The pill of Indian global politics is a hard one to swallow. On one side is our ethos-wide prevalent culture of peace, self reflection, and non-materialism; on the other, a need to sustain this culture for future generations ahead. We have already become so deeply ingrained in the Western way of life that our thoughts and lifestyles model it. The greatest success of imperialism was not one of just material gains; it was the assimilation of the East into Western thought. Our lifestyles and our culture reflect this.
So, what do we do now? Do we pursue the non-alignment principle set forth by Gandhi and Nehru? Or do we embrace the surge of nationalism and participate in capitalist society to find our way forward? It is a question I keep debating in my mind, with no clear answer. I see this question of national identity of relevance to present-day Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu is embroiled in a power struggle, where the decades old Periyar-driven political thought is being challenged by influence from the pan-Indian BJP. It is time for Tamil youth to consider the direction ahead. Do we still follow the Periyar way which embodies separation of church from state? Do we continue to focus on social empowerment of the underpriviledged? Or do we get consumed by religious politics in the name of capitalism and wealth generation? Both have importance and merit, as they do negatives. I will argue for the Periyar way.
The primary importance of this form of governance is separation of religion from state affairs. Religions, even neo-Hinduism, are prone to misinterpretations and emotion-fueled state decisions. What constitutes this Hinduism is a topic for another debate, since it has increasingly come to reflect just the Bhagavad Gita. It should be obvious that religion-based lifestyle choices should only be at the level of the individual, while civil governments ought to be secular and indifferent to religion. Governments ought to be based on their ability to maintain law, and law is independent of religion. Therefore, a religion-afffiliated government is intrinsically biased. When governments have religious affiliation, their actions become an interpretation of that religion itself, which ironically harm that religion. We seem to often forget that the government is a representative of its people and its actions reflect on us. We have traditionally resisted the influence of religion in Tamil Nadu. Thus far, from the formation of the DK party to recent times, the focus has been on social welfare and development. It has not been perfect, but we cannot deny that caste and welfare of the under-privileged improved significantly under these regimes. Only under Jayalalithaa did the tone begin to shift, due to her subscription to the BJP agenda. To be fair, she exhibited social consciousness to a certain extent. Karunanidhi, for all his faults, is a patron of Tamil art and culture and has done much in its preservation and development. Further, the dominance of this form of political thought has not come at the expense of economic frailty. Far from that, Tamil Nadu is the now the most industrialized state in the country(1), and third in terms of GDP(2). These facts, in my opinion, outweigh other demerits of this political institution. A second factor that contributes to this opinion is the desire to sustain our old Tamil ways and thoughts. It is easy to forget one's heritage in the wave of materialism and nationalism. This aspect however comes from a place of emotion and should be seen as a reflection of that. I must also temper this opinion by saying that though I seek a non-BJP government in TN, I consider them the best choice currently as a national and international party.
The DMK and ADMK need to field strong candidates in the fight ahead. We need socially aware candidates that understand the Periyar way and show the necessary resilience and understanding of politics. We crave candidates that can set themselves aside and look around at their people. The debate should not be about whether Rajnikanth, a man with no social awareness or political acumen, will make a good leader. It needs to be about what is good for the state, and who is fit to get it done. It doesn't matter whether the candidate chooses to prioritize economic growth or social improvement as long as the goal remains the same. I think we can safely say that a man who runs to the Himalayas at the first sign of trouble is probably not a good choice for that!
Refs:
1. http://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/these-are-the-five-most-industrialised-states-in-india/story/238337.html
2. https://www.siliconindia.com/news/general/8-Most-Developed-States-Based-On-GDP-2015-in-India-nid-189294-cid-1.html
