C. N. Annadurai

C. N. Annadurai Biography

Conjeevaram Natarajan is the real name of C. N. Annadurai. He was affectionately called as Anna and Arignar Anna. He was born on September 15, 1909 in Kancheepuram, India. He was the sixth Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

He was born in a middle class family. Natarajan and Bangaru Ammal are his parents. His sister named Rajamani Ammal raised him and he married Rani when he was a student at the age of 21. They had no children. He did his schooling in Pachaiappa’s High school and finished his degree in Pachaiappa’s college in Chennai. Then he joined as an English teacher in Pachaiappa’s High school. In the middle, he left his job and involved in politics.

He was an excellent writer in Tamil. He had acted in many plays. Some of them were made into movies. He was a strict follower of Periyar E. V. Ramasamy. Later he started his own political party named Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. The Madras anti-Hindi agitation of 1965 made him very popular. Self-respect marriages were legalized by him. He converted the name of Madras state into Tamil Nadu.

Annadurai entered into politics and joined the Justice Party in 1935. He worked as a sub-editor in Justice Magazine and later he became the editor in Viduthalai. Anna launched his own journal named Dravida Nadu. Justice party was renamed as Dravida Kazhagam by Periyar in 1944. He served as the Member of Parliament in the year 1962-1967. He won in the State Legislative Assembly election of 1967 and became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

Anna received the award of Chubb Fellowship at Yale University and received the Doctorate award on the same year from Annamalai University. Due to cancer, he died on 3^rd February 1969. Anna centenary library was placed in Chennai in memory of C. N. Annadurai and he was buried in Marina Beach. This place is known as Anna Square. Anna Nagar and Anna Salai are the places in Chennai which were named after him.

C. N. Annadurai is a well-known atheist and popular orator.

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Updated: June 13, 2018