End of Dravidian Era in Tamil Nadu

Author(s): Ambrose Pinto

Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 34, No. 24 (Jun. 12-18, 1999), pp. 1483-
1485+1487-1488
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
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 COMMENTARY

itself with the Tamil sentiments. If Hindi

End of Dravidian Era in Tamil Nadu was to be imposed, it was clear for the
central leadership that the cry for 'Dravida
Ambrose Pinto Nadu' would become louder Indira
Gandhi who had invited the agitating
Tamil Nadu politics was for long dominated by the Dravida student leaders to pacify the feelings o
the students, was told by the students "D
movement which emphasised Tamil identity, language atnd culture in
you prefer Hindi or unity?" implying ther
opposition to nlorthl Indiatn attempts at integration. This was replaced
can be no united India with Hindi as the
by M G Ramachalldran, t popular matinee idol and a populist link in or official language in any manner or
form [Ramanujam 1971].
politics. Today the politics in the state has accepted BJP's hindutva
and also globalisation, makinlg a complete break from the Dravida Sanskrit was a priestly language and a
movement.
language of the temples. The entire life
of Hindus in hierarchical caste system
centred on temples, priesthood and rituals.
WITH the alliance of Dravida Munnetra
were introduced before proceedings began
By romanticising Tamil and claiming that
Kazhagham (DMK) with the Bharatiya in the state assembly. The name of the it is superior to Sanskrit the Dravidan
state
was changed from Madras to Tamil Nadu
Janata Party (BJP) for the forthcoming leaders undermined both the priestly
(The Hindiistanl Tines, July 28, 1967).
national elections, whatever hopes one language and the priesthood. Jesudasan
had of a continuation of 'Dravida' cause The idea was to win over the sentiments (1961) wrote "'Unlike other Indian lan-
in Tamil Nadu have disappeared. The of the Tamil people. The whole Dravidaguages, what stands out among achieve-
AIDMK had given up the Dravida cause movement was therefore centred on the ments of the Tamils is emphatically not
right from the start, both in its ideology frorm Sanskrit. Sophisticated and San-
Tamil language. Tamil culture and Tamil
and alliances. Given the nature of DMK. nation opposed to whatever is nationalskritised literature, so far as Tamil is con-
one expected the party to further the and Indian. cerned, has to be relegated to the second
Dravida cause rather lhan retreat from it. class".
The excessive love for one's language
This paper examines the 'Dravida' essentially leads to hostility to other From the stirring of anti-Sanskrit senti-
movementon the background of 'hindutva' languages, specially those demanding ments, there was also opposition to the
and 'globalisation' and attempts to attention. For the Tamils, the other two brahmanic hegemony positively expressed
understand the present situation. languages that were demanding attention through love for Tamil and denunciation
were Hindi and Sanskrit. Hindi is a national of whatever is brahmanic. Sanskrit was
I
language, It is not the language of the associated with the exploitative priesthood.
Evolution of Dravidianism south. The southerners held that the
The leaders of the Dravida movement were
attempts to impose it on the nation bypractically
"Dear students ofTamil. Turn your atten- the all non-brahmins. Gradually,
northerners show their desire to dominate they defined themselves as a Dravidian
tion to your country...it is in uttar disorder.
What is the chief cause? The answer is over the south. The opposition to Hindi race different from the Aryans of the north
therefore was vehement. and from the brahmins of the state. Instead
neglect of the mlotlhe to nguue and our failure
The two major anti-Hindi agitations of Sanskritising and claiming a higher
to love and nurture it...Of all the languages
against the imposition of Hindi by the varna and linking themselves to the myth
in the ,orld it is our 'Tamil Mother' that
occupies the most degraded position...Our central government on Tamil Nadu wereof Aryan origin, the Dravida movement
mother, the most ancient and the most in 1965 and 1968. In 1965 while Congress looked to the thesis of a pre-Aryan invasion
glorious of the languages of the world has was in power, those agitating were jailed.which viewed the brahmins as nomadic
now fallen from the high pedestal she once As a national party, the Congress followedand latecomers to the subcontinent; and
occupied" [Mudaliyar 1965]. central party dictates with no sensitivitythe Dravidians as the original inhabitants.
These words of Tiru V Kaliyanasundara to regional aspirations. For Tamils, Hindi The Dravidians were thus linked to the
Mudaliyar (1883-1953) were the core of was a language of the north and the rulersIndus valley civilisation. To provide further
theDravidian movement. While attempting in Delhi were Aryans. Acceptance of Hindiimpetus to the theory Father Heras, a
to revive greater interest in the Tamil meant acceptance of the rule of outsiders.Spanish Jesuit Scholar, claimed that the
language, several after Kaliyanasundara The DMK therefore was totally averse to Tamils were the purest descendants of the
expressed anti-Sanskrit and anti-brahmin Hindi. In fact, DMK once in power in Indus valley people and had best preserved
sentiments to consolidate Tamil pri e 1967 unconditionally released all those their culture. He translated the mysterious
Using the language, it was easy to whip convicted in the 1965 anti-Hindi agita- script of the seals and gave it the name
up popular sentiments and ensure co- tion. "This is never done; many of these 'Proto-Tamil', relating presentTamil festi-
people had committed grave crimes such
operation. Already in 1967. during its very vals and folk life to the Indus civilisation
as looting and arson" (The Hindustant
first entry into political rule the Dravida [Heras 1953]. Works of the type envisaged
Munnetra Kazhagam government instal- Times, July 28, 1967) was the protest from the new consciousness among non-
led a big board with neon lights in Tamilthe Congress Party. Congress was per- brahmin Tamils. The movement gained
ceived as unsympathetic to and intolerant new evidence when it was most needed
on the secretariat building at Fort St George.
The board read. 'Tamizhaga Arasu of the Tamil cause while DMK was seen through discoveries of Harappa and
Thalaimai Seyalagam' (head offices ofasthe a party of the poor and the downtroddenMohenjodaro.
Tamils. With that began an attack on brahmanic
government of the Tamils). English names
on state transport buses were changedIntothe year 1968 when there was wide- religion, a religion that had legitimised
spread anti-Hindi agitation all over Tamil
Tamil. Inside the buses, quotations from oppression of the BCs/SCs and ST.. Inages
Nadu, the ruling DMK government was
Tirukural and a pictuire of Tiruvalluvar of Ram wre publicly desecrated and Hindu
strongly behind the agitation and identified
were displayed. Prayers to Tiruvalluvar deities w'c-e o)bscernely portrayed. The

Economic and Political Weekly June 12, 1999 1483

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inscription on the statues of E V Rama- independent Dravida Nadu. Right fromthat Krishna is a god or that the Gita is
swamy Naicker erected in several places the start EVR stressed widow remarriages
his prophecy eradicate caste?...So keep in
in the state read "he who created god is and intercaste marriages. He urged his your minds that there is no other way
a fool, he who propagates god is a scoundrel followers to treat August 15, 1947 as aexcept to become atheists in some way or
and he who worships god is a barbarian" day of misery for the failure to obtainother... (Viduthalai, April 6, 1964).
(Indian Express, July 16, 1976). He con- separate nationhood for Dravidians orPeriyar by his prophetic denunciation of
sistently and constantly reiterated that no 'Dravida Nadu'. When India adopted brahmanism
its was able to provide awareness
brahmin can be for equality and justice. Constitution, he boycotted it. to the downtrodden in Tamil society. He
Gita and Ramayana were attacked. The There were other symbolic gestures was
he able to convince them that degradation
attack on Ramayana was because Rama used to strengthen Tamil non-brahmin is man-made and hence alterable. His
was depicted as a northerner, warring identity. In 1952 he led a major anti-Hindi ability to awaken the masses was immense.
against the Dravidian Ravana in Lanka. movement. He broke images of the popularThe second important hero of the Dravida
E V R Naicker observed, "The Ramayana god Vinayaka to demonstrate his movement was E N Annadurai. He became
is not based on any historical truth. opposition to religion. When Nadar the first DMK chief minister in 1967. He
According to it Rama was not aTamilian... Kamaraj replaced Rajagopalachari, a died on February 2, 1969. He was respon-
He was a northerner. Ravana, who was brahmin, in 1954 as chief minister, EVR sible for providing self-respect to the
killed by him was the king of Lanka (that gave him total support. In the 1960s PeriyarTamils. He renamed the state of Madras
is southern Tamil Nadu)...The men of burnt pictures of Rama. Ramayana was as Tamil Nadu. If Periyar was the spearhead
Tamil Nadu are divided as monkeys and viewed as the record of an imperialistic of radical socialism by linking Tamil
monsters...In the Ramayana war not a war by northerners against southerners. identity to sentiments of caste, Annadurai
single northernerorAryan lost his life...All
Periyar's was a radical socialism. Though tied his movement to linguistic renaissance
those who lost their lives were Tamils who
not an intellectual, he had understood and to Tamil culture. He mixed the radical
were called Rakshasas" [Naicker 1959]. society. His was a prophetic voice, more socialism of Periyar with a large dose of
"Anyone who calls himself a brahmin ina voice of reason than superstition. His liberalism so that the ideology provides
this country cannot behave differently from anti-religious movement functioned as meaning to large number of Tamils. A
his position...that separates and elevatessome kind of religion. Though influenced disciple of Periyar, he worked with Periyar
him from the rest of society...According by Marx, he was fully rooted in Tamil first in the Justice Party and later in the
to the 'vedas', 'sastras', 'puranas' andNadu soil. He combined socialism, atheism Dravida Kazhagham. Differences between
'ithihasas', brahmins are the upper casteand anti-brahmanism. Here is an extract the two leaders led Anna to launch his own
and others...are the low caste. The sastras from his speech: party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Pro-
of Hinduism...attribute inferiority and Socialism means justice without bias and gressive Dravidian Federation) in 1949.
superiority, disgrace and honour, to the And yet both worked together on certain
equality without differences. But there are
low and upper castes, respectively. No inequalities in every aspect of present life,issues. In the 1952 elections DMK ran no
brahmins can give up this" (speech of in caste, in education, in wealth and in candidate of its own and decided to support
1957, quoted in Viditthalai, March 20, social status. Even after their hardwork candidates who supported the demand for
1964). people suffer without scraps to eat, rags Dravida Nadu. When EVR tarred Hindi
The Dravida identity thus was fostered
to wear and huts to live in...When we say names on railway station name boards,
at two levels of deconstruction and Anna joined him.
it is not proper and the prosperity should
construction. While infusing hatred be of
equally enjoyed by all, the capitalists, Annadurai continually stressed the
caste, the primordial sentiment of race and
the cultural overthe economic. While officially
aristocrats, the landlords...cry aloud.
language was affirmed. North Indians
The as
priests and the theists stand up and dropping the demand for self-determin-
well as brahmins were seen as Aryans. ation or secessionalism, DMK settled for
shout that it is against the will ofgod...They
They were held responsible for Hinduism,
say a man leads a happy or a sorrowful greater autonomy. The abandoning of the
caste and the low status of Dravidians. To
demand for secession was to give the party
life according to the results of his karmas
provide a legitimate place for the Dra-done in a pervious birth...( Viduthalai, greater political appeal. The rising
vidians in politics and society Hinduism,March 2, 1964). generation preferred by far the buoyant
caste and Aryanism had to be destroyed. positive aspirations of the DMK. After the
The demand for Dravida Nadu was centred His opposition to religion was due to
success of DMK in 1967 elections,
on this anti-Aryan sentiment. the exploitative nature of religion, specially
Annadurai's cabinet was the youngest in
with regard to caste.
II India - averaging 48 years. Gradually,
People say our revolutionary movement Anna attempted to ameliorate the Dravida
Personalities
has spoiled its chances because it entered Kazhagam's hatred of the brahmins while
into the field of god and religion. Man is
There were three important personalities maintaining hostility to their position and
responsible for evolving the Dravidian disgraced by caste and caste is disgraced beliefs. A distinction between brahminism
ideology. The most important among them by religion. How can we destroy one, and brahmins was made. Brahminism was
was Periyar E V Ramaswamy Naicker keeping the other alive?...Can the Hindu defined as representing the particular
(EVR), a radical socialist. More than religion stand if caste is abolished?...Can system and practice of life preached by the
schooling, he was educated by his ex- god exist when caste and religion are brahmins based on irrational beliefs which
perience. Prior to independence, that is in abolished...? I shall give you an needed to be destroyed. Such beliefs could
1944, he transformed the Justice Party into illustration...All the sastras of Hinduism be a part and parcel of other people. A
a movement and called it Dravida Kazha- accept the division of the four varnas. Thebrahmin is an individual. To the extent he
gam. The members were to wear black words of 'god' which appear in the treats all people as equals, he would have
shirts as a symbol of the degradation ofBhagavad Gita approve of this: "I created
a place in Dravida Nadu.
the Tamils. The back flag was another the four varnas. I created the dharmas Annadurai supported widow remar-
symbol, a sign of the subjugated state of (duties) to be carried out by the respectiveriages and 'self-respect marriages'. These
the Dravidians with a red circle in the castes. If anyone does not follow his duty,marriages had no priest and the ritual was
centre, symbolising the hope of futureI will put him in hell." Lord Krishna...hasa simple exchange of garlands between
justice. The goal was a completely uttered these words.. .Can those who believe
bride and groom. An elder of the

1484 Economic and Political Weekly June 12, 1999

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community presided over the ceremony. huge volumes of writings to his credit. In Dravidian issue. The masses found in
To provide legitimacy to such marriages some of his stories there is an attack on Karunanidhi a symbol of their aspirations.
the assembly unanimously passed the Self- As for belief in god, Karunanidhi
Hinduism. In terms of mobilising the
Respect Marriage Act when he was chief masses, his campaign centred both on
emphasised that "at no time had the DMK
minister. The objective was to do away economic and cultural issues. Hindi was been a party of atheists, but it would not
with all that provides sacred powers to thea significant factor. Political awareness allow exploitation in the name of god...
brahmanic caste. was tied to primordial sentiments. DMK believes that god lives in the hearts
On the question of race and caste, DMK Karunanidhi pioneered a technique of people rather than in temples" (Indian
was more moderate than DK. But the party whereby political verses were set to Express, the August 21, 1970). This is a
became identified with the defence of tunes of popular cinema songs. These were departure from the DK ideology. Though
Tamil language and culture. Annadurai sung in theaters and on loudspeakersnot in an atheist, Karunanidhi was full of
organised the World Tamil Conference, every village. Here is an example: anti-Hindu and anti-brahminic sentiments.
the biggest celebration Tamil Nadu had Should Hindi rule the south? The most important figure in the all-
ever seen for decades. The idea was to aid India Dravidian politics was M G Rama-
Should the position of sweet Tamils
the rise of a Tamil consciousness among deteriorate? chandran who split from Karunanidhi and
the people. To further raise consciousness Should the north Indians arrogantly cheat launched AIDMK. For 11 years, till his
there was the use of motion pictures in us? death on December 24,1987, he dominated
which Annadurai himself played a major Should we lose all the taxes we have paid? Tamil Nadu politics without a Dravidian
role as actor. For him films were meant Is not ourTamil famed for its fine literature? agenda. As a friend of the Congress, his
for the promotion of social and political Is it not the only way to prosperity? rule even took away the benefits of the
messages. There was then de-Sanskritis- [Ryerson 1988:156]. Dravida movement. The conditions of the
ation of Tamil where the brahmin Tamil people worsened. His goverment dealt
Most of the songs combined cultural
was replaced by a iiiddle caste, non- ruthlessly with workers, peasants, labourers
aspects with economic aspirations.
colloquial Tamil. It is in the light of the and employees. As the chief of All-India
historic interaction between the Tamils
In a meeting that Karunanidhi presided
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, he had no
over in 1970, his party's creed was declared
and their language that the Tamil difficulty in aligning with national parties
to be to work without rest - following
opposition to Hindi as the official Indian and their causes. And yet he was popular.
Anna's path - to oppose Hindi imperial-
language must be seen. The non-brahmin His popularity was due to his actions on
Tamils feared Hindi because of its
ism, to establish a society without exploit- the silver screen.
ation, to work for autonomy for the states
relationship to Sanskrit, feeling itand
will be "Charismatic MGR role was that of a
federation at the centre and to con-
used to extend Aryan (lomination over the working man combating every oppression.
quering of poverty avoiding violence
south, destroying Tamil in the process. Thus he fiad acted as a peasant, fisherman,
As chief minister Annadurai abolished
(Indian Express, February 24, 1970). The
rickshaw-puller, carter, gardener, taxi
party changed its demand from secession
Hindi teaching in all secondary schools driver, quarry worker, shoeshine boy,
to greater autonomy for the states.
with a view to completely eliminate Hindi cowherd, etc" [Pandian 1989]. His identi-
In keeping with the anti-brahmanic
fication with the common man and their
from the school syllabus. The National
worldview Karunanidhi in 1971 passed
Cadet Corps was suspended in all struggles made it easy to the struggling
educational institutions because the orders
the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and
Charitable Endowments Amendment Act and toiling masses to identify with his
were to be given in Hindi. As far as religion image on the screen. The real MGR never
which abolished the hereditary appoint-came in contact with the masses. After
is concerned it is not the idea of god that
ment of 'archakas' (temple priests). This
Anna opposed but Aryan gods such as was intended to abolish brahmin monopoly MGR, Jayalalitha put on the mantle of
Krishna, Rama and Siva. The attack was MGR. Being a brahmin she was not at all
in religious affairs. Brahmins challenged
not on religion but the religion of varna ideologically tuned to the Dravida ideo-
dharma. As chief minister he issued orders
the Act in the Supreme Court without
logy. In fact, she was responsible for the
success. DMK then made it mandatory
banning portraits of gods and goddesses appointment of brahmin archakas and
that prayers be held in Tamil rather than
in government offices. He promoted two in Sanskrit. When the brahmin class was promoting the cause of Brahmins as chief
festivals. May 1, workers day and Pongal, minister. Besides she inherited the AIDMK
politicising the attacks on the god Ram in
reinterpreted to mean harvest festival, which was ideologically different from
Salem and the god Vinayak in Madras,
devoid of any religious connotation. DMK. That is way when Jayalalitha aligned
Karunanidhi addressed his people and said:
The third person of the third generation herself with the BJP a party of the Aryans,
responsible for Dravidian ideology is What crime have we perpetrated for themit was no surprise or shock.
M Karunanidhi. As a student he formed to clamour for our annihilation? That we
did not have our birth in a high caste is III
the first unit of the Tamil Nadu 'Manavar
Manram' which later grew into the the only sin we have committed. I was born DMK and BJP
Dravidian Students Federation. He was a in an ordinary family belonging to a However, after a relentless battle against
disciple of Annadurai and wrote scriptsbackward community. I do not have anybrahminism and Aryanism how does
for some of the angrier rationalistic films.pride of pedigree. Is this a sin? Periyar and
Karunanidhi align with the BJP? By its
In 1957, he was first elected to the state Anna are the only two who...made us regainvery ideology DMK has upheld the theory
assembly as a DMK member. He was theour self-respect, made us Tamilians andof Dravidian race as indigenous and
chief campaign strategist for the 1959 made us walk once again as men. It is asuperior. The BJP holds just the opposite
elections to capture Madras Corporation.fateful testing period for us. A challengeview where the Aryans were the original
In the anti-Hindi agitation of 1965, hehas been thrown to Tamil society...Willinhabitants of India and the Vedic
this race survive or be annihilated? This
played a major role. In 1967 he was re- civilisation pre-dated the Indus valley
elected to the assembly and he served both is the question Tamil Nadu is facing. Act
civilisation. Ravana is the icon of
as public works minister and as minister with that question etched in your brains
Dravidians against the Aryan god Ram
for transport. He nationalised bus transport (Murosoli, February 25, 1971). While the whole BJP is centred on Ram
and built a loyal following among the The Salem incident turned out to be a mandir, vedas, Sanskrit, Aryanism and the
powerful transport workers' union. He has brahmin-non-brahmin issue and an Aryan- construction of Hindu 'rashtra', DMK is

Economic and Political Weekly June 12, 1999 1485

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for reCional autonomy, Ravana, atheism, of the demand for separate Dravida Nadu
in Tamil Nadu was very different. Several
Tamil, Dravida Nadu and rationalism. incidents after Ayodhya had communalisedto pressurise the central government to
Therefore, the alliance with BJP is totally establish several new industries in Tamil
Tamil society. The lower castes and classes
opposed to the DMK ideology. A party had taken to Ambedkarism. The Nadu. While on the one hand, the Congress
committed to social justice and atheism Coimbatore bomb blast and several other had to facilitate developments in the state
has decided to compromise on ideology incidents against Hindu communalists by for the growth of the party and to counteract
by aligning itself with a party of fascism the Muslim militants had sharply dividedthe allegation of Dravida leaders that the
and hinduiva. In terms of social justice, Tamil society. To use this newly made Aryans are out to destroy Tamil Nadu, on
DMK has fought for 69 percent reservationvotebank, DMK too became a part of the the other the government at the centre was
in jobs and education for SCs, STs andcommunal agenda, of winning back the aware that development would be the
OBCs. BJP has been averse to any reser-
Muslims to its fold while expressing instrument to keep Dravida Nadu in the
concern for the subalterns. During the Lok Indian union. Several industries were
vations. How does a party that spearilheaded
reforms in the social sphere, equality Sabha
in election of 1998, communalism established, many of them by people close
the economic sphere and liberation from had made sufficient inroads into Tamil to those with political power. By 1967
north Indian imperialism in the political Nadu. BJP in alliance with AIADMK when DMK took over the state, there was
sphere align with the party that is averse performed beyond expectations gradual posing consciousness
a among the business
to socio-economic equality and propagates threat to the survival of the DMK. and capitalist classes that an all-India
the purity of Aryan race? The reasons are not too difficult to see. market for the sale of the products as well
Other than EVR, the leaders ot the DMK had structured itself as a monolithic as supply of raw materials was essential
Dravida movement were not atheists. TheyTami cultural community. Love forTamilif Tamil Nadu was to progress. That is why
were anti-brahmins strongly committed to and denunciation of Hindi, Hinduism the demand for a separate nation was given
Tamil local traditions. While there was an (brahminism) and Aryan invasion cannotup. Integration became the catch word.
assertion of equality. there was also remaina political agendas for long without By the time India opened up to world
popular bhakti mox-ement. From the stronig ideological campaigns and com- markets under globalisation Tamil Nadu
roadside shrines to bliajana mandirs, the mitments in terms of action. The monolithic business groups too saw a possibility of
bhakti aspect was present even during the identity formation did not satisfy the greater wealth by linking themselves to
height of the Dravida movement. Both aspirations and hopes of dalits and others world markets through export-import
Annadurai and Karunanidhi attacked who were on the lower rungs of Tamil business. Isolation was no longer attractive.
society. While the Tamil self-respectTamil cause had lost its relevance. Tamils
puranic brahmanism and temple practices
and were not aversed to non-brahmanic movement helped the backward classeswere never averse to English. Even during
gurus. Take the example of Kunrakkudi the British rule, the Tamils were more
and dominant non-brahmin groups, dalit
Adigalar, the head of one of the non- and most backward classes (MBCs) did hostile to the nationalist leaders hailing
brahmin 'saivite mutts' who was active in not gain much. With the ADMK-DMK from the northern part of India and to their
contlict, the Dravidian issues took the
organising the Tamil lion-brahmin mutts. language than to English. The movement
He was so close to the DMK that he was backseat. The ideological vacuum created from a demand for a separate nation to
by conflicts between DMK and ADMKintegration with India and now to global
appointed by the DMK to the upper house.
Strongly evangelical, he emphasisedwas thefilled by RSS and BJP and their frontmarkets is due to economic interests of
organisations. While Dravida movement
need for training the oung for spreading the ruling classes in the state than any-
defined the Tamil identity in terms of
the Hitnu religion throughout the country. thing else.
Wiile he advocated control over mutts, language. BJP forged solidarity along In the process the Dravidian ideology
religious lines specially with the dalits andhas taken a backseat. The interest of the
he had tought for archakas in Tamil. How
MBCs,
can one ftght against the brahriaanic religion business classes has influenced and altered
the Dravidian ideology. The Dravidian
and yet encourage evangelisation to Hindu The celebrations by the hindutva groups
faith'? In lact, there is no Hinduism apart ideology flourished because of the support
of the feasts ofVinayak, Ram and Muslim-
from brahminism. Hindu riots have come to define the self the ideology received from the non-
During the era of NI G Ramachandranas Hindu and others as Muslims in some brahmanic groups. BusinessinTamil Nadu
and Jayalalitha, Hinduism received furtherplaces. The thevar and dalit conflicts and was never in the hands of the brahmins.
legitimacy. In fact, MGR had no Dravida conflicts between different sub-castes have The brahmins were employed in education,
agenda at all. He was a populist and spentincreased the conflict between 'us' and bureaucracy and civil service. When EVR
resources on the mid-day meal scheme, 'them'. With the number of people below began the movement, continued by
dhoti-saree scheme for agricultural the poverty line on the increase and Annadurai
the and Karunanidhi, the business
labourers, pension scheme for the aged, government lacking a pluralistic cultural groups with the intention of wresting
rehabilitation scheme for the widows and programme with an economic agenda, bureaucratic
BJP and political power from the
other wellare schemes. While on the one with its hindutva has made inroads among
brahmin class floated the Dravida
hand he tried to effectively utilise the
thepoor. Kazhagam movement. As a result o
natural and linguistic sentiments of the IV opposition to the brahmanic rule in
Tamils by organising Bharathi centenary state, several brahmin officers took to
From Dravida Nadu to
celebrations and the World Tamil Con- central deputation. Bureaucratic power
Globalisation
ference on the other lie sought to utilise gradually flowed into the hands of
At the same time there were economic
the religious sentimenits ot people of all Dravidians.
religions by giving state receptionsfactors
to at work. Right from the beginning,With globalisation, the situation has
the DK combined radical socialist rhetoric
Sankaracharyas and otlers. This was totally changed. In fact, liberalisation of the
against the Dravida agenda. Jayalalithawith a demand for separate Dravida Nadu. economy was the beginning of the
furthered brahmanic interests through
However the rhetoric for an independent
onslaught on Dravidian culture. Right from
temples, priesthood and appointment of
Dravida the origin of the movement while the
Nadu was given up by the time
DMK took over political power in the
archakas from the brahmin community. Dravidians were hostile to the brahmanic
When Karunanidhi came back to power
state, i e, in 1967. The business and culture, they were open to the culture of
industrial groups of the state made full TNCs,
by defeating Jaya lalitha, the ground reality use MNCs and business classes. In

Economic and Political Weekly June 12, 1999 1487

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fact, the importance of English as stated
Mudaliyar, Kaliyanasundaram V (1965): Illan- Ramanujan, K S (1971): Challenge andResponse:
earlier was never undermined while theral, (translated) Madras, pp 125-26. . An Intimate Report on Tamil Nadu Politics
Naicker, E V R (1959): The Rtimayana: A True (1967-1971), Sundara Prachuralayam,
opposing Hindi and Sanskrit. The Dravida
Reading, Dravidian Press, Madras, p iii. Madras, p 30.
ideology was popularised through the silver
screen besides street theatre, skits Pandian,
and M S S (1989): 'Culture and Subaltern
Ryerson, Charles (1988): Regionalism and
Consciousness: An Aspect of MGR Pheno- Religion: The TamilRenaissance andPopular
plays. In fact, the number of theatres menon', Economic and Political Weekly, Hinduism, The Christian Institute for the Study
doubled during DMK rule. People fre- July 29, 1989. of Religion and Society, Bangalore, p 156.
quented films to have a glimpse of their
leaders, forAnnadurai, MGR, Karunanidhi
and Jayalalitha were also actors.
It is the very same mass media that is Muslim Women and Maintenance
utilised by the global business houses to
Asghar Ali Engineer
further the global agenda and to destroy
the local )ravida cultures. Through
television, newspapers and advertisement
A recent judgment of the Bombay High Court on the resource
boards tMiere has been a systematic pene-
entitlements of a divorced Muslim woman vis-a-vis her former
tration and domination of the capitalist
culture. The mass media specially TV husband
sets has revived the controversy which the Shah Bano case of
are available even in slums. Television,
1986 generated and which led to the enactment of the Muslim Women
especially through advertisements, brings
(Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act. Though path-breaking, it seems
images of consumer goods, luxury items
and the fashionable life. The immediate to run counter to the purpose of that enactment.
effect of such advertisements and publicity
is creation of a global culture and in theWITH a recent judgment of the Bombaywomen, a Bangladesh court upheld in
High Court the controversy over the
process people are disassociated from their 1995 provisions analogous to Section 125
cultural roots and traditions. People aremaintenance of a Muslim divorcee has of Cr PC and allowed maintenance for life
alienated from traditional class and revived. A similar judgment by the to a Muslim divorcee. In that case filed
community bonds. Supreme Court in the mid-eighties, by Hefzur Rahman (Md) against Shamsun
Nahar Begum the Dacca High Court
popularly known as the Shah Bano case,
By tht values it promotes, the global
had caused much a turmoil in the Muslim
consumer culture prevents subaltern delivered thejudgment on January 9, 1995.
community. The court had allowed a
classes froln responding to their deterio- The judges, Mohammad Gholam Rabbani
Muslim
rating conditions. The homogenisation of divorcee, Shah Bano, maintenance and Syed Aminul Islam, maintained that
foras
culture presents the global culture life from her former husband under a person after divorcing his wife "is bound
universal and creates needs for com- Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure to maintain her on a reasonable scale
modities generated by global business Code (CrPC). The Muslim leadership beyond the period of iddat for an indefinite
houses which the subalterns can ill-afford.
objected to this judgment and maintained period, that is to say, till she loses the
The subalterns thus are further exploited
that in Islam a divorce can get maintenance
status of a divorcee by remarrying another
by creating false needs due to unemploy- person".
only for the 'iddat' period (i e, a period
ment, displacement, price hike and of thewaiting for three months after divorce The judges argued that the Qur'an was
is pronounced). It thought the Supreme
culture of consumerism. Unable to provide the word of God and that the word of God
for themselves and their families, they Court had no right to interpret the holy must prevail over the opinion of ulema.
Qur'an - which only a Muslim 'alim'
easily find solace in rites, rituals, dogmas The Qur'an, the judges said, is under-
and myths. The hindulva forces thus have (scholar in sacred law and theology) can do. standable by all human beings. In the
been able to exploit the situation for theirThere were massive demonstrations by 54th 'sura' God says, "And We have
Muslims, and the Rajiv Gandhi govern- made the Qur'an easy to understand and
bebefit, by offering the opium of hindutva.
The Dravida ideology has become ment was compelled to upturn the Supreme remember..." The judges also said that
obsolete. It has lost its revolutionary
Court judgment by passing a new law according to the verse 2:121 one must
known as the Muslim Women (Protection study the Qur'an, which is in conformity
character. The rhetoric of a market-friendly
of Rights on Divorce) Act. The new law, with the dynamic, progressive and
dialectic of hi-tech production process
drafted with the help of Muslim clergy, universal character of Islam.
whose ultimate purpose is to make people
was supposedly based on the Qur'anic
a commodity, increase unemployment, The Dacca judges then took up verse
maximise profits and brainwash humanityverse 2:241, which says "And the divorced 2:241 and said there were three important
into the service of the profit-hungry women, too, shall have (a right to) main- words in this verse: 'mutallaqat', meaning
divorcee; 'mataaoon', meaning household
tenance in a goodly manner; this is a duty
corporate empire provides room for fanatic
for all who are conscious of God". This
and fascist ideologies. Pushed to the wall stuff; utensils, goods, chattels, provision
by the global economic empire in nexus verse makes it clear that the Qur'an re-
anrd aRvenience and 'maaroof', meaning
quires Muslims who fear God to pro-
with the state, the poor have to find solace known, recognised, honourable and good,
in the opium that Sangh parivar offers. vide maintenance for their divorced befitting kindness. They go on to argue,
Dravida ideology has made way for
wives. The 'ulema' (body of theology
"So we find that a woman who is divorced
hindutva facism. scholars), however, argued that this
is entitled to household stuff, utensils,
References goods, chattels, provision, convenience
maintenance could be given only for the
period. of iddat. which is known, recognised, honourable,
Heras, H S J (1953): Studies in Proto-lndo-
Mediterranean Culture, Indian Historical
good. befitting a kindness. Abdullah
Interestingly, while the Indian ulema
Research Institute. and Muslim leaders agitated against Yousuf
the Ali is, therefore, correct in
Jesudasan, C and H (1961): A History of TamilSupreme Court judgment in the mid- translating the expression 'mataaoon bil
Literature, YMCA Publishing House, eighties and forced the governmentmaaroof' of as 'maintenance should be
Calcutta, p xiii. provided on a reasonable scale'."
India to adopt new legislation for Muslim

1488 Economic and Political Weekly June 12, 1999

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