Politicians are often accused of hypocrisy, the highpoint of which is when they are out of power and try to evoke a popular ideology dead and buried since long.
Nothing illustrates such hypocrisy more than the recent observation of ousted Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi in Chennai.
Participating in a rally of the ‘Dravidian Movement,’ he spoke about the role of Brahmins in undermining the society.
“Today, we are facing so much threat and intimidation from many sides. Undeterred by all these, we will continue to follow the teachings of (rationalist leader) E V Ramaswamy (popularly known as ‘Periyar’) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) founder and former Chief Minister C N Annadurai,” he said.
His argument was that the Brahmin community was ahead in education and jobs in Tamil Nadu, suppressing others in the past.
It is true that the plank of the Dravidian Movement, centered on the anti-Brahmin hegemony, played a major role in DMK’s capture of power in 1967. The Party had the charismatic leadership of stalwarts like Annadurai, V R Nedunchezhiyan, Karunanidhi and M G Ramachandran and the blessings of the first (and last) Governor General of Independent India Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari (Rajaji).
Anti-Brahmin agenda
However, DMK, which began as an offshoot of ‘Dravida Kazhagam’ established by Periyar, had deep-rooted anti-Brahmin agenda.
There has been a sea of change in Tamil Nadu since then. The youth have been given ample opportunities for education, employment and other benefits based on the need to ‘uplift the backward classes.’ All Tamilians today have equal opportunity in the age of globalisation.
Critics of Karunanidhi point out that he has angered ordinary Tamilians spread around the world. The so-called champion of the Dravidian Movement was silent when Tamilians were systematically annihilated in the operations carried out by the Sri Lankan army during the elimination of the Liberation of Tamil Eelam Tigers (LTTE).
“If he had a bone of the pride of being a Tamilian, he would have resigned from the post of the Chief Minister and fought for the rights of Tamils in Sri Lanka. But he chose to negotiate with the Congress Party for ministerial positions for his son, daughter and nephew,” they said.
When Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi was arrested on charges brought against her by the Central Bureau of Investigation, there was no protest in Tamil Nadu because the people had seen her smiling with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa when a team of Tamil Nadu Member of Parliaments visited Sri Lanka.
According to observers, Mr Karunanidhi, who calls himself the champion of the Dravidian Movement, had no reason to direct the anger of defeat in the assembly elections held last year on Tamil Brahmins who account for just 3% of the population in the state.
Balaji Chandramohan is our Correspondent based in New Delhi.
