South vs North, Aryan vs Dravidian, North Indian vs South Indians, Tamils vs Pani poori walas, north grows (prospers), south diminishes, anti-Brahmin and anti-North sentiment, imposition of Hindi, “Tamil Nadu for Tamils”, demand for Dravida Nadu and all these Tamil alliterative clichés would echo in political corridors whenever DMK is in power.
DMK and its allies, Naam Tamizhar Katchi, PMK, see the migration of unskilled labourers from North to South, particularly to Chennai, Tirupur, and Coimbatore potential to generate a cultural conflict in the country.
It is a just repeat of how south-Indians are branded and discriminated against as ‘Madrasis’ in the north; those belonging to the north are now being branded as ‘Vadakkans’ (northerners) or ‘Paani Poori wallas’, Marwaris, migrators, beeda vayan ( beeda chewers), pan gutka wallas (derogatory terms) etc. by the DMK and its affiliates. The trend has gained momentum, and TN DMK ministers are indulging is indigestible.
We give below a few recent instances of DMK leaders made objectionable remarks against north Indians and Hindi speakers: DMK Finance Minister PTR Palanivel Thiyagarajan said ‘Lack of Education’ as Reason For BJP’s victories In the ‘Hindi Belt’. In an interview to Hindustan Times, he said that he could not fathom how the BJP keeps getting re-elected in the ‘Hindi Belt’ and wondered if lack of education is the reason for it.
To a question by the anchor on BJP’s model of politics that couples welfare politics with Hindutva, the Minister said, “It is hard for me to see how BJP governments keep getting re-elected both at the Union and in other parts in the Hindi belt. And some part of me wonders whether it is lack of education, the lack of kind of opportunity and therefore the lack of hope.”
“I’m looking for explanations. I’m trying to find maybe one of the explanation is that the lowest income levels and the worst per capita education levels are highly correlated with this outcome. I don’t have any proof. I don’t have anything. I also said there is a second alternative. That as bad as their performance looks compared to me, it may be that they are the best of bad choices. I don’t know. I just don’t have data”, the minister said.
DMK MP from Dharmapuri DNV Senthilkumar, while speaking about the National Education Policy in Lok Sabha said, “The goal of the government in the National Education Policy is to have a Gross Enrollment ratio (GER) of 50%. This has already been achieved by Tamil Nadu. Whereas, India’s national GER is around 24.6%. We are much ahead of the American GER. Why is it that the Central Government is seeing to thrust the National Education Policy upon us? We have set principles and models, the Dravidian principle models, which are successful models. If they want to implement it to make India a developed state, let them implement Tamil Nadu’s model throughout the state. Instead, why is it being thrust upon us? We totally reject it. If they want, they can go implement them in Gomutra (BJP ruled) states, which they are very keen upon”.
Speaking at the convocation ceremony of Bharathiar University in Coimbatore on 13th May this year, TN Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy said that it is not necessary to learn Hindi as speakers of that language can be found selling only Pani Puris. “ In Tamil Nadu, there are two languages – English and Tamil. While English is an international language, Tamil is a local language. We were told that learning Hindi would fetch us jobs, did we get (jobs)? You go and see in our state, in Coimbatore, who sells pani puris? They are Hindi speakers,”, the DMK Minister said.
“Many say that if you study Hindi, you will get a job. But, many are coming to work in Chennai from northern states. A few are selling pani puri here, ” Minister Ponmudyi said while addressing the DMK Students Wing members on April 30 2022.
Like its predecessor DMK exploited 1960s anti-Hindi agitation and won elections. The DMK has always harped on to the anti-Hindi rhetoric time and again to inflame linguistic passions. Today, this attempt to exploit linguistic fault lines translated into visceral hate towards North Indians.
TN Health Minister Ma. Subramanian blamed ‘north Indians’ for the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state. He told media persons, “The disease has started increasing in educational institutions like VIT, Anna University and Sathya Sai. The reason for that is that in many states of India the coronavirus cases have not come under control, especially in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala where cases have been rising. When students from north India come into these educational institutions, the disease spreads through them. He said this on June 1, 2022 when new COVID-19 clusters were being reported in different colleges in Chennai.
In Surya starred Jaibhim film, there was a scene, in which Prakash Raj’s character, a cop, slapped a man for ‘speaking in Hindi’. Raj asks the person to talk in Tamil. A section of people on Twitter is offended by the scene and says it was spewing ‘hate’ on Hindi. Former Rajya sabha DMK Member TKS Elangovan said what Hindu would do is to make us Sudras (one of four varnas).But DMK men run schools Hindi is compulsory and speaking in Tamil would invite fine. During polls, the shameless DMK candidates while canvassing in North Indian dominated areas would carry placards, handbills, posters in Hindi and canvass votes in their mother tongue (Hindi) only.
Such DMK’s innate deep and divisive hatred towards North Indians is spilling over to the larger society and affecting the lives of several people. There are instances where locals have thrashed poor hapless North India based migrant labourers on baseless suspicions a la cow vigilantes.
CM Stalin’s opt repeated terms like ‘ Union government’ instead of Central government, Dravidian model government and others are clear indications that he is preparing grounds for Dravida Nadu or a separate state for Tamils.
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