Kanimozhi

For the 2010 Tamil film, see Kanimozhi (film).
M K Kanimozhi
M. K. Kanimozhi
Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha)
Constituency Tamil Nadu
Personal details
Born January 5, 1968
Chennai, India
Political party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Spouse(s) Athiban Bose (1989–1997)[1] G. Aravindaan (1997-Present)
Children A.A.R.Aditya
Residence Chennai
Religion None
In this Indian name, the name Karunanidhi is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Kanimozhi.

Kanimozhi Karunanidhi (born 1968 in Chennai) is a politician, poet and journalist. She is a Member of Parliament, representing Tamil Nadu in the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of India's Parliament).[2] Kanimozhi is the daughter of the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu Karunanidhi and his third wife Rajathi Ammal.

Kanimozhi belongs to the Indian Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) political party, where she functions as the chief of the DMK’s wing for Art, Literature and Rationalism and is seen as her father's "literary heir".[3] Her half-brothers M.K. Alagiri and M. K. Stalin are the former Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers[Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers (India)] and the former Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu respectively.

Early life

Before her entry into politics, Kanimozhi was involved in journalism, such as sub editor for The Hindu, editor in charge of Kungumam (a Tamil weekly magazine belonging to the Sun group), and a features editor for a Singapore-based Tamil newspaper called Tamil Murasu.[3]

Kanimozhi has also written Tamil poetry.

Interests

Kanimozhi has been known to support pan-Tamil issues.[4] She takes part in organizing women empowerment programs[5] and is interested in the welfare of differently abled people and transgender people. In 2005, with Karthi Chidambaram, she founded a portal supporting free speech and has worked with a spiritual guide in south India.[6]

In 2007, Kanimozhi conceived the idea of the Chennai Sangamam, an annual open Tamil cultural festival, usually held during the Pongal season.

Job fairs

She spearheads[7] DMK efforts to organize job fairs, under the banner 'Kalaignar 85' across rural Tamil Nadu to facilitate employment opportunities for young people in smaller cities, towns and villages.[3] Begun as a small employment drive to mark the birthday of DMK President Kalaignar Karunanidhi in June 2008 at Kariyapatti (a village in Virudhunagar District) job fairs have provided jobs to about 70,000 unemployed youth spread across five districts. Places it has been held include Nagercoil, Vellore, Udhagamandalam, Virudhunagar, Cuddalore, Tiruchirapalli and Tirunelveli. She plans to conduct similar fairs all over Tamil Nadu.[8]

Literary works

Singing career

Kanimozhi has worked on a production titled Silappadikaram based on a Tamil epic of the same name with Bombay Jayashri.[10]

Personal life

Kanimozhi was a student of Presentation Convent, Church Park in Chennai and later did her Masters in Economics in Ethiraj College for Women from the Madras University.[3] She has been married twice; firstly in 1989 to Athiban Bose, a businessman from Sivakasi, and then to G. Aravindaan, a Singapore-based Tamil writer, in 1997.[11]

2G spectrum Scam

As per the chargesheet filed by CBI, Kanimozhi has 20% stake in her family-owned Kalaignar TV; her step-mother Dayalu Ammal owns 60% stake in the same channel. CBI alleges that Kanimozhi was an "active brain" behind the channel's operations and she worked with former telecom minister A. Raja to get DB realty promoter Shahid Balwa to circuitously route 200 crore (US$36.2 million) to Kalaignar TV. According to CBI, Kanimozhi was in regular touch with A Raja regarding launching of Kalaignar TV channel and its other pending works. CBI alleges that A Raja was further pursuing the cause of Kalaignar TV to get registration of the company from Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and for getting it in the DTH operator TATA Sky's bouquet. She was also summoned by the Income Tax Department, Chennai for alleged tax evasion charges. Kanimozhi is daughter of M. Karunanidhi. Kanimozhi has defended herself by arguing that she is only a 20% shareholder in the company, who has no involvement in the financial aspects or the liability of a director.[12]

During the course of the trial, Kanimozhi's name has been cleared by at least one witness who has deposed that she had no involvement in the day-to-day affairs of Kalaignar TV and that she was initially reluctant to join the management of the channel. It was also admitted in court that Kanimozhi resigned from Kalaignar TV Board after only two weeks to become a Member of Parliament.

References

  1. ↑ "The Big and Mighty Karuna family". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  2. ↑ "Detailed Profile: Smt. Kanimozhi". Govt. of India. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Kanimozhi: A poetess politician in trouble". Sify.com. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  4. ↑ Kanimozhi the rising daughter in Tamil Nadu?. Dnaindia.com (2007-03-07). Retrieved on 2012-03-27.
  5. ↑ "Fight against injustice, Kanimozhi tells women". The Hindu (Chennai, India). March 24, 2007. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  6. ↑ Karuthu. Karuthu. Retrieved on 2012-03-27.
  7. ↑ V. Mallady, Shastry (November 11, 2008). "Private companies urged to participate in rural job fairs". The Hindu (Chennai, India). Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  8. ↑ DMK job fairs a big draw in rural areas
  9. ↑ "Dravidian ideals will remain the central theme: Kanimozhi". The Hindu (Chennai, India). September 15, 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  10. ↑ Classic in a new idiom. Hinduonnet.com (2004-03-31). Retrieved on 2012-03-27.
  11. ↑ "A Wedding In The Family .....", Rediff News, retrieved 2010-12-09
  12. ↑ "I am not involved in day-to-day running of Kalaignar TV". The Times Of India.