Explained : When E.V.K. Sampath hit the headlines in Tamil Nadu and Its Impact

It was not without a reason that E.V.K. Sampath (1926-1977), one of the founding members of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), who later became a prominent leader of the Congress, was called Sollin Selvar or the master of words. “The gifted Sampath enjoyed a special relationship with Anna [DMK founder-leader C.N. Annadurai]. Seventeen years younger, he was sharp, a wee extra principled and widely read”. This was how diplomat-turned-political writer R. Kannan began a chapter in his book The DMK Years.

In fact, at one stage, Sampath regarded the practice of giving titles for politicians as “vulgar”. He was quicker than many of his contemporaries in acquiring a larger world-view. Despite being a first-time Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha), that too representing the DMK, which had only two MPs in the House and stood then for secession, Sampath could strike a rapport swiftly with the then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. In a sense, he was ahead of Annadurai in realising the futility of pursuing the demand for a Dravida Nadu, a separate State, under the Indian constitutional framework. It was another matter that he did not and could not become as successful as Annadurai or M. Karunanidhi. Sampath’s birth centenary falls on March 6, 2026.

Split in Dravidar Kazhagam

At the time of the split in the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) in 1949, Sampath, a nephew of DK founder E.V. Ramasamy, threw his lot with rebels and went along with Annadurai, who formed the DMK. Considered a promising face in the fledgling party, Sampath was made president of the district-level conference held in Madurai in June 1950. Mr. Kannan records that he also donned roles in plays staged for raising funds for the party. He acquired greater prominence when he was chosen by the party to lead a demonstration against the Education Scheme, launched by the Congress government headed by C. Rajagopalachari, in July 1953. Though he was arrested before the picketing was to begin, he was imprisoned for three months in connection with the agitation.

In the DMK’s maiden electoral attempt in 1957, Sampath and R. Dharmalingam were elected from Namakkal and Tiruvannamalai respectively. His exposure to politics in New Delhi was said to have caused changes in his outlook and approach. As a parliamentarian, Sampath went to the erstwhile Soviet Union in September 1958. It was then that he decided that his party should revisit its position on the demand for Dravida Nadu. According to Mr. Kannan, when he broached the topic with his colleagues, Annadurai responded that he knew it from the beginning when E.V. Ramasamy had proposed the idea (page 81, The DMK Years). However, the DMK founder counselled patience on Sampath’s part.

Sampath’s stock went up when Nehru wrote a letter to him in August 1960 in the wake of the DMK’s plan to hold an agitation during the visit of President Rajendra Prasad to the State. In the letter, the Prime Minister reiterated his position that his government would not go back on the assurances given on the language question ( imposition-of-hindi-3-august-1960-ql5qz). Subsequently, the agitation plan was given up.

Five months later, Sampath, who had by then become the chairman of the presidium of the party, had quit the party post, according to The Hindu’s report on January 25, 1961. The differences deepened when the party’s general council met in Vellore a couple of days earlier to resolve them. Sampath’s grouse was against the “dictatorial attitude” of the top leadership of the party. Annadurai, in his response, acknowledged that “some groups” were formed during the last two years within the party following differences of opinion regarding the adoption of democratic methods in implementing their policies. Actually, the offer of resignation was made at the party’s executive committee meeting in Vellore during January 21-22 and it was accepted then, according to another report of this newspaper on January 26, 1961.

A month later, Sampath went on a fast that lasted three days with a view to “arresting the growing indiscipline among the partymen” and bringing about unity among the rank and file of the party. He broke the fast on February 25 following Annadurai’s assurance that every effort would be made to root out evil elements in the organisation, reported The Hindu next day. But peace did not last long. On April 9, Sampath, along with his supporters including poet Kannadasan, Chennai Mayor V. Munuswamy and the party’s Chennai district secretary Manivannan, decided to quit the DMK.

‘Daydream’

The differences ranged from “organisational purification to political re-thinking”. A few days later, addressing a public meeting in Coimbatore, Annadurai declared, “The doors of the D.M.K. are open to all.” Karunanidhi, in the first volume of his autobiography Nenjukku Needhi, recalls that Annadurai, in his detailed statement on April 18, had stated that the Sampath should remember his oft-repeated words that the differences were “only ordinary and not on ideological matters”. Sampath not only spurned his offer but also termed the then core demand of the DMK — Dravida Nadu — as a “daydream” and “outmoded”, The Hindu reported on April 21, 1961. Immediately after his departure from the DMK, Sampath founded the Tamil National Party before merging it with the Congress. All his subsequent attempts to re-enter the Lok Sabha ended in failure.

At the time of his death in February 1977, he held the post of vice-president of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC). One of his sons, E.V.K.S. Elangovan, served as the TNCC chief for two terms and a Member of the Tamil Nadu Assembly. He also held the post of Union Minister of State in the first United Progressive Alliance government (2004-09). 

Published – January 23, 2026 06:07 am IST