Chennai: Murasoli Maran, the "conscience-keeper' of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president M Karunanidhi and the think-tank of the party, was a great votary of liberalisation and economic reforms and was considered the eyes and ears of the party in Delhi for nearly four decades.

A nephew of Karunanidhi, Maran wielded tremendous clout in the party and influence over his uncle, so much so that nothing relating to DMK in Delhi moved without his concurrence.

Considered a performing minister, Maran was a member of all coalition Governments that were formed at the Centre in which DMK was an alliance partner.

He was Minister in the National Front Government headed by V P Singh in 1989-90, in the United Front Government of H D Deve Gowda and I K Gujral in 1996-97 and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee from 1999.

Born on June 17, 1932, at Tirukuvalai village in Tanjavur district, Maran had his early education at Tiruvarur and obtained a post-graduate degree from Pachiyappa's College in Chennai.

Influenced by Karunanidhi who was attracted to the Dravidian cause at his early age, Maran ventured into politics and even changed his original name from Thiyagaraja Sundaram to Nedumaran. He was popularly known as Murasoli Maran.

Maran started his career as a film dialogue writer in 1956 and came a long way up in his public life. He was the editor of DMK mouthpiece 'Murasoli' from 1967.

He shot into limelight when he won the by-election to Lok Sabha in 1967 from South Madras. The by-election was necessitated following the resignation of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK founder C N Annadurai who took over as the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

He was fortunate enough in having Rajaji, Annadurai and IUML leader Mohammed Ismail as his proposers in the nominations for the by-poll. He never looked back from then on.

Maran was arrested during the anti-Hindi agitation in 1965 and was a MISA detenue during the Emergency. During his detention, he suffered physical injuries and deposed before the Ismail Commission of Inquiry which probed the jail excesses.

He was elected to Lok Sabha in 1967 and 1971. During the 1977 Lok Sabha polls, he was defeated by former President R Venkataraman, the Congress nominee for South Madras, and was subsequently elected to Rajya Sabha.

He was again elected to Lok Sabha in 1996, 1998 and 1999 from Central Madras.

PTI