The Rising Sun - Symbolizing a New Dawn

Politics is a continuum where allegiances, and ideological loyalties keep changing with time, but memories of episodes with personal connections do always linger!

The year was 1947, and C.N.Anna Durai and his supporters had split from their parent reformist socio-political organization 'Dravidar Kazhagam' (DK). In order to take to electoral politics, they formed the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) the same year. After a decade of groundwork, in 1957, the DMK was contesting its first election. Its candidates were contesting as independents with different symbols as was the practice with non-recognized parties back then. Among the many symbols allocated to the independents, the DMK candidate from the Tiruvadanai Constituency in the erstwhile Greater Ramanathapuram district was allocated the 'Rising Sun' - It was my grandfather Rama Vellaiyan.

1971 Campaign Trail

M Karunanthi & Rama Vellaiyan  

Like most DMK contestants in that 1957 election, my grandfather too lost, but the symbol stayed. The randomly allocated symbol had little significance back then, but considering the implicit message that it carried, the DMK demanded its permanent allocation to the party. In the subsequent elections, the 'Rising Sun' was given to the DMK as its official symbol, ushering in a new dawn in Tamil Nadu's politics both literally and figuratively.

Popularizing the new Symbol - 1958

Handouts for a party skit at Devakottai

It is now more than 5 decades since the DMK became the pivotal pole in the state's polity, which has definitely been an era of welfarism with strong emphasis on social justice, economic empowerment, linguistic equity and industrialization. My grandfather never got to contest an Assembly election again due to coalition compulsions, but he held the Municipal Chairmanship for almost a decade and enjoyed an outsized clout within the party organization. In 1982, he died in his early 50s, and my family had become largely apolitical ever since. 

Currently, the ideological drive of the Dravidian movement has mellowed down considerably, but the zeal of the welfarism that it has ushered in has only got stronger with each successive government that has taken office. Considering the progress made over the years, I do take great pride in my family's contribution to the fight for an egalitarian and progressive Tamil society and the distinction that my grandfather holds as the first DMK contestant on the iconic 'Rising Sun' ticket.