It is something one can find only in the political culture of Dravidian parties. Till about a decade ago, as the crowd at election meetings used to patiently wait for the big leaders to arrive, ‘platform speakers’ used to hold their attention with some fiery oration interspersed with punch lines full of double entendre.
These speakers’ ability to strike a chord with the people and popularise the political discourse would often become a point of discussion in small towns.
However, nowadays they have become dispensable with the growing reach of satellite television channels and the emerging use of social media as a tool of political outreach.
Challenge to status quo
In the 1950s, the DMK challenged the the status quo in Tamil political landscape and employed this unique style of public speaking that revived classism in the place of colloquialism. Later on, so did its offshoot, the AIADMK.
Yale University professor Bernard Bate, the author of the book Tamil Oratory and Dravidian Aesthetic: Democratic Practice in South India , perceives it as Dravidian neo-classism. Icons of Dravidian politics such as C.N. Annadurai, M. Karunanidhi, K. Anbazhagan and Nedunchezhian (who later moved to the AIADMK) adopted the style. But, the leaders alone were not enough to take the political message of the new political formation to every nook and corner of the State.
Hence, the platform speakers — those designated by the headquarters, along with speakers who were locally available — took to the stage. While platform speakers such as Viduthalai Virumbi, K. Kalimuthu and ‘Tiruchy’ Siva revelled in the art of serious political discourse, those like Vetrikondan, Nannilam Natarajan, Theepori Arumugam and actor S.S. Chandran employed double entendre to engage the audience.
Conduits of parties
The latter were criticised for being insensitive to women.
But they served as capillaries and took the message of their respective parties to remotest places.
“They commanded respect among masses and the cadre. Once, after I got down from the dais, an old man embraced and kissed me. I was moved. The platform speakers could understand the micro-culture and politics of a region and suit their speech accordingly,” says a former DMK platform speaker, requesting anonymity.
“In the DMK, platform speakers had certain amount of freedom to speak politics within the ideological framework of the party. But now the party is scared of speaking politics and wants only to focus on achievements. Due to the ideological deficit they think it is enough to play a campaign DVD in vans and they fail to realise that a human touch could create an impact,” he adds.
The DMK still has headquarters platform speakers, who tour extensively. But their style does not resemble that of the orators of the yore.
In the ruling AIADMK, too, there are only a bevy of cinema stars who tour extensively during election campaigns.
Many of them lack political roots and understanding of masses and they don’t represent classical oratory style of Dravidian parties.
