The reason is that he will be bidding farewell at a time when the movement has lost much of its earlier élan. If it could survive the deaths of Annadurai in 1969 and M.G. Ramachandran in 1987 without losing ground in Tamil Nadu, it was because the original momentum of the anti-Brahmin and anti-north Indian campaign had not been undermined by the decline in the calibre of the leaders and the dilution of the ideology.

Although Karunanidhi's reputation had taken a hit because of his quite unabashed promotion of his family members, he still had enough of the earlier charisma to sustain the DMK's influence. Even then, the fact that the party was losing ground was evident from its dependence on the Congress to remain in power after the last election.

Rahul Gandhi's recent visit to the state when he pointedly refrained from meeting the DMK chief was an indication that the Congress was hoping to fill the vacuum, which was developing because of the gradual erosion of the DMK's influence and the inability of the AIADMK to grow.

There is little doubt that once Karunanidhi retreats into the background, his party will be in considerable trouble. Although the chief minister had made clear his intention to retire by nominating his son, M.K. Stalin, as his successor in Tamil Nadu, the latter cannot expect an untroubled tenure. Even if his sister, Kanimozhi, lies low for the time being, his elder brother, A.K. Azhagiri, is unlikely to quietly accept Stalin's leadership in the state.

It was apparently to keep the two at a distance that Karunanidhi was so insistent on Azhagiri's appointment to the Union Cabinet. But the ploy does not seem to have worked, for Azhagiri has proved to be a fish out of water in north India. It isn't only the inability of the Hindiwallahs to pronounce the “zh” in his name which has opened up a communication gap. Even his generous offer that the “zh” can be replaced by “l” hasn't been of much help because of his inability to speak either Hindi or English.

As a result, Azhagiri aka Alagiri has been unable to answer questions relating to his ministry. Since the House could not accept his demand to be allowed to speak in Tamil because of the lack of translation facilities, it is the minister of state who answers the MPs during Question Hour.

But it isn't Azhagiri's absence from Parliament which is his sole claim to fame. His past is not exactly a glorious one. He was implicated, for instance, in an attack on the offices of the Tamil newspaper, Dinakaran, in Madurai for having published a survey predicting Stalin's rise to the top. A few years earlier, Azhagiri also became involved in a murder case involving a politician who was said to be close to Stalin.

Given this kind of sibling rivalry, it is difficult to predict a smooth sailing for the DMK after Karunanidhi's retirement. Even if Karunanidhi ensures from behind the scenes that Azhagiri does not make too much trouble for Stalin, the latter lacks his father's oratorical skills and personal popularity to provide inspirational leadership.

Besides, sensing an opportunity to revive her fading fortunes, the AIADMK's Jayalalithaa is bound to make a fresh bid for power, perhaps in the company of Vaiko, a former rising star of the DMK, who had left the party because he knew that Stalin will outshine him with Karunanidhi's help.

But, apart from these personality flaws and conflicting personal equations, what may undermine the Dravidian movement is the fact that the circumstances have changed from the time when it captured the popular imagination. The secessionist sentiments, which were abjured only during the Chinese invasion of 1962, and the even more potent anti-Hindi mindset, are no longer relevant.

Generations have grown up who have travelled more widely than their parents or grandparents did while their exposure to Bollywood has taken the edge of their antipathy towards the north Indian language. There is also no possibility of the Centre imposing Hindi on the state, as there was in the 1950s till Jawaharlal Nehru's assurance in 1959 that English will remain the main link language as long as the non-Hindi speakers wanted.

When the DMK came to power in 1967 under Annadurai, it marked the beginning of a new trend in Indian politics with regional outfits ousting a national party like the Congress. Like the DMK in Tamil Nadu, the United Left Front came to power in West Bengal and the Samyukta Vidhayak Dals in the Hindi heartland. But as the signs of the DMK's and the AIADMK's decline along with the fading of the popularity of Lalu Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav show, the days of the regional parties may be coming to an end. (IPA Service)