Editorial – ‘Dravidan Model’ started by Anna
On March 6, 1967, the non-brahmin cabinet headed by Anna swearing in Tamil Nadu with the accent ‘Ulamara’ (Solemly affirmed) without taking oath in the name of God has laid the foundation for Dravidian rule. For 55 years the DMK and the AIADMK have alternately shared power in Tamil Nadu.
Anna was the one who created the practice of electoral alliance in the political history of Indian elections. Rajagopalachari’s Suthandra Party, trying to use Anna of DMK to overthrow Kamarasar rule took place in the alliance. Periyar firmly supported Kamarasar. Rajagopalachari said, “Anna has strayed from Periyar’s policy; He is just a ‘can of asafoetida’. He assured his brahmanic community that Periyar’s policy of ‘perungayam’ (asafoetida) is no longer with Anna ”
The DMK won 137 seats in the election with single majority and ruled alone. Anna left Achariyar and came to Trichy with his key ministers to meet Periyar. Achariyar said the ‘honeymoon’ of the DMK and the Suthandra Party was over. Anna replied ‘Yes; Real life begins with Periyar. Anna performed the feat of betraying the Aryans to Dravida in history. Periyar enjoyed with full of happiness.
After the historic three achievements of Legalizing the self-respect marriage; Bilingualism in Tamil Nadu; Naming Tamil Nadu for the State, Anna claimed proudly that no one can rule by abolishing these three projects in the future; As long as these milestones last, he boasted that it was the always Annadurai regime. God images were removed from government offices. When the Union Minister came to visit the Kanchipuram temple, Anna refused to accompany him. The zealous rationalist Navalar Nedunchezhiyan, the Minister of the Hindu Charitable and Endowment Trust, refused to accept the offer/prayer given by the Dikshits when visited the Chidambaram Nadarasan temple. When a member of Congress asked in the assembly whether the ‘Martyrs’ Grant’ would be given to Periyar, who had taken part in the freedom struggle, Anna said, “We have presented this cabinet itself to Periyar.”
In 1959, the DMK captured the Chennai Corporation on the first time. Then Anna put forward a request to his partymen. Before stepping into the corporation building wore a garland to Sir Pitti Thiyagarayar whose statue stands there and say, “Sir! You are the one who enlightened our Tamil community; We are the ones who came your way; we pay homage to the fact that we have not forgotten you and going for duty. ”
Anna proposed the Dravidan Equivalent Coalition, wanted to liberate the South from Northern domination by joining the means of ethnic idendity as Dravidans and can have the right to secede through linguistic means. However put forward state autonomy in the context of the later times.
A nation is not determined by borders; The feelings of the people living there should be determined by rights. ‘RSS’ spoke of religious nationalism with Broader Hindustan as an alternative to the Indian nation.
Even after the partition of the linguistic provinces, the secular northern states did not become aware of it. They were immersed in Brahmanical Sanathana conservative thinking. The Commission for the Division of Linguistic States sought the opinion of the Government of UP upon naming, the name Hindustan was first mentioned; Nehru refused to accept. Then suggested the name ‘Aryan Virat’; That too was not accepted. Then suggested the name ‘Ramarajyam’; That too was not accepted and Nehru suggested the name ‘Uttar Pradesh’. (Source: US Brown University researcher Brerinasingh article in (Maperum Tamil Kanavu) ‘Great Tamil Dream’)
India itself is U.P, that too India is the Hindu nation in the mindset of not only UP; It was the mentality of the Hindi-speaking ‘cow areas’; It is still there. Instead Anna gave voice to state autonomy until the end. He also emphasized state autonomy in his late article for the Kanchi Pongal Magazine (1969).
The demand for state autonomy proposed by Anna now needs to be emphasized more than ever in an environment where the Union government is urgently depriving the states of their rights with the aim of Single Rule. On the day of Anna’s first government, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu MK Stalin in a statement issued said, ‘No matter how hard the racial enemy and his mercenaries have come in various identities, DMK stands with the shield of sword to protect Tamil Nadu by the way shown by Periyar-Anna-Kalaingar
Those ethnic enemies pointed by Chief Minister are refusing to give the funds belongs to Tamil Nadu. They are depriving Tamil Nadu of its right to education. NEET, GST, Sanskrit-Hindi dumping continues. The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, with the support of the people, has been active in formulating and implementing programs for the business, education, economy and social welfare of Tamil Nadu in line with Anna’s policy. This is the shield; Fights for rights with the Union government; This is the sword; Attempts by the chief minister to mobilize non-BJP state Chief Ministers under one umbrella are creating tremors for the Union government. Periyar policy of self-esteem; Social Justice Code; Autonomous goals; Now we see these are required as the need of the hour . The ‘NEET’ protest voice is heard from Karnataka. Kerala and West Bengal have come out in the field to demand the removal of the Governor. The Telangana Chief Minister says a new constitution needs to be drafted. Rahul Gandhi says Tamil Nadu should be the guide.
The Dravidian movement policies that Anna’s started in Tamil Nadu are beginning to resonate in other states. Anna defined ethics for his party men as ‘duty-dignity-restraint’; The Dravidian movement has further enriched itself by ccombining those slogans with the policy goal of ‘self-respect-social justice-equality’. This is the Dravidian model that Anna showed!
Puratchi Periyar Muzhakam 10032022 Issue
