DMK founder and former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai, whose death anniversary was observed on February 3, was known for his intellectual calibre as much as for his oratorical and writing skills. In 1968, Annadurai, who had the previous year been elected as the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, had visited the United States and Japan.
On his return, he spoke in detail about his tour to the All India Radio (AIR). This interview offers glimpses into his intellectual calibre and sharp understanding of economics, agriculture, Five-Year Plans and labour-oriented industrial development, and making use of the manpower available in India. The interview also sparks a feeling of what would have been the course of Tamil Nadu’s history, had he lived long to give shape to his ideas. At a time when India is gripped with nationalistic fervour and frenzied sloganeering, the suggestion made by Anna, as he was fondly called, to emulate the Japanese has resonances for the country. The patriotism of the Japanese, he says in the interview, is not confined to singing the national anthem or parades or flag hoisting, but to work, work, and work alone.
