Assembly records from 1978 confirm M.K. Stalin was a MISA detenu during Emergency

Legislative records from 1978 have reinforced that DMK president and former Chief Minister M.K. Stalin was among the political detenus held under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during the Emergency.

The evidence lies in the debates on the report of the Commission headed by Justice M.M. Ismail, then a judge of the Madras High Court. The Commission was constituted in May 1977, during President's Rule, to inquire into allegations of beating and ill-treatment at the Central Prison, Madras, between February 1976 and February 1977.

Eighty-eight prisoners were detained at the prison under MISA. Among the prominent detenus were Stalin, Dravidar Kazhagam leader K. Veeramani, former MLA and later Minister Arcot N. Veerasamy, DMK leader Murasoli Maran and the then MP Chittibabu. The allegation was that several detenus, including Stalin, arrested soon after the dismissal of the M. Karunanidhi government, were severely beaten on arrival at the prison.

By the time the Commission submitted its report to the Tamil Nadu government in September 1977, the AIADMK government led by M.G. Ramachandran had assumed office.

On March 31, 1978, Minister C. Aranganayagam moved a government resolution in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council to discuss the Ismail Commission Report and the allegations of attacks on political detenus. Veerasamy spoke for over an hour, describing the assault on the MISA detenus inside the prison.

Detailed discussions followed in the Legislative Assembly on April 6 and 7. On the second day, the then Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi spoke at length about the arrest of political party functionaries after his government was dismissed on January 31, 1976. The typed text of his speech ran to nearly 15 pages.

Karunanidhi recounted how relatives of the MISA prisoners were denied permission to meet them at Madras Central Jail even nearly four weeks after their detention. On February 26, 1976, he sent a telegram to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi stating that interviews for relatives of DMK MISA detenus had not been granted for 26 days and that the detenus were understood to have been mercilessly beaten inside the prison. He sought immediate intervention to prevent ill-treatment and to secure permission for meetings.

The next day, he wrote to the President about the attack and the poor prison conditions, expressing hope that the treatment of political prisoners, described as worse than that of those convicted of murder, would not be accepted. A day later, he telephoned Inspector General of Police F.V. Arul and threatened to fast outside the jail if family members were not allowed to meet the prisoners by 1 p.m. the following day. It was after this that the authorities permitted the meetings.

Karunanidhi recalled his emotional meeting with his 23-year-old son Stalin, with few words exchanged as police watched over the inmates.

He also used the occasion to have key extracts from the prison diary of the late Chittibabu, whose health had deteriorated after the assault by prison staff, entered into the Assembly records. Referring to the discussion on the diary, Karunanidhi asked whether Chittibabu had written it anticipating such circumstances, and whether anyone doubted the diary of a man known to be a close friend, an efficient Mayor of Chennai and a praised MP. He said Chittibabu could not have anticipated the constitution of the Ismail Commission or that the diary would serve as evidence.

Responding to a demand by CPI(M) MLA Govindarasan for Rs. 5 lakh compensation to Chittibabu's family, Karunanidhi said even that was not required, and that placing the diary of "that great warrior" in the records of the House would be the greatest honour. He then read out key excerpts, including an account of how Surulirajan, a jail warder, placed his boots on the face of Stalin, who had fallen inside the prison cell.

Other prominent MISA detenus in the country who maintained jail diaries included the Gandhian leader Jayaprakash Narayan and actor Snehalatha Reddy, who, like Chittibabu, died after being released from detention in Bangalore.

A day earlier in the Assembly, Government Whip Durai Govindarajan cited a speech by another member, Jebamani, also a MISA detenu, and wondered whether the latter was hinting at something deeper when he said a son might face a situation where he would have to take punishment for mistakes committed by his father. Former Minister K. Anbazhagan intervened, saying it was improper for the Government Whip to make statements with an inner meaning. Jebamani responded that he had not made the statement with any ulterior meaning. The Government Whip then said he had only made a general statement and had not said it was right to beat Stalin in the cell. Anbazhagan contended that Jebamani's speech and Govindarajan's statement appeared to convey that Stalin was imprisoned and beaten because he was the son of the former Chief Minister.