About DMK

In order to safeguard the interests of Dravidians, Arignar Anna established the DMK party on 17th September 1949. In fact, Tamil scholars consider the birth of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) as the renaissance that revolutionized the state of Tamil Nadu. Anna's DMK was viewed as the guardian of the Tamil language and its culture.

In 1916, a group of elite personalities including Sir P Thyagrayar, Dr. Natesan, Dr. TM Nair, and a few others started the Justice Party. The party was named after the English Journal, 'Justice' published by the society of the same name ahead of the formation of the party. The core objective of the party was to protect the interest of the Dravidians in the state.

The Brahmin community dominated the only national party then, the Congress. E.V. Ramasamy, also called Thanthai Periyar, left the Congress party to form the Self-Respect Movement in 1925. The movement transformed into Dravida Kazhagam (DK). The principles of the movement attracted several revered personalities, such as Anna that spread the word across the state. However, over time, Anna separated from the movement due to difference of opinion with other leaders. In 1949, Anna floated the DMK. He was elected as the general secretary of the party and Kalaignar was entrusted with the responsibility of spearheading the campaigns and garnering support among the people of Tamil Nadu. The DMK flourished under the leadership of Anna. For the first time, the party utilized the media to gain momentum.

While Anna published his journal 'Dravida Nadu', Kalaignar revolutionized the party with his own journal 'Murasoli'. Anna was a great orator and a statesman. His revolutionary speeches and his popular slogan Duty-Dignity-Discipline enchanted the people of Tamil Nadu. In 1957, the DMK party leaders won 15 seats in the State Assembly and 2 in the Parliament making a dent in the once invincible Congress party. Within eighteen years of its formation, DMK was able to form the government in Tamil Nadu.

After the demise of Arignar Anna, Dr. Kalaignar was elected as the party president. Prof K. Anbazhagan became the secretary and Arcot Veerasamy became the treasurer. Currently MK Stalin is the treasure of DMK and has been declared as the heir apparent by Dr. Kalaignar Karunanidhi. As of now, DMK has over 65-Lakh members and over 60,000 branches all over Tamil Nadu. It is the only party that has a democratic internal structure wherein leaders are elected by the members.