Following is an extract from the NCERT's political science (Class XII) textbook that has sparked a controversy due to a cartoon depicting the anti-Hindi agitation of 1965. According to Yogendra Yadav, former chief adviser to the NCERT on the preparation of the textbook, a reading of the text accompanying the cartoon would show that the chapter was not aimed at denigrating the anti-Hindi agitation, but was actually a fair and non-partisan account of the regional movement.
Vadakku Vaazhkirathu; Therkku Thaeikirathu [The north thrives even as the south decays]. This popular slogan sums up the dominant sentiments of one of India's most effective regional movements, the Dravidian movement, at one point of time. This was one of the first regional movements in Indian politics. Though some sections of this movement had ambitions of creating a Dravid nation, the movement did not take to arms. It used democratic means like public debates and the electoral platform to achieve its ends. This strategy paid off as the movement acquired political power in the State and also became influential at the national level.
The Dravidian movement led to the formation of Dravida Kazhagam [DK] under the leadership of Tamil social reformer E.V. Ramasami ‘Periyar'. The organisation strongly opposed the Brahmins' dominance and affirmed regional pride against the political, economic and cultural domination of the North. Initially, the Dravidian movement spoke in terms of the whole of south India; however lack of support from other States limited the movement to Tamil Nadu.
The DK split and the political legacy of the movement was transferred to Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). The DMK made its entry into politics with a three-pronged agitation in 1953-54. First, it demanded the restoration of the original name of Kallakudi railway station which had been renamed Dalmiapuram, after an industrial house from the North. This demand brought out its opposition to the North Indian economic and cultural symbols. The second agitation was for giving Tamil cultural history greater importance in school curricula. The third agitation was against the craft education scheme of the State government, which it alleged was linked to the Brahmanical social outlook. It also agitated against making Hindi the country's official language. The success of the anti-Hindi agitation of 1965 added to the DMK's popularity.
Sustained political agitations brought the DMK to power in the Assembly elections of 1967. Since then, the Dravidian parties have dominated the politics of Tamil Nadu. Though the DMK split after the death of its leader, C. Annadurai, the influence of Dravidian parties in Tamil politics actually increased. After the split there were two parties — the DMK and the All India Anna DMK (AIADMK) — that claimed Dravidian legacy. Both these parties have dominated politics in Tamil Nadu for the last four decades. Since 1996, one of these parties has been a part of the ruling coalition at the Centre. In the1990s, many other Dravidian parties have emerged. These include Marumalarchchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK). All these parties have kept alive the issue of regional pride in the politics of Tamil Nadu. Initially seen as a threat to Indian nationalism, regional politics in Tamil Nadu is a good example of the compatibility of regionalism and nationalism.
Keywords: regional parties, NCERT textbooks, cartoon row, MDMK, PMK, DMK, DMDK, anti-Hindi agitation
'If you see a brahmin and a snake, kill the brahmin first'In 1954 when I was in Chennai,I had a chance meeting with the then editor of the D.K's organ 'Viduthalai'. When I referred to him about his party's 'brahmin and snake' slogan, he laughingly said,'Why do you worry? Who is going to see at any time a brahmin and a snake together?. Forget it'.
I hope Mr. Yogendra Yadav is reading the comments expressed in this page. The main message of the movement: you can't ignore the inherent diversity and force one region's ways of living on the whole of the country merely due to numerical majority (in this case it is not even numerical majority - it is simply the single largest group). This point does not come out by reading the passage in the book. If the intention were not imposition, then South Indian languages could have been offered in North Indian schools and vice versa. No one would have had a sound reason to oppose such a move. I see many schools in North offer foreign languages of no tangible use as an option, but not a single South Indian language, although many people from North now work in South Indian cities and expect the Southern people to understand Hindi!
The achievement of Dravidian movement are as below: 1) Imposition of 'Hindi' language through CBSE,ICSE and Matriculation schools,banks etc. 2) Reservation for Hindi,Telugu and Kannada castes. The actual caste list is posted in the Government of Tamil Nadu website. 3) Reservation of road,construction projects and other work for Hindi migrant workers (instead of Tamils). 4) Ensure that Tamil is not a compulsory language in Tamil Nadu especially CBSE,ICSE and Matriculation schools. 5) Closure of Tamil medium schools. 6) Calling Tamil speakers such Brahmins as non-Tamils while calling other language speakers including Hindi-speaking Muslims,Telugu speaking Reddys and other communities as Tamils and also justify the reservation policy for such non-Tamils. 7) Ban on use of Tamil language in announcements in TN domestic flights. 8) Restriction on use of Tamil language in TN govt & TN-based bank websites (unlike Kannada in Karnataka and Hindi in Indian govt websites.
The party founded by Periyar is DRAVIDAR KAZHAGAM not DRAVIDA KAZHAGAM, where all other parties splitted from DK named themselves as 'dravida' parties.
The early years of the Dravidian parties were the years of intense anti-brahmin sentiment. I recall the walls in my native place were plastered with slogans such as this: "Pappanaiyo allaathu Pambaiyo parthal,muthalil pappanai kollu" -i.e. If you see a brahmin and a snake, kill the brahmin first. It is this hatred that has been the seed sown. It cannot change this mentality. It is clothed according to the times, in Dravida Nadu and then anti Hindi. It will take several more years and a new generation of leaders to bring this party to the mainstream level
The Dravidian movement to create an independent Dravida Nadu never
got off the ground because it was a phony call right from the
beginning it was hatched by the then DK and DMK leaders. The idea
never drew from the people of the other three dravidian regions:
namely Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra any sympathy nor willingness on
their part to fall in line with the movement. The leaders of the DK
and the DMK also lacked sincerity in their efforts to propagate their
cause and to bring into their fold the people of the other regions to
give a full representation for their ideal. They confined their
activities within the bounds of Tamil nadu to make the cause a total
farce. Did they not know that they were simply cheating the people of
Tamil nadu? Of course, they knew. But with their talent in tamil
oratory and their influence in the cinema field, they made the people
fall for their empty slogans and successfully used that strategy for
a different purpose. Still they are thriving on them.
A beautiful account of the legacy of Tamils and Dravidian movement. I am 100% confident that, had the national parties ruled us, we would have been yet another UP or Bihar. Though, politics have become family business now, we can't take the credit away from them for their contribution for putting TN on a progressive path.
The achievements of the Dravidian movement can be summarised as follows:
1) Ended the imposition of Hindi promoting multilingualism and multiculturalism.
2) This promoted local economies like the Telugu and Tamil film industries, and other cultural economies; and ended the dominance of Bollywood.
3) Ended the devdasi system which objectified women and leveraged women's role in politics and other public services. TN holds the largest female police force in the country and Chennai is the safest metro in the country (National Crime Records Bureau).
4) Opposed and abolished the so called 'Kula kalvi thittam' which officially ended the institutionalisation of the Brahminical caste system by the government.
5) This cultivated the importance of education in society through its primary tenet of 'Self-respect' and allowed 69% reservation. TN is now the most urbanised state.
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