Murasoli Maran

Some Lesser Known Facts About Murasoli Maran

• His mother, Shanmugasundari, was the elder sister of M. Karunanidhi. He grew up in Thiruvarur, Tamil Nadu.

• Murasoli Maran completed his basic education in his hometown and then went to Madras to receive a higher education.

• Before entering politics, Maran worked as a journalist and a social worker.

  

• Since his student days in Madras, Murasoli Maran was closely associated with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party.

• Murasoli Maran was a key leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party, which was led by his maternal uncle and mentor, M. Karunanidhi.

  

• He served as a Member of Parliament for 36 years. Murasoli Maran was a Union Minister in three different central governments. He was in charge of Urban Development in the V.P. Singh government, Industry in the Gowda and Gujral governments, and Commerce and Industry under the Vajpayee government.

  

• When he was serving as the Union Minister of India, he owned a Maruti 1000.

• Besides politics, Maran was also a journalist and a scriptwriter for films.

• Murasoli Maran was outspoken against the introduction of Hindi in Tamil Nadu and was arrested in 1965 during anti-Hindi agitations because of his articles.

• During the Emergency in India, he was jailed for a year under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act.

• After his release, Murasoli Maran edited the Tamil daily newspaper “Murasoli” and released it in Chennai. He was also the editor of the English weekly “The Rising Sun.”

• He published many Tamil magazines such as “Kungumam,” “Muththaram,” “Vannathirai,” and “Sumangali.”

• The Sangeet Natak Academy awarded Murasoli Maran the title “Kalai-Mamani” in 1975.

• Murasoli Maran wrote screenplays and dialogues for over twenty Tamil films including Annaiyin Aanai (1958), Anbu Engey (1958), Thalai Koduthaan Thambi (1959), Sahodhari (1959), Nalla Theerpu (1959), and Engal Thangam (1970).

  

• He had produced many films including Pillaiyo Pillai (1972), Valiba Virunthu (1967), and Marakka Mudiyumaa? (1966).

• Murasoli Maran then directed the films Valiba Virunthu (1967) and Marakka Mudiyumaa? (1966).

  

• He is the recipient of the President’s Certificate of Merit and the Tamil Nadu Government Award for three feature films.

• Murasoli Maran travelled to the United States from India on 6 September 1997 and participated in events of the “Destination India” program. He returned to India on 12 September 1997.

  

• His key contribution as Union Commerce and Industries Minister was his speech at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha in November 2001. In the speech, he spoke about the interests of developing countries. His efforts were highly appreciated by the then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

  

• His younger son, Dayanidhi Maran, served as an MP and former Union Minister. His elder son, Kalanithi Maran, owns and heads the popular TV network Sun TV.

• Murasoli Maran passed away at age 69 on 23 November 2003 at Apollo Hospital in Chennai after being in a coma for many weeks.

• Before his treatment at Apollo Hospital in India, he was admitted to the Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, on 14 November 2002 for heart (Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy) and kidney ailments.

• Murasoli Maran was a Cabinet Minister in the Government of India without a portfolio at his death.

• The then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and many other leaders in Chennai attended his funeral.

• In 2002, the Government of India released a 5 paise postage stamp to honour Murasoli Maran.

  

• In December 2006, during the UPA government, Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi unveiled a statue of Murasoli Maran in the Indian Parliament.

  

• After that, a war of words happened when Jayalalithaa called it “obscene” to have Maran’s statue alongside ‘Bharat Ratna’ M. G. Ramachandran.

• In 2021, Chief Minister and DMK leader M. Karunanidhi accused his sons, Kalanidhi and Dayanidhi, of trying to create divisions among his family members MK Azhagiri, MK Stalin, and MK Kanimozhi and of spreading false propaganda against the DMK and the State government.

• On 23 November 2021, ‘The Rising Sun,’ a DMK party journal, was released on Murasoli Maran’s 18th death anniversary.

• Later, a Murasoli Maran Memorial Cancer Research Institute was started in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in his memory.