He came to limelight when he was jailed in Central Prison, Madras under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) for protesting against the Emergency in 1976.He was beaten up in custody and a fellow DMK prisoner C. Chittibabu died of injuries and police torture while protecting him. He wrote his final year BA exams while in prison. Stalin formed the DMK youth wing. In 1982 Stalin became the youth wing secretary of DMK, a post he held for more than four decades.