(The Political Line newsletter is India’s political landscape explained every week by Varghese K. George, senior editor at The Hindu . You can subscribe here to get the newsletter in your inbox every Friday.)
Tamil Nadu’s representation in the Lok Sabha reduced from 41 to 39 seats since the 1967 general election. The State has lost 28 MPs since then, and it is being punished for effectively stabilising its population, the Madras High Court observed recently. Could Tamil Nadu be compensated for this loss of political power , the HC wondered. This question could snowball into a political controversy in the coming years.
Lok Sabha constituencies were supposed to be delimited after each decennial census but that process was discontinued, taking into account exactly the concern flagged by the Madras HC — States that control population would be punished with reduced representation in Parliament. Delimitation of constituencies continues to take place, but only within the boundaries of each State. But that restriction on delimitation will be lifted after 2031, when States such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala are set to lose several Lok Sabha seats. That massive shift of political power to States in the north and east of India will have considerable implications for Indian federalism. Watch this space.
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Textbook politics
The heartland India’s tensions with the periphery were also reflected in the decision of Delhi University this week to drop texts by two Tamil Dalit authors Bama and Sukirtharini (“Sangat” and “Debt” respectively) and Bengali author Mahasweta Devi’s “Draupadi.”
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin. File
The move has caused an uproar among sections of the progressive and intelligentsia in Tamil Nadu and the rest of India, and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has described the move “unilateral and unacceptable.” What is the import and the political context of dropping Mahasweta Devi’s story? Read here
Politics of history
Politics over history is far more intense and contentious than politics over literature. Last week, Political Line discussed the ongoing combat over the history of the Moplah Rebellion of 1921 in what is today’s north Kerala. This week, a committee of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) has concluded that the rebellion was never part of the independence struggle but a fundamentalist movement focussed on religious conversion. Consequently, it recommended that 387 rebels be removed from the Dictionary of Martyrs of India’s Freedom Struggle . The announcement has touched a raw nerve in Kerala , but the BJP has been pushing for this since long.
The emergence of two leaders
Several Union Ministers were on “Jan Ashirwad Yatras” in select States recently. Two of them stood out, and have potentially placed themselves as natural claimants for bigger roles in the coming years. Bhupender Yadav travelled through Haryana and Rajasthan , and drew impressive crowds and response in both States. His connect with the cadre and the ability to hold together factions within the party was evident, and did not go unnoticed.
In Odisha, with over 100 meetings in six Lok Sabha constituencies in seven districts within just four days by road and rail Aswini Vaishnaw re-established his ties with Odisha . He was an IAS officer in the State earlier but hails from Rajasthan. With his tweets and speeches in Odiya, Mr. Vaishnaw has proved that his political skills are second to none.
Pegasus may not be India’s Watergate
Leaders of 19 Opposition parties last week in a virtual conference, and Congress President Sonia Gandhi asked them to rise above compulsions and form a united front against the BJP with the “ultimate” aim of defeating it in 2024. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the Pegasus spyware was used by the BJP government to turn the country into a “totalitarian state". However, a section of Opposition leaders at the meeting agreed that communication on Pegasus would be a challenge. Privacy may be an issue among a section of the urban voters, but for the rural masses, it may be a different case. My colleague Sobhana K. Nair has the inside track.
Talking of Opposition unity and issues that might unite them, our editorial said: “Various parties could appeal to different constituencies and amalgamate their strengths, as it happened in the UPA experiments between 2004 and 2014. That requires significantly more leadership and management skills than available today in the Opposition gallery.” One major constraint for the Opposition is the volatility within the Congress. This editorial analyses the reasons for the troubles in the party in the three States where it is in power - Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Rajasthan.
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