The DMK Years - Ascent, Descent, Survival

On 17 September 1949, C.N. Annadurai (Anna) founded the DMK after his split with Periyar E.V. Ramaswamy. The DMK slowly but surely caught the imagination of the Tamil masses. In 1962, faced with the prospect of a ban, the party shed its separatist agenda and in 1967, the DMK attained power for the first time in Tamil Nadu. Since then, it has remained a potent political force, first under M. Karunanidhi and recently under M.K. Stalin, who succeeded him. Weathering many a political storm, including the 1972 split when its mascot, M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) broke away levelling corruption charges, its ejection from power in 1976 during the Emergency, the second dismissal in 1991 for its alleged dalliance with the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka, and the debilitating split in 1993, the party has proved resilient.