Journalism of Courage
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Tamil Nadu government and state Governor RN Ravi have been at loggerheads over several issues. Most recently, the DMK has taken strong exception to Ravi’s recent remarks allegedly terming Dravidian politics as ‘regressive politics’. The Governor also suggested changing the name of the state to ‘Tamizhagam’.
How has the MK Stalin-led DMK responded to this, and what is the history of the disagreements between the Tamil Nadu state government and the Governor? We explain.
While addressing a program felicitating organisers and volunteers of the Kashi Tamil Sangamam, held at the Raj Bhavan in Chennai on January 4, Ravi allegedly remarked that the word ‘Tamizhagam’ was a more appropriate term for Tamil Nadu.
“Here in Tamil Nadu, a different kind of narrative has been created. Everything applicable for the whole of the country, Tamil Nadu will say no. It has become a habit. So many theses have been written – all false and poor fiction. This must be broken. Truth must prevail,” he said, PTI reported. “Thamizhagam would be a more appropriate word to call it,” he said.
The word ‘Nadu’ in the Tamil language means ‘land’, but has come to mean ‘country’ at times, viewed through the lens of Tamil nationalism. Ravi seems to have suggested the word ‘Thamizhagam’ instead to distance from the interpretation of the term ‘Tamil Nadu’ as more of an autonomous region, than one that is part of India.
According to a press release by Raj Bhavan, he also said, “There has been regressive politics with the wrong habit of refusing everything that benefits all sections of people including academicians blindly for their own interests, claiming that the state is not integrally part of India,” the release said.
The Governor reportedly said that for over 50 years, efforts had been made to reinforce the narrative that Tamil Nadu is not an integral part of India. “Tamil Nadu is soul, an idea and an identity of Nation and we should keep it alive to erase some falsehood and fiction of negative approach prevailing in the state,” he said.
Soon after Ravi’s speech, there were strong reactions from several political leaders and celebrities. Members and supporters of Dravidian parties registered their protest by trending #TamilNadu on Twitter.
DMK treasurer and senior leader T R Baalu Thursday issued a statement against the “frequent divisive statements” of Ravi. “He makes statements that are factually incorrect and potentially dangerous about Sanatana Dharma, Aryanism, Dravidianism, Thirukkural and colonialism, regardless of the occasion. Additionally, he makes derogatory statements about Dalits and even B R Ambedkar. However, it’s not difficult to understand his real motive,” said Baalu.
The Governor, he claimed, was making political remarks. “The majority of his communal remarks up to this point have been on caste structures, and lately, he has also begun to speak like a politician,” he said. “In his most recent speech, he seemed to have claimed that Dravidian politics had been deceiving the people of Tamil Nadu for fifty years. A speech that should have been delivered at the BJP headquarters is currently being delivered from Raj Bhawan. This should be condemned.”
The DMK MP also said, “If he wishes to take over as the state chief of BJP, let Governor Ravi make such foolish statements after quitting his position as the Governor. You cannot simultaneously hold the offices of the Governor and a BJP leader.”
DMK MP Kanimozhi, meanwhile, said, “The name Tamil Nadu indicates our language, tradition, politics and life itself. It was CN Annadurai who made that name official in the state Assembly. This land will remain Tamil Nadu forever.”
Newly-inducted sports minister and Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin said, “Anna (Annadurai), the founder of DMK, gave this name after a long battle. CM Stalin who follows the paths of Annadurai and M Karunanidhi will protect it.”
Pushing back on the Governor’s remarks, the DMK mouthpiece Murasoli wrote, “He says the name Tamil Nadu indicates a sovereign nation. Does the name Rajasthan sound like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, or Turkmenistan to you? Isn’t Maharashtra a secessionist name for its name indicates the land of Marathas? Kerala’s tourism slogan, ‘God’s own country’, may also be a demand for a nation-state status. Isn’t it problematic for you to find a ‘Desam (land)’ in Telugu Desam Party?”
Writing that “India is a British creation”, the DMK mouthpiece asked Ravi to thank the British for creating India, instead of feeling proud of an imaginary “Akhand Bharat”.
DMK’s organizing secretary told PTI, “The Governor is trying to do something that doesn’t suit his gubernatorial position. He wants to talk about politics rather than bestow importance to the developmental initiatives of the DMK government”. Stopping short of asking the Governor to refrain from indulging in politics, Bharathi said that it was unbefitting of the Governor to interfere in state politics. Ravi ought to resign if he wants to talk about politics, he said.
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which is a BJP ally, disagreed with Ravi’s remarks. Claiming that the party, too, follows Annadurai’s political line, former minister D Jayakumar said, “It will always be Tamil Nadu for us.”
The BJP, however, hit out at the ruling party, with its state president K Annamalai saying that “the DMK has long been trying to bury their secessionist past, their ideological parent party (Dravidar Kazhagam or DK founded by social reformer Periyar) wanting a separate Dravida Nadu, later a separate Tamil Nadu”.
In a series of tweets, Annamalai said, “instead of the DMK party, the separatists nurtured by them continue to echo this sentiment today”. The DMK cadre even recently said that the ‘Dravida Nadu’ plea was not forgotten and propelled separatist sentiments, he alleged.
This is not the first time that there has been a tussle. Earlier, bills have been passed by the Tamil Nadu government to curtail the powers of the governor. Tamil Nadu government leaders have also boycotted events hosted by the state governor and publicly criticised some of his actions.
The M K Stalin government also took exception to Ravi over his criticism of the state’s response to the October 23 Coimbatore car blast. Ravi “praising Sanatana Dharma” was, in turn, criticised by the DMK.
In February 2022, Ravi returned the bill that the state Assembly tabled against the National Eligibility cum Entrance test (NEET), opposing having an all-India medical higher education entrance exam. Ravi said that it went against the interests of students, especially those from the economically weaker sections.
In April last year, Stalin and DMK allies boycotted the ‘At Home’ reception held by Ravi at the Raj Bhavan to mark Tamil New Year, due to his not giving consent for the bill.
In November, DMK petitioned President Droupadi Murmu, asking that Ravi be recalled on grounds of unconstitutional conduct, and his failure to sign a large number of Bills passed by the state Assembly. The DMK petition mentioned 20 bills passed by the Assembly that are awaiting Ravi’s assent.
The ruling party has often accused Ravi of espousing Right-wing ideology and toeing the BJP’s line on matters including the National Education Policy (NEP), a policy that the DMK opposes. It has framed many of these issues as part of efforts for championing federalism and state autonomy, a major plank of the DMK’s ideology since its founding in 1949.
What’s to come?
Amid the controversy, the Tamil Nadu Assembly’s first session of the year will begin on Monday. The House is set to convene against the backdrop of the pending bills, and tensions between the Governor and the ruling party and its allies, over ideological and policy matters.
Issues like opposition from farmers to the new Parandur greenfield airport project near Chennai are also expected to be debated.
