The story
Founded by C. N. Annadurai in 1949.1
Origins and foundation
DMK traces its roots to the Justice Party founded by C. Natesa Mudaliar in 1916, in the presence of P. Theagaraya Chetty, P. T. Rajan, T. M. Nair, Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar and a few others in Victoria Public Hall Madras Presidency. The Justice Party, whose objectives included social equality and justice, came to power in the first general elections to the Madras Presidency in 1920. Communal division between Brahmins and non-Brahmins began in the presidency during the late-19th and early-20th century, mainly due to caste prejudices and disproportionate Brahminical representation in government jobs. The Justice Party's foundation marked the culmination of several efforts to establish an organization to represent the non-Brahmins in Madras and is seen as the start of the Dravidian movement. In 1935, Periyar, a popular reformist leader at that time, joined the Justice Party.
In the 1937 elections, the Justice Party lost and the Indian National Congress under C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) came to power in Madras Presidency. Rajaji's introduction of Hindi as a compulsory subject in schools led to the anti-Hindi agitations, led by Periyar and his associates.
In August 1944, Periyar created the 'Dravidar Kazhagam' (DK) movement out of the Justice Party and the Self-Respect Movement at the Salem Provincial Conference. The DK, conceived as a movement and not a political party, insisted on an independent nation for Dravidians called Dravida Nadu consisting of areas that were covered under the Madras Presidency.
Over the years, many disagreements arose between Periyar and his followers. In 1949, C. N. Annadurai and other members decided to take part in electoral politics and Periyar had strong objection on it. Annadurai and several of his followers decided to split from the DK movement and form the DMK.
The Dravidian philosophy played a key role in the DMK at the helm of administration. It was described it as the earliest subaltern movement in the history of the Indian subcontinent politics to have political representation from former lower castes. This led to greater political participation, which improved representation of the emergent strata, enriched civic life, and subsequently strengthened pluralist democracy in the region.
C. N. Annadurai era (1949–1969)
The DMK's initial participation in electoral politics, in the 1957 legislative assembly elections, was mixed. While it won 15 seats, many prominent leaders such as V. R. Nedunchezhiyan were defeated. It fared somewhat better in the 1962 elections, winning 50 seats and becoming the main opposition party by founder annadurai lost his seat.
Anti-Hindi Imposition agitations
The DMK inherited the anti-Hindi imposition policies of its parent organization, DK. Founder C.N. Annadurai had earlier participated in the anti-Hindi imposition agitations during 1938–40 and throughout the 1940s.
In July 1953, the DMK launched an agitation against the Union government's proposed name-change of Kallakudi to Dalmiapuram. They claimed that the town's proposed new name, proposed to be named after Ramkrishna Dalmia, symbolized the exploitation of South India by the North. On 15 July, M. Karunanidhi and other DMK members removed the Hindi name from Dalmiapuram railway station's name board and protested on the tracks. In the altercation with the police that followed the protests, two DMK members lost their lives, and several others, including Karunanidhi and Kannadasan, were arrested.
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The DMK continued its anti-Hindi Imposition policies throughout the 1950s, along with the secessionist demand for Dravida Nadu, which initially adopted a more radical stance than the Dravida Kazhagam. On 28 January 1956, Annadurai, along with Periyar and Rajaji, signed a resolution passed by the Academy of Tamil Culture endorsing the continuation of English as the official language. On 21 September 1957, the DMK convened an anti-Hindi conference to protest against the imposition of Hindi. It observed 13 October 1957 as "anti-Hindi day".
On 31 July 1960, another open-air anti-Hindi conference was held in Kodambakkam, Madras. In November 1963, DMK dropped its secessionist demand in the wake of the Sino-Indian War and the passage of the anti-secessionist 16th Amendment to the Indian Constitution. The anti-Hindi stance remained and hardened with the passage of Official Languages Act of 1963. The DMK's view on Hindi's eligibility for official language status were reflected in Annadurai's response to the "numerical superiority of Hindi" argument: "If we had to accept the principle of numerical superiority while selecting our national bird, the choice would have fallen not on the peacock but on the common crow."
Formation of state government
In the 1967 assembly election, DMK came to power in the Madras State, 18 years after its formation and 10 years after it had first entered electoral politics. This began the Dravidian era in the Madras province, which later became Tamil Nadu. In 1967, the Congress lost nine states to opposition parties, but it was only in Madras that a single non-Congress Party won a majority. The electoral victory of 1967 is also reputed to be an electoral fusion among the non-Congress parties to avoid a split in the opposition votes. Rajagopalachari, a former senior leader of the Congress Party, had by then left the Congress and launched the right-wing Swatantra Party. He played a vital role in bringing about the electoral fusion amongst the opposition parties to align against the Congress. Following the DMK's victory in the 1967 election, Annadurai formed a cabinet that was the youngest in India at the time.
Other achievements
Self-respect marriages were legalized in India during Annadurai's tenure. Such marriages did not involve priests presiding over the ceremonies, and thus a Brahmin was not needed to carry out the wedding. Self-respect marriages were a brainchild of Periyar, who regarded the then conventional marriages as mere financial arrangements which led to great debt through dowry in many cases. Self-respect marriages, according to him, encouraged inter-caste marriages and caused arranged marriages to be replaced by love marriages.
Annadurai's party was among the first in India to include a promise of subsidized rice in its election manifesto. He promised one rupee a measure of rice, which he initially implemented once in government, but had to withdraw later. Subsidizing rice costs are still used as an election promise in Tamil Nadu.
It was Annadurai's government that renamed Madras State to Tamil Nadu, its present-day name. The name change itself was first presented in the Rajya Sabha by Bhupesh Gupta, a communist MP from West Bengal, but was then defeated. With Annadurai as chief minister, the state assembly succeeded in passing the bill renaming the state.
Annadurai's government introduced a two-language policy, favoring Tamil and English over Hindi, which marked a significant shift from the previously proposed three language formula. The three-language formula, which was implemented in the neighboring states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, mandated students to study three languages: the regional language, English, and Hindi.
M. Karunanidhi era (1969–2018)
In 1969, after Annadurai's death, M. Karunanidhi was elected as his successor, defeating rival candidate V. R. Nedunchezhiyan. Karunanidhi headed the DMK until his own death in 2018. He was also appointed as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu on 10 February 1969, sworn in by then Governor Sardar Ujjal Singh.
In the 1970s, M. G. Ramachandran (M.G.R.), a popular actor and the party treasurer, had a political feud with the party president Karunanidhi. In 1972, M.G.R. called for a boycott of the party's General Council. The crisis led to a call for a corruption probe by M.G.R. leading to his suspension from the General Council by the high-power committee of DMK. M.G.R. left the DMK and created a new political party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).
In 1976, during the emergency period, prime minister Indira Gandhi dismissed the Karunanidhi government, fifty days before his tenure ended, citing failure to maintain law and order, implement emergency measures, uphold national discipline, and promote economic development. The Sarkaria Commission later investigated the DMK government for alleged irregularities in awarding tenders related to the Veeranam drainage project. However, no corruption charges were formally proven against Karunanidhi in the court.
The interim report of the Jain Commission, which oversaw the investigation into the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, indicted Karunanidhi for abetting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The interim report recommended that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and the DMK party be held responsible for abetting Rajiv Gandhi's murderers. The final report contained no such allegations.
Elections under Karunanidhi's presidency
DMK lost the 1977 Assembly elections to the AIADMK, and stayed out of power in the state until 1989. After MGR's death in December 1987, AIADMK split into two factions led by MGR's wife Janaki and Jayalalithaa. The DMK returned to power in the 1989 state assembly elections and for the third time, Karunanidhi took over as the chief minister in January 1989.
The 1991 Lok Sabha election was held with the backdrop of DMK government having dissolved within two years of formation due to pressure from ex-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi leading an alliance with Samajwadi Janata Party. In the same year, Rajiv Gandhi was killed by a suicide bomber during his election campaign, and due to DMK's pro-Tamil stance and the dismissal of the state government mid-campaign by Rajiv, public sentiments were against DMK and instead in favor of the AIADMK–Congress alliance, causing the DMK to not win any seats in the Parliament.
In the 1996 state elections, DMK came to power on strength of corruption charges against Jayalalithaa and their alliance with Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC), headed by G.K. Moopanar.
In 2001, the AIADMK, on strength of a strong alliance and anti-incumbency factor against DMK, came back to power in the state assembly elections.
In the 2004 general election, DMK formed an alliance with Congress, the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK). The alliance won all 40 seats of the state including Puducherry. The DMK held 7 ministerial posts in the central government cabinet.
Two years later in 2006, the same alliance won in the state assembly elections and the DMK formed a minority government in the state with help from Congress. M Karunanidhi became the Chief Minister of the state for the fifth time. The DMK-Congress alliance was also successful in the 2009 general elections.
In the 2011 Assembly elections, held in the wake of the 2G case and allegations of nepotism, the DMK won only 23 seats, 127 seats less than earlier.
In the 2014 general election, DMK failed to win any seats.
In the 2016 state assembly elections, DMK won 89 seats. This was the most number for a single opposition party in the history of the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly.
Favouritism towards family members
Karunanidhi has faced accusations and criticism of favouring family members for prominent political and constitutional positions. His supporters have denied these allegations, describing the appointments as based on political trust and experience. Karunanidhi's nephew, Murasoli Maran, was a Union Minister under multiple governments. M. K. Stalin was elected as the Mayor of Chennai and later as the deputy chief minister of Tamil Nadu. Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi has been appointed as the Rajya Sabha MP twice in 2007 and 2013. Karunanidhi's nephew's son Dayanidhi Maran had been appointed as a Union Minister in 2004. Karunanidhi's grandson, M. K. Stalin's son, Udhayanidhi Stalin, has been elected as an MLA in the state assembly. Karunanidhi is also accused of allowing Azhagiri to function as an extraconstitutional authority in Madurai.
M. K. Stalin era (2018–present)
Karunanidhi died on 7 August 2018, leaving the party in the hands of his son, M. K. Stalin. Stalin had been appointed as the working president in January 2017 when his father's health started declining and had previously been named heir apparent by his father. Stalin thus became the second DMK president since the party's inception.
On 25 March 2018, the DMK held a statewide conference in Erode and M. K. Stalin released five slogans at the conference. They were:
Let us keep an eye on the Kalaignar's command
Let us grow and admire Tamil
Let us crush the power pile
Let us protect humanity from extremism
Let us grow a prosperous Tamil Nadu
During 2025 end the DMK constituted a committee headed by Kanimozhi, to prepare the manifesto for the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly election. MK Stalin launched the party's election manifesto portal on 3 January 2026 at the party headquarters. Over 14,000 suggestions received was received from citizens across the state on the day day one.
Elections under M.K. Stalin presidency
In the 2019 general election, DMK contested as part of the United Progressive Alliance led by the Indian National Congress. The alliance secured 38 out of 39 seats in Tamil Nadu with a 52% vote share. and won in Puducherry.
The DMK-led Secular Progressive alliance secured a majority in the 2019 Tamil Nadu local body elections.
In the 2021 state assembly election, the Secular Progressive Alliance won a majority by securing 159 seats out of 234 seats with a 46% vote share. Analysts partly attributed the victory to political developments within the AIADMK, including the rise and decline of V.K. Sasikala, and subsequent internal leadership challenges.
In the 2024 general election, as part of the INDIA Alliance, the DMK contested 21 constituencies. The alliance won all 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, resulting in a clean sweep in the region.
From Wikipedia’s article on Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4