To sire, what best requital can by grateful child be done?/ To make men say ‘what merit gained the father such a son!’ Couplet 70, Thirukkural

Two decades ago, returning to the Chief Minister’s chair after a long gap, M Karunanidhi reportedly quoted Couplet 70 from the masterpiece of Tamil literature, Thirukkural, to appreciate the work done by his younger son, M K Stalin, in getting him where he was. Like in the case of Rahul Gandhi after the recent general elections, it was then said that Stalin worked hard in the background to make the success possible. On May 29, after being named the heir-apparent 20 years ago, Stalin has taken one step closer to succeeding Karunanidhi as the Chief Minister and president of the party.

Born in the family of one of the most active leaders of Tamil Nadu, Stalin was home-schooled in politics, starting his own political career in 1973 as a general council member of the DMK. After Emergency was declared in 1975, the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) brought into prominence many politicians in Tamil Nadu, including Stalin. In January, 1976, he was among the many who were arrested and put behind bars. By the time he was released, a few days short of one year, his profile had gone up a notch higher.

But its protest against the ‘undemocratic’ Emergency did not win the DMK the Assembly elections, when MGR heading the splinter party AIADMK won way above the half-way mark in 1977. In 1980, DMK formed a youth wing with a seven-member committee to oversee its functioning. By then, Stalin had become an active politician, rising to the second-tier of the party leadership. Soon, he became its secretary.

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