As the Tamil Nadu government and mainstream political parties try to grapple with the unprecedented mass protests that have erupted across the State since last week with predominant participation from youngsters, disdain towards politicians and a perceived sense of injustice being meted out to Tamils appear to be the dominant sentiment among the protesters.
Ramu Manivannan, Professor and Head, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Madras, said that the protests were a culmination of pent up anger of Tamilians over issues like sharing of Cauvery water, the Mullaperiyar dam and killing fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy.
“Though there had been protests over these issues, perhaps not everyone across Tamil Nadu related with them. With jallikattu being projected as an attack on the culture, it has resonated with the emotions of the majority,” he pointed out.
Agreeing that the intentions of the protesters appeared earnest, T. Dharmaraj, Professor and Head, Department of Folklore and Culture Studies, Madurai Kamaraj University, however, said that the protests were more of an expression of a romanticised view of rebellion.
“There is always an underlying yearning for a rebellion by youngsters, boosted by certain Tamil movies. Presence of social media tools have now enabled them to enact one. But it should not be mistaken for a serious rebellion,” he contended.
Emotional appeal
Stalin Rajangam, a Madurai-based writer, said that while the rebelliousness and the spontaneity of the protests could be appreciated, it should be a matter of concern that similar anger and protests were not seen over more serious issues like honour killings and demonetisation.
“Those issues demand a greater sense of political understanding. However, as the protests for jallikattu show, what the youngsters seem to want is an issue with greater emotional appeal and something that is easy to be presented in a simplistic manner,” he said.
He felt that the success of these protests could set a wrong precedent as similar mass mobilisations could be used to achieve other majoritarian demands. “Let us not forget that it is a similar anger that brought Right-wing forces to power at the Centre,” he added.
Echoing his views, Anbuselvam, a researcher and activist, said that the identity politics, Tamil nationalistic sentiments and questioning of the identity of anyone opposing the majority views were worrisome.
Despite the Tamil nationalistic sentiments getting reflected in the protests, Mr. Dharmaraj, however, said that the protests would not end up strengthening movements speaking Tamil nationalism as the socio-cultural realities do not demand such politics.
While parallels are already being drawn with the anti-Hindi agitations of 1965, analysts feel that it was too premature to make such observations.
“Lot of political mobilisations happened before the anti-Hindi agitations, which had a new language and discourse. There was a clear political agenda. It is grossly inappropriate to draw a parallel,” Mr. Dharmaraj said.
Mr. Ramu Manivannan said that the protests could not be compared even with 2011 anti-corruption movement in Delhi as it was clear that who were leading the protests.
Gnani Sankaran, political commentator, however, struck a different note by saying that the spontaneity of the protests was not believable. “There is certainly an invisible force behind these protests with hidden agenda. The protests will invariably fizzle out soon,” he said.
