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March ‘itching’ buried in Tamil Nadu political turmoil
View(s):Dateline Chennai
By Kumar Chellappan
Tamil Nadu used to get a kind of “itching” in March every year. Over the years, it earned the sobriquet of “March itching” and it coincided with the annual session of the United Nations Human Rights Council which meets in Geneva.
In the past, there were demonstrations and all kinds of jamborees in Chennai and other major cities in the State in solidarity with the Sri Lankan Tamils to “highlight” the sufferings of the ethnic Tamils in the island nation. Leaders of Dravidian parties, especially the Muthuvel Karunanidhi-led DMK, the Veeramani-led DK and other Tamil hardline organisations made it a point to send their activists to Geneva to update human rights advocates and the international media about the “plight” of Lankan Tamils.
In 2012, some student activists of Chennai’s Loyola College launched a fast unto death held as a sign of solidarity with Sri Lanka Tamils. Not anymore. Though the UNHRC is having its 34th session at Geneva, politicians from Tamil Nadu are keeping a low profile and they are conspicuous by their absence at the Geneva headquarters of the UNHRC.
Both the Dravidian majors, the AIADMK and the DMK, are in a state of transition. The AIADMK is yet to recover from the unexpected and untimely demise of party leader J Jayalalithaa on December 6, 2016. AIADMK factions led by new chief minister Edappady Palaniswamy and ouster chief minister O. Panneerselvam are fighting each other for the control of the party and the state government. Mr. Karunanidhi, the 94 year old president of the DMK, is not in the best of health. He has not made any public appearance since October 2016 and is confined to the king-sized bed in the bedroom of his Gopalapuram residence and is being looked after by Dayalu ammal, his second wife. Mr. Karunanidhi has also not issued any statements since October 2016 and the party activists are waiting with bated breath for his speedy recovery.
“The disappearance of Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi from the centre stage of Tamil Nadu politics has dampened the spirit of the cadre belonging to both the parties. Adding insult to injury, the Dravida Kazhagam, is engaged in a cold war with the DMK over personal issues,” said K. Janardhanan, senior DK leader. He said Veeramani, who was a staunch supporter of ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka has developed cold feet over the issue and hence not accessible.
But Intelligence agencies keeping track of the Tamil hardline parties are of the view that the lack of pro-Tamil activity is linked to the Narendra Modi-led Government’s policy of throttling foreign funding. It has upset these parties forcing them to reduce the operational expenses by cutting short pro-Eelam protests and related activities.
“Our politicians are intelligent enough to understand that Tamil Eelam has lost its sheen and there isn’t much moola to be made out of it,” said Mr. Janardhanan. The DMK is struggling to stage a comeback to power which it lost in 2011. The agitation for Eelam would cost money and the DMK has lot of legal expenses to meet.
Kanimozhi, Karunanidhi’s daughter is entangled in the 2G spectrum scandal and kick-backs. She is out on bail along with friend A Raja, former communications minister in the Manmohan Singh government. “So Eelam Tamil issue is not a major priority for the DMK,” said Prakash Swamy, veteran scribe and political analyst.
The Eelam agitation has been relegated to the back burner on account of the internal issues in the AIADMK and M.K. Stalin’s shadow boxing with his elder brother M.K. Azhagiri for the control of the DMK. The rest of the political outfits in Tamil Nadu do have only nuisance value and they do not command much public attention. Tamil people understand the ground reality that they have been taken for a ride by hardliners. But don’t be under the impression that the remnants of LTTE are sitting idle. The Jallikkattu agitation in January which shook Tamil Nadu and the ongoing Neduvasal standoff between the villagers and the Tamil Nadu government are supported and sustained by LTTE supporters and other secessionist elements . Sri Lanka can breathe easy for the time being!