Nadu for approximately seven months, until his administration was ousted on 31 January 1976. Karunanidhi was a supporter of Jayaparakash Narayan's anti-Emergency campaign and was the first one to ally with his Janata Party. During an event at Don Bosco School, Karunanidhi stated, "Most likely, this would be my final public function as Chief Minister." He was dismissed before he even got home form the function. This occurred just 50 days before his tenure ended. The DMK suffered a great deal of damage once it was dismissed. 25,000 members of the party including Karunanidhi's close relatives and friends were imprisoned. His maternal uncle Murasoli Maran and his son M.K Stalin suffered health issues from torture and C. Chittibabu died trying to save M.K Stalin in prison. He sent ₹200 a month to their families of jailed DMK members through the party office.

A one-man Sarkaria Commission was established in February 1976 under Supreme Court judge Ranjit Singh Sarkaria, shortly after the Indira Gandhi government ousted the DMK administration after allegations of corruption were made by opposition leader MGR. DMK tried to make out that the investigation was an act of political vendetta. The Sarkaria commission described the evidence on the claims as "cogent, convincing, and reliable." Although none of the corruption charges against him were proved.

Leader of the opposition (1977–1983)
AIADMK led alliance won 34 seats out of 39 seats in the 1977 Indian general election. Top party figures such as general secretary V.R. Nedunchezhiyan, K. Rajaram and S. Madhavan quit accusing Karunanidhi for the DMK's failure in the general elections and demanded Karunanidhi to resign as the party's leader. Later, DMK lost the 1977 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, Karunanidhi won from Anna Nagar consistency and became the leader of the opposition.

On 29 October 1977, DMK supporters brandished black flags and yelled "Go back, Indira!" as she exited the Madras airport for dissolving the DMK government in 1975. Indira Gandhi's vehicle was unable to pass through the black flag barrier in Madurai. Karunanidhi violated the police prohibition in Madras and led protests in Guindy. Karunanidhi and 28 other DMK leaders were detained the next day and were held in judicial custody.

MGR offered a kind hand to the Morarji Desai government, while Karunanidhi renewed his alliance with Indira Gandhi. When Indira returned to power following the untimely end of Desai's government, she lost no time in dissolving MGR's cabinet. In the 1980 Indian general election and 1980 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, the state voted in favour of the AIADMK. MGR was re-elected as Chief Minister. Karunanidhi was elected from Anna Nagar consistency again. In February 1982, Karunanidhi embarked on a week-long padayatra from Madurai to Tiruchendur, spanning about 200 kilometres, in order to seek 'justice' for Subramania Pillai, a Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department (HR & CE) officer who was found dead in November 1980. There were allegations that he was assassinated to cover financial misappropriation in the Tiruchendur temple. While Chief Minister MGR said the victim died by suicide, the DMK claimed it was an assassination. Karunanidhi walked over 30 kilometres during the day with a large crowd of cadres and leaders, stopping for lunch in small towns along the way. He gave public speeches in the evenings. The number of persons joining the padayatra grew by the day, and it became a topic of conversation in every family. The ruling government alarmed by the DMK's support, appointed a one-man committee chaired by retired judge C.J.R. Paul. The conclusions of the panel were never presented to the Assembly. Karunanidhi was able to obtain a copy of the study and disclosed it to the public in 1982 which revealed the panel's conclusion that Pillai had not committed suicide.

Leader of the DMK (1983-1989)
Karunanidhi and DMK general secretary K. Anbazhagan resigned from the State Assembly soon after the 1983 anti-Tamil riots in Sri Lanka in protest of the union government and state's failure to defend the Eelam Tamils in Sri Lanka. In May 1986, Karunanidhi established the Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation (TESO) and held a major national conclave in Madurai to promote the Tamil aspiration for self-determination in Sri Lanka.

Soon after AIADMK's election win in 1980, Congress abandoned its ally DMK and allied with AIADMK. The 1984 elections took place against the backdrop of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination. In December 1984, contested as allies in both Lok Sabha and the State Assembly which conducted together and were carried to victory by the sympathy generated for Indira Gandhi and MGR who was undergoing a Kidney transplant in New york. After being voted to the legislative council in April 1984, Karunanidhi decided to skip the elections. In 1986, the MLC was however abolished by the Chief Minister, MG Ramachandran.

Karunanidhi was instrumental in bringing the seven-party National Front together in Chennai in October 1988. With a plea for social justice, he backed Vishwanath Pratap Singh and his announcement of the Mandal Commission Report. Earlier on 17 September 1988, he organised a large rally in Chennai with largely DMK members and a public meeting to commemorate the National Front's formation. It was the largest rally Chennai has ever seen. Its inauguration was attended by 20 top national opposition leaders, including three non-Congress(I) chief ministers.

Third term as Chief minister (1989–1991)
After a 13-year break, the DMK returned to power in 1989. Following MGR's death from a heart attack, the AIADMK split into two. The late Chief Minister MG Ramachandran's wife Janaki Ramachandran led one faction, while J Jayalalithaa led another that helped the DMK. With about 33% of the vote, the DMK was able to secure a solid majority of 151 seats. Karunandihi was elected Chief Minister for the third time from Chennai's Harbour constituency.

Karunanidhi allowed the LTTE to use Tamil Nadu as a rear base for its battle for Eelam Between 1989 and 1991, even after Prabhakaran took up arms against the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF). Karunanidhi accused the Indian soldiers of rape and massacre of Tamils in Sri Lanka and refused to receive the returning soldiers. The Karunanidhi administration is then dismissed and placed under presidents rule by the Chandra Shekhar led union government after only two years of its five-year tenure due to its inability to act against Sri Lankan Tamil militants. Despite Governor S.S. Barnala's unwillingness to report to the Union Cabinet that Tamil Nadu's constitutional apparatus had broken down, the government has been dismissed.

He enacted legislations which provided financial assistance to widows and inter-caste weddings. In 1989, Karunanidhi passed a law giving equal rights to women in family properties. In 1989, Tamil Nadu became the first state to reserve 30% of government jobs for women. After announcing on 17 November 1990, that his government would give free power connection, he followed it up with a Government Order giving power connection to 12.40 lakh farmers. Women's self-help groups were first established in 1989 in Dharmapuri to integrate women and increase self-employment opportunities. In 1990, Karunanidhi separated reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) which gave 1% separate quota for STs.

Leader of the DMK (1991–1996)
Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi by the LTTE took place during the electoral campaign for the 1991 Indian general elections. The DMK was accused in the incident and mobs vandalised the properties of DMK members and functionaries. The allies AIADMK and the Congress campaigned together and spread propaganda claiming that the DMK was to responsible for Rajiv Gandhi's assassination and it worked. The AIADMK-Congress coalition won a decisive win in the Assembly elections on 24 June 1991, and Jayalalithaa is elected Chief Minister for the first time. Except for Karunanidhi, Parithi Ilamvazhuthi is the only DMK candidates who elected in the elections,so karunanidhi resign from his seat immediately.

Following the Demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992, the DMK began holding rallies and public gatherings criticising the inrentions of Kar sevaks. On 5 December 1992, Karunanidhi stated in Murasoli: "What does Kar Seva mean? God's service? Or The service of planting the seeds of unrest?".

Fourth term as Chief minister (1996–2001)
In 1996, he formed an alliance with the Tamil Maanila Congress, led by G.K. Moopanar, and was elected Chief Minister for the fourth time in the state. At the centre, he joined the Deve Gowda-led United Front government. Karunanidhi's party, which had only two seats in the 1991 elections got 173 MPs, nine more than the AIADMK had the year before.

In 1999, Karunanidhi made his most significant ideological concession. The DMK joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance to fight the elections, portraying Vajpayee as a softer ideological character than LK Advani. The National Democratic Alliance won the elections. Following the DMK's support of the BJP, the TMC, CPI(M), and CPI withdrew. The alliance with the BJP put him under increased pressure from both within and outside of the party. Following the 2002 Gujarat riots, Karunanidhi stated that both DMK and BJP were simply partners in the NDA and that the DMK had no intention of forming an alliance with the BJP. "We are not affiliated with the BJP." We are members of the NDA, and so is the BJP. That's it. So, where does the matter of forming an alliance with the BJP stand?". Later, A Raja said that Karunanidhi told him that he regretted the alliance.

He had to deal with caste animosity in numerous districts of Tamil Nadu throughout his tenure. In 1996–97, Karunanidhi introduced the free bus pass system, which exempted government school and college students from paying for a ticket while giving private school and college students a 50% discount. Karunanidhi devised the Uzhavar Sandhai plan in 1999, which aims to promote farmer-to-consumer communication and remove the middleman and helped farmers gain more remuneration. He opened the Samathuvapuram (Equality Village) schemes in 145 places in Tamil Nadu in 1998 in order to forget and to eliminate caste-based segregation. His administration was credited for accelerating the IT revolution, introducing mini-buses for connectivity. Karunanidhi renamed Madras to Chennai to reflect Tamil identity. He introduced initiative which gives free education for the first graduate in a family up to their graduation. His decision to phase out hand-pulled rickshaws was enthusiastically applauded, and the rickshaw-pullers were given alternative work. He introduced the marriage assistance scheme for impoverished women. His government introduced legislation establishing 33% reservation for women in local government.

He was responsible for almost all of the state's major infrastructure projects which were implemented during this tenure including the Tidel Park, the Coimbatore flyover, the Koyambedu bus terminal, Gemini flyover in Chennai, the rehabilitation of Poompuhar, the Anna Centenary Library, and the grade separators in Chennai and the new Secretariat complex.

Thiruvalluvar statue
On 31 December 1975, during a state cabinet meeting led by Karunanidhi, a plan was authorised to erect a statue for Thiruvalluvar at Kanyakumari. The DMK administration was dismissed a month later, and the state was placed under President's Rule. During his next term from 1989 to 1991, he resurrected the project. In March 1990, when presenting the Budget, he stated that a 133-foot-tall monument of Thiruvalluvar will be erected in Kanyakumari. He launched the project six months later. The project was restarted once he reclaimed power in May 1996. He unveiled the monument on New Year's Day, 2000.

2001 state elections
Jayalalithaa, who was aligned with the Tamil Maanila Congress, the Congress, the Pattali Makkal Katchi, the Communist Party of India, and other parties in 2001 Tamil Nadu legislative assembly elections received 49.89% of the vote, defeating the ruling DMK-led alliance by a large majority. Karunanidhi assumption that the DMK will be re-elected on the grounds of its government's good performance proved incorrect. His government's performance was praised by voters but it was not transferred into votes. Karunanidhi was elected from Chepauk constituency.

Leader of the DMK (2001–2006 )
He served as the president of the DMK. K. Anbazhagan was made the leader of opposition.

Controversy of arrests in Tamil Nadu about construction of flyovers
In the midnight 30 June 2001, he was arrested on the orders of J. Jayalalithaa as an act of Vendetta based on a First Information report over of alleged losses of ₹12 crore on construction of flyovers filed by Commissioner J. C. T. Acharyalu who Karunanidhi had earlier kept under suspension. He was arrested after a few hours after the complaint with no time for investigation. Sun TV broadcast these images live across the state, the cops stormed in, busted open his bedroom door, and hauled him out. The images of Karunanidhi falling, being dragged, being lifted up and pushed by the police created a sympathy wave for him. T R Baalu and Murasoli Maran, two Union ministers, were also detained. Karunanidhi told reporters "They didn't have a summons. They didn't have an arrest warrant. They claimed that these were unnecessary. They dragged me. They pushed me. They ripped my shirt. We treated her with respect when we arrested her." Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley claimed it was a case of 'personal agenda'. The Union ministers were freed and the allegations against them were dismissed. Karunanidhi was later released on bail on humanitarian grounds. The police later dropped the case in 2006 citing it was a "mistake of facts".

2004 general elections
Karunanidhi, on the other hand, left the BJP coalition in 2004 as the Union government refused to revoke the Prevention of Terrorism Act. He stood for the United Progressive Alliance led by the Congress party in the general elections, which won all 39 seats of the Parliament from Tamil Nadu.

Fifth term as Chief minister (2006–2011)
On 8 May 2006, Karunanidhi's administration became the first minority administration in Tamil Nadu's history, and soon after declared a price cut for rice and the waiver of cooperative farmer loans, two of the DMK's main electoral promises. The DMK won 96 of the 234 seats and emerged as the single-largest party in the Assembly with the alliance of CPI-M, Congress and CPI. Karunanidhi won from Chepauk constituency. Karunanidhi in January 2009 threatened to resign from the ruling alliance if India does not assist in securing a cease-fire in the Sri Lankan civil war.

In 2006, the DMK administration formed 30 special welfare boards entrusted with lobbying for the rights of disadvantaged and marginalised people ranging from transgenders to construction workers who may not have political influence or form voting groups and endure many forms of oppression. In 2006, Karunanidhi introduced the 'Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi Thittam,' which aimed for the establishment of a library in each village panchayat. In September 2006, he implemented the free land distribution scheme for the benefit of the landless poor. Karunanidhi saw the value of the ramp as a wheelchair user. He mandated that all new government buildings, as well as existing ones, include a ramp and an elevator. He reserved 3% of government jobs for the physically challenged. He launched the free gas connection distribution scheme in mid-January 2007. In September 2008, he declared that 1 kg of rice will be offered at ₹1 at PDS stores, surpassing the campaign promise of ₹2. In 2009, he introduced a special quota of 3 per cent reservations for the Arunthathiyar community. In 2019, the Arunthathiyars started building a temple "as a mark of thanksgiving to Kalaignar". Karunanidhi launched the "Kalaignar Kapitu Thitam" in 2009 to give people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds receive quality medical treatments without discrimination. At least 3 out of 5 people in the state have medical insurance due to this scheme. In 2010, he introduced the "Kalaignar Veetu Vasathi Thittam" to convert thatched huts to concrete houses in the state. During this tenure he implemented the construction of new Collectorates in nine districts, many universities were established, and highways and flyovers were built. The bus terminal in Koyambedu in Chennai, which is the largest in Asia, was built. His health-care initiatives in the tenure, which included financial help for pregnant mothers, were well received by Jayalalithaa. Multiple medical camps were held around the state as part of the Varumun Kappom Thittam initiative, benefiting a huge portion of Tamil Nadu's population. Schemes were implemented to provide free color TVs to every family with ration cards and to provide gas stoves with free gas connection to the poor women who use wood stove-kerosene stove.

Leader of the DMK (2011–2016)
During the 2011 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, the AIADMK alliance won 203 seats and the DMK alliance won 31. Karunanidi won by a huge margin of 50,249 votes Tiruvarur Assembly constituency. Following the defeat, M. Karunanidhi said, "People have given me proper rest," before congratulating the people of the state.

On his 86th birthday, Karunanidhi donated his Gopalapuram home to the Annai Anjugam Trust, which would manage a free hospital for the underprivileged after his and his wife's demise.

During the 2016 Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections, which the DMK lost only by 1.5 per cent votes. Karunanidhi won from Tiruvarur constituency with margin of 68,366 votes thereby recording his 13th straight victory since 1957.

In January 2017, Karunanidhi's son M. K. Stalin was made as the working president of the DMK at the general council meet due to his deteriorating health.

Sri Lankan Tamil issue
Karunanidhi was known among his supporters as the "Tamil Inaththalaivar" (leader of the Tamil race) He was close to numerous Sri Lankan Tamil politicians. In 1956, Karunanidhi issued a resolution at the DMK council in Chidambaram denouncing Sri Lanka's 'Sinhala Only policy'. He was acquainted with S.J.V. Chelvanayakam and was close with A. Amirthalingam, the head of the Tamil United Liberation Front. After 1977 anti-Tamil pogrom and 1983 anti-Tamil pogrom, his administration was at the forefront of organising protest demonstrations in Tamil Nadu. In protest at the 1983 riots, Karunanidhi and DMK general secretary K. Anbazhagan resigned from the State Assembly.

The DMK was thought to support the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO). After the LTTE started a war against its fellow Tamil militant group TELO in May 1986, Karunanidhi was sceptical of the LTTE's strategy. Karunanidhi founded the Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation (TESO) and held a large national conference in Madurai in May 1986 to emphasise the Tamil aspiration for sovereignty in Sri Lanka, during which he urged the LTTE to cease murdering TELO cadre. The LTTE then proceeded to kill the majority of the TELO cadres. The infighting was criticised by Karunanidhi as Sagodhara Yudham' (A Battle Between Brothers). Since the AIADMK and MGR were prepared to support the LTTE as the only representation of Sri Lankan Tamils, his constant attempts to convey the necessity for an unified front to the LTTE were ignored. Karunanidhi was a vocal opponent of the decision to send Indian peace keeping forces (IPKF) to Sri Lanka as part of the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord, and he was accused of being anti-national for his outspoken criticism of the atrocities perpetrated by the IPKF. He viewed the expulsion of Muslims from the North by the LTTE in 1990 as "ethnic cleansing." His inaction against the LTTE in the state finally led to the Chandrasekhar government dismissing his cabinet in January 1991. After the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi by LTTE he was not friendly with the overt LTTE sympathizers in the state.

He ordered a special investigation of the conditions in the Tamil refugee camps in 2006, and subsequently provided funds to repair deteriorating dwellings. In 2009, during the final stages of the war, Karunanidhi was unable to convince the UPA alliance to intervene.

Tamil language
Karunanidhi on multiple occasions, expressed his admiration for Thiruvalluvar. The DMK administration built Valluvar Kottam, a memorial in Chennai dedicated to Valluvar in the mid-1970s. However, the government was removed from power in 1976, just weeks before the memorial was to be opened. Karunanidhi awaited 13 years to visit the memorial, and when the DMK regained power in January 1989, he held the swearing-in ceremony there. Karunanidhi built the Silappadikaram Art Gallery in Poompuhar and a special department for Tamil development as Chief Minister. His administration passed an order making Tamil obligatory in all schools until Class X a few weeks after he became Chief Minister in May 2006. Karunanidhi, a supporter of the two-language formula, had stressed the need of retaining English as the sole additional language in educational institutions. After consulting with scholars, his government determined in 1972 that Thiruvalluvar was born in 31 BCE. Karunanidhi and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi were vital in ensuring classical language status to Tamil in 2004.

World Tamil Conference
He delivered the special address on the inaugural day of 3rd World Tamil Conference held in Paris in 1970, and also on the inaugural day of 6th World Tamil Conference held in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) in 1987. He penned the song "Semmozhiyaana Tamizh Mozhiyaam", the official theme song for the World Classical Tamil Conference 2010, that was set to tune by A. R. Rahman.

In June 2010, his administration organised the World Classical Tamil Conference in Coimbatore. 'Ulaga Tamizh Manadu' (World Tamil Conference), was the first coined word for the conference in 2010, however the IATR organisation that had right to conduct the conference was not happy hence change in name. In the conference, Karunanidhi described Tamil as supreme among all classical languages. He reinforced the demand for Tamil to be recognised as a language of the Madras High Court. Karunanidhi announced the foundation of the World Tholkappiyar Classical Tamil Sangam, that would include worldwide academics and will be based in Madurai, to hold World Classical Tamil Conferences at periodic intervals in the future. and to bring dispersed Tamil research centres and develop connections with Tamil organisations throughout the world.

Screenwriting

Karunanidhi began his career as a screenwriter in the Tamil film industry. His first movie as screenwriter was Rajakumari produced by Coimbatore-based Jupiter Pictures directed by A. S. A. Sami starring M. G. Ramachandran. During this period he and M. G. Ramachandran, then an upcoming actor and later day founder of AIADMK party started a long friendship eventually turning into rivals in later years politics. His stint with Jupiters Pictures then housed at Central Studios continued for another MGR starrer Abhimanyu, Marudhanaattu Ilavarasi (1950) starring M. G. Ramachandran and V. N. Janaki.

Around late 1949, T. R. Sundaram of Modern Theatres Studio in Salem engaged Karunanidhi as scriptwriter for the film Manthiri Kumari starring M. G. Ramachandran which would become be a blockbuster hit. Later T. R. Sundaram had Karunanidhi on permanent rolls at Modern Studio.

Karunanidhi chose to pen a script for a TV series based on the Vaishnavite philosopher-sage Ramanuja. He claimed that his party opposed Hindu fundamentalism, not Hindus.

Parasakthi
His most notable movie was Parasakthi, a turning point in Tamil cinema, as it espoused the ideologies of the Dravidian movement and also introduced two prominent actors of Tamil filmdom, Sivaji Ganesan and S. S. Rajendran. The movie was initially marred with controversies and faced censorship troubles, but was eventually released in 1952. becoming a huge box office hit. The movie was opposed by orthodox Hindus since it contained elements that criticised Hinduism. The story contained condemnation of Tamil Nadu's severe social disparities, India's power difference between South and the North, and the moral corruption of the Hindu priestly caste. Upper caste Hindus sought to ban the movie.

Two other movies written by Karunanidhi that contained such messages were Panam (1952) directed by famous comedian and political activist N. S. Krishnan and Thangarathnam (1960) produced and acted by S. S. Rajendran another popular actor and DMK activist. These movies contained themes such as widow remarriage, abolition of untouchability, self-respect marriages, abolition of zamindari and abolition of religious hypocrisy. Another memorable hit movie was Manohara (1954) starring Sivaji Ganesan, S. S. Rajendran and P. Kannamba known for its crisp dialogues.

Writing and narration style
Through his wit and oratorical skills he rapidly rose as a popular politician. As his movies and plays with strong social messages became popular, they suffered from increased censorship; two of his plays in the 1950s were banned. He was famous for writing historical and social (reformist) stories which propagated the socialist and rationalist ideals of the Dravidian movement to which he belonged. Alongside C. N. Annadurai he began using Tamil cinema to propagate his political ideals through his movies. His compositions, which often chastised upper castes while it making heroes out of the poor and advocating secularism, were seen as revolutionary.

Filmography
At the age of 20, Karunanidhi went to work for Jupiter Pictures as a scriptwriter. His first film, Rajakumaari, gained him much popularity. It was here that his skills as a scriptwriter were honed, which extended to several films. He was active in screenwriting even during his later political career until 2011 when he last wrote for historic movie Ponnar Shankar.

As a scriptwriter

 * Ponnar Shankar (2011)
 * Ilaignan (2011)
 * Pen Singam (2010)
 * Uliyin Osai (2008)
 * Pasa Kiligal (2006)
 * Kannamma (2005)
 * Mannin Maindhan (2005)
 * Puthiya Parasakthi (1996)
 * Madurai Meenakshi (1993)
 * Kavalukku Kettikaran (1990)
 * Paasa Mazhai (1989)
 * Nyaya Tharasu (1989)
 * Thendral Sudum (1989)
 * Poruthadhu Pothum (1989)
 * Ithu Engal Neethi (1988)
 * Paasa Paravaigal (1988)
 * Paadatha Thenikkal (1988)
 * Makkal Aanaiyittal (1988)
 * Ore Raththam (1987)
 * Veeran Veluthambi (1987)
 * Neethikku Thandanai (1987)
 * Sattam Oru Vilayaattu (1987)
 * Puyal Paadum Paattu (1987)
 * Palaivana Rojakkal (1986)
 * Kaaval Kaithigal (1984)
 * Thooku Medai (1982)
 * Maadi Veettu Ezhai (1981)
 * Kaalam Pathil Sollum (1980)
 * Aadu Paambe (1979)
 * Nenjukku Needhi (1979)
 * Vandikaran Magan (1978)
 * Pillaiyo Pillai (1972)
 * Thanga Thambi (1967)
 * Valiba Virundhu (1967)
 * Avan Pithana? (1966)
 * Marakka Mudiyumaa (1966)
 * Mani Magudam (1966)
 * Poomalai (1965)
 * Poompuhar (1964)
 * Kaanchi Thalaivan (1963)
 * Iruvar Ullam (1963)
 * Thayilla Pillai (1961)
 * Arasilangkumari (1961)
 * Kuravanji (1960)
 * Ellorum Innaattu Mannar (1960)
 * Pudhumai Pithan (1957)
 * Pudhaiyal (1957)
 * Raja Rani (1956)
 * Rangoon Radha (1956)
 * Malaikkallan (1954)
 * Manohara (1954)
 * Ammaiyappan (1954)
 * Thirumbi Paar (1953)
 * Naam (1953)
 * Panam (1952)
 * Parasakthi (1952)
 * Manamagal (1951)
 * Devaki (1951)
 * Manthiri Kumari (1950)
 * Marudhanaattu Ilavarasi (1950)
 * Abimanyu (1948)
 * Rajakumaari (1947)

Television

 * Romapuri Pandian (Kalaignar TV)
 * Ramanujar (Kalaignar TV)

Literature
Karunanidhi is known for his contributions to Tamil literature. His contributions cover a wide range: poems, letters, screenplays, novels, biographies, historical novels, stage-plays, dialogues and movie songs. He has written Kuraloviam for Thirukural, Tholkaappiya Poonga, Poombukar, as well as many poems, essays and books. Apart from literature, Karunanidhi has also contributed to the Tamil language through art and architecture. Like the Kuraloviyam, in which Kalaignar wrote about Thirukkural, through the construction of Valluvar Kottam he gave an architectural presence to Thiruvalluvar, in Chennai. At Kanyakumari, Karunanidhi constructed a 133-foot-high statue of Thiruvalluvar in honour of the scholar.

Books
The books written by Karunanidhi include Sanga Thamizh, Thirukkural Urai, Ponnar Sankar, Romapuri Pandian, Thenpandi Singam, Vellikizhamai, Nenjukku Needhi, Iniyavai Irubathu and Kuraloviam. His books of prose and poetry number more than 100.

Stage plays
Karunanidhi's stage plays include: Manimagudam, Ore Ratham, Palaniappan, Thooku Medai, Kagithapoo, Naane Arivali, Vellikizhamai, Udhayasooriyan and Silappathikaram.

Personal life
Karunanidhi married three times. Karunanidhi's parents were eager to marry him off to Padma, the sister of C. S. Jayaraman. He made one condition that the bride side must accept a reformist wedding. He hoped they would call off the marriage as he was not earning and the bride's father was religious but their family agreed to their marriage also held the marriage of their son C.S Jayaraman the same day. He married Padmavathi Ammal on 13 September 1944, under the Dravidian movement's Self-Respect form of marriage where the bride and groom exchanged garlands, without a thaali (mangalsutra), and specifically without Brahmin priests presiding. They had a son M. K. Muthu, who was briefly active in Tamil films and politics. Padmavathi died in 1948 soon after childbirth. In September of that year, Karunanidhi's marriage was arranged with Dayalu Ammal, with whom he had three sons, M. K. Alagiri, M. K. Stalin and M. K. Tamilarasu, and a daughter, M. K. Selvi. Alagiri and Stalin are active in state politics and competed to be their father's political successors, before Stalin prevailed. Tamilarasu is a businessman and film-producer and campaigner for his father and his party; Selvi campaigned for Karunanidhi elections too. With his third marriage with Rajathi Ammal, Karunanidhi had a daughter, Kanimozhi.

Karunanidhi's left eye got critically injured in 1953 when the vehicle in which he was travelling got involved in an accident near Tirupattur. An eye surgery was performed and doctors recommended him to wear sunglasses to protect his eyes from the sun. Karunanidhi used regular spectacles. However, after following American ophthalmologists recommendation for his ongoing discomfort in his left eye, which he had been suffering from since the mid-1950s, he switched to his trade-mark dark glasses in 1971. Doctors determined that the dark glass frames were too hefty for him in November 2017 and advised a lighter frame.

Since 2004, he has had to deal with his deteriorating health and struggled to stand when a spinal operation went wrong and became wheelchair-dependent. After a few years, he upgraded to a motorised wheelchair and a customised van with a hydraulic system to raise the chair into or out of the vehicle easily.

Illness, death and reactions
Due to a drug-induced allergy, Karunanidhi became unwell in October 2016. He was hospitalised in the first week of December 2016 for "optimization of nutrition and hydration" and subsequently for a throat and lung infections. He went through a tracheostomy surgery to improve his breathing. He has stayed out of politics since then, making just a few public appearances. His last public appearance was on 3 June 2018, when he turned 94.

On 28 July 2018, Karunanidhi's health deteriorated and became "extremely critical and unstable", and he was admitted at Kauvery Hospital in Chennai for treatment. He died there at 18:10 on 7 August 2018 due to age-related illness, which led to multiple organ failure.

The government of Tamil Nadu declared a public holiday on 8 August 2018 and a seven-day mourning after Karunanidhi's death. He was accorded a state funeral. A national mourning on 8 August 2018 was announced by the government of India. The national flag flew half-mast in Delhi, all state capitals and across Tamil Nadu on 8 August 2018. The governments of Karnataka and Bihar announced one-day and two-days state mourning respectively.

On 18 August 2018, the DMK said that as many as 248 party workers died, 'shocked' by Karunanidhi's demise, and announced a solatium of ₹2 lakh to their families.

Awards and titles

 * Annamalai University awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1971.
 * He was awarded "Raja Rajan Award" by Tamil University, Thanjavur for his book Thenpandi Singam.
 * On 15 December 2006, the Governor of Tamil Nadu and the Chancellor of Madurai Kamaraj University, Surjit Singh Barnala conferred an honorary doctorate on the Chief Minister on the occasion of the 40th annual convocation.
 * In June 2007, the Tamil Nadu Muslim Makkal Katchi announced that it would confer the title "Friend of the Muslim Community" (Yaaran-E-Millath) upon M. Karunanidhi.

Elections contested and positions held
Karunanidhi contested and won in all Tamil Nadu Assembly general elections (then Madras) since 1957 except 1984 when he didn't contest the election. He resigned immediately after being elected in 1991, due to the routing of his party (only 2 seats out of 234).

Ram Setu remarks
In September 2007, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) opposed Sethusamudram Canal project stating that it will demolish limestone shoals the party claimed to be remains of a bridge built by Rama to get to Lanka to save his wife Sita. He replied, "It is said that there was a God thousands of years ago called Ram. Do not touch the bridge built by him. I ask who is this Ram? Which engineering college did he graduate from?" BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad accused Karunanidhi of religious discrimination when noting "We would like to know from Karunanidhi if he would make a similar statement against the head of any other religion." CPM general secretary Prakash Karat came to his support and said "in this country, there are individuals with religious views and people like us. It is not wrong to voice an opinion". Later, Karunanidhi clarified his remarks by saying that "I'm not against Ram, my conscience is my God".

Suspected Sangh Parivar activists attacked the house of Karunanidhi's daughter Selvi in Bangalore with petrol bombs and stones over his comments. A bus bound to Chennai was set on fire in Bangalore by a mob which burnt alive two people. The police blamed the attack on Hindu activists who were enraged over his comments. Karunanidhi said the attacks showed the "true culture of Ram Sevaks."

Connections with LTTE
In an April 2009 interview to NDTV, Karunanidhi made a controversial remark stating that "Prabhakaran is my good friend" and also said, "India could not forgive the LTTE for assassinating Rajiv Gandhi". An interim report of Justice Jain Commission, which oversaw the investigation into Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, had indicted Karunanidhi for abetting Rajiv Gandhi's murderers, who belonged to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). but the final report contained no such allegations.

Allegations of nepotism
Karunanidhi has been accused by opponents, by some members of his party, and by other political observers of trying to promote nepotism. Many political opponents and DMK party senior leaders have been critical of the rise of M. K. Stalin in the party. But some of the party men have pointed out that Stalin has come up on his own. Stalin was jailed under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during the Emergency that a fellow DMK party prisoner died trying to save him.

Books

 * Sanga Tamizh
 * Nenjukku needhi
 * Thenpandi singam
 * Thirukkural Urai
 * Payum puli pandara vanniyan
 * Sindhanaiyum seiyalum
 * Nerukkadi neruppuaru
 * Pesum kalai Valarpom
 * Anaiya Vizhakku Anna
 * Yaaral? Yaaral? Yaaral?
 * Sanga Tamil
 * Oru thalai kadhal
 * Pongi Varum Puthu Vellam
 * Kaala Pethayum Kavithai Saaviyum
 * Ilaya Samuthayam Elugave
 * Kuraloviyam
 * Kalaignarin kavithai mazhai
 * Vaanpugazh konda valluvam
 * Romapuri Pandiyan
 * Iniyvai Irubadhu
 * Mani Magudam
 * Valimael Vizhivanthu
 * Vellikizhamai
 * Marakka Mudiyuma
 * Kalaignar sonna kathaigal
 * Ponnar sankar

title: M. Karunanidhi


text:
GeoCities

GeoCities, later '''Yahoo! GeoCities''', was a web hosting service that allowed users to create and publish websites for free and to browse user-created websites by their theme or interest, active from 1994 to 2009. GeoCities was started in November 1994 by David Bohnett and John Rezner, and was named Beverly Hills Internet briefly before being renamed GeoCities. On January 28, 1999, it was acquired by Yahoo!, at which time it was reportedly the third-most visited website on the World Wide Web.

In its original form, site users selected a "city" in which to list the hyperlinks to their Web pages. The "cities" were named after real cities or regions according to their content: For example, computer-related sites were placed in "SiliconValley" and those dealing with entertainment were assigned to "Hollywood", hence the name of the site. Soon after its acquisition by Yahoo!, this practice was abandoned in favor of using the Yahoo! member names in the URLs.

In April 2009, the company announced that it would end the United States GeoCities service on October 26, 2009.

There were at least 38 million pages displayed by GeoCities before it was terminated, most user-written. The GeoCities Japan version of the service endured until March 31, 2019.

History
GeoCities began during mid-1995 as BHI, which stood for Beverly Hills Internet, a small Web hosting and development company in southern California.

The company created its own Web directory, organized thematically as six so-called "neighborhoods". The neighborhoods included "Colosseum", "Hollywood", "RodeoDrive", "SunsetStrip", "WallStreet", and "WestHollywood". In mid-1995, the company decided to offer users (thereafter known as "Homesteaders") the ability to develop free home pages within those neighborhoods, with 2 MB of space provided at the time. During the registration process, new members chose to which neighborhood they wanted to belong. This neighborhood became part of the member's Web address along with a sequentially assigned "street address" number to make the URL unique (for example, "www.geocities.com/RodeoDrive/number" ). Chat, bulletin boards, and other elements of "community" were added soon afterward, helping foster rapid growth. On July 5, 1995, GeoCities added additional cities, including "CapitolHill", "Paris", "SiliconValley", and "Tokyo". By December 1995, the company, which now had a total of 14 neighborhoods, was registering thousands of Homesteaders a day and getting more than six million monthly page views. GeoCities never enforced neighborhood-specific content; for example, a "Hollywood" homesteader could be nothing but a college student's home page. The company decided to emphasize increasing membership and community, and on December 15, 1995, BHI became known as GeoCities after having also been named Geopages. At that time GeoCities was headquartered at 9401 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California. By December 1996, it was headquartered on the third floor of 1918 Main Street in nearby Santa Monica, with an office on the 8th floor of the Pershing Square Building at 125 Park Avenue in New York City.

Over time, many companies, including Yahoo!, invested extensively in GeoCities and, with the introduction of paid premium services, the site continued to grow. During May 1997, GeoCities introduced advertisements on its pages. Despite negative reaction from users, GeoCities continued to grow compared to rivals. Competition in web hosting came from the likes of Tripod and Angelfire. By June 1997, GeoCities was the fifth most popular website on the Web, and by October of that year the company had registered its millionth Homesteader.

During June 1998, in an effort to increase brand awareness, GeoCities introduced a watermark to user Web pages. The watermark, much like an onscreen graphic on some television channels, was a transparent floating GIF image that used JavaScript to stay displayed on the bottom right corner of the browser screen. Many users felt the watermark interfered with the design of their Web site and threatened to relocate their Web pages elsewhere. The implementation of the watermark preceded the widespread adoption of CSS and the standardized Document Object Model and had cross-browser problems. However, GeoCities said in a press release that feedback regarding the watermark had been overwhelmingly positive.

The company became corporate during August 1998, being listed with the NASDAQ exchange with the code GCTY. The initial public offering price was $17, increasing rapidly after the initial offering to a maximum of more than $100. By 1999 GeoCities was the third-most visited site of the World Wide Web, behind AOL and Yahoo!. The headquarters had been relocated to 4499 Glencoe Avenue in Los Angeles, near the Marina del Rey area of Los Angeles County.

Acquisition by Yahoo!
During January 1999, near the peak of the dot-com bubble, GeoCities was purchased by Yahoo! for $3.57 billion in stock, with Yahoo! taking control on May 28. The acquisition proved unpopular; users began to quit en masse in protest at the new terms of service specified by Yahoo! for GeoCities. The terms stated that the company owned all rights and content, including media such as pictures. Yahoo! quickly reversed its decision. During July 1999, Yahoo! switched from neighborhood and street addresses Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) for homesteaders to "vanity" URLs through members' registration names to Yahoo! ( "www.geocities.com/membername" ). This service was offered previously only as a premium.

During 2001, amid speculation by analysts that GeoCities was not yet profitable (it having declared an $8 million loss for the final quarter of 1998), Yahoo! introduced a for-fee premium hosting service at GeoCities and reduced the accessibility of free and low-price hosting accounts by limiting their data transfer rate for Web page visitors; since that time the data transfer limit for free accounts was said to be limited to 3 GB per month, but was enforced as a limit of about 4.2 MB per hour. The paid accounts were later unified in the Yahoo! Web Hosting service, with higher data transfer limits. During 2001, a rumor began that GeoCities was to be terminated; the chain e-mail making that claim cited an article in The New York Times that stated the opposite.

Closure
On April 23, 2009, Yahoo! announced that it would be terminating its United States version of GeoCities, and stopped accepting new registrations, though the existing GeoCities accounts remained active. During late June 2009, Yahoo! updated the GeoCities home page to indicate: "GeoCities is closing on October 26, 2009." GeoCities joined a long list of other services discontinued by Yahoo, such as Farechase, LAUNCHcast, My Web, Audio Search, Pets, Photos, Live, Kickstart, Briefcase, Webmessenger, and Yahoo! Teachers.

With the termination of GeoCities in the U.S., Yahoo! no longer offered free web page hosting, except in Japan, where the service continued for ten more years. Yahoo! encouraged users to upgrade their accounts to the fee-based Yahoo! Web Hosting service.

Rupert Goodwins, the editor of ZDNet, perceived the termination of GeoCities as an end of an era; he described GeoCities as "the first proof that you could have something really popular and still not make any money on the internet." Vijay Mukhi, an internet and cybersecurity expert quoted in the Business Standard, criticized Yahoo's management of GeoCities; Mukhi described GeoCities as "a lost opportunity for Yahoo!", adding that "they could have made it a Facebook if they wanted." Rich Skrenta, the CEO of Blekko, posted on Twitter an offer to take over GeoCities from Yahoo! in exchange for 50% future revenue share.

In response to the termination, rival Web hosting services began to compete for the sites formerly displayed by GeoCities. For instance, German Web host Jimdo started the "Lifeboat for GeoCities" service to encourage GeoCities users to display their sites on Jimdo. Geocities-closing.com, started by GeoCities competitor uCoz, is a similar project begun to save GeoCities websites.

Many of the webpages formerly hosted by GeoCities remained accessible, but could not be updated, until 2014. Attempts to access any page using the original GeoCities URL formerly redirected to Yahoo! Small Business, but now redirect to the Yahoo! main page.

Archiving efforts
Soon after the GeoCities termination announcement, the Internet Archive announced a project to archive GeoCities pages, stating "GeoCities has been an important outlet for personal expression on the Web for almost 15 years." Internet Archive made it their task to ensure the thoroughness and completeness of their archive of GeoCities sites. The former Web site InternetArchaeology.org also archived and showcased artifacts from GeoCities. The operators of the site Reocities downloaded as much of the content hosted on GeoCities as they could before it ended, in an attempt to create a mirror of GeoCities, albeit an incomplete one.

Another site attempting to build an archive of defunct GeoCities sites is GeoCities.ws. There is no formal relationship between GeoCities and geocities.ws, as it is a completely different company. Many sites were duplicated automatically from GeoCities to geocities.ws many months after the termination of GeoCities. Geocities.ws also promised free hosting, and for eight years this has been the case,. Other sites with this purpose were WebCite, as well as now-defunct Geociti.es (closed 2011), Oocities.org and Ge.ocities.org.

On the first anniversary of GeoCities' termination, Archive Team announced that they would release a torrent file archive of 641 GB (prior to 7z compression, it was approximately 900 GB of data), and did so on October 29, 2010. On April 9, 2011, Archive Team released a patch for the first GeoCities torrent.

Neighborhoods
In its original form, site users selected a so-called "city" in which to list the hyperlinks to their Web pages. The "cities" were named after real cities or regions according to their content: For example, computer-related sites were displayed in "SiliconValley" and those dealing with entertainment were assigned to "Hollywood", hence the name of the site. Soon after its acquisition by Yahoo!, this practice was abandoned in favor of using the Yahoo! member names in the URLs. During 1996, GeoCities had 29 "neighborhoods", which had groupings of content created by the "homesteaders" (GeoCities users). By 1999, GeoCities had additional neighborhoods and refocused existing neighborhoods.

 * Area51 and Vault: Science fiction and fantasy, conspiracy theories
 * Athens and Acropolis: Teaching, education, reading, writing, and philosophy
 * Augusta: Golf
 * Baja: Off-road SUVs and adventure travel
 * BourbonStreet: Jazz music, Cajun cuisine, New Orleans and Southern United States topics
 * Broadway: Theater and performing arts
 * CapeCanaveral and Lab: Science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and aviation
 * CapitolHill: Politics and government
 * CollegePark and Quad: University life
 * Colosseum, Field and Loge: Athletics and sports
 * EnchantedForest: Topics of interest to children
 * Eureka: Small business and home offices
 * Fashion Avenue: Fashion
 * Heartland and Plains: Parenting and family (originally also focused on pets)
 * Hollywood and Hills: Films and actors
 * HotSprings: Health and fitness
 * MadisonAvenue: Advertising
 * MotorCity: Automobiles and racing and dodge cars
 * NapaValley: Wine, gastronomy
 * Nashville: Country music
 * Paris, Rue and LeftBank: Romance, poetry, and the arts (for Paris- and France-related topics such as food and culture around 1996)
 * Pentagon: Military
 * Petsburgh: Pets
 * PicketFence: Home improvement and real estate
 * Pipeline: Extreme sports
 * RainForest: Conservation
 * RodeoDrive: Shopping and luxury lifestyles
 * ResearchTriangle: Research and development, technology
 * SiliconValley, Heights, Park, and Pines: Computers, hardware, programming, and technology
 * SoHo and Lofts: Art and writing
 * SouthBeach and Marina: A "high-style hot spot for hanging out, meeting and greeting, seeing and being seen."
 * SunsetStrip, Vine, Alley, Palms, Studio and Towers: Music such as blues, grunge, punk rock, and rock 'n roll
 * TheTropics and Shores: Travel and vacations
 * TelevisionCity: Television
 * TimesSquare and Arcade: Computer and video games
 * Tokyo: Far East-related topics, including anime
 * Vienna: Ballet, classical music, and opera
 * WallStreet: Business and finance
 * Wellesley: Women-related topics
 * WestHollywood: Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender topics
 * Yosemite: Outdoor recreation including climbing, hiking, rafting, and skiing

GeoCities Marketplace
During 1999, GeoCities included GeoCities Marketplace, a commercial website. It included the GeoStore, which sold GeoCities-branded merchandise. Users cashed in GeoPoints in the store.

GeoCities Japan
Prior to the acquisition by Yahoo!, GeoCities had a Japanese subsidiary, GeoCities Japan. GeoCities Japan had headquarters in the Nihonbashi Hakozaki Building in the Nihonbashi area of Chūō, Tokyo. As of February 10, 2016, GeoCities Japan was still online. Its member sites were still accessible. It was still accepting new account registrations, but services were only available in Japanese.

On October 1, 2018, Yahoo! Japan announced the termination of GeoCities Japan effective March 31, 2019.

Japan neighborhoods
GeoCities Japan had the following neighborhoods:

 * WallStreet (ウォール街): Finance and business
 * Epicurean Table (エピキュリアンテーブル): Dining
 * Colosseum (コロシアム): Outdoor sports and health
 * SiliconValley (シリコンバレー): Computers and the internet
 * SilkRoad (シルクロード): Travel
 * Technopolis (テクノポリス): Science and high technology
 * Berkeley (バークレイ): Education and student life
 * Heartland (ハートランド): Family and pets
 * Hollywood (ハリウッド): Films and performing arts
 * Playtown (プレイタウン): Video games
 * Broadway (ブロードウェイ): Pop, rock music, and concerts
 * Milano (ミラノ): Fashion, design, and shopping
 * Milkyway (ミルキーウェイ): Dating
 * MotorCity (モーターシティ): Automobiles and motorcycles

Reception
The domain geocities.com attracted at least 177 million visitors annually by 2008, according to a Compete.com study.

ComScore stated that the GeoCities had 18.9 million unique visitors from the U.S. during March 2006. During March 2008, GeoCities had 15.1 million unique U.S. visitors; however, during March 2009, GeoCities had 11.5 million unique visitors, a 24% decrease from March 2008.

In 2017, indie-developer Jay Tholen created the game Hypnospace Outlaw, which was heavily influenced by GeoCities.

In February 2022, NeoCities Neighborhoods, a remake of GeoCities, was created, featuring the same interface that the original 1996 version had.

Litigation
During 1999, a complaint was instituted against GeoCities stating that the corporation violated the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914, specifically, which states in relevant part, "Unfair methods of competition in or affecting commerce, and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce, are hereby declared unlawful." The FTC found that GeoCities was engaged in deceptive acts and practices in contravention to their stated privacy act. Subsequently, a consent order was entered into, prohibiting GeoCities from misrepresenting the purpose for which it collects and/or uses personal identifying information from consumers. A copy of the complaint and order can be found at 127 F.T.C. 94 (page 94).

GeoCities provided free home pages and e-mail address to children and adults who provided personally identifying and demographic information when they registered for the website. At the time of the complaint, GeoCities had more than 1.8 million members who were "homesteaders". GeoCities illegally permitted third-party advertisers to promote products targeted to GeoCities' 1.8 million users, by using personally identifiable information obtained in the registration process. These acts and practices affected "commerce" as defined in Section 4 of the Federal Trade Commission.

The problem of GeoCities was that it placed a privacy statement on its New Member Application Form and on its website promising that it would never give personally identifying information to anyone without the user's permission. GeoCities sold personal information to third parties who used the information for purposes other than those for which members gave permission.

It was ordered that GeoCities would not make any misrepresentation, in any manner about its collection or use of personal identifying information, including what information will be disclosed to third parties. GeoCities was not allowed to collect personal identifying information from any child if GeoCities had actual knowledge that the child did not have their parents' permission to provide the information.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: GeoCities


text:
Jiyun

The Jiyun (Chi-yun; ) is a Chinese rime dictionary published in 1037 during the Song Dynasty. The chief editor Ding Du (丁度) and others expanded and revised the Guangyun. It is possible, according to Teng and Biggerstaff (1971:147), that Sima Guang completed the text in 1067. The Jiyun has 53,525 character entries (Teng & Biggerstaff, 1971: 147), approximately twice as many as the Guangyun, and likewise has 206 rime groups.

title: Jiyun


text:
Frank Miller (Canadian politician)

Frank Stuart Miller (May 14, 1927 – July 21, 2000) was a Canadian politician who served as the 19th premier of Ontario for four months in 1985. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1971 as a Progressive Conservative member of the central Ontario riding of Muskoka. He served in the cabinet of Premier Bill Davis in several portfolios including Minister of Health and Minister of Natural Resources. He also served five years as the Treasurer of Ontario.

When Davis announced his pending resignation in 1985, Miller vied for the leadership of the party and won over a slate of three other candidates. In February, 1985, he formed a cabinet of 33 ministers which was the largest cabinet in Ontario's history. Miller quickly called an election which was held on May 2. His party lost 18 seats but still held the most seats with 52. He formed a minority government, which lasted less than two months, when the Liberals under David Peterson and the New Democrats led by Bob Rae formed an unofficial coalition and defeated the government on a confidence motion on June 26. Initially Miller stayed on as leader of the opposition, but resigned shortly after.

Upon retirement from provincial politics, Miller moved back to Muskoka where he became chairman of the District of Muskoka. He died in 2000 in Bracebridge, Ontario.

Background
Miller was born in Toronto, the son of Margaret Stuart McKean and Percy Frank Miller. He attended Oakwood Collegiate Institute in Toronto, and then McGill University in Montreal where he received a degree in engineering. He had a successful career as a professional engineer, car dealer and resort operator.

Politics
In 1967, Miller was elected as a member of the Bracebridge town council, serving until 1970. In the 1971 Ontario provincial election, he ran for election to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in Muskoka as a Progressive Conservative, and was elected. He was re-elected in the 1975, 1977, 1981, and 1985 elections.

He joined the cabinet of Premier William Davis on February 26, 1974 as Minister of Health. He planned to close a number of small hospitals and consolidate urban services after the 1975 election, but withdrew in the face of cabinet opposition. He suffered a heart attack during this period.

Miller became Minister of Natural Resources following a cabinet shuffle on February 3, 1977. On August 16, 1978, he was promoted to Treasurer and Minister of Economics. As Treasurer, he opposed the Davis government's Suncor purchase in 1981 and considered resigning over the issue. After another shuffle on July 6, 1983, he was named Minister of Industry and Trade. In 1983, he gained notoriety for wearing a loud tartan jacket to the 1983 budget ceremony. He was caricatured by some reporters as a symbol of Ontario's rural past, and seemed out of step with generational and demographic changes in the province. Senior party organizer Hugh Segal later acknowledged that the jacket probably alienated many new voters.

Party leadership and Premier
When Davis retired, Miller defeated Larry Grossman, Roy McMurtry and Dennis Timbrell for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative party in its January 1985 leadership convention.

Davis and his predecessor John Robarts were considered Red Tories and ran relatively progressive administrations that increased public investment and expanded the public sector.

Under their watch, the Ontario Tories were often seen to be running left of the Liberals. Miller, on the other hand, was more typical of the party's base of social conservatives from Ontario's rural areas. When Davis officially stepped down on February 8, 1985, Miller became Premier. Miller's victory created some divisions in the Progressive Conservative Party, and he had difficulty keeping order among senior party staff.

In February, 1985, Miller announced his first cabinet with a record 33 members including 7 Ministers without portfolio. The size of the cabinet belied Miller's rhetoric of a lean, efficient government. David Peterson called it the "fattest, most bloated Cabinet in the history of this province".

1985 election
Miller's Progressive Conservatives had a significant lead in the polls of around 55% (compared to the two opposition parties, in the low to mid 20s) when he called an election for May 1985, but his campaign was considered disastrous. He elicited controversy when he refused to agree to a television debate with Liberal leader David Peterson and New Democratic Party leader Bob Rae. This decision is thought to have hurt Miller's standing with the public. His situation was also made more difficult by Davis's decision to extend public funding for Catholic Separate Schools to grade 13, a decision that had been left to Miller to implement. Although the policy was supported by all parties in the legislature, it was unpopular with some in the Tories' traditional rural Protestant base. Many PC voters were so upset that they simply stayed home on election day because of this issue.

In the election, the Liberals won a narrow plurality of the popular vote. However, at the time rural areas were still overrepresented in the Legislative Assembly, enabling Miller to win reelection. However, the Tories were cut down to a minority government, in which the Tories had only four more seats than the Liberals and were 11 seats short of a majority. The NDP, with 25 seats, held the balance of power.

Minority government and defeat
After several weeks of negotiations with both parties, the NDP signed an agreement with Peterson to support a Liberal minority government. As per this agreement, Rae introduced a Motion of No Confidence in the Miller government, which carried. As a result of the Liberal-NDP accord, Lieutenant-Governor John Black Aird asked Peterson to form a government. Miller formally resigned as Premier on June 26, 1985; ending 42 years of Progressive Conservative rule over Ontario.

Miller resigned as Progressive Conservative leader soon afterward. He was replaced by Larry Grossman in a November 1985 leadership convention. Miller formally resigned as party leader and Leader of the Opposition in early 1986. He played only a minor role in the legislature after this time, and did not seek re-election in 1987.

Later life
After leaving the legislature, Miller later became chairman of the District of Muskoka.

The Tories did not return to power in Ontario until the 1995 election, when Mike Harris, who Miller had brought to his cabinet as Minister of Natural Resources, became premier.

Miller returned to private life, dying in 2000. His son, Norm Miller, entered provincial politics in 2001, winning a by-election in the riding of Parry Sound—Muskoka after Ernie Eves resigned the seat.

title: Frank Miller (Canadian politician)


text:
Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada

Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada y Corral (24 April 1823 – 21 April 1889) was a Mexican liberal politician and jurist who served as the 27th president of Mexico from 1872 to 1876.

A successor to Benito Juárez, who died in office in July 1872, Lerdo de Tejada was elected to his own presidential term in November 1872. Previously, he served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Juárez's political rival, liberal General Porfirio Díaz, had attempted a coup against Juárez, but his Plan de la Noria failed and Díaz was eliminated as a political rival during Lerdo de Tejada's 1872–1876 term, giving him considerable leeway to pursue his program without political interference. During his term, he succeeded in pacifying the country after decades of political unrest and strengthening the Mexican state. He was elected for another term in 1876, but was overthrown by Porfirio Díaz and his supporters under the Plan of Tuxtepec, which asserted the principle of no-reelection to the presidency. Lerdo de Tejada died in exile in New York in 1889, but Díaz invited the return of his body to Mexico for burial with full honors. With the exception of Miguel Miramón, a contested president during the Reform War, he was the first Mexican head of state to be born after the country's independence.

Early life and education
He was born in Xalapa, Veracruz, into a middle class Criollo family, the younger brother of Miguel Lerdo de Tejada. After studying theology as a scholarship student in the Palafoxiano Seminary in Puebla he received minor orders, but decided not to enter priesthood. In 1851 he earned a law degree from Colegio de San Ildefonso in Mexico City, a famed institution he began directing at the age of 29 (1852–1863).

Early positions
In 1855, he served as a prosecutor before the Supreme Court. He became known as a Liberal leader and a supporter of President Benito Juárez. In 1857, he was minister of foreign affairs for three months under Ignacio Comonfort. He became the President of the Chamber of Deputies in 1861, 1862 and 1863. He opposed the Wyke-Zamacona Convention to resume debt payments to Britain. This convention was defeated in Congress.

During the French intervention and the reign of Maximilian I, he continued to be loyal to the Republicans, and had an active share in conducting the national resistance. In the face of the French invaders, the Republican government was forced to abandon the capital of Mexico City on 31 May 1863. The Republican government continued at one place or another within the country, but never left the country during Maximilian's reign.

On 12 September 1863 in San Luis Potosí, Lerdo de Tejada was named minister of foreign affairs, of the interior and of justice in Juárez's cabinet. He held these posts until 17 January 1871, 14 January 1868 and 11 September 1863, respectively. Throughout the French occupation and Maximilian's Second Empire, Lerdo de Tejada was President Juárez's closest ally and confident. On 8 November 1865, he signed the decree extending Juárez's term until the end of the war. In doing so, he opposed the claims of General Jesús González Ortega, who wished to succeed Juárez.

Restored Republic under Juárez
Upon the triumph of the Republic in 1867, Lerdo de Tejada, "according to some sources ... convinced Juárez not to pardon Maximilian," who was executed in Querétaro along with two Mexicans loyal to the emperor. Once the Republicans were returned to power, Lerdo de Tejada simultaneously became minister of foreign affairs, minister of the interior, a deputy in Congress and president of the Supreme Court. Lerdo de Tejada aided Juárez's push to centralize the power of the federal government and opposing the use of violence against local forces of opposition. Lerdo de Tejada was key for construction of what became a liberal political machine in this era. He became involved with state politics to gain political allies for the federal centralizing state.

In 1871, he was a candidate for president of the Republic, running against Juárez and Porfirio Díaz. He came in third in the race against the president who kept the republic intact during the French intervention and one of the Mexican military heroes of republican resistance. Following Juárez's victory he returned to the Supreme Court. Díaz revolted against Juárez opposing the president's continuation in power in the Plan de la Noria. The revolt was defeated and Díaz sent into political exile, allowing the last of Juárez's term relatively free of political conflict. With Juárez's death caused by a heart attack in July 1872, Lerdo de Tejada was the constitutional successor to the presidency.

As president

This made him interim president, but he held elections and held the office in his own right. To the surprise of most, Lerdo de Tejada kept Juárez's cabinet basically unchanged and promulgated a limited amnesty law. To his supporters, he offered immediate spoils. He declared that he exercised his power as president, not as head of a party.

Although he sought peace, order, and respect for the law, he used the armed force of the state to achieve those goals. During his term, he achieved success in pacifying the country, particularly in eliminating regional caudillo Manuel Lozada of Tepic. Lozada had a regional fiefdom and maintained power by alliances with the French and following their expulsion, Juárez could not dislodge Lozada from power. Lerdo de Tejada was able to use federal troops to crush Lozada; Liberal General Ramón Corona defeated and executed Lozada at La Mojonera.

Lerdo de Tejada continued projects initiated by Juarez, most visibly the construction of railways. He opened the first railway line in Mexico from the port of Veracruz to the capital Mexico City, which was begun by Juárez and Lerdo de Tejada inaugurated in January 1873. However, Lerdo de Tejada had seemingly contradictory policies about railway construction. He was concerned about U.S. encroachment in northern Mexico and resisted construction of railways to the border. He is quoted as saying, "Between strength and weakness, the desert," meaning the weakness of Mexico vis-à-vis the U.S. and the desert as a useful barrier. After a delay, he attempted to have a Mexican company construct the north–south line to the U.S. border, but the effort failed. Ultimately, he did approve a proposal of U.S. railway entrepreneur Edward Lee Plumb to build the line. Mexican supporters of construction thought Lerdo had delayed too long and botched the chance of Mexicans building the line, while Lerdo de Tejada's opponents viewed him as caving to the U.S.

The Laws of the Reform were incorporated into a new Constitution (25 September 1873). The Sisters of Charity were expelled from the country. In 1874, four small steamships of war were acquired for the customs service. Lerdo de Tejada also reestablished the Senate.

The end of the Restored Republic
Lerdo de Tejada ran for a second term in 1876, which gave opponents the grounds to oppose him on the principle of "no reelection." At this point, Porfirio Díaz, who had been neutralized politically with his unsuccessful revolt against Juárez in 1872, now believed he had the grounds to challenge Lerdo de Tejada, which were articulated in the Plan of Tuxtepec. The plan was issued prior to the July 24, 1876 election, which Lerdo de Tejada won. Some charged that the victory was fraudulent, but perhaps no more so than its predecessors. Lerdo de Tejada did not muzzle the free press, which printed the accusations and began to call for open rebellion. The President of the Supreme Court, José María Iglesias did declare the election fraudulent, a ruling which put him as successor to the presidency.

Lerdo de Tejada had made himself unpopular by the means he took to secure his re-election, by his disposition to limit state rights in favor of a strongly-centralized government, and because of measures such as the expulsion of the Sisters of Charity. His forces were defeated by Díaz in the decisive Battle of Tecoac on 16 November 1876. Díaz assumed the presidency on 28 November 1876. José María Iglesias also claimed the presidency, by virtue of his position as president of the Supreme Court (31 October 1876). Díaz went on to defeat Iglesias as well.

Lerdo de Tejada went into exile in New York City, where he died in 1889. On the orders of his former rival, President Díaz, his body was returned to Mexico and buried in Mexico with full honors, in the Rotonda of Illustrious Men. At the funeral, there was barely a mention of the reasons for Lerdo de Tejada's ouster and exile. With Lerdo de Tejada's overthrow, historians have marked this as the end of the Restored Republic and the beginning of the Porfiriato, which lasted from 1876–1911 until the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution.

Legacy
Lerdo de Tejada's principal biographer in English, Frank Averill Knapp, titled his work, The Life of Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, 1823–1889: a study of influence and obscurity, an indication of Lerdo's ambiguous legacy. He says "No Mexican President has been more maligned, misunderstood, and misrepresented" than Lerdo de Tejada. He did not have the implacable tenacity of Juárez nor the military achievements and political longevity of Porfirio Díaz, both of indigenous heritage from Oaxaca. But Lerdo de Tejada's presidency was a continuation of the policies of the Liberal Reform, whose laws could be implemented in times of relative peace. As such, he can be seen as one in a line of liberals aiming to modernize Mexico. A statue of Lerdo de Tejada stands outside the Mexican Congress. The city of Toluca de Lerdo was named after Lerdo de Tejada; however, the city is more commonly referred to as "Toluca".

Cabinet
Source: [https://archive.today/20070725222843/http://mx.geocities.com/yaimemx/gabldetejada.html
 * Defense (Guerra y Marina):
 * Ignacio Mejía (July 19, 1872 – August 30, 1876).
 * Mariano Escobedo (August 31, 1876 – November 20, 1876).
 * Finance (Hacienda):
 * Francisco Mejía (July 19, 1872 – November 20, 1876).
 * Foreign Affairs (Relaciones Exteriores):
 * José María Lafragua (July 19, 1872 – November 15, 1875).
 * Juan de Dios Arias (November 15, 1875 – August 30, 1876).
 * Manuel Romero Rubio (August 31, 1876 – November 20; 1876).
 * Industry and Commerce (Fomento):
 * Blas Balcárcel (July 19, 1872 – November 20, 1876).
 * Interior (Gobernación):
 * Cayetano Gómez Pérez (July 19, 1872 – September 26, 1876).
 * Juan José Baz (September 27, 1876 – November 20; 1876).
 * Justice (Justicia):
 * Ramón I. Alcázar (July 19, 1872 – November 20, 1876).

English

 * Katz, Friedrich, "The Liberal Republic and the Porfiriato, 1867–1910" in Mexico Since Independence, Leslie Bethell, ed. New York: Cambridge University Press 1991, pp. 49–124.
 * Knapp, Frank Averill, The Life of Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, 1823–1889: a study of influence and obscurity. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1951. [Principal biography in English]
 * Krauze, Enrique, Mexico: Biography of Power. New York: HarperCollins 1997. ISBN 0-06-016325-9
 * Perry, Laurens Ballard. Juárez and Díaz: Machine Politics in Mexico. DeKalb: University of Northern Illinois Press 1978.
 * Sinkin, Richard N. The Mexican Reform, 1855–1876. 1979.
 * Sullivan, Paul. "Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada" in Encyclopedia of Mexico v. 1, pp. 735–738. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn 1997.

Spanish

 * "Lerdo de Tejada, Miguel", Enciclopedia de México, v. 8. Mexico City, 1996, ISBN 1-56409-016-7.
 * Cosío Villegas, Daniel. Historia moderna de México. v. 1 La república restorada, La vida política. 1959.
 * García Puron, Manuel, México y sus gobernantes, v. 2. Mexico City: Joaquín Porrúa, 1984.
 * Orozco Linares, Fernando, Gobernantes de México. Mexico City: Panorama Editorial, 1985, ISBN 968-38-0260-5.

title: Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada


text:
2004 California Proposition 57

Proposition 57 (officially, the Economic Recovery Bond Act) was a California ballot proposition on the March 2, 2004 primary election ballot. It was passed with 4,056,313 (63.4%) votes in favor and 2,348,910 (36.6%) against. The proposition authorized the state to sell $15 billion in long-term bonds to pay off accumulated deficits. Proposition 57 went into effect only because Proposition 58 (the California Balanced Budget Act) also passed.

Propositions 57 and 58 were the centerpiece of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to resolve California's budget problems. Schwarzenegger campaigned heavily for the passage of Propositions 57 and 58. California State Senator Tom McClintock, Schwarzenegger's fellow Republican and rival in the 2003 gubernatorial recall, was one of the chief opponents of Proposition 57.

The last payment of these deficit bonds was made Wednesday, August 5, 2015. Included in the payments made over the life of the bonds were payments into a state escrow account, where interest payments totaling $4.1 billion were put aside to be paid out through July 1, 2019. When the bonds were paid off, Schwarzenegger said, "I’m glad this chapter of California’s fiscal history is finally closed."

Official summary

 * A one time Economic Recovery Bond of up to fifteen billion dollars ($15,000,000,000) to pay off the state's accumulated General Fund deficit as of June 30, 2004.
 * The Economic Recovery Bond will be issued only if the California Balanced Budget Act is also approved by the voters.
 * The bonds will be secured by existing tax revenues and by other revenues that can be deposited in a special fund.

Summary of Legislative Analyst's Estimate of Net State and Local Government Fiscal Impact:
 * One-time increase, compared to a previously authorized bond, of up to $4 billion to reduce the state's budget shortfall.
 * Annual debt-service savings over the next few years.
 * Above effects offset in subsequent years by higher annual debt-service costs due to this bond's larger size and the longer time period for its repayment.

title: 2004 California Proposition 57