How Tamil Nadu severed religion and caste from politics
C. Joseph Vijay, actor and founder of the recently floated Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), assumed office as the new Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu last
C. Joseph Vijay, actor and founder of the recently floated Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), assumed office as the new Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu last month. One cannot help but be reminded of how M.G. Ramachandran or more popularly known as MGR, also a highly successful actor, took charge as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in 1977 and went on to win two more consecutive terms, until his death in 1987. He was the first actor-turned-CM in India. However, apart from being successful film stars, there is hardly much in common between MGR, a Hindu of the Nair community of Kerala, and Mr. Vijay, a Tamil Christian. MGR’s best-known co-star and successor, Jayalalithaa, who ruled the State for 16 years, was a Tamil Brahmin. Moreover, C.N. Annadurai, the first non-Congress CM of the State, his successor M. Karunanidhi, and his son M.K. Stalin were/are non-Brahmin Hindus. As per Census figures, the electorate of Tamil Nadu comprises 88% Hindus and 6% Christians and Muslims each. It has regularly chosen leaders with varied religious and caste backgrounds without much fuss. How did this happen? And is it a replicable model? A political history The credit goes partly, among others, to the Dravidian movement whose genesis harkens to the 1920s/1930s. The Justice Party founded in 1916 by a group of non-Brahmin elite with the goal of ending Brahmin ‘domination’ in top government jobs succeeded in getting reservations for non-Brahmins as early as 1920.
The ‘self-respect movement’ as well as the ‘Dravidar Kazhagam’ movement (DK) of E.V. Ramasamy (EVR), or ‘Periyar’ as he was known, avowed to create a society free of caste oppression and inequality, and became a strong oppositional force to the largely Brahmin priestly class in the State. Periyar’s anti-Brahmin rhetoric often manifested in the form of inflammatory speeches against Brahmins besides leading to the desecration of Hindu deities. The rise of the Congress Party during the freedom struggle led to the decline of the Justice Party by 1937, despite them forming a government four times since 1920. In 1949, the DK experienced a split with the breakaway faction led by C.N. Annadurai forming the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). It came to power in 1967 and distanced itself from the anti-Brahmin and anti-religion ideas of Periyar. And while the DK has very little role in the politics of Tamil Nadu today, even after a century of his most active years, a Tamilian tends to either be a staunch supporter of Periyar or a vocal opponent of EVR — there is no middle ground. Inclusive policies The foundation laid by these parties and their inclusive social reforms over three decades led to the broad-basing of education among all communities and reservations in government jobs for non-Brahmin castes and, to a lesser extent, Dalits. The K. Kamaraj-led Congress government stressed free education for all.
The BriefWire