Durga Stalin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Durga Stalin | |
|---|---|
 Durga in 2021 | |
| Spouse of the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu | |
| Assumed office 7 May 2021 | |
| Chief Minister | M. K. Stalin |
| Preceded by | Radha Palaniswami |
| Spouse of the Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu | |
| In office 29 May 2009 – 15 May 2011 | |
| Deputy Chief Minister | M. K. Stalin |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | P. Vijayalakshmi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Shantha[1] 12 March 1955[2] Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Party | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 (including Udhayanidhi) |
| Relatives | Karunanidhi family (by marriage) |
| Occupation |
|
Durga Stalin[3] (born Shantha; 12 March 1955) is an Indian writer serving as the Spouse of the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu since 2021 as the wife of M. K. Stalin, the 8th chief minister of Tamil Nadu. She had previously been the Spouse of deputy chief minister of Tamil Nadu from 2009 to 2011, when her husband was deputy chief minister under chief minister M. Karunanidhi.
Durga was born as Shantha on 12 March 1955 in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India to a normal working middle class Hindu speaking Tamil family. She was the oldest daughter in her family and she had two younger sisters.[4] Her father who was a school teacher died in 1969 when Durga was just aged 14. Durga was initially an active member in the party All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) which was ran by J. Jayalalithaa since her childhood.[5][6]
Writing career
Durga Stalin started her career as an writer and author and has published more than 15 books in her native language Tamil, which are taught in schools all over India.[7][8] Most of her books are based about real life incidents and events that happened among the members in the Karunanidhi family.[9][10][11]
Tenure as Spouse of the Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (2009–2011)
On 29 May 2009, the Governor of Tamil Nadu Surjit Singh Barnala appointed her husband M. K. Stalin as the state's deputy chief minister.[12] During her tenure, on 23 February 2011, the Government of Tamil Nadu received a special award for the best state among the largest states in India, and the diamond state award for best state in civil safety, drinking water and sanitation, and women's development.[13] The state also won the most number of Nirmal Gram Awards for its exceptional role in maintaining sanitation in villages during her tenure.[14][15]
Case against Junior Vikatan Magazine (2019)
In 2019, Durga sued the weekly magazine company Ananda Vikatan over a 'defamatory' article in their Tamil magazine Junior Vikatan. Durga called the article 'entirely false, misleading, malicious and highly defamatory'. She also took legal action against the publishers and editors of the magazine if they do not tender an unconditional public apology, retract the article are required pay Rs 10 crore within 48 hours (to be used for charitable purposes) and disclose the source for the article.[16][17]
