M. K. Stalin
Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin (/stɑːlɪn, -lin/, Tamil pronunciation: ['mut̪ːuʋeːl kaɾuˈɳaːniði sʈaːˈlin] , born 1 March 1953) is an Indian politician serving as the 8th and current Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu since 2021. The son of the former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, Stalin has been the president of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party since 28 August 2018. He served as the 45th Mayor of Chennai from 1996 to 2002 and the 1st Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 2009 to 2011.[1][2] Stalin was placed 24th on the list of India's Most Powerful Personalities in 2022 by The Indian Express.[3]
In this Indian name, the name Muthuvel Karunanidhi is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Stalin.
M. K. Stalin
Banwarilal Purohit (2021)
R. N. Ravi (2021–)
- Public
- Home
- Police
- Indian Administrative Service
- Indian Police Service
- Indian Forest Service
- District Revenue Officers
- General Administration
- Special Initiatives
- Special Programme Implementation
- Welfare Of Differently-abled Persons
- Other Departments not allocated to any Minister
- Public
- Home
- Police
- Indian Administrative Service
- Indian Police Service
- Indian Forest Service
- District Revenue Officers
- General Administration
- Special Initiatives
- Special Programme Implementation
- Welfare Of Differently-abled Persons
- Other Departments not allocated to any Minister
- General Administration
- District Revenue Officers
- Industries
- Minorities Welfare
- Passports
- Special Initiatives
- Social Reforms
- Municipal Administration
- Rural Development
- Panchayats and Panchayat Union
- Poverty Alleviation Programmes
- Rural Indebtedness
- Urban and Rural Water Supply
Position Established
O. Panneerselvam (in 2017)
Minister for Rural Development and Local Administration
R. Arumugam (in 1973)
Position Established
Position Abolished
Position Established
D. Jayakumar (2011-12)
P. Dhanapal (2012-21)
M. Appavu (since 2021)
Constituency Established
P. T. R. Palanivel Rajan (1996-2001)
K. Kalimuthu (2001-06)
R. Avudaiyappan (2006-11)
- Udhayanidhi
- Senthamarai
- M. Karunanidhi (father)
- Dayalu Ammal (mother)
25/9, Chittaranjan Road, Alwarpet, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Politician
MKS
Early life and family
Stalin is the third son of 2nd Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and DMK Chief M. Karunanidhi, and was born to his wife, Dayalu Ammal. Stalin was born in Madras, now Chennai, on 1 March 1953. Karunanidhi was addressing a condolence meeting for Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, who died only four days after his child was born, and thus decided to name his son after Stalin.[4][5]
Stalin studied at the Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School.[6] He completed a pre-university course at Vivekananda College, and obtained a history degree from Presidency College, Chennai of University of Madras in 1973. Stalin was conferred an Honorary Doctorate by Anna University on 1 August 2009.[7][8][9][10]
Stalin married Durga (alias Shantha) on 20 August 1975, and has two children.
His son is Udhayanidhi Stalin, an actor and politician. Udhayanidhi is married to Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi, an Indian Tamil film director.
His daughter is Senthamarai Sabareesan, an entrepreneur and educationist. She is the director of Sunshine Schools, Chennai.[11] Senthamarai is married to Sabareesan Vedamurthy, an entrepreneur and political strategist.[12]
Like his father, Stalin has publicly disclosed that he is an atheist. But he also said that he is not against any religious beliefs.[13][14][15]
Politics
His political career began in his early teens when he started the DMK Gopalapuram Youth Wing with several friends.[16] As a 14 year old, he campaigned for his uncle, Murasoli Maran, in the 1967 elections.[17][18] In 1973, Stalin was elected to the General committee of the DMK.[19]
He came to the limelight when he was jailed in Central Prison, Madras under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) for protesting against the Emergency in 1976.[20][21][22] He was beaten up in custody and a fellow DMK prisoner C. Chittibabu died of injuries and police torture while protecting him.[23][24][25] He wrote his final year BA exams while in prison.[5] Stalin formed the DMK youth wing. In 1982 Stalin became the youth wing secretary of DMK, a post he held for more than four decades.
DMK Youth Wing
In 1968, Stalin started the DMK Youth Wing in Gopalapuram in a barber shop with his friends. In 1983, he transformed the Gopalapuram Youth Wing into a Statewide phenomenon and led the frontal as a Secretary, a position he held for more than four decades. During the early stages of the Youth Wing, he travelled across Tamil Nadu with other members to mentor fellow youth of the state in key areas of active politics at the grassroots level.[26]
Public image and reception
Stalin’s career in the political arena has seen its ups and downs. From a challenger to an emerging pragmatic leader, the people of Tamil Nadu have credited his administrative skills and firm rejection of sycophancy. A classic example of this is when M.K Stalin asked the Education Minister, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhil not to print his photographs on 65 lakh bags meant for distribution among schoolchildren in the state, opting to retain pictures of his political adversaries from the previous government that had sanctioned the project.[99]
Stalin was commended by domain experts and other ministers across the country for not using public money to enhance his popularity among the “masses”.[100]
On 2 September 2021 the actor turned former Union Minister Chiranjeevi met with Stalin to commend him on governance efficacy and said he proved his mettle in handling the grave situation of COVID-19 pandemic. The Media houses in Kerala lauded Stalin on his policies and efforts in controlling the spread of Coronavirus during the second wave, provision of free bus pass for women and ₹4,000 as a pandemic relief for ration card holders.[101]
The Shiv Sena Parliamentarian Sanjay Raut, in his weekly column Rokthok in party mouthpiece Saamana praised Stalin’s governance style and criticized the Centre’s move to omit Jawaharlal Nehru and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad’s picture from ICHR’s Independence day poster ‘Azadi Ke Amrit Mahotsav.’ Raut said the central government is practising the politics of revenge and should learn a lesson from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin, who allowed the distribution of 6.5 million school bags carrying photos of political rivals former chief ministers J Jayalalitha and E Palaniswami of the AIADMK, to ensure public money is not being spent on political vendetta.[102]
Karnataka Chief Minister, Basavaraj Bommai commended Stalin's nuanced policies and continual effort in controlling the spread of COVID-19 at the peak of the second wave.[103]
Actor
Producer