Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani
Encyclopedia
Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani was a short-lived political party formed in 1988 in Tamil Nadu
, India
. The party was found by veteran Tamil film actor Sivaji Ganesan
. Ganesan had a long running relation with many political parties, with his first movie itself being a propaganda movie of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
The party for born after a split in Tamil Nadu Congress
party. The split itself was after another party All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
broke into two fragments one led by Janaki Ramachandran
and other by J. Jayalalitha. Ganesan and his supporters left the Congress party on differences in opinion on which fragment of AIADMK to ally with in 1989 state elections.
Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani backed Janaki Ramachandran's fragment of the party and lost in all seats its competed for. Ganesan eventually regretted his decision to float his own party and merged the party with Janata Dal
.
and the Self-respect movement
, in the 1940s. He debuted in the Tamil
movie Parasakthi in 1952, a movie which heavily contained elements of Dravidian politics. Although Ganesan was a founder member of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
he found that atheistic outlook of the party to cost him his movie fame. He was also frustrated with importance given to M. G. Ramachandran
, another movie star, in the party. But yet he stayed on in the party until his visit to Tirumala Venkateswara Temple
became a center of controversy within the DMK. Responding to the controversy Ganesan called the DMK "a glamour party" and moved to Tamil National Party
. The Tamil National Party was itself formed by former members of DMK such as E. V. K. Sampath
and Kannadasan
. Later Ganesan joined the Indian National Congress
when Tamil National Party was merged with it.
had been heading the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
(AIADMK) as its founding leader after his feud with M. Karunanidhi
in 1972. He had been the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu since 1977 until his death in 1987. Soon after his death the party broke into two, one headed by his wife Janaki Ramachandran
and other by another Tamil movie star J. Jayalalitha. Election Commission of India
refused to accept either of them as the original AIADMK. Tamil Nadu Congress decided to ally with Jayalalitha's fragment of AIADMK. This move was opposed by Sivaji Ganesan and hence he left the party along with his supporters to form the new party Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani on 10 February 1988. To popularise the party Ganesan produce a movie titled En Thamizh En Makkal (My Tamil language and my people). At the time the party was created it was considered to be pro-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
. The party opposed the presence of Indian Peace Keeping Force
in Sri Lanka
stating that the force was trying to wipe out the LTTE and its leader V. Prabhakaran. The party also urged the Government of India to hold talks with the LTTE without any pre- condition.
candidate by a margin of 10,643 votes. Soon after the election he dissolved the party and asked his party cadres to join Janata Dal
which he himself did after an invitation from V. P. Singh
. Later in his life Sivaji Ganesan regretted to have ever floated his own party and reportedly said
On other occasion he added:
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The party was found by veteran Tamil film actor Sivaji Ganesan
Sivaji Ganesan
Viluppuram Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan Manrayar , commonly known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan , was an Indian stage and film actor active during the latter half of the 20th century. He is one of the most respected film actors in India. He is well known for his versatility and acting skills with...
. Ganesan had a long running relation with many political parties, with his first movie itself being a propaganda movie of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. It is a Dravidian party founded by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam headed by Periyar...
The party for born after a split in Tamil Nadu Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
party. The split itself was after another party All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. The party was founded by M. G. Ramachandran and is now headed by J. Jayalalithaa. The party headquarters is in Royapettah, Chennai, and was gifted to the party in 1986 by its...
broke into two fragments one led by Janaki Ramachandran
Janaki Ramachandran
Janaki Ramachandran , popularly known as V.N. Janaki , was an Indian Tamil actress and politician. She was born to Rajagopal Iyer and Narayani Amma in the town of Vaikom in Kerala State. She had a brother P. Narayanan who was an educationalist...
and other by J. Jayalalitha. Ganesan and his supporters left the Congress party on differences in opinion on which fragment of AIADMK to ally with in 1989 state elections.
Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani backed Janaki Ramachandran's fragment of the party and lost in all seats its competed for. Ganesan eventually regretted his decision to float his own party and merged the party with Janata Dal
Janata Dal
Janata Dal is an Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Janata Party factions, the Lok Dal, Congress, and the Jan Morcha led by V. P...
.
Sivaji Ganesan
Sivaji Ganesan was one of the foremost stars of Tamil film industry. Born as V. C. Ganesan, he was christened Sivaji by Periyar E. V. Ramasami, who was then leading the Dravidar KazhagamDravidar Kazhagam
Dravidar Kazhagam or Dravida Kazhagam was the first fully Dravidian party in India. It was a radical party formed by E. V. Ramaswamy, also called Thanthai Periyar of erstwhile Madras Presidency...
and the Self-respect movement
Self-Respect Movement
The Self-Respect Movement was founded in 1925 by Periyar E. V. Ramasamy in Tamil Nadu, India. The movement has the aim of achieving a society where backward castes have equal human rights, and encouraging backward castes to have self-respect in the context of a caste based society that...
, in the 1940s. He debuted in the Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
movie Parasakthi in 1952, a movie which heavily contained elements of Dravidian politics. Although Ganesan was a founder member of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. It is a Dravidian party founded by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam headed by Periyar...
he found that atheistic outlook of the party to cost him his movie fame. He was also frustrated with importance given to M. G. Ramachandran
M. G. Ramachandran
Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran , popularly known by his initials , was an Indian film actor, director, producer and politician....
, another movie star, in the party. But yet he stayed on in the party until his visit to Tirumala Venkateswara Temple
Tirumala Venkateswara Temple
Tirumala Venkateswara Temple ), is a Hindu temple in the hill town of Tirumala, near Tirupati in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, South India. It is around from Chennai, from Hyderabad, and from Bangalore....
became a center of controversy within the DMK. Responding to the controversy Ganesan called the DMK "a glamour party" and moved to Tamil National Party
Tamil National Party
Tamil National Party was a short-lived political party formed in 1962 in Tamil Nadu, India. The party finds its roots with the split in Dravidar Kazhagam after which Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was formed. E. V. K. Sampath, a founding member of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, left the party following...
. The Tamil National Party was itself formed by former members of DMK such as E. V. K. Sampath
E. V. K. Sampath
Erode Venkatta Naicker Krishnasamy Sampath , usually referred to as E. V. K. Sampath was a prominent politician from Tamil Nadu, India. He was an advocate of Dravidian Movement of Periyar E. V. Ramasamy and was considered by some as his political heir. He later split from Periyar's Dravidar...
and Kannadasan
Kannadasan
Kannadasan was a Tamil poet and lyricist, heralded as one of the greatest and most important writer in the Tamil language...
. Later Ganesan joined the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
when Tamil National Party was merged with it.
Birth of Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani
M. G. RamachandranM. G. Ramachandran
Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran , popularly known by his initials , was an Indian film actor, director, producer and politician....
had been heading the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. The party was founded by M. G. Ramachandran and is now headed by J. Jayalalithaa. The party headquarters is in Royapettah, Chennai, and was gifted to the party in 1986 by its...
(AIADMK) as its founding leader after his feud with M. Karunanidhi
M. Karunanidhi
Muthuvel Karunanidhi is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N...
in 1972. He had been the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu since 1977 until his death in 1987. Soon after his death the party broke into two, one headed by his wife Janaki Ramachandran
Janaki Ramachandran
Janaki Ramachandran , popularly known as V.N. Janaki , was an Indian Tamil actress and politician. She was born to Rajagopal Iyer and Narayani Amma in the town of Vaikom in Kerala State. She had a brother P. Narayanan who was an educationalist...
and other by another Tamil movie star J. Jayalalitha. Election Commission of India
Election Commission of India
The Election Commission of India is an autonomous, quasi-judiciary constitutional body of India. Its mission is to conduct free and fair elections in India...
refused to accept either of them as the original AIADMK. Tamil Nadu Congress decided to ally with Jayalalitha's fragment of AIADMK. This move was opposed by Sivaji Ganesan and hence he left the party along with his supporters to form the new party Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani on 10 February 1988. To popularise the party Ganesan produce a movie titled En Thamizh En Makkal (My Tamil language and my people). At the time the party was created it was considered to be pro-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a separatist militant organization formerly based in northern Sri Lanka. Founded in May 1976 by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, it waged a violent secessionist and nationalist campaign to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Tamil...
. The party opposed the presence of Indian Peace Keeping Force
Indian Peace Keeping Force
Indian Peace Keeping Force was the Indian military contingent performing a peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990...
in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
stating that the force was trying to wipe out the LTTE and its leader V. Prabhakaran. The party also urged the Government of India to hold talks with the LTTE without any pre- condition.
Merger with Janata Dal
The party lost every seat it contested for in the 1989 elections. Sivaji himself lost at Thiruvayaru constituency to Dravida Munnetra KazhagamDravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. It is a Dravidian party founded by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam headed by Periyar...
candidate by a margin of 10,643 votes. Soon after the election he dissolved the party and asked his party cadres to join Janata Dal
Janata Dal
Janata Dal is an Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Janata Party factions, the Lok Dal, Congress, and the Jan Morcha led by V. P...
which he himself did after an invitation from V. P. Singh
V. P. Singh
Vishwanath Pratap Singh was the seventh Prime Minister of India and the 41st Raja Bahadur of Manda.-Early life:...
. Later in his life Sivaji Ganesan regretted to have ever floated his own party and reportedly said
On other occasion he added: