2009 - Perarignar Anna Centenary | Commemorative Coin

The 3rd commemorative coin for the year 2009 was issued to mark the Birth Centenary of Perarignar Anna. This coin marks the inaugural issue featuring a signature of the bust in the history of Republic India coinage.

Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai (15 September 1909 – 3 February 1969), popularly referred to as Anna or Arignar Anna (Anna the scholar) or Perarignar Anna, served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, marking a historic achievement as the first leader from a Dravidian party to hold this position. Notably, he was also the first non-Congress leader to form a majority government in independent India.

Recognized for his exceptional oratory skills, Annadurai was a distinguished writer in the Tamil language, scripting and acting in numerous plays, some of which were adapted into movies. An influential figure in Tamil politics, he utilized Tamil cinema extensively for political propaganda, a pioneering move among politicians from the Dravidian parties.

Beginning as a school teacher, Annadurai transitioned into the political landscape of the Madras Presidency as a journalist. With an allegiance to Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, he ascended as a prominent member of the Dravidar Kazhagam but eventually parted ways due to differences on issues like the creation of a separate Dravida Nadu state and the inclusion in the Indian Union.

In response to these differences, Annadurai established his own party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), initially aligning with the ideologies of the Dravidar Kazhagam. However, with changing national dynamics and the post-Sino-Indian war scenario in 1963, he abandoned the pursuit of an independent Dravida Nadu.

Leading various protests against the ruling Congress government, Annadurai faced imprisonment on multiple occasions, notably during the 1965 Madras anti-Hindi agitation, which garnered substantial support for his party. In the 1967 state elections, the DMK, under his leadership, secured a landslide victory. His cabinet, recognized as the youngest at that time in India, implemented progressive policies such as legalizing Self-respect marriages, enforcing a two-language policy, providing subsidies for rice, and renaming Madras State to Tamil Nadu.

Regrettably, Annadurai's term was cut short by cancer, and he passed away just two years into office. His funeral, witnessing the highest attendance to date, earned a Guinness record. Numerous institutions and organizations bear his name, and a splinter party launched by M. G. Ramachandran in 1972 was named Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in his honor.

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