Siddharth Darnal at 09:20, 26 March 2026

2026-03-26T09:20:12Z

New page

{{short description|Indian politician (born 1966)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image = Dayanidhi Maran.jpg
| name = Dayanidhi Maran
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1966|12|5|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Kumbakonam]], [[Madras State]], India<br> (now in [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]])
| death_date =
| death_place =
| office = [[Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha]]
| term_start = 23 May 2019
| term_end =
| predecessor = [[S. R. Vijayakumar]]
| term_start1 = 16 May 2004
| term_end1 = 16 May 2014
| constituency = [[Chennai Central (Lok Sabha constituency)|Chennai Central]]
| predecessor1 = [[Murasoli Maran]]
| successor1 = [[S. R. Vijayakumar]]
| constituency1 = [[Chennai Central (Lok Sabha constituency)|Chennai Central]]
| office2 = [[Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (India)|Minister of Communications and Information Technology]]
| term_start2 = 22 May 2004
| term_end2 = 16 May 2007
| predecessor2 = [[Arun Shourie]]
| successor2 = [[A. Raja]]
| primeminister2 = [[Manmohan Singh]]
| office3 = [[Ministry of Textiles (India)|Minister of Textiles]]
| term_start3 = 28 May 2009
| term_end3 = 12 July 2011
| predecessor3 = [[Shankersinh Vaghela]]
| successor3 = [[Anand Sharma]]
| primeminister3 = Manmohan Singh
| party = [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]]
| spouse = Priya Maran
| children = 2
| alma_mater = [[Loyola College, Chennai]]
| website = www.dmaran.in
| footnotes =
| date = 22 September|
| year = 2006|
| source = https://loksabha.nic.in/Members/MemberBioprofile.aspx?mpsno=4144&lastls=17
}}

'''Dayanidhi Murasoli Maran''' (born 5 December 1966) is an Indian politician and one of the prominent members of [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] party. He was elected four times as a [[Member of Parliament (India)|Member of Parliament]] to [[Lok Sabha]] from [[Chennai Central (Lok Sabha constituency)|Chennai Central constituency]] during the 2004 general elections, 2009 general elections, 2019 general elections and 2024 elections.

He is the son of former Union Minister [[Murasoli Maran]] and the [[Cousin chart|grandnephew]] of former [[Tamil Nadu Chief Minister]] and former DMK president [[M. Karunanidhi]]. He is the younger brother of Indian billionaire [[Kalanithi Maran]], the founder, chairman of [[Sun Group]] and of Sun Risers Hyderabad. He is married to Priya, and has a daughter and a son.

Maran has wide exposure in the fields of media, television, cable technology, political economy and management and has been a delegate at many international seminars and conferences in various countries.

==Early life==
Dayanidhi Maran is the second son of ex-minister [[Murasoli Maran]], who was the Commerce and Industrial minister of India. He is also the [[Cousin chart|grandnephew]] of DMK president and ex-chief minister of Tamil Nadu [[M. Karunanidhi]]. He is the younger brother of [[Kalanidhi Maran]], the founder and managing director of [[Sun Network]].

Maran studied at [[Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School|Don Bosco School, Egmore]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/don-bosco-alumni-regale-students-with-school-tales/articleshow/5428971.cms | title=Don Bosco alumni regale students with school tales | work=[[The Times of India]] | date=10 January 2010 | access-date=14 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2010/jan/10/bosco-boys-keep-a-date-with-nostalgia-159374.html | title=Bosco boys keep a date with nostalgia | publisher=The New Indian Express | date=10 January 2010 | access-date=14 March 2021}}</ref> He then graduated in economics from [[Loyola College, Chennai]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2010/aug/28/loyola-world-alumni-congress-begins-on-saturday-181799.html | title=Loyola World Alumni Congress begins on Saturday | publisher=The New Indian Express | date=28 August 2010 | access-date=14 March 2021}}</ref> He also attended the "Owner/President Management Programme" (OPM) from [[Harvard Business School]] (USA).<ref name="PMO">{{cite web|url=http://dmaran.nic.in/profile.htm |title=Dayanidhi Maran profile |date=13 May 2007 |publisher=National Informatics Centre |access-date=10 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130725034537/http://dmaran.nic.in/profile.htm |archive-date=25 July 2013 |df=dmy }}</ref> The Owner/President Management Programme is meant for business owners/founders.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Owner/President Management - Leadership - Programs - Executive Education - Harvard Business School|url=https://www.exed.hbs.edu/owner-president-management/|access-date=2021-03-17|website=HBS Executive Education}}</ref>

Maran is married to Priya of "The Hindu" family. Priya is the daughter of Ramesh Rangarajan, Director of Kasturi & Sons,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2011-06-13|title=The Marans: Dravida family's Brahmin side|url=https://currentnews.in/dravida-familys-brahmin-side/|access-date=2021-03-17|website=CurrentNews|language=en-US}}</ref> and the pair have a daughter and a son.

==Positions held==
{| class="wikitable"
! Period
! Position
|-
| 14 Aug. 2024 onwards
| Member of the Committee on Estimates
|-
| 18 Jul. 2024 onwards
| Member, Business Advisory Committee
|-
| June 2024
| Elected to [[18th Lok Sabha]]
|-
| June 2024 onwards
| Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Corporate Affairs
|-
| 13 Sept. 2019 onwards
| Member, Standing Committee on Home Affairs
|-
| 24 Jul. 2019 onwards
| Member, Committee on Estimates
|-
| May 2019
| Re-elected to [[17th Lok Sabha]] (3rd term)
|-
| 31 May 2009 – 19 Jul. 2011
| [[Ministry of Textiles|Union Cabinet Minister, Textiles]]
|-
| 2009
| Re-elected to [[15th Lok Sabha]] (2nd term)
|-
| May 2004 – 13 May 2007
| [[Minister of Communications (India)|Union Cabinet Minister, Communications and Information Technology]]
|-
| 2004
| Elected to [[14th Lok Sabha]]
|}

==Tenure as an MP and Union minister==
[[File:Shri Dayanidhi Maran assumes the charge of Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology in New Delhi on May 26, 2004.jpg|thumb|Dayanidhi Maran assumes the charge of Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology in New Delhi on 26 May 2004|left]]

He contested from Central Chennai Constituency in Tamil Nadu as a [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam|DMK]] party candidate and been elected thrice during the 2004, 2009 and 2019 elections as member of parliament.

During the 2004 elections, his winning margin was over {{formatnum:134000}} votes and he received 62% of the total votes polled.<ref name="PMO" /> He was appointed Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology on 26 May 2004. During his tenure as IT and Telecommunication Minister the call rates of mobiles and landlines were drastically reduced which in-turn influenced the growth of subscriptions.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ibnlive.com/news/why-india-inc-finds-hard-to-wish-maran-goodbye/40600-7.html?xml | title=Why India Inc loves Dayanidhi? | date=13 May 2007 | work=Ibn Live|access-date=10 November 2013}}</ref> During the tenure, he was instrumental in garnering a large amount of Foreign Direct Investments into Communication and Information Technology Sector. Many multinational telecom companies including [[Nokia]], [[Motorola]], [[Ericsson]], [[Flextronics]] and [[Dell]] set up units in the country. His ministry introduced "One Rupee One India" plan across the country, which enabled calls across the country at a rate of 1 {{INR}} per minute. His ministry set and achieved a target of 250 million connections in December 2007 to December 2010, against 75 million in May 2004.<ref name="NIC">{{cite web|title=Detailed Profile: Thiru Dayanidhi Maran|url=http://www.archive.india.gov.in/govt/loksabhampbiodata.php?mpcode=4144|publisher=National Informatics Centre|year=2005|access-date=10 November 2013}}</ref><ref>[[#Hiscock|Hiscock]] 2007, p. 78</ref><ref name="V265">[[#Vaasanthi|Vaasanthi]], pp. 265–6</ref>

During the 2009 elections he won by a margin of 33,454 votes and he received 46.82% of the total votes polled.

During the [http://results.eci.gov.in/pc/en/constituencywise/ConstituencywiseS224.htm?ac=4 2019 Lok Sabha Elections], he once again contested from the Chennai Central Parliamentary Constituency, winning it for the 3rd time, polling a stunning 4,48,911 votes and defeated the other contestants with a record-breaking victory margin of 3,01,520 votes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://results.eci.gov.in/pc/en/constituencywise/ConstituencywiseS224.htm?ac=4|title=Results of Chennai Central PC in 2019 Lok Sabha Elections}}</ref>

== Elections contested ==
{| class="sortable wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |Year
! rowspan="2" |Constituency
! rowspan="2" |Party
! rowspan="2" |Result
! rowspan="2" |Vote %
! colspan="3" |Opposition
|-
! width="150" |Candidate
! width="70" |Party
! width="70" |Vote %
|-
|[[2004 Indian general election|2004]]
|[[Chennai Central (Lok Sabha constituency)|Chennai Central]]
|[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam|DMK]]
|{{Won}}
|61.68
|N. Balaganga
|[[All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam|AIADMK]]
|35.52 <ref name="LS2004">{{cite web |title=Statistical report on General elections, 2004 to the 14th Lok Sabha |url=http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/LS_2004/Vol_I_LS_2004.pdf |access-date=10 November 2013 |publisher=Election Commission of India |page=281}}</ref>
|-
|[[2009 Indian general election|2009]]
|[[Chennai Central (Lok Sabha constituency)|Chennai Central]]
|[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam|DMK]]
|{{Won}}
|46.82
|S.M.K. Mohamad Ali Jinnah
|[[All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam|AIADMK]]
|41.34 <ref name="LS2009">{{cite web |title=Statistical report on General elections, 2009 to the 14th Lok Sabha |url=http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/archiveofge2009/Stats/VOLI/25_ConstituencyWiseDetailedResult.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811090059/http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/archiveofge2009/Stats/VOLI/25_ConstituencyWiseDetailedResult.pdf |archive-date=11 August 2014 |access-date=10 November 2013 |publisher=Election Commission of India |page=124 |df=dmy}}</ref>
|-
|[[2014 Indian general election|2014]]
|[[Chennai Central (Lok Sabha constituency)|Chennai Central]]
|[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam|DMK]]
|{{Lost}}
|36.4
|S. R. Vijayakumar
|[[All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam|AIADMK]]
|42.21 <ref name="LS2014">{{cite web |year=2014 |title=Statistical report on General elections, 2014 to the 16th Lok Sabha |url=http://eciresults.nic.in/ConstituencywiseS224.htm?ac=4 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529172314/http://eciresults.nic.in/ConstituencywiseS224.htm?ac=4 |archive-date=29 May 2014 |access-date=31 May 2014 |publisher=Election Commission of India |df=dmy}}</ref>
|-
|[[2019 Indian general election|2019]]
|[[Chennai Central (Lok Sabha constituency)|Chennai Central]]
|[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam|DMK]]
|{{Won}}
|57.15
|S. R. Sam paul
|PMK
|18.77
|-
|[[2024 Indian general election|2024]]
|[[Chennai Central (Lok Sabha constituency)|Chennai Central]]
|[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam|DMK]]
|{{Won}}
|56.56
|Vinoj
|BJP
|23.12
|}
[[File:Karunanithi family.jpg|thumb|350px|Karunanidhi family tree]]

== Controversies ==

=== Remarks on North Indian migrant workers ===
In December 2023, a video of Maran from a previous event went viral in which he compared the employment prospects of individuals who learn English with those who study only Hindi.<ref name="HT2023">{{cite news |last1=Dutta |first1=Anshuman |title=DMK's Dayanidhi Maran says Hindi speakers from UP, Bihar clean toilets in Tamil Nadu; BJP asks Nitish what he thinks |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com |work=[[Hindustan Times]] |date=24 December 2023 |access-date=17 February 2026}}</ref> Maran stated that while youth in [[Tamil Nadu]] learn English and secure high-paying jobs in the IT sector, individuals from northern states like [[Uttar Pradesh]] and [[Bihar]] who "only learn Hindi" migrate to Tamil Nadu to work in construction or perform "menial" tasks, such as cleaning roads and toilets.<ref name="TOI2023">{{cite news |title=Dayanidhi Maran's 'toilet cleaner' remark sparks row; BJP, INDIA bloc leaders condemn DMK MP's statement |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com |work=[[The Times of India]] |date=24 December 2023 |access-date=17 February 2026}}</ref>

The remarks were widely condemned across the political spectrum. The [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) accused Maran of attempting to create a "North-South divide" and insulting the dignity of workers from northern India.<ref name="HT2023" /> Leaders from the [[INDIA (alliance)|INDIA bloc]], including [[Tejashwi Yadav]], also criticised the statement, calling it "condemnable" and noting that it did not reflect the values of social justice.<ref name="NDTV2023">{{cite news |title="Condemnable": Tejashwi Yadav On DMK Leader's 'Toilet Cleaner' Remark |url=https://www.ndtv.com |work=[[NDTV]] |date=24 December 2023 |access-date=17 February 2026}}</ref> The [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] (DMK) defended the context of his speech, stating that Maran's intention was to highlight the economic benefits of the state's two-language policy.<ref name="TOI2023" />

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
*{{Citation |last=Outlook|title=Outlook, volume XLVIII, No. 28 |date=15 Oct 2008|publisher=Outlook|location=Delhi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YzEEAAAAMBAJ&q=azhagiri+vs+stalin&pg=PA21|ref=Outlook1}}
*{{Citation |last=Outlook|title=Outlook, volume XLVIII, No. 51 |date=22 Dec 2008|publisher=Outlook|location=Delhi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TDEEAAAAMBAJ&q=azhagiri+vs+stalin&pg=PA23|ref=Outlook2}}
* {{cite book|title=India's Global Wealth Club: The Stunning Rise of Its Billionaires and Their Secrets of Success|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|first=Geoff|last=Hiscock|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YiLBD_IpgIkC&q=dayanidhi+maran&pg=PA172|ref=Hiscock|isbn=9780470822388|year=2007}}
* {{cite book|title=Cut-outs, Caste and Cines Stars|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ldacEfF58EC&q=dayanidhi+maran&pg=PA265|last=Vaasanthi|ref=Vaasanthi|publisher=Penguin Books India|year=2008|isbn=9780143063124}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*[http://www.qrz.com/database?callsign=VU2DMK QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database – VU2DMK]
*[http://www.niar.org National Institute of Amateur Radio]
*[https://loksabha.nic.in/Members/MemberBioprofile.aspx?mpsno=4144&lastls=17 Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website]

{{Ministry of Communications (India)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maran, Dayanidhi}}
[[Category:Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam politicians]]
[[Category:India MPs 2004–2009]]
[[Category:India MPs 2009–2014]]
[[Category:Indian amateur radio people]]
[[Category:Members of the Cabinet of India]]
[[Category:1966 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Union ministers from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Loyola College, Chennai alumni]]
[[Category:Don Bosco schools alumni]]
[[Category:India MPs 1999–2004]]
[[Category:Lok Sabha members from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 2014 Indian general election]]
[[Category:2G spectrum case]]
[[Category:Karunanidhi family]]
[[Category:Politicians from Chennai]]
[[Category:India MPs 2019–2024]]
[[Category:India MPs 2024–2029]]
[[Category:Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance candidates in 2024 Indian general election]]

Dayanidhi Maran - Revision history

Siddharth Darnal at 09:20, 26 March 2026