| TN
politics in flux over rise of caste outfits
Express
News Service
Chennai,
May 9:
The campaigning is over. Now, it’s the wait for results. But
in the meantime, the Tamil polity is worried over the economic and
sociological churnings of the polls.
The verdict could throw into sharp focus the mushrooming of caste
outfits, legitimised as they are by an increasingly desperate DMK
chief M. Karunanidhi, and the affect of the new economic policies
on people’s lives.
Periyar EVR, who demolished Brahmin hegemony, would turn in his
grave if he came to know of his so-called disciples’ move to
the road of apostasy. And for true blue Dravdianists, the unravelling
of the carefully fashioned non-Brahmin coalition would be more galling.
The very organisations that first challenged the upper and intermediate
castes’s rule and championed the lowest strata’s cause,
such as the Pudhiya Thamizhakam (PT) and the Dalit Panthers of India
(DPI), are now becoming hostage to the caste hierarchy.
A good example is DPI chief Thirumavalavan who now seeks the support
of disgraced former Indian Bank chief M. Gopalakrishnan. In Mangalore
(Reserve), the Yadavas have a considerable presence.
Thirumavalavan is unsure of DMK-leaning Vanniyars’ support
for they could opt for a less provocative
TMC candidate. Among the Dalits, several are AIADMK supporters.
Gopalakrishnan as leader of the Makkal Thamizh Desam, presumably
a party of the Yadavas, is thus an asset for Thirumavalavan. The
former Indian Bank chief is contesting from Bhuvanagiri constituency.
For all his rantings against the Hindu social order, he has had
little difficulty in joining hands with BJP.
Another Dalit leader Dr. K Krishnaswamy of the Pudhiya Thamizhakam,
whose very reason for existence is his stout opposition to the intermediate
caste Thevars, now hardly worries before sharing a platform with
aggressive Thevar outfits. Krishnaswamy is in alliance with the
party he had denounced for firing on Manjolai workers.
Both DPI and PT have accused Dravidian parties of promoting the
intermediate castes’s cause and neglecting Dalits. Reportedly,
the Dalits are unsettled over the compromises their leaders have
made. After the polls, both parties’ leadership could face
fresh challenges if the results are unfavourable.
Similarly, the New Justice Party’s and the MTD’s attempts
to cash in on the discontent among upper caste Mudaliars and the
Yadavas could backfire if they fail to do well at the hustings.
As a political commentator put it: ‘‘While Jayalalitha
might be undesirable as chief minister, a defeat for DMK-led front
— especially for the NJP and the MTD — would be a slap
on the face for caste-based mobilisation.’’
The affect of the mindless implementation of new economic policies
is certainly the most important factor at work in the current elections.
Coimbatore, a thriving industrial city, is fast becoming a ghost
town.
Textile industry is in crisis, handloom and powerloom sectors are
almost on their knees, prices of farm produce from cash crops to
cereals is on the downswing, and money circulation is badly hit.
People now believe that maybe Jayalalitha could do something if
she wins power.
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