"We support the farmers’ agitation on Novembere 22" - Comrade P.Maniyarasan!

The Cauvery Urimai Meetpu Kuzhu has resolved to support a stir planned by the farmers’ associations in the delta districts on November 22 against Karnataka’s bid to construct reservoirs across the Cauvery at Mekedatu.

If the upper riparian State went ahead with the dam plan, then the Kuzhu will organise a rally from Hogenakkal to the reservoir plan site to thwart the move.

A resolution passed at a special meeting of the Kuzhu here on Monday condemned the delay on the part of the Centre in establishing a Cauvery Management Board. It called upon Chief Minister O. Pannerselvam to convene an all party meeting to discuss the issue and impress upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to counsel Karnataka against going ahead with the reservoir plan, according to Kuzhu convener P. Maniyarasan.

The resolution pointed out that if Karnataka were to implement the reservoir plan, then the delta districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam would become deserts, starved of water.

Release our five fisherman! Thamizh Thesiya Periyakkam [TTP] organizes AGITATION in Thangachi Madam!

Thamizh Thesiya Periyakkam [TTP] 

organizes an AGITATION 

in

Thangachi Madam (Rameswaram)

 on 

14.11.2014 - Friday Morning 10 AM 

to urge 

INDIAN GOVT to take neccessary steps to 

Release the Five Fisherman 

who were sentenced to Death

 by the Genocidal Sri Lankan Government! 

Let us stand together.

Please do come.

Comrade Pe.Maniyarasan demands to remove Maratha hold over Thanjavur Big Temple!

The controversy over a Maratha holding the post of trustee of the magnificent over millennium-year-old Big Temple and 87 other temples built by Tamil Chola kings has again flared up after a lull.

Babaji Bhonsle, the current head of the Maratha royal family of Thanjavur, continues to be the hereditary trustee of the palace `devasthanam’ which administers 88 temples including the Peruvudayar Temple, popularly called Big Temple, commissioned by Chola king Rajarajan I in 1010 AD.

“Bhonsle, who hails from the Maratha community, being the hereditary trustee of temples built by Cholas, is not only contradictory to the provisions of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR & CE) Act but also to historical facts,” says P Maniarasan, coordinator of the Big Temple Rights Retrieval Committee.

The committee comprising various Tamil outfits was formed in 2005 with an objective to impress upon the Tamil Nadu government to remove Bhonsle from the post and ensure complete takeover of the administration of all the 88 temples remaining under Thanjai palace devasthanam. Its demand, however, was not met with by either of the Dravidian rulers – the DMK and the AIADMK.

Maniarasan says, “Marathis are not aliens. They are long-time settlers of Tamil Nadu. We have no objection to Bhonsle except that he should be stripped off the post of hereditary trustee, as he neither belongs to Chola nor Tamil lineage.

“He is also not the legal heir of Maratha kings who conquered Thanjavur defeating the Nayaks.”

He wonders how Bhonsle could continue to receive the honour when HR & CE Act mandates that only those who build temples and donate their lands and meet the daily expenses of worship can enjoy the status.

While successful in prevailing upon the government over not addressing him as `senior prince’, the committee now urges the government to withdraw his “sole power to sign cheques”. It also wants the entire palace - a portion of which is occupied by Bhonsle’s family - to be brought under the ambit of state archaeology department.

The demands were reiterated on the occasion of sadhaya vizha, the birth anniversary celebrations of Raja Raja Cholan, held on Nov 2.

NEWS FROM

Cancel Methane Project - Comrade Maniyarasan urges Tamilnadu government!

The government should withdraw the licence granted to the Great Eastern Energy Corporation Limited for methane extraction in the Cauvey delta districts so as to protect the livelihood of farmers and the invaluable irrigation infrastructure, said A. Veerappan, secretary of the Tamil Nadu PWD Senior Engineers Association.

Speaking at a daylong seminar against the project organised by the association here to sensitise people and farmers of the Cauvery delta to the impact of the project, he said the project, if implemented, would reduce 667 sq.km in the Tiruvidaimaruthur, Kumbakonam and Orathanadu taluks in Thanjavur district and Kudavasal, Valangaiman, Needamangalam and Mannargudi in Tiruvarur to a salt bed.

He appealed to Chief Minister Jayalaithaa to persuade the Centre to revoke the environmental clearance granted to the project by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.

P. Maniarasan, coordinator of the Cauvery Rights Tretrival Committee, said village-level committees were being constituted in all taluks where extraction wells would be drilled. Villagers were not fully aware of the adverse impact of the massive groundwater extraction on their livelihood. Ground and surface water would be poisoned by the use of chemicals for separating methane from other geo-minerals.

V. Dhanapalan, general secretary of the Cauvery Farmers Protection Association, and K. Manimozhian of the Tamizhaga Vivasayigal Sangam commended the efforts by the association.

Mr. Maniarasan released a compact disc and a booklet on the impact of the project. The first set was received by S. Muthukumaran, former Vice-Chancellor of Bharathidasan University.

Protest in Sirkazhi

Meanwhile, 29 members of the Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam were arrested when they took out a procession to the Sirkazhi railway station to block the Cholan Express, demanding that the project be scrapped.

Arrest the attackers of the students at the Puliparvai function! - Request to CM by Comrade P. Maniyarasan

The Tamil film ‘Puliparvai’ was made to depict the Tamil national leader Prabhakaran's son Balachandran who was aged twelve at the time of his death.

But this film portrayed like him, with the inclusion of several children wearing LTTE uniforms and taking training under the LTTE Tigers. These scenarios are unrealistic. But in the real life Balachandran Prabhakaran was an innocent boy of 12 years old and was not at all involved in the war. As per the original documentary film, which depicts the true story of the Balachandran’s life, which has been produced by Callum Macrae that the Sinhala racist government shot this twelve year old innocent boy Balachandran at an arm’s distance and the international figures confirmed this documentary as the most authentic documentary film. But “Puliparvai” depicts Balachandran as the militant boy and he takes military training along with child soldiers, which is far from the truth. The audio release functions of the film were held at the Sathyam Cinemas of Chennai on 16.08.2014. In that function, Tamil University Students were also participating in it. They were condemning against the portrayal of Balachandran as the militant boy. Then, immediately the film's production company workers started attacking these students and injured them. Mr. P. Maniyarasan Strongly condemns these violent attacks on behalf of the Tamil national great movement. Instead of calming those students, the film production company workers pulled them out attacked them and then handed them over to the police. The police arrested them and kept those students in their custody for one full day, without even giving any medical treatment for their injuries. The attitude of the police is condemnable. We have registered a case against those who involved in the violent attacks; and we request the Tamil Nadu Government to arrest them.

Why we Changed the name as “Thamizh Thesiya Periyakkam’?

Why we Changed the name as “Thamizh Thesiya Periyakkam’?

The resolution passed in the seventh special general council meeting held at Tiruchirappalli between 14 and 15 August 2014.General Secretary Comrade K.Venkatraman put forth and explained the draft resolution. After a detailed discussion it was unanimously passed in the meeting. 

With the vision of achieving sovereign Thamizh republic, Thamizh Thesa Pothuvudaimai Katchi (Thamizh National Communist Party) has been working for the past twenty five years. Over a period of time we have been sharpening the ideology of Thamizh Nationalism scientifically. From the beginning we have been insisting on our historical duty viz, to achieve the liberation of the oppressed Thamizh nation we were clear that this was the next stage of development for the Thamizh community. However, there has been a hitch over direct compatibility between the vision of the liberation of the Thamizh Nation and “Pothuvudaimai Katchi” in the nomen clature. This crisis was further accelerated in day today politics also, by the genocide on the Thamizhs launched by the Sinhala Majoritarian government with the support  of the Indian government.

            We developed as Tha.The.Po.Ka, the frontline leaders and majority of the comrades came from CPM. And so it was named according to their understanding at that particular point of time.   Now when the liberative ideology of Thamizh nationalism has gained wider acceptance, keeping  Pothuvudaimai Katchi (Communist Party) is an obstruct. And this has been pointed out by many comrades. Hence it is an imperative to solve this crisis.

Ideological crisis:

            “On 15, August 1947 Thamizh Nadu came directly under the rule of North Indian administration. Though Thamizh Nadu was liberated from the British imperialism, it fell in the yoke of Indian imperialism. This slavery (yoke)  blocks the identity of Thamizh race. This slavery is core issue and is base for varna caste domination, economic exploitation, environmental degradation and lack of democracy in Thamizh Nadu. The historical imperative that lay before the Thamizh Nation is to establish a sovereign republic of its own” (Page.1. Party Manifesto).

Proclaiming thus at the out set the Party’s Manifesto clarifies what lies ahead in front of Thamizh community and the essence of that revolution.

            It is a historical obligation for the party to bring together, at the focal point of Thamizh nationalism, all who work  in different plains with the objective of liberating Thamizhs from class exploitation, casteism, women oppression etc.,

            “A nationality which does not create a nation of its own will not be able to achieve  class liberation or attain any type of freedom. If it is not connected with all other struggles the nationality struggle will be aimless. Revolutionary Thamizh Nationalism  is the integrating point of these two.” (P.29. Party Manifesto)

This is clearly articulated in our Policy document.

“This constructed myth of Aryan Indian nationalism is the base for language oppression, Varna Caste hegemony, untouchability evil, class exploitation, globalization, environmental degradation, women oppression etc, The imperialist Indian state functions as the treacherous hand of the constructed Indian nationalism. This imperialist state continues to exist with the help of all oppressive laws. Hence if the Thamizhs want to be liberated from any oppression that suppresses them we are forced to confront the Indian nationalism.

            Only way to liberate from this is Thamizh National Revolution establishment of a sovereign Thamizh Republic. That’s why all liberative ( progressive)  groups and progressive streams ought to join hands with the liberative  Thamizh nationalism.” (P.28. Party Manifesto).

It is an invitation extended to such movements.

         If it has to accommodate all progressive streams in a common thread to develop into big stream the Thamizh Nationalism should accept the plural nature within. Only the movement which accepts the pluralism will qualify to be a liberation movement.

            Our party manifesto is potential to contain this pluralistic nature and in order to grow to such a stature the phrase ‘Pothuvudaimai Katchi’ in the existing name is a delicate one. It would be appropriate to remove such delicate phrase and replace it with suitable one, which would be apt for our vision of liberation.

The name ‘Pothuvudaimai Katchi’ (Communist Party) came in to existence in our title because of the nature of the evolution of our party. This was the condition for all Community Parties all over the world.

This problem is clearly mentioned even in the Communist Manifesto. Engels mentions in the Communist Manifesto which was jointly written by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels in 1847 end and published in 1848.

“When it was written, we could not have called it a socialist manifesto. By Socialists, in 1847,  were understood, on the one hand the adherents of the various Utopian systems: Owenites in  England, Fourierists in France, both of them already reduced to the position of mere sects, and  gradually dying out; on the other hand, the most multifarious social quacks who, by all manner of  tinkering, professed to redress, without any danger to capital and profit, all sorts of social grievances, in both cases men outside the working-class movement, and looking rather to the  “educated” classes for support. Whatever portion of the working class had become convinced of the insufficiency of mere political revolutions, and had proclaimed the necessity of total social change, called itself Communist.” (Frederick Engels – Forward to English Edition of Communist Manifesto, 1988).

 From this we understand that these pioneers attributed this term to themselves. They used the term Communist Party in those days to give separate identity just to differentiate from the compromising groups such as Socialists.       

Lenin gave the name ‘Russian Social Democratic Labor Party’, to a revolutionary group which was established in 1898 based on the Marxian principles. We have to remember that he named so after fifty years of the publication of Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels. The same party succeeded the Russian Revolution in the very same name in 1917.

German invasion and civil war in Russia created a big crisis in Russia, at that time. In order to handle the crisis and division within the party and to carry on the Russian Revolution Lenin changed the name into Communist Party from Social Democratic Labor Party.

            When Lenin explained the following reasons for the change of name, the august body of seventh party congress accepted that, “... the severe crisis which our Party is now experiencing, owing to the formation of a Left opposition within it, is one of the gravest crises the Russian revolution has experienced. Moreover, the congress decided to change the name of the party to Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), in order to differentiate it from the Mensheviks and other remaining factions originating from the RSDLP.” Thereafter the Russian Social Democratic Party (Bolsheviks) was changed in to Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks).

“All the recorded histories of hitherto societies are the history of class struggle” defines Marxism. Though this is partially true, racial struggle and nationality struggle contributed equally for the historical development as class struggle.

Even though there were clear understanding and pronounced theories on nationality question during the life time of Karl Marx, Marxism did not give weightage to the issue. When specific questions came up, Karl Marx and Lenin stated the solutions related to nationality question. but they under-estimated the role of social aspect of race in the development of history.

             Hence anybody who discusses in primacy of nationality issue both in Thamizh Nadu and at the global level, realize the deficiency of Marxism in this aspect. We all know that class perspective and understanding alone is inadequate to understand the issues of Palestine, Thamizh Ealam, Tibet.

Both at the global level and in Thamizh Nadu the environment concerns are getting attention now. And Marxism is not able to give comprehensive  answer to such vital issues, nor can class interpretation give solutions to varna caste problems which is very peculiar to this sub-continent.

However the philosophy of Thamizhs viz “Aram”, which could challenge all these is a great opportunity for us all. This philosophical treasure viz, “Thamizhar Aram” has the capacity to absorb all schools of egalitarian thoughts including Marxism and it enriches itself. This Thamizhar Aram is the philosophy which organized historically all the Thamizhs to fight against the domination of the Aryans, evil caste system  and Varnashrama dharma. It has also potential within to enrich itself according to the changing need of the hour. Hence it is not appropriate to keep the name Pothuvudaimai Katchi which expresses only Marxism.

            The Thamizhar Aram is the foundational philosophy of Thamizh Nationalism and it contains principles of equality as its essence. Hence there should never be a doubt that we would reject/ ignore equality, the quintessence of  Communism.

Practical Difficulty:

            From the beginning we have taken efforts to avoid not to be identified with the CPI and CPM parties, particularly their flags sickle and hammer symbols created confusion of identifying ourselves with the above mentioned parties, which are traitors of Thamizhs.

            In order to get relieved of this confusion and to focus our liberative vision of the Thamizhs we changed the flag. Even then “Pothuvudaimai Katchi” (Communist party) continued to be embarrassing. After the Eelam disaster in 2008-2009 new youth forces, understanding the Indian Nationa’s Enmitity are attracted towards  Thamizh nationalism.

            At the same time both in Thamizh Nadu and at the Indian national level and at the international level the communist parties and the states which are headed by the Marxists were hand in glove with the Singhala majoritarian government and Indian government. This created ill feeling not only at the Theoretic level but also practical lines. The same stand taken by Communist Parties in the burning issues of Thamizh Nadu such as Cauvery Issue, Mullai Periyar Issue, Katcha Theevu Issue, etc.,  created a illwill among the laboring classes . Hence  we have to avoid the shadow of these parties on our party.   It is not appropriate  to continue  the name  Thamizh Thesa Pothuvudaimai Katchi. A change in the name is imperative. Moreover , though the word Katchi ( Party) is a good Thamizh term it is associated with the electoral politics. Our Party is very clear  that the electoral path will not in any way helpful  to lead the liberation of Thamizh nation nor would create Thamizh rights consciousness. And the term ‘Party’ alienates us from the people  who  are genuinely interested  in the welfare of the people. Accordingly we have to drop the term Party.

Taking all these into account this Special General Council Meeting unanimously resolves to change the name into Thamizh Desiya Periyakkam.  

Constitute Cauvery Management Board - Tamilnadu formers urge Indian government!

TRICHY: The long delay in the constitution of the Cauvery Management Board as directed by the Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal brought together all farmers associations, political parties and consumer organisations in the delta region to register their protest against the central government for not obeying the tribunal's final verdict. As many as 1,500 protesters were arrested and released in the evening.

Farmers said that it was one of the massive protests by them in the past 10 years seeking to retain the rights of Tamil Nadu in Cauvery water. "As far as I am concerned, today's (Monday) protest was one of the massive protests in recent years. The protest by all kind of people on the Cauvery water issue displayed the unity of our people in the state," said P Maniarasan, president of Tamil Desa Podhuvudamai Katchi (TDPK). He also insisted major political parties like the AIADMK, the DMK and the DMDK to pressurise the central government to decide on the matter.

The farmers questioned why the central government was not interested in constituting the Cauvery management board even though the tribunal ordered to constitute it to share the Cauvery water between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Normal life was affected as most of the business concerns in and around Thanjavur remained closed today in response to the dawn-to-dusk bandh call given by the Cauveri River Rights Retrieval Committee and other like minded organisations.

The band was to urge the Union Government to establish Cauveri Management Board and Cauveri Monitoring Committee. However, public and private transport system was functioning as usual.

Meanwhile, members of Cauveri River Rights Retrieval Committee (CRRRC) and other like minded organisations led by CRRRC's Coordinator P Maniarasan laid a siege to the office of the Central Excise here.

Mr Maniarasan told newsmen that similar agitations were held at various central government offices across Tiruchirapalli, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur districts and Chidambaram in Cuddalore district, to draw the Union Government's attention.

He expressed his concern over the non-cooperation among the political parties here as compared to the politicians and others in Karnataka who had been protesting against the releasing of even surplus water to Tamil Nadu from Kabini reservoir in Karnataka

Maniarasan claimed that Karnataka should have released 44 tmc of water for June and July altogether if the board had been constituted. "As the board was not constituted and the water was not released, the Tamil Nadu government should utilize the protests of the people to highlight our stand in the Cauvery water issue and take up the matter with the Prime Minister," said Maniarasan.

The planned protest in front of central government offices including head post offices, central excise offices in Trichy, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam and Thiruvarur districts was carried out by hundreds of protesters led Cauvery Retrieval Group consisting of some parties like TDPK, MDMK, traders organisation and consumer organisations. The protesters attempted to stage a picketing in front of those offices.

However, police were well prepared to stop them from picketing the central government offices. A large posse of police personnel were deployed in front of the central excise office in Trichy and Thanjavur to prevent the protesters. Police had also placed barricades in front of the offices.

(Courtesy: Times of India and UNI)

Cauvery retrieval group to protest against Government of India!

TRICHY: Feeling let down by the newly-elected government on the Cauvery water issue, various farmers associations, consumers and traders organizations under the banner 'Cauvery Rights Retrieval Group' have decided to stage massive protests in delta districts on Monday.

The group accused the Karnataka government for allegedly considering it a 'racial issue' instead of seeing it as a water dispute. The retrieval group have decided to stage picketing in front of central government offices in Trichy, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam and Thiruvarur on July 21 for not constituting Cauvery Water Management Board and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee as directed in the final verdict of the Cauversy River Water Disputes Tribunal.

"We expected that the NDA government would solve the water dispute by constituting a Cauvery management board and regulation committee, but, they failed to do so. Karnataka is seeing it as a racial issue. So, we have decided to stage protests to get back our rights," P Maniarasan, president of Tamil Desiya Podhuvudamai Katchi told reporters in Trichy on Sunday.

He expressed concern over the disunity among politicians here in protesting against the Karnataka government's initiatives taken to prevent the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. "Politicians, including the elected representatives as well as people in Karnataka vehemently oppose whenever the court rules go in favor of Tamil Nadu. Unfortunately, politicians and people in Tamil Nadu rarely register their protest. First and foremost, there must be unity in this issue even if they are divided in various other issues," Maniarasan said. The Cauvery rights retrieval group in the state demanded the government to call for an all party meeting to pressurise the prime minister Narendra Modi to put an end to the issue. "Like Karnataka, our state government should also discuss the issue with all party leaders in the state. They should meet the PM to mount pressure on him to implement the Cauvery management board," said Maniarasan.

The retrieval group urged the state government to take steps to get 30 tmc of water from Karnataka for Kuruvai cultivation. "As per the final verdict of the tribunal, Karnataka should release 10 tmc of water in June and 34 tmc in July. But, if our government takes steps to get at least 30 tmc, it will help Kuruvai cultivation," he said.

(Courtesy: Times of India)

Tamil activists headed by Comrad P.Maniarasan arrested for staging protest near education minister's house!

CHENNAI: At least 150 Tamil activists were arrested when they tried to stage a protest near state school education minister K C Veeramani's house on Greenways Road at Adyar here on Wednesday morning.

The members of the Joint Committee for Tamil-Based Education, led by its state coordinator Maniyarasan, were protesting against the state government's policy of encouraging English medium schools. They shouted slogans demanding the state government promote Tamil medium schools.

The Chennai police, who got a tip-off about the protest, deployed a huge posse of personnel near the minister's house. Police arrested the protesters when they tried to march towards the minister's house.

The activists were detained at a corporation community hall near Adyar and were booked under Section 151 of the CrPC.

"We would launch an agitation, if the new Indian government failed to heed to our appeal" - Comrade P.Maniarasan declares!

Farmers of the Cauvery delta districts of Thanjavur and Tiruvarur have appealed to the new government to be formed at the Centre to form the Cauvery Management Board and Water Regulation Committees to implement the final award of the Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal.

“We hope that the Narendra Modi government will do justice to Tamil Nadu,” said S. Ranganathan, secretary of the Cauvery Delta Farmers Welfare Association.

Cauvery was one of the oldest river water disputes in the country, and the unique feature was that sharing of distress as the Cauvery was a deficit river, Mr. Ranganathan said. “When there is surplus, there is no problem. Problem crops up only when there is a deficit. The Tribunal suggested ways of sharing distress,” he said.

He said formation of the Cauvery Management Board was of utmost importance. It was unfortunate that it had not been formed for the past seven years though the final award was delivered in 2007.

In the final award, the Tribunal said: “A Cauvery Management Board on the lines of the Bakra-Beas Board should be formed. In our opinion, the necessity of setting up a suitable mechanism [a management board] is of utmost importance. Furthermore, such a mechanism should be adequately empowered. This should have powers to implement the Tribunbal’s decision. Otherwise, we [the Tribunal] are afraid that our decision would remain on paper.”

“Though the Tribunal has made it clear in its final award, the Board has not yet been formed. Unlike the Congress-led government [UPA-II] which did not take steps to form the Board, we hope the Modi government will address this issue on a priority basis,” Mr. Ranganathan said.

“Formation of such a Board will be a prelude to nationalisation of rivers,” he said.

P. Maniarasan, convener of the Cauvery Urimai Meetpu Kuzhu, said the Cauvery Management Board should be formed by the new government before June 7 so that water could be released from the Mettur dam on the traditional date of June 12 for the cultivation of Kuruvai crop. “If the government failed to heed to our appeal, we would launch an agitation,” Mr. Maniarasan said.

(Courtesy: The Hindu)

Demand to constitute Cauvery Management Board by June 5

Plan to organise agitation in Cauvery delta districts

A conference on Cauvery organised by the Cauvery Urimai Meetpu Kuzhu in Thanjavur urged the Central Government to form the Cauvery Management Board before June 5, 2014.

A resolution to this effect was adopted at the conference held here on Saturday.

The resolution said that every year water will be released from Mettur dam on the traditional date of June 12 for Kuruvai cultivation. “So it will be appropriate if the Board is constituted before June 5. If the Centre delays constitution of the board, the Kuzhu will organise agitations before Central Government offices in Cauvery delta districts on June 27”, the resolution said.

It also pointed out that already a year has rolled by after the final Award of the Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal was gazetted on February 19, 2013. As per the recommendations made in the final Award, the board should have been constituted immediately. Water Regulation Committees should also be constituted, the resolution said.

The conference also said that a sum of Rs. 2,500 per quintal of paddy should be fixed as procurement price. For Sugarcane it should be Rs. 3,500 per tonne. The conference urged both central and state governments to drop the proposed Methane extraction project in the Cauvery delta districts. Besides threatening food security, the project when implemented will pollute environment and turn Cauvery delta into a desert, a resolution adopted in the conference said.

Speaking at the conference, P.Nedumaran, President, Ulaga Thamizhar Peramaippu, called for unity among Tamils to achieve “our rights in the Cauvery issue”. He said that politicians of Tamil Nadu should also unite cutting across party lines to fight for Cauvery water. “We could get justice only because Supreme Court intervened and gave orders seven times”, he said.

Kolathur Mani of Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam, P.Maniarasan, Convenor of Cauvery Urimai Meetpu Kuzhu, Thanjai Ramamurthy, senior advocate, Paranthaman, former Superintending Engineer of PWD, also spoke.

"The Government of India is not pushing for any international intervention in Sri Lanka" - Comrade P. Maniarasan

The Tamil Brotherhood

Dravidian pride returns to rule Tamil Nadu politics

(Article from THE OPEN Magazine)

BY Shahina

The parking lot of Sathyamoorthi Bhavan, the Congress office in Chennai, is almost empty. There is only PCC President BS Gnanadesikan’s white Innova with a tricolour at its mast, and a couple of other cars. There are less than ten people in the office. There is little sign that a general election is round the corner.

The Congress has not yet been able to strike any major deal on the poll front in Tamil Nadu, though it has not yet given up on discussions with the DMK and DMDK, the party led by actor Vijayakant. According to Election Commission figures of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the DMDK has about one-tenth of the state’s vote.

“I personally feel that in Tamil Nadu, Congress should contest the polls alone. We may lose one election, but we would perform better in the future if we do so,” says Gnanadesikan, who took charge of the PCC in 2011. Over the past four decades, the Congress has never been able to look beyond the temporary goal of winning a few seats and sharing power in the state. Pre-poll deals have always been cut on the basis of convenience, never on principle.

The Supreme Court verdict to commute the death sentence of the three accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case has come at the worst possible time for the Congress. Further, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s decision to free all the seven accused in the case, a move which has been stayed by the Supreme Court, has made Tamil sub- nationalism the focus of the poll campaign in the state.

This time, with both the DMK and AIADMK refusing to tie up with the Congress, the grand old party would find it tough even to see Union Finance Minister Palanivel Chidambaram through from Sivanganga. With the DMK as the senior partner in the alliance in Tamil Nadu, the Congress had won eight of the 27 seats bagged by the UPA in 2009. After parting ways with the DMK over the 2G scam and the heartburn over the Tamil-Sinhala civil war in Sri Lanka, the Congress has been in isolation in the state.

+++

There is little that is surprising about the downfall of the Congress in Tamil Nadu, a state where the party held power till 1967. The entire political platform in the state as it stands today has been built on the work of a man who was an ardent critic of the Congress, a champion of the self-respect movement and a fighter against casteism and Brahmin hegemony: EV Ramaswamy. Affectionately called Periyar, he was the founder of the Dravida Kazhagam, the mother organisation of the DMK and AIADMK. “We stand only for the dignity, peace and justice for our brothers and sisters in Sri Lanka. For that, we demand nothing short of the liberation of Eelam—a proposed independent state that Sri Lankan Tamils and the Tamil diaspora aspire to create in the north-east of the island nation—but we have been portrayed as separatists and terrorists by our own government,” says Pazha Nedumaran, a former Congressman, who is one of the most prominent voices of Tamil nationalism, and a close associate of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Kamaraj.

P Maniyarasan, general secretary of the Thamizh Thesa Poduvudamai Katchi, a party that stands for a liberated country for Sri Lankan Tamils, is certain that the ongoing human rights violations against the Tamil people in Sri Lanka, and the release of the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case will be the hottest issues in this general election. “The Government of India is not pushing for any international intervention in Sri Lanka. That is precisely why we stand against the Congress.”

Small parties are the most ardent votaries of Tamil sub- nationalism. The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), an ally of the DMK, which has a sizeable vote share among Dalits in the northern districts of Tamil Nadu, has found itself a mix of Dalit emancipation and Tamil nationalism. Its leader Thirumal Valavan was elected to the Lok Sabha from Chidambaram’s constituency last time, defeating the Pattali Makkal Katchi candidate. The PMK has a vote base among the Vanniyar community. The Puthiya Thamizhakom headed by K Krishnaswamy, the sitting MP of Thenkasi, also has a stake in wooing the state’s Dalits, who comprise about 20 per cent of the total voting population in Tamil Nadu.

Small political parties like the Nam Thamizhar led by film director and actor Seeman, and fringe groups like that of the 17 May movement, act more as pressure groups on mainstream political parties. All these small parties and groups are grounded on the idea of Dravidian pride.

None of these pro-Tamil parties, big or small, take the BJP seriously as this ‘national’ party has not yet been able to prove itself as a major player in the state. Moreover, Hindutva does not sit well with Dravidian identity politics. The AIADMK burnt its fingers with the alliance it struck with the NDA; it has since realised that this would not pay off either in the state or at the national level. Jayalalithaa, who has prime ministerial aspirations, has chosen her current partners keeping their secular credentials in mind. Nevertheless, she has not spoken a single word against the BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi so far.

The post Lankan civil war scenario is difficult terrain for mainstream political parties. The Tamil tragedy in the civil war of 2009 is still part of public memory here. Public meetings, online discussions and film screenings on the civil war are organised regularly. A recent screening of the Channel 4 documentary titled No Fire Zone: In the Killing Fields of Sri Lanka was reflective of the mindset of young Tamils.On the evening of 22 February, the large banquet hall of a Chennai hotel was packed with students who had a Skype interaction with Callum Macrae, the film’s director, after the screening. “The Congress and BJP are going to be washed out in this election,” says Veera Prabhakaran, state coordinator of the Tamil Youth and Students Federation, a student’s organisation working for the liberation of Eelam.

The DMK has, in fact, been put in a spot of bother by the AIADMK call to free the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi case. “Talking about the release of the prisoners would be sub judice at this point of time,” says T Siva, an MP and the propaganda secretary of DMK, responding carefully to the question of how the DMK is going to counter the advantage that Jayalalithaa has seized. “A secular government should come to power. We are focussing on corruption and the threat to secularism. People are smart enough to read the true colours of the AIADMK. It was only a month back that Jayalalithaa refused parole to Nalini, one of the seven convicts in the case. How did she change all of a sudden?”

It is reasonable to assume that the sympathy wave in favour of the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi case is to some extent the result of thousands of civilians being killed in the final days of the civil war. The footage released by the UK’s Channel 4 last year fanned Tamil fury and anguish over the tragedy. It is true that Indian Tamils had rejected the violence and extremism of the LTTE after Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in 1991. The then ruling DMK won just two seats in the Tamil Nadu Assembly election, despite Karunanidhi’s public apology for the former prime minister’s assassination. The Congress, and its ally AIADMK, won all the 39 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

However, this rejection of the LTTE’s guerilla warfare did not last long. “The convicts of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case have lived almost a lifetime [on death row]. The campaign against their death sentence has also strengthened the anti-death penalty movement in general. Moreover, discrepancies in the investigation and trial process are still emerging. All these facts, along with the deadly images of war crimes on Tamils in Sri Lanka, helped generate empathy for them,” says writer and activist SP Rajadurai.

Sri Lanka’s military solution to the 25-year-long civil war has given rise to more and more organisations determined to continue the LTTE’s mission. The ethnic conflict that resulted in major violence in 1983 accelerated the mass exodus of Sri Lankan Tamils to Tamil Nadu. “Repeated requests to the Centre for an immediate intervention fell on deaf ears. In 1985, the then Chief Minister MG Ramachandran took an all-party delegation to the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi requesting him to demand an immediate ceasefire in the region, but no action was initiated by the Centre,” says P Nedumaran. The decision to send troops to Sri Lanka only deepened the scar, leading to the violent retaliation that claimed Rajiv Gandhi’s life.

No political party in Tamil Nadu can survive without displaying some solidarity with Tamils in Sri Lanka. Even the Congress tries to tap this sentiment. “India supported the US resolution against Sri Lanka at the UNHCR because of pressure from us. Initially, the Centre was in no mood to support the resolution,” says Gnanavedikan.

In this vein, Tamil fishermen being fired at or tortured by the Sri Lankan navy is a major issue for Tamil sub-nationalist movements. According to fishermen organisations, there are hundreds of fishermen languishing in Sri Lankan jails. In a letter to India’s Prime Minister last month, Jayalalithaa blamed the Centre for its ‘meek and weak’ response to repeated instances of attacks on fishermen in their traditional waters. “In maritime disputes, India protects the rights of Gujaratis and Bengalis, but not Tamils,” alleges Pazha Nedumaran. According to him, more than 700 Tamil fishermen have lost their lives over the last two decades.

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Not everyone, though, is thrilled with the resurgence of Tamil sub-nationalism. “The Tamil nationalism you see now has no content. It is only a tool being used by political parties and interest groups,” says SP Rajadurai, who is highly critical of the fringe groups and parties playing up Tamil sentiment. “It is very easy to talk about Sri Lanka, a foreign country,” says Rajadurai, “None of these movements have the ideological content that Periyar had when he launched the Dravidian movement. Tamil Nadu is one of the most corrupt states in the country. These people are not worried about it. They raise the issue of water scarcity only when it comes to cases of water disputes either with Karnataka or with Kerala. They do not say a word against the dreadful sand mining that kills the rivers in Tamil Nadu. The kind of Tamil nationalism being preached now is in the category of the fanaticism expressed by groups like the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.” Rajadurai clarifies that he is against the attack on Tamils in Sri Lanka, and does not want the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi case hanged. Nevertheless, he is worried about Tamil sub-nationalism deflecting public attention from corruption. His biggest fear is the possibility of a non-performing government with no long-term policies, running on freebies, coming back to power by playing on Dravidian pride.

Protest against SC Verdict at Thanjavur Court complex - 92 arrested!

The police arrested 92 persons when they tried to agitate before the District Court here on Monday demanding formation of the Cauvery Management Board with immediate effect.

The persons led by T. Manimozhiyan, District President of Thamizhaga Vivasayigal Sangam and P. Maniarasan, Convenor of Cauvery Urimai Meetpu Kuzhu assembled at Irwin bridge and tried to move towards court building to stage a demonstration. 

Police sources said that they have not obtained permission. When tried to proceeded, they were arrested by the police. They pleaded the Supreme Court not delay hearing of petitions filed by respective State governments over the final award of the Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal.

Arrested persons include Ayyanapuram Murugesan, General Secretary of Thamizh Desiya Iyakkam, Kudanthai Arasan of Viduthalai Thamizh Puligal Katchi, Dhanablan of Cauvery Vivasayigal Padukappu Sangam and Nel Jayaraman of Iyarkai Uzhavar Iyakkam.