‘Important to preserve diversity’ — why DMK is pressing for state autonomy ahead of Lok Sabha polls – ThePrint – Select

“The key aspect is whenever there is a real crisis in Delhi, it is Tamil Nadu which has provided stability. In 1962, after the China war, the DMK gave up its demand for a separate Dravida Nadu and since 1969, the party has been focused on state rights and federal balance for India’s stability,” A.S. Panneerselvan, political analyst and a fellow at Chennai’s Roja Muthiah Research Library, told ThePrint.

Over the last five decades, politics in Tamil Nadu has been dominated by two Dravidian parties — the DMK and the AIADMK — with little space for national parties to make their presence felt.

Since 2016, post the demise of former chief minister and AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalithaa, the BJP has been trying to expand its base in Tamil Nadu. Last year, senior BJP leaders, from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP president J.P. Nadda, have visited the state and spoken about nationalism and how central schemes are bringing about a change at the ground level.

The DMK in the state has been countering this nationalistic push of the BJP with an even stronger wave of sub-nationalism by constantly bringing up issues of tax devolution to the state and the Centre’s alleged encroachment over state subjects such as education.

DMK spokesperson A. Saravanan told ThePrint: “The DMK is all about preserving regional identity. If we give up on that plank, then homogenisation happens and it is important for the integrity of our country that the diversity of our culture is preserved. When we are homogeneous, the concept of oneness in everything is there; then pluralism takes a hit and identities of regional parties will get merged. Every state should be accorded its privacy.”

Also Read: Modi starts 2024 with big-ticket TN trip, professes ‘Tamil love’ with eye on LS polls 

DMK’s campaigns so far 

Since the beginning of 2023, the DMK, which has placed itself as the cementing force in the INDIA bloc, has displayed a show of strength of opposition parties in Tamil Nadu, first on DMK chief M.K. Stalin’s birthday and a month later under the banner of All India Federation for Social Justice. A conference was then held in the state in which 19 political parties were brought together on a single platform. During the conference, the core issue across the states remained the same — “gross discrimination” against the states by the Centre.

The bike rally that the DMK conducted across the state in late 2023 reinforced the party’s request to the people to join the DMK in the “fight against fascist forces”.

The second youth conference of the party, which was held on 21 January, had “state rights retrieval” as its theme.

Ahead of the Salem youth conference, Stalin in a letter to DMK cadres had reiterated that the intention of the conference would be to “protect state rights and federalism”.

In the 1970 Trichy DMK state conference, the late DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi had put forth five points and the fifth one was “Autonomy at the State-Federalism at the Centre”.

Taking a feather out of the over 50-year-old conference, Stalin had noted: “The principle of state autonomy aims to give more power to the states if the multi-faceted Indian Union has to be strong. Only when it is accomplished, the Union of India can function strongly in accordance with true federalism.”

On Wednesday, on the floor of the state legislative assembly, Stalin called the “one nation, one election” proposal of the Centre as “against democracy; impractical; and one which is not enshrined in the Constitution of India”.

The state assembly unanimously passed two resolutions — “one to shield our state from unfair delimitation exercise, ensuring that we are not punished for our socio-economic progress and successful population control measures; and another staunchly opposing the undemocratic one nation, one election fantasy, which threatens the very fabric of our diverse democracy. Tamil Nadu’s resolve is unyielding, our spirit indomitable”.

While BJP MLA Vanathi Srinivasan shared the concerns of the state with regard to delimitation, she said during her speech in the assembly that the resolution on “one nation, one election” was “unnecessary”.

DMK & state autonomy

While Periyar’s Dravida Kazhagam and its breakaway faction DMK headed by C.N. Annadurai did initially advocate for the idea of a Dravida Nadu — a separate southern country comprising Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada speakers — the demand for a separate nation was given up by the DMK post-1962.

Annadurai had said back then: “When the country is in danger, for us to advocate separatism would be to give way to the foreigner.”

Soon after, Karunanidhi took the mantle as CM in 1969 for the first time and campaigned for greater autonomy for states. The following year, he held a conference with the theme “Maanilathile Suyatchi, Mathiyile Kootatchi (autonomy for states, federalism at Centre)”.

In 1969, Karunanidhi constituted the Rajamannar Committee on Centre-State relations, and the same year the DMK patriarch got a resolution passed in the state assembly for greater autonomy for states.

“During Emergency, the DMK had conducted a state autonomy conference in 1974 in Coimbatore, demanding greater autonomy for the state. The state and Centre have set up different commissions to study the Centre-state relation and all have advised the Centre to give more powers to the states. But these recommendations have only been on paper and not implemented,” said political analyst Priyan Srinivasan.

Priyan added that the “Centre has been snatching away existing powers of the state”.

“For example, the implementation of the goods and services tax has ensured the Centre has power to fix taxes, and also control how tax money is distributed, etc. Only the central government’s choices are being implemented,” Priyan said.

In July 2022, DMK MP A. Raja had sparked controversy by saying that the demand for a separate Tamil Nadu would be revived if the state was being deprived of its autonomy.

“Our CM has been moving on Anna’s (Annadurai’s) path so far, do not push us into following Periyar’s path (for separate nation). Do not make us revive our demand for a separate state. Give us state autonomy,” said Raja.

From the social justice conference to the Stalin’s letter to cadres this month criticising the Centre’s “war-like measures” to stop the ongoing farmers’ protest, Stalin has been consistent in his criticism of the BJP government at the Centre.

In October 2023, the CM had noted that state autonomy had been one of the key virtues of the DMK and “under the BJP regime, state rights had been crushed”.

DMK’s cry for state autonomy, said Panneerselvan, is “not chauvinistic sub-nationalism”.

”It is about dignity and respect for the states. It is about the very first sentence of the Indian Constitution which says India is a union of states. DMK’s move is essentially reaffirming constitutional values because a lot of them are under severe strain,” he added.

‘Delimitation a sword over Tamil Nadu’s head’ 

In his speech in the assembly Wednesday, Stalin said that delimitation could be a conspiracy to reduce the number of parliamentary seats from southern states like Tamil Nadu, which have managed to control their population growth over the decades by implementing socio-economic development programmes and welfare schemes.

“Delimitation is a sword hanging over the head of Tamil Nadu. According to Articles 88 and 170 of the Constitution, new constituencies are created in state assemblies and the Lok Sabha based on population,” he said.

The Centre had constituted the Delimitation Commission in 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002. While there is a freeze on the delimitation exercise until 2026, state assemblies and Lok Sabha constituencies will be changed based on the Census after 2026.

Comparing the population of Bihar and Tamil Nadu, Stalin noted that though both states had similar numbers of Lok Sabha seats, the population of Bihar today had increased 1.5 times in contrast to Tamil Nadu. This would mean Bihar would get more seats.

“In Tamil Nadu, there are 39 Lok Sabha seats. If delimitation is carried out after 2026, the number of seats will reduce in the state. Even with 39 Lok Sabha seats, we are begging the central government. If the number of seats reduces further, Tamil Nadu will lose its rights and will fall behind. Therefore, we urge that the number of seats should not be changed under any circumstance based on population growth. Tamil Nadu and southern states will be weakened. This type of discrimination is experienced by Tamil Nadu and southern states when it comes to revenue-sharing based on population,” said Stalin.

Similarly, calling the “one nation, one election” proposal autocratic, Stalin said: “If elections are held at the same time, it will necessitate dissolving democratically-elected state legislative assemblies before their term is completed.”

He further questioned whether all state assemblies across India would be dissolved if the Union government loses its majority.

“If there arises a situation in states where the state government falls, will those in power at the Centre come forward to hold elections? Is there anything more comical than this? Not just elections for Lok Sabha and state assemblies, is it even possible to hold simultaneous elections for local bodies?” Stalin asked.

As for critics of the DMK, they cite the assembly elections of 1971 to attack Stalin. That year, Karunanidhi called for early polls alongside the Lok Sabha elections, which then prime minister Indira Gandhi had called following the dissolution of the 4th Lok Sabha.

Political analyst J.V.C Sreeram told ThePrint: “The DMK had power till 1972, but in the party’s general council meeting in 1971, Karunanidhi decided to go for early simultaneous polls with the Centre, citing saving of exchequer funds.”

Countering this, Priyan noted that the circumstances were different then. “Back then, there was no concept of one nation, one election. The 1971 elections were to prove Indira Gandhi’s mandate after the split in the Congress. At the same time, the DMK went along with the elections as the party had supported Mrs Gandhi’s progressive politics.”

The current suggestion for “one nation, one election” is against the interest of voters who will face a dilemma: choosing between the issues of the Centre versus those of the state, with just one leader projected as the face of the election, Priyan added.

‘DMK represents heterogeneous plurality’

The call for state autonomy by the DMK is a concept that every state across the country should think and fight for, said Priyan, noting that as “powerful governments are formed at the Centre, more and more state rights are snatched away”.

The DMK has emerged as among the most vociferous proponents of more autonomy for states.

Pannerselvan noted: “2024 is essentially about whether we are going to support extreme homogenisation or a heterogeneous plurality of India. The DMK represents heterogeneous plurality while the BJP represents homogeneity.”

The INDIA bloc is still intact despite all its internal contradictions because of the idea of plurality, he added.

Saravanan too said “this is not about electoral politics alone”.

“This is the core of why the DMK was formed. Irrespective of electoral gains, the DMK will continue giving its voice for state autonomy and federalism.”

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)

Also Read: Tamil Nadu contests Modi govt claim on central funds: ‘Centre has done nothing to help state’