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.

+++

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.