Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Thursday announced that a statue of German philosopher and socialist leader Karl Marx will be installed in Chennai – a city that has served as a hub for the labour movement for over a century.
Making a suo motu announcement under Rule 110 in the Assembly, Stalin said: “The Dravidian model government wishes to honour and pay tribute to the great global leader Karl Marx – a visionary thinker and revolutionary who formulated the philosophy of communism and gave the call: ‘Workers of the world, unite!’”
The announcement comes against the backdrop of the ongoing 24th National Congress of the Communist Party of India-Marxist in the state’s Madurai, which Stalin is scheduled to attend.
Stalin hailed Marx as one of the most influential thinkers in world history, whose ideas laid the foundation for numerous revolutions and societal changes across the globe.
“At a time when no one wrote about India, it was Karl Marx who accurately analysed and documented the realities of the country,” he said.
The Chief Minister also recalled that in 1931, social reformer Periyar (E.V. Ramasamy) translated and published “The Communist Manifesto”, authored by Marx and Friedrich Engels, into Tamil.
The announcement was widely welcomed by several political parties.
CPI-M state Secretary P. Shanmugam revealed that the party’s executive committee had formally requested the installation of a Marx statue and thanked Stalin for fulfilling their request. Dravidar Kazhagam President K. Veeramani described the decision as a “significant achievement of the Dravidian model government”. CPI State Secretary R. Mutharasan said the government’s move would be remembered as a landmark in history. PMK founder Dr. S. Ramadoss called it a fitting tribute to Marx, “a comrade of labourers” and one of the world’s most respected leaders.
In the same announcement, Stalin also revealed that the state government would construct a memorial building for the late All India Forward Bloc leader P.K. Mookiah Thevar at Usilampatti in Madurai district.
The Chief Minister praised Mookiah Thevar for his early entry into politics and his close association with Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar. Stalin recounted that Thevar was elected from the Periyakulam Assembly seat in 1952 and continued to win elections from the Usilampatti constituency in 1957, 1962, 1967, 1971, and 1977. In 1971, he also won the Ramanathapuram Lok Sabha seat. Stalin highlighted Thevar’s role during the 1967 political transition in Tamil Nadu, where he served as the pro-tem Speaker and administered the oath to newly elected MLAs. He also lauded Thevar’s efforts in establishing educational institutions for the Thevar community, which resulted in government colleges being set up in Kamuthi, Usilampatti, and Melaneelithanallur during the DMK regime.
Mookiah Thevar’s strong opposition in Parliament to the Katchatheevu agreement was also remembered by Stalin. All parties in the Assembly, including the principal opposition AIADMK, welcomed the Chief Minister’s announcements.
(IANS)
