Murasoli Maran (17 August 1934 – 23 November 2003) was an Indian politician and an important leader of the

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; DMK) is a political party based in the state of Tamil Nadu where it is currently the ruling party having a comfortable majority without coalition support and the union territory of Puducherry where it is curre ...

(DMK) party which was headed by his maternal uncle and mentor, M. Karunanidhi. A Member of Parliament for 36 years, he was made a Union Minister in three separate central governments, in charge of Urban Development in the V.P. Singh government, Industry in the Gowda and Gujral governments, and finally Commerce and Industry under Vajpayee. Apart from being a politician, Maran was a journalist and scriptwriter for films too.

Early life

Murasoli Maran was born on 17 August 1934 was son of Shanmugasundaram and Shanmugasundari, the elder sister of M. Karunanidhi. He was born at Thirukkuvalai Village Thiruvarur in Tamil Nadu. After completing his basic education in his hometown he headed to

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

to get a master's degree in Arts (M.A) from

Pachaiyappa's College Pachaiyappa's College is one of the oldest educational institutions in Chennai, in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In addition, it is the first sole Indian college in Madras Presidency. History Pachaiyappa's College, Chennai is the resul ...

and Law College, Madras. Before joining politics, Mr. Maran worked as a Journalist and later served as a social worker. Since his student life at Madras he was closely associated with the DMK. On 15 September 1963 he married Mallika and has two sons and a daughter. His younger son

Dayanidhi Maran Dayanidhi Murasoli Maran (born 5 December 1966) is an Indian politician and one of the prominent members of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party. He was elected thrice as a Member of Parliament to Lok Sabha from Chennai Central constituency during ...

was an MP (Ex-Union Minister) and his elder son

Kalanithi Maran Kalanithi Murasoli Maran is an Indian billionaire media mogul who is the chairman and founder of the Sun Group. He owns television channels, newspapers, weeklies, FM radio stations, DTH services, a cricket team (Sunrisers Hyderabad), and a mov ...

heads and owns the popular TV Network Sun TV. His daughter Anbukarasi Maran is a cardiologist. He was very vocal against Hindi being introduced in Tamil Nadu and for this he was arrested in 1965 during

anti-Hindi agitations The anti-Hindi-imposition agitations in Tamil Nadu were a series of agitations that happened in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu (formerly Madras State and part of Madras Presidency) during both pre- and post-independence periods. The agitation ...

for his articles. He was detained for a year under

Maintenance of Internal Security Act The Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) was a controversial law passed by the Indian parliament in 1971 giving the administration of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Indian law enforcement agencies very broad powers – indefinite p ...

during the emergency.

Career as journalist

Maran edited a daily newspaper in Tamil '' Murasoli'' published from Chennai. He was also an editor of The Rising Sun, a weekly in English. He published ''Kunguman'', ''Muththaram'', ''Vannathirai'' and ''Sumangali'' in Tamil language.

Films

Murasoli Maran provided screen play and dialogues for more than twenty films in Tamil. He has produced five and directed two films in Tamil The Sangeet Natak Academy conferred the title ''Kalai-Mamani'' in 1975. He was awarded the President's Certificate of Merit and Tamil Nadu Government Award for three best feature films. ;Writer *''

Kula Dheivam Kula Deivam (or Kuladeivam) may refer to: * Kuladevata, ancestral tulery deity among a clan in Hindu community * ''Kula Deivam'' (1956 film), a 1956 Tamil film * '' Kula Daivam'', a 1960 Telugu film * ''Kula Deivam'' (TV series), a Tamil TV serie ...

'' (1957) *''

Annaiyin Aanai ''Annaiyin Aanai'' () is a 1958 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Ch. Narayana Murthy, starring Sivaji Ganesan and Savitri. The film was released on 4 July 1958, and won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil. Plot ...

'' (1958) *''

Anbu Engey ''Anbu Engey'' () is a 1958 Indian Tamil-language drama film, directed by D. Yoganand and produced by V. Govindarajan. Its story was written by Murasoli Maran and screenplay by Rajendra. The film stars S. S. Rajendran, K. Balaji, Pandari Bai ...

'' (1958) *'' Thalai Koduthaan Thambi'' (1959) *''

Sahodhari ''Sahodari'' (also written as ''Sahodhari'') () is a 1959 Indian Tamil language film directed by A. Bhimsingh, starring K. Balaji, Rajasulochana, Prem Nazir, Devika and J. P. Chandrababu. It was released on 11 December 1959. Plot Pazhani h ...

'' (1959) *''

Nalla Theerpu ''Nalla Theerpu'' () is a 1959 Indian Tamil-language legal drama film directed by T. Prakash Rao and written by Murasoli Maran. The film stars Gemini Ganesan and Jamuna. It was released on 9 April 1963, and emerged a success. Plot A man who ...

'' (1959) *''

Engal Thangam ''Engal Thangam'' () is a 1970 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by Krishnan–Panju. The film stars M. G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa. It was released on 9 October 1970 and became a success, besides winning three Tamil Nadu State Film ...

'' (1970) ;Producer *''

Pillaiyo Pillai ''Pillaiyo Pillai'' () is 1972 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by Krishnan–Panju, produced by Murasoli Maran and written by M. Karunanidhi. The film stars M. K. Muthu (in dual role) in his debut film appearance alongside ...

'' (1972) *''

Marakka Mudiyumaa? ''Marakka Mudiyuma?'' () is a 1966 Indian Tamil-language drama film produced and directed by Murasoli Maran, and written by his uncle M. Karunanidhi. A remake of the Telugu film '' Santhanam'' (1955), it stars S. S. Rajendran, Devika, R. Muthur ...

(1966) ;Director * ''

'' (1966)

Positions held

* 1967: Elected to Lok Sabha * 1971: Re-elected to Lok Sabha * 1977–1995: Member, Rajya Sabha * 1977–1995: As a Member of Rajya Sabha he was on The Committee on Public Undertakings for three terms as a Member * 1980–1982: Member, General Purposes Committee * 1980–1982 and 1991-1995: Member, Public Accounts Committee * 1982–1983 and 1987-1988: Member, Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes * 1988–1989: Member, Committee on Subordinate Legislation * 1989-1990: Union Cabinet Minister, Urban Development * 1992–1993: Member, Joint Parliamentary Committee to enquire into irregularities in the securities and banking transactions * 1996: Elected to Lok Sabha (Eleventh) for the third time * 1996-1998: Union Cabinet Minister, Industry * 1998: Elected to Lok Sabha (Twelfth) for the fourth time * 1999: Elected to Lok Sabha (Thirteenth) for the fifth time * 1999-2002: Union Cabinet Minister, Industry As a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

his

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

would read as M.A., M.P. The MA was his Arts degree at the Pachayappas College. The MP signified his being the

Death

Murasoli Maran died aged 69 on 23 November 2003 at Apollo Hospital in Chennai. He was in

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

for many weeks. Before treatment at Apollo Hospital, on 14 November 2002, he was admitted to the Methodist Hospital in Houston,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, for ailments related to heart (

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM, or HOCM when obstructive) is a condition in which the heart becomes thickened without an obvious cause. The parts of the heart most commonly affected are the interventricular septum and the ventricles. This r ...

=HTCM=HCM) and kidney. At the time of his death he was a Cabinet Minister, Government of India, without any portfolio.Murasoli Maran dies after prolonged illness
Rediff.com (23 November 2003). Retrieved on 14 November 2018. Prime Minister Vajpayee, and an array of leaders attended his funeral in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

References

External links

Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maran, Murasoli 1934 births Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam politicians 2003 deaths Union Ministers from Tamil Nadu India MPs 1967–1970 India MPs 1971–1977 India MPs 1996–1997 India MPs 1998–1999 India MPs 1999–2004 Lok Sabha members from Tamil Nadu Rajya Sabha members from Tamil Nadu Karunanidhi family Politicians from Chennai People from Tiruvarur district Commerce and Industry Ministers of India