As a player in Tamil Nadu’s residual vote share space, Naam Tamilar Katchi’s political offering could damage the social fabric of the state
The name “Tamil or Dravidian?” by Tamilar Katchi (NTK) A public conference on the subject was held recently, which was attended by NTK leaders, some seasoned Tamil nationalist thinkers, and a plethora of largely non-descriptive speakers. The points raised were that Dravidian politics had betrayed the native Tamil castes, leading to an influx of immigrants, and that Eelam was responsible for the problems faced by Tamils.
What was common to all was that Dravidian politics had to go and be replaced by a native form of Tamil nationalism. The keynote speaker was the NTK’s coordinator-in-chief, Seiman, who, among other things, invited Adolf Hitler to strengthen his anti-Dravidian rhetoric. This is not the first time he has referred to Hitler positively.
public image
Mr. Seeman’s path to fame was through public speeches at meetings organized by Dravidian collectives in the 2000s. He initially claimed to be inspired by both Periyar and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) chief Velupillai Prabhakaran. However, after the LTTE’s military defeat of Sri Lanka in 2009, Mr Seeman left the LTTE for later. For Mr Seeman, Prabhakaran is a leader not only for Eelam Tamils but also for Indian Tamils. NTK was launched in 2010 and claims to have popularized Prabhakaran’s image in Tamil Nadu, often creating apocryphal stories of friendship between Mr. Seeman and the LTTE leadership. However, the image that NTK is trying to develop is that of Mr. Seeman as the sole spokesperson for Tamils across the world.
The identity of the leader matters
NTK follows a program of indigenousism to identify its leaders. Apart from Prabhakaran, it is also associated with ancient Tamil kings and modern Tamil leaders such as Ayothi Thass, Bharathiyar, Emmanuel Sekaran, U.K. Muthuramalingam, MP identifies Sivaganam as his inspiration and symbol. For NTK, the Tamil identity of these personalities plays a bigger role than the ideology they embraced. The NTK’s targets for the attacks have been leaders of Dravidian parties, notably CN Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi, often on the claim that they belong to non-Tamil immigrant castes. Some in the NTK speak eloquently of EVR Periyar, but they continually try to downplay his central role in modern Tamil politics, as he is disregarded of any form of identifiable parochialism. NTK wants to foreground only those who can claim to belong to the Tamil origin caste, which is determined by birth in a Tamil clan (Girl) – his definition of Tamil identity is based on this.
nationalism and politics
Chariotic Tamil nationalism has historically been marginalized in modern Tamil politics. For good part, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) contained extremist Tamil elements and promoted a holistic and pluralistic approach to politics and identity. Even during the anti-Hindi movements, neither the caste-nobles nor the Hindi speaking people were harmed. The conflict was over ideas rather than identity, as set forth by many Dravidian thinkers. The harmony between Periyar and Rajaji is also proof of that. Similarly, once they seized power, the Dravidian parties maintained Tamil Nadu as a state free from major communal or caste conflicts. After the 1960s, the Dravidian regime has also prevented the rise of violent movements threatening the sovereignty of India.
While Tamil Nadu’s legislature is one of the most diverse in terms of caste representation across the country, localized caste conflicts are certainly quite common in Tamil Nadu, with sections of Dalits usually at the receiving end of atrocities. Similarly, more and more 250 Backward Castes, some have minimal or intermittent political representation.
Both the NTK and the Bharatiya Janata Party have tried to mobilize such caste groups who are voicing their grievances by promoting leaders of the said communities in their party ranks. Both are targeting Dravidian politics, especially the DMK.
While the BJP tries to unite such castes on religious lines, the NTK tries to do the same on a caste nationalist issue. NTK’s Tamil nationalism addresses the grievances of these castes with Dravidian conspiracy theories to secure a global conspiracy against the dominance of non-Tamil castes and Tamil identity. Normally, such conspiracy theories are humorous, but when they are backed by a political party that won an estimated 6.6 percent of the vote in recent elections, they are potentially dangerous. The inability of progressive governments to accommodate the class inequalities created by the current economic system gives rise to the tendency for such parties.
Mr Seeman’s sympathizers are very active on social media, particularly YouTube, which is characterized by conspiracy theories, abusive language and aggressive occultism, and rooted in a sense of Tamil victimhood. It is not unusual to see them threaten violence that they will open up to if voted to power. Apart from the linguistic minorities in the state, their main targets of attack are Dravidians, leftists and feminists.
For a long time, several political parties and activist groups in Tamil Nadu have expressed solidarity with Sri Lankan Tamils and supported their call for a just political solution to the crisis. The NTK has taken advantage of a serious issue to promote its own anarchic form of native nationalism.
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a danger
NTK continues to operate in the residual vote share space. Although elections have become more competitive with the participation of the NTK, the two Dravidian alliances have continued to win 85% of the vote. However, the NTK leader’s rhetoric has become acrimonious and the followers inspired by him are restless. NTK’s political offering may damage the overall social fabric of Tamil Nadu, especially as the current regime is trying to cover more ground. Always In empowering marginalized backward castes, dalits and women, reducing caste-class inequalities and upholding the federal ethos of the country.
Karthik Ram Manoharan is a Marie-Skolodowska Curie Research Fellow working on the political thought of Periyar EV Ramasamy at the University of Wolverhampton, UK, Vignesh Karthik KR is a doctoral researcher at King’s India Institute, King’s College London. Views expressed are personal
.