Karunanidhi funded several schools in Mumbai

MUMBAI: Thirty-five years ago, when Tamil children in Mumbai were deprived of proper education opportunities, especially in slum areas of the city, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief M. Karunanidhi — who passed away on Tuesday — chipped in, funding several schools for the welfare of the people.

In the early 1980s, there were few Tamil-medium schools in the city. According to the members of DMK’s Mumbai unit, when Karunanidhi learned about the issue, he immediately made arrangements for the welfare of the Tamil-speaking masses of Mumbai.  

Remembering those days, Kumana Rajan, who served as the joint secretary of DMK Mumbai unit for 12 years, said, “In the early 1980s when the school lacked basic facilities like infrastructure and public health, he voluntarily provided funds for infrastructure and libraries of schools in areas such as Dharavi for the Tamil community people. Rajan is currently the editor-in-chief of a city-based Tamil magazine, Tamil Lemuriya.

R. Palaniswamy, the DMK Mumbai unit in-charge, said, “Due to his proactive support, our branch got enough funds which not only helped us build a Dharavi-based school, but also purchase office space and books for the school library,”   

Several schools like South Indian Welfare and many others were completely funded by the deceased DMK chief and are still functioning for the betterment of the community. “We will ensure that the schools function in the future too as it was his initiative,” another member said.

On Wednesday, the veteran leader’s supporters gathered at Sion-Koliwada where they paid rich tribute to Karunanidhi.