Apparently worried by non-Tamils again possibly gaining ascendancy in Tamil Nadu politics, DMK president M. Karunanidhi on Thursday pitched for the ‘Tamil card.’
Giving it a higher priority than the broader ‘Dravidian’ concept, he stressed the need for the people to “live as Tamils” first, because such a realisation was essential to ensure that Tamils were “not subjugated” in the State.
Mr. Karunanidhi said that though the social revolution conceived by the Dravidar Kazhagam founder, Periyar, and the former Chief Minister, C.N. Annadurai, had been largely achieved, Tamils should first identify themselves as Tamils to make others follow their way of life.
Calling upon the Tamils to take a pledge that they “should live, identify and earn fame as Tamils,” he said the objective could be fulfilled only through another social revolution.
Mr. Karunanidhi said that since the days of the early Tamil monarchs, the common thread that ran through Tamil society was the fact that “we are all Tamils.” “We should consistently propagate this idea,” he said, speaking at a wedding in the family of a party functionary working for Murasoli , the party organ.
He said that though the DMK was launched for the welfare of the Dravidians, its ideas and its achievements could be consolidated only by nurturing it as a social organisation.
Mr. Karunanidhi said he had discussed the issue with party general secretary K. Anbazhagan and DK president K. Veeramani and urged the party men to organise at least 5,000 meetings to propagate these core ideas.
