Muthuvel Karunanidhi Height, Weight, Age, Wife, Children

Publish date: 2024-05-11
Muthuvel Karunanidhi Quick Info
Height5 ft 6 in
Weight75 kg
Date of BirthJune 3, 1924
Zodiac SignGemini
Date of DeathAugust 7, 2018

Muthuvel Karunanidhi was an Indian writer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades over 5 terms between 1969 and 2011.

Born Name

Muthuvel Karunanidhi

Other Names

M. Karunanidhi, Kalaignar, Mutthamizh Arignar

Muthuvel Karunanidhi as seen in an official portrait (Government of Tamil Nadu / assembly.tn.gov.in / CC BY-SA 4.0)

Age

He was born on June 3, 1924.

Died

On August 7, 2018, Muthuvel Karunanidhi died due to multiple organ failure (due to age-related illness) at 94 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

Resting Place

Kalaignar Karunanidhi Ninaividam in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Sun Sign

Gemini

Born Place

Thirukuvalai, Madras Presidency, British India (present-day Tamil Nadu, India)

Residence

He resided at –

Nationality

Education

Muthuvel Karunanidhi studied at a local school and also started taking music lessons at a young age. The music lessons were conducted in temples and he wasn’t allowed to cover his upper body, wear slippers, or wear a cotton cloth around his hips as a sign of respect for the upper caste people. He could not deal with an environment that did not treat him with respect so he stopped attending the lessons. Subsequently, his father asked the local headmaster to set up special tutoring courses for Karunanidhi and paid a tuition fee of milk every morning and evening. Karunanidhi later stated:

“My music lessons were actually my first political studies. I learnt about the oppression of humans based on their caste. I saw the delight with which certain individuals could humiliate others, and the self-righteousness of others in carrying out their customs without realizing that they were mistreating a large majority of the people.”

Occupation

Writer, Politician

Family

Build

Large

Muthuvel Karunanidhi (Left) as seen while meeting Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in Chennai on January 03, 2011 (Government of India / Press Information Bureau on behalf of Prime Minister’s Office / Government Open Data License – India (GODL))

Height

5 ft 6 in or 167.5 cm

Weight

75 kg or 165.5 lbs

Girlfriend / Spouse

Muthuvel Karunanidhi dated –

  • Padmavathi Ammal (1944-1948) – He married his first wife Padmavathi Ammal on September 13, 1944, in a reformist wedding under the Dravidian movement’s Self-Respect form of marriage where the bride and groom exchanged garlands, without a thaali (mangalsutra). The ceremony was performed specifically without Brahmin priests presiding. On January 14, 1948, she gave birth to the couple’s first and only child together – son Muthuvel Karunanidhi Muthu – and died soon after childbirth.
  • Dayalu Ammal (1948-2018) – In September 1948, he married Dayalu Ammal in a marriage arranged by his parents. They have 4 children –  3 sons named M. K. Alagiri (b. January 30, 1951), M. K. Stalin (b. March 1, 1953), and M. K. Tamilarasu and a daughter named M. K. Selvi. Alagiri and Stalin branched out as politicians and competed to be their father’s political successors while Tamilarasu went on to become a businessperson and film producer and campaigner for his father and his party and daughter Selvi also campaigned for her father’s elections. Dayalu Ammal died in 2018.
  • Rajathi Ammal (1966-2018) – He married Rajathi Ammal in 1966 and they remained together until his death in 2018. Their daughter Kanimozhi Karunanidhi was born on January 5, 1968.

    • Race / Ethnicity

    Asian (Indian)

    Hair Color

    Salt and Pepper

    Eye Color

    Dark Brown

    Sexual Orientation

    Straight

    Distinctive Features

    His trademark dark glasses

    Religion

    Atheism

    Muthuvel Karunanidhi (Left) meeting Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia to finalize plan for the current financial year in New Delhi on June 6, 2006 (Government of India / Press Information Bureau on behalf of Planning Commission / Government Open Data License – India (GODL))

    Muthuvel Karunanidhi Facts

  • During the Anti-Hindi agitation of 1937–40, he formed a student movement against the imposition of Hindi as India’s national language. He was 14 years old at that time.
  • He has authored many books including Sanga Thamizh, Thirukkural Urai, Ponnar Sankar, Romapuri Pandian, Thenpandi Singam, Iniyavai Irubathu, and Kuraloviam.

    • Featured Image by Government of Tamil Nadu / assembly.tn.gov.in / CC BY-SA 4.0

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