Former TN CM Karunanidhi's books nationalised

Chennai, Aug 22 (PTI) The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday announced that all works of late Chief Minister and Dravidian stalwart M Karunanidhi have been nationalised without royalty.

The move comes on the birth centenary celebrations of the five-time chief minister who left an indelible mark in politics, literature, films, and other fields.

Recently, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh released a Rs 100 commemorative coin to mark the centenary celebrations.

"Chief Minister M K Stalin has ordered the nationalisation of all works of Muthamizh Aringar Kalaignar (as Karunanidhi is fondly addressed), a leader who toiled for social justice, who fought for the oppressed, gave classical language status to Tamil, who won the hearts of the people through his writings and speeches, without any royalties," an official release here said.

So far, the government has nationalised the books of 179 Tamil scholars and extended a royalty of Rs 14.42 crore to their heirs, the release said.

Karunanidhi's voluminous contribution spans several decades during which he scripted screenplays for 75 films, wrote 15 novels, 20 dramas, 15 short stories besides 210 poems. In addition, he penned numerous articles and editorials for magazines, and wrote six volumes of biography. His speeches made in the state Assembly from 1957 to 2018 have been published in 12 volumes.

In his lifetime, he nationalised the literary works of 108 Tamil scholars and ensured Rs 7.76 crore loyalties to their heirs.

"The nationalisation of his books will provide Tamils across the world a rare opportunity to read his works," the release said. PTI JSP KH