Tale of Sun and sons: All about the Maran brothers and their link to 'Kalaignar' Karunanidhi
The 22-year-old alleged feud between the powerful Maran brothers is in the limelight after DMK Lok Sabha MP
Dayanidhi Maran
accused his brother
Kalanidhi Maran
of "financial crimes," and asked him to restore the entire shareholding position of
Sun TV
and related companies to their original state or face legal and regulatory action. The allegations, however, have been denied by the
Sun TV
through a stock exchange filing.
As per ET's report, the timing of the alleged transaction coincided with the death of the brothers' father, former Union minister Murasoli Maran. Dayanidhi's contention is that Kalanithi used this opportunity to gain 60% control in the company, up from zero. without informing or consulting the other key stakeholder, MK Dayalu, wife of Karunanidhi, who was representing the family.
Who are the Maran brothers?
Play Video
Pause
Skip Backward
Skip Forward
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
0:00
Loaded
:
0%
0:00
Stream Type
LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
1x
Playback Rate
Chapters
Chapters
Descriptions
descriptions off
, selected
Captions
captions settings
, opens captions settings dialog
captions off
, selected
Audio Track
default
, selected
Picture-in-Picture
Fullscreen
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text
Color
White
Black
Red
Green
Blue
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan
Opacity
Opaque
Semi-Transparent
Text Background
Color
Black
White
Red
Green
Blue
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan
Opacity
Opaque
Semi-Transparent
Transparent
Caption Area Background
Color
Black
White
Red
Green
Blue
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan
Opacity
Transparent
Semi-Transparent
Opaque
Font Size
50%
75%
100%
125%
150%
175%
200%
300%
400%
Text Edge Style
None
Raised
Depressed
Uniform
Drop shadow
Font Family
Proportional Sans-Serif
Monospace Sans-Serif
Proportional Serif
Monospace Serif
Casual
Script
Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values
Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
DMK Lok Sabha MP Dayanidhi Maran
Dayanidhi Maran, born on December 5, 1966, in Tamil Nadu's Kumbakonam, is a seasoned Indian politician and son of the late Union Minister Murasoli Maran. He pursued a B.A. in Economics from Loyola College, Chennai.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
An engineer reveals: 1 simple trick to get all TV channels
Techno Mag
Learn More
The DMK MP married Priya, who belongs to the family that owns and publishes The Hindu.
Maran first entered the political field through Lok Sabha polls of 2004 and has since served multiple terms. His ministerial stints include serving as the Union Cabinet Minister for Communications and Information Technology (2004–2007) and later for Textiles (2009–2011). Re-elected to the 17th Lok Sabha in 2019 and again in 2024 to the 18th Lok Sabha, he is currently a member of several key parliamentary committees including the Committees on Home Affairs, Estimates, and Business Advisory.
Live Events
However, his tenure was also marred by his alleged role in the 2G scam case. The CBI had alleged that Dayanidhi Maran, during the check period of June 2004 to December 2006, when he was the Union minister for communication and information technology, misused his office and installed a private telephone exchange at his residences in Chennai and used the facility for business transactions involving the Sun Network. It alleged that he had caused a loss of Rs 1.78 crore to the exchequer. More than 700 telecom lines were installed at their residences in Boat Club and Gopalapuram here, the agency charged. The former minister has been acquitted by the court.
Kalanidhi Maran
After dabbling in his family's modest publishing business, the older Maran brother launched now worth Rs 23,000-crore Sun TV Network in 1993. Over the years, the Sun has turned into a regional television heavyweight with 37 channels reaching more than 140 million households in India.
Kalanithi Maran holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Madras, Chennai and MBA from Scranton University, Pennsylvania, USA.
Kalanithi started the Tamil Sun TV channel in 1993 and built it into a sprawling media giant, encompassing multiple TV channels in south Indian languages as well as a film production house, taking advantage of connections with the state establishment, industry watchers told ET.
He married Kavery Maran, and they have a daughter, Kavya Maran, who is the head of the IPL team, Sunrisers Hyderabad and South Africa's SA20 team, Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
How Maran brothers are connected to Karunanidhi
The Marans were grandnephew of Karunanidhi, who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades. The reason behind Dayanidhi's entry in the cabinet has also been linked to Karunanidhi. It was seen that loved his nephew and Maran's father, Murasoli Maran, as much as his sons and that prompted the DMK leader to make Maran's younger son Dayanidhi a minister at the Centre in 2004 and 2009.
Karunanidhi, who completed 50 years as DMK chief in July, was among the few regional political chieftains who had been key decision-makers in national politics. Having won elections to the Tamil Nadu Assembly 13 times, Karunanidhi held the rare record of not having lost a poll since his first electoral victory in 1957. He was chief minister of the state five times.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
28 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Declare wild pigs as vermin in conflict zones, Kerala asks Centre in fresh appeal
Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran has once again written to Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav reiterating the State's key demands to address the increasing incidents of human-wildlife conflict in Kerala. The State's demands chiefly include an amendment to the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and the declaration of wild pigs as vermin, at least temporarily in identified hotspots. The renewed appeal comes in the light of a letter from the Union Ministry, explaining the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, particularly those pertaining to hunting animals listed under Schedules I and II. 'Limits powers' Arguing that these limited the powers of the Chief Wildlife Warden and hampered timely action, Mr. Saseendran also flagged the ambiguity in the definition of the term 'dangerous animal' in the Act. Highlighting the growing threats posed by wild animals in human habitats, he emphasised the impracticality of the current procedures. He pointed out that due to these constraints, the Forest department had been unable to act swiftly, thereby intensifying the conflict and endangering human lives and livelihoods. He also proposed simplifying the Standard Operating Procedures for eliminating dangerous animals. The State has also called for declaring wild pigs as vermin in villages identified as hotspots. 'Such a declaration, even if limited to a duration of six months, would greatly facilitate site-specific management of the species in these areas and contribute significantly to mitigate the ongoing human-wildlife conflicts,' the letter states. The government also renewed its demand for an assistance of ₹620 crore to implement preventive measures to tackle the unfolding crisis.
Hans India
29 minutes ago
- Hans India
Omar Abdullah deliberately politicising water sharing with Punjab: AAP
Chandigarh: The Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab on Friday questioned Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's remarks that 'we will not give water from the Indus River to Punjab' and accused him of deliberately politicising the issue. AAP spokesperson Neel Garg said the authority to decide on river waters lies with the Central government, and Omar Abdullah cannot take a unilateral decision on this matter. He emphasised that Punjab needs water and, therefore, Punjab should also get a share of the Indus River water, adding that during the war with Pakistan, the Indian government had decided to annul the Indus Water Treaty. 'Now, it is the Indian government's responsibility to appropriately distribute the remaining water and give Punjab its rightful share,' he said. Garg pointed out that like Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab is also a border state. 'Whenever war occurs, Punjab becomes the battleground. And when the country needs food grains, it becomes the granary of the nation. Now that there is water available, Punjab has a legitimate claim over it.' He highlighted that Punjab needs water today, as most of its regions have entered the dark zone. 'In the process of filling the nation's granaries, we have been deprived of our own water. Now that the Indus Water Treaty has been annulled, Punjab has the primary right over this water because it will not only bring relief to our barren lands but also boost our agriculture. When farmers prosper, the nation prospers,' he said. Garg added that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also stated, after the annulment of the Indus Treaty, that Punjab should receive a share of the water that is being prevented from flowing to Pakistan. 'Therefore, the government of India must consider this matter,' he said. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) also expressed surprise at Omar Abdullah's statement. In a statement, former Minister and senior SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema said what Omar Abdullah was demanding was another attempt to do injustice to Punjab. He said that while filling the food bowl of the country, Punjab had lost its groundwater, which had fallen to alarming levels. He said the quantity of water in rivers had also gone down substantially, adding that the farmers of Punjab had taken huge debt on their shoulders to fulfil the food requirement of the country. Earlier, speaking on constructing a canal by the government of India to divert excess water from three rivers of the Indus system in Jammu and Kashmir to Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan, Chief Minister Abdullah cited the 45-year-old Shahpur Kandi barrage dispute with Punjab and asked, 'Did they give us water?'
The Hindu
33 minutes ago
- The Hindu
English 'empowering' not 'shameful', must be taught to children: Rahul
English is "empowering", not "shameful", and must be taught to every child, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Friday (June 20, 2025) and alleged that the BJP-RSS don't want poor children to learn this language because they don't want them to ask questions and attain equality. Mr. Gandhi's comments came a day after Home Minister Amit Shah's reported remarks on English. In a post in Hindi on X, Mr. Gandhi said, "English is not a dam, it is a bridge. English is not shameful, it is empowering. English is not a chain -- it is a tool to break the chains." "The BJP-RSS don't want poor kids of India to learn English - because they don't want you to ask questions, move ahead, and attain equality," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said. In today's world, English is as important as one's mother tongue because it will provide employment and boost one's confidence, Mr. Gandhi said. "Every language of India has soul, culture, knowledge. We have to cherish them -- and at the same time teach English to every child. This is the path to an India that competes with the world, that gives every child an equal opportunity," the former Congress president said.
