End of Dravidian Era in Tamil Nadu Author(s): Ambrose Pinto Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.

34, No. 24 (Jun. 12-18, 1999), pp. 1483-1485+14871488 Published by: Economic and Political Weekly Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4408067 . Accessed: 08/08/2013 12:07
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COMMENTARY
itself with the Tamil sentiments. If Hindi was to be imposed, it was clear for the central leadership that the cry for 'Dravida Ambrose Pinto Nadu' would become louder Indira Gandhi who had invited the agitating student leaders to pacify the feelings of Tamil Nadu politics was for long dominated by the Dravida the students, was told by the students "Do movement which emphasised Tamil identity, language atnd culture in you prefer Hindi or unity?"implying there opposition to nlorthlIndiatn attempts at integration. This was replaced can be no united India with Hindi as the link or official language in any manner or by M G Ramachalldran, t popular matinee idol and a populist in form [Ramanujam 1971]. politics. Today the politics in the state has accepted BJP's hindutva Sanskrit was a priestly language and a and also globalisation, makinlg a complete break from the Dravida of the temples. The entire life language movement. of Hindus in hierarchical caste system centred on temples, priesthood and rituals. WITH the alliance of Dravida Munnetra were introducedbefore proceedings began By romanticising Tamil and claiming that Kazhagham (DMK) with the Bharatiya in the state assembly. The name of the state it is superior to Sanskrit the Dravidan Janata Party (BJP) for the forthcoming was changed from Madras to Tamil Nadu leaders undermined both the priestly national elections, whatever hopes one (The Hindiistanl Tines, July 28, 1967). language and the priesthood. Jesudasan had of a continuation of 'Dravida' cause The idea was to win over the sentiments (1961) wrote "'Unlike other Indian lanin Tamil Nadu have disappeared. The of the Tamil people. The whole Dravida guages, what stands out among achieveAIDMK had given up the Dravida cause movement was therefore centred on the ments of the Tamils is emphatically not right from the start, both in its ideology Tamil language. Tamil culture and Tamil frorm Sanskrit. Sophisticated and Sanand alliances. Given the nature of DMK. nation opposed to whatever is national skritised literature, so far as Tamil is conone expected the party to further the and Indian. cerned, has to be relegated to the second The excessive love for one's language class". Dravida cause ratherlhan retreat from it. From the stirring of anti-SanskritsentiThis paper examines the 'Dravida' essentially leads to hostility to other movementon the backgroundof 'hindutva' languages, specially those demanding ments, there was also opposition to the and 'globalisation' and attempts to attention. For the Tamils, the other two brahmanichegemony positively expressed understand the present situation. languages that were demanding attention through love for Tamil and denunciation were Hindi and Sanskrit.Hindi is a national of whatever is brahmanic. Sanskrit was I language, It is not the language of the associated with the exploitative priesthood. Evolution of Dravidianism south. The southerners held that the The leaders of the Dravida movement were "DearstudentsofTamil. Turnyouratten- attempts to impose it on the nation by the practically all non-brahmins. Gradually, tion to your country...it is in uttardisorder. northernersshow their desire to dominate they defined themselves as a Dravidian What is the chief cause? The answer is over the south. The opposition to Hindi race different from the Aryans of the north and from the brahmins of the state. Instead andour failure therefore was vehement. neglect of the mlotlhetonguue The two major anti-Hindi agitations of Sanskritising and claiming a higher to love and nurtureit...Of all the languages in the ,orldit is our 'Tamil Mother' that against the imposition of Hindi by the varna and linking themselves to the myth occupies the most degraded position...Our central government on Tamil Nadu were of Aryan origin, the Dravida movement mother, the most ancient and the most in 1965 and 1968. In 1965 while Congress looked to the thesis of a pre-Aryaninvasion glorious of the languages of the world has was in power, those agitating were jailed. which viewed the brahmins as nomadic and latecomers to the subcontinent; and now fallen from the high pedestal she once As a national party,the Congress followed central dictates no with the Dravidians as the original inhabitants. party sensitivity occupied" [Mudaliyar 1965]. The Dravidians were thus linked to the These words of Tiru V Kaliyanasundara to regional aspirations. For Tamils, Hindi Mudaliyar (1883-1953) were the core of was a language of the north and the rulers Indusvalley civilisation. To providefurther theDravidianmovement.While attempting in Delhi were Aryans. Acceptance of Hindi impetus to the theory Father Heras, a to revive greater interest in the Tamil meant acceptance of the rule of outsiders. Spanish Jesuit Scholar, claimed that the language, several after Kaliyanasundara The DMK therefore was totally averse to Tamils were the purest descendants of the expressed anti-Sanskrit and anti-brahmin Hindi. In fact, DMK once in power in Indus valley people and had best preserved 1967 unconditionally released all those their culture. He translatedthe mysterious sentiments to consolidate Tamil pri e in the 1965 anti-Hindi agita- script of the seals and gave it the name convicted it the was to whip Using language, easy up popular sentiments and ensure co- tion. "This is never done; many of these 'Proto-Tamil', relatingpresentTamilfestioperation. Already in 1967. during its very people had committed grave crimes such vals and folk life to the Indus civilisation first entry into political rule the Dravida as looting and arson" (The Hindustant [Heras 1953]. Works of the type envisaged Munnetra Kazhagam government instal- Times, July 28, 1967) was the protest from the new consciousness among nonled a big board with neon lights in Tamil the Congress Party. Congress was per- brahmin Tamils. The movement gained on the secretariat buildingatFortSt George. ceived as unsympathetic to and intolerant new evidence when it was most needed The board read. 'Tamizhaga Arasu of the Tamil cause while DMK was seen through discoveries of Harappa and Thalaimai Seyalagam' (head offices of the as a partyof the poor and the downtrodden Mohenjodaro. With that began an attack on brahmanic government of the Tamils). English names Tamils. In the year 1968 when there was wide- religion, a religion that had legitimised on state transportbuses were changed to Tamil. Inside the buses, quotations from spread anti-Hindi agitation all over Tamil oppressionof the BCs/SCs andST.. Inages Tirukural and a pictuire of Tiruvalluvar Nadu, the ruling DMK government was of Ram wre publicly desecratedandHindu were displayed. Prayers to Tiruvalluvar stronglybehind the agitationand identified deities w'c-e o)bscernelyportrayed. The

End of Dravidian Era in Tamil Nadu

Economic and Political Weekly

June 12, 1999

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inscription on the statues of E V Ramaswamy Naicker erected in several places in the state read "he who created god is a fool, he who propagatesgod is a scoundrel and he who worships god is a barbarian" (Indian Express, July 16, 1976). He consistently and constantly reiterated that no brahmin can be for equality and justice. Gita and Ramayana were attacked. The attack on Ramayana was because Rama was depicted as a northerner, warring against the Dravidian Ravana in Lanka. E V R Naicker observed, "The Ramayana is not based on any historical truth. According to it Rama was not aTamilian... He was a northerner. Ravana, who was killed by him was the king of Lanka (that is southern Tamil Nadu)...The men of Tamil Nadu are divided as monkeys and monsters...In the Ramayana war not a single northernerorAryanlost his life...All those who lost their lives were Tamils who were called Rakshasas" [Naicker 1959]. "Anyone who calls himself a brahmin in this countrycannot behave differently from his position...that separates and elevates him from the rest of society...According to the 'vedas', 'sastras', 'puranas' and 'ithihasas', brahmins are the upper caste and others...are the low caste. The sastras of Hinduism...attribute inferiority and superiority, disgrace and honour, to the low and upper castes, respectively. No brahmins can give up this" (speech of 1957, quoted in Viditthalai, March 20, 1964). The Dravida identity thus was fostered at two levels of deconstruction and construction. While infusing hatred of caste, the primordialsentiment of race and language was affirmed. North Indians as well as brahmins were seen as Aryans. They were held responsible for Hinduism, caste and the low status of Dravidians. To provide a legitimate place for the Dravidians in politics and society Hinduism, caste and Aryanism had to be destroyed. The demand for Dravida Nadu was centred on this anti-Aryan sentiment. II

independent Dravida Nadu. Right from the startEVR stressed widow remarriages and intercaste marriages. He urged his followers to treat August 15, 1947 as a day of misery for the failure to obtain separate nationhood for Dravidians or 'Dravida Nadu'. When India adopted its Constitution, he boycotted it. There were other symbolic gestures he used to strengthen Tamil non-brahmin identity. In 1952 he led a major anti-Hindi movement. He brokeimages of the popular god Vinayaka to demonstrate his opposition to religion. When Nadar Kamaraj replaced Rajagopalachari, a brahmin, in 1954 as chief minister, EVR gave him totalsupport.In the 1960s Periyar burnt pictures of Rama. Ramayana was viewed as the record of an imperialistic war by northerners against southerners. Periyar'swas a radicalsocialism. Though not an intellectual, he had understood society. His was a prophetic voice, more a voice of reason than superstition. His anti-religious movement functioned as some kind of religion. Though influenced by Marx, he was fully rooted in Tamil Nadu soil. He combined socialism, atheism and anti-brahmanism. Here is an extract from his speech: Socialism meansjustice withoutbias and equalitywithoutdifferences.But thereare inequalitiesin every aspectof presentlife, in caste, in education, in wealth and in social status. Even after their hardwork people suffer without scraps to eat, rags to wear and huts to live in...When we say it is not properand the prosperityshould be equally enjoyed by all, the capitalists, the aristocrats,the landlords...cryaloud. The priests and the theists stand up and shoutthatit is againstthewill ofgod...They say a man leads a happy or a sorrowful life accordingto the resultsof his karmas done in a pervious birth...(Viduthalai, March 2, 1964). His opposition to religion was due to the exploitative natureof religion, specially with regard to caste.

Personalities
There were threeimportantpersonalities responsible for evolving the Dravidian ideology. The most importantamong them was Periyar E V Ramaswamy Naicker (EVR), a radical socialist. More than schooling, he was educated by his experience. Prior to independence, that is in 1944, he transformedthe Justice Partyinto a movement and called it Dravida Kazhagam. The members were to wear black shirts as a symbol of the degradation of the Tamils. The back flag was another symbol, a sign of the subjugated state of the Dravidians with a red circle in the centre, symbolising the hope of future justice. The goal was a completely 1484

that Krishnais a god or that the Gita is his prophecyeradicatecaste?...So keep in your minds that there is no other way except to become atheistsin some way or other... (Viduthalai, April 6, 1964). Periyarby his prophetic denunciation of brahmanismwas able to provideawareness to the downtrodden in Tamil society. He was able to convince them thatdegradation is man-made and hence alterable. His ability to awaken the masses was immense. The second importantheroof the Dravida movement was E N Annadurai.He became the first DMK chief minister in 1967. He died on February2, 1969. He was responsible for providing self-respect to the Tamils. He renamed the state of Madras as Tamil Nadu. If Periyarwas the spearhead of radical socialism by linking Tamil identity to sentiments of caste, Annadurai tied his movement to linguistic renaissance and to Tamil culture. He mixed the radical socialism of Periyar with a large dose of liberalism so that the ideology provides meaning to large number of Tamils. A disciple of Periyar,he worked with Periyar first in the Justice Party and later in the DravidaKazhagham.Differences between the two leaders led Anna to launch his own party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Progressive Dravidian Federation) in 1949. And yet both worked together on certain issues. In the 1952 elections DMK ran no candidateof its own anddecided to support candidates who supported the demand for Dravida Nadu. When EVR tarred Hindi names on railway station name boards, Anna joined him. Annadurai continually stressed the culturaloverthe economic. While officially dropping the demand for self-determination or secessionalism, DMK settled for greater autonomy. The abandoning of the demand for secession was to give the party greater political appeal. The rising generation preferred by far the buoyant positive aspirations of the DMK. After the success of DMK in 1967 elections, Annadurai's cabinet was the youngest in India - averaging 48 years. Gradually, People say our revolutionarymovement Anna attempted to ameliorate the Dravida has spoiled its chances because it entered Kazhagam's hatredof the brahmins while into the field of god and religion. Man is maintaining hostility to their position and disgracedby caste and caste is disgraced beliefs. A distinction between brahminism by religion. How can we destroy one, and brahmins was made. Brahminism was keeping the other alive?...Canthe Hindu defined as representing the particular religion standif caste is abolished?...Can system and practice of life preachedby the god exist when caste and religion are brahminsbased on irrationalbeliefs which abolished...? I shall give you an needed to be destroyed. Such beliefs could illustration...Allthe sastras of Hinduism be a part and parcel of other people. A acceptthe division of the fourvarnas.The brahmin is an individual. To the extent he words of 'god' which appear in the treats all people as equals, he would have BhagavadGita approveof this: "Icreated a place in Dravida Nadu. the four varnas. I created the dharmas Annadurai supported widow remar(duties)to be carriedout by the respective riages and 'self-respect marriages'.These castes. If anyonedoes not follow his duty, marriages had no priest and the ritual was I will put him in hell." LordKrishna...has a simple exchange of garlands between uttered thesewords.. .Canthosewhobelieve bride and groom. An elder of the Economic and Political Weekly June 12, 1999

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community presided over the ceremony. To provide legitimacy to such marriages the assembly unanimously passed the SelfRespect MarriageAct when he was chief minister. The objective was to do away with all that provides sacred powers to the brahmanic caste. On the question of race and caste, DMK was more moderatethan DK. But the party became identified with the defence of Tamil language and culture. Annadurai organised the World Tamil Conference, the biggest celebration Tamil Nadu had ever seen for decades. The idea was to aid the rise of a Tamil consciousness among the people. To furtherraise consciousness there was the use of motion pictures in which Annadurai himself played a major role as actor. For him films were meant for the promotion of social and political messages. There was then de-Sanskritisation of Tamil where the brahmin Tamil was replaced by a iiiddle caste, noncolloquial Tamil. It is in the light of the historic interaction between the Tamils and their language that the Tamil opposition to Hindi as the official Indian language must be seen. The non-brahmin Tamils feared Hindi because of its relationship to Sanskrit, feeling it will be used to extend Aryan (lomination over the south, destroying Tamil in the process. As chief minister Annadurai abolished Hindi teaching in all secondary schools with a view to completely eliminate Hindi from the school syllabus. The National Cadet Corps was suspended in all educational institutions because the orders were to be given in Hindi. As faras religion is concerned it is not the idea of god that Anna opposed but Aryan gods such as Krishna, Rama and Siva. The attack was not on religion but the religion of varna dharma.As chief minister he issued orders banning portraits of gods and goddesses in government offices. He promoted two festivals. May 1, workers day and Pongal, reinterpreted to mean harvest festival, devoid of any religious connotation. The third person of the third generation responsible for Dravidian ideology is M Karunanidhi. As a student he formed the first unit of the Tamil Nadu 'Manavar Manram' which later grew into the Dravidian Students Federation. He was a disciple of Annadurai and wrote scripts for some of the angrierrationalistic films. In 1957, he was first elected to the state assembly as a DMK member. He was the chief campaign strategist for the 1959 elections to capture Madras Corporation. In the anti-Hindi agitation of 1965, he played a major role. In 1967 he was reelected to the assembly and he served both as public works minister and as minister for transport.He nationalised bus transport and built a loyal following among the powerful transportworkers' union. He has Economic and Political Weekly

huge volumes of writings to his credit. In some of his stories there is an attack on Hinduism. In terms of mobilising the masses, his campaign centred both on economic and cultural issues. Hindi was a significant factor. Political awareness was tied to primordial sentiments. Karunanidhi pioneered a technique whereby political verses were set to the tunes of popularcinema songs. These were sung in theaters and on loudspeakers in every village. Here is an example: Should Hindi rule the south? Should the position of sweet Tamils deteriorate? Should the northIndiansarrogantly cheat us? Should we lose all the taxes we have paid? IsnotourTamilfamedforitsfineliterature? Is it not the only way to prosperity? [Ryerson 1988:156]. Most of the songs combined cultural aspects with economic aspirations. In a meeting that Karunanidhipresided over in 1970, his party'screed was declared to be to work without rest - following Anna's path - to oppose Hindi imperialism, to establish a society without exploitation, to work for autonomy for the states and federation at the centre and to conquering of poverty avoiding violence (Indian Express, February24, 1970). The party changed its demand from secession to greater autonomy for the states. In keeping with the anti-brahmanic worldview Karunanidhi in 1971 passed the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and CharitableEndowments Amendment Act which abolished the hereditary appointment of 'archakas' (temple priests). This was intendedto abolish brahminmonopoly in religious affairs. Brahmins challenged the Act in the Supreme Court without success. DMK then made it mandatory that prayers be held in Tamil rather than in Sanskrit. When the brahmin class was politicising the attacks on the god Ram in Salem and the god Vinayak in Madras, addressedhis people andsaid: Karunanidhi Whatcrime have we perpetrated for them to clamourfor our annihilation?That we did not have our birth in a high caste is theonly sin we havecommitted.I wasborn in an ordinary family belonging to a backwardcommunity. I do not have any prideof pedigree.Is this a sin? Periyarand Annaaretheonly two who...made us regain our self-respect, made us Tamilians and made us walk once again as men. It is a fateful testing period for us. A challenge has been thrown to Tamil society...Will this race survive or be annihilated?This is the questionTamil Nadu is facing. Act with that question etched in your brains (Murosoli, February25, 1971). The Salem incident turned out to be a brahmin-non-brahmin issue and anAryan-

Dravidianissue. The masses found in Karunanidhi a symbolof theiraspirations. As for belief in god, Karunanidhi that"atno timehadtheDMK emphasised been a partyof atheists,but it wouldnot allow exploitationin the name of god... DMKbelievesthatgod lives in the hearts of people rather thanin temples" (Indian Express, August 21, 1970). This is a fromthe DK ideology.Though departure not an atheist, Karunanidhi was full of anti-Hindu andanti-brahminic sentiments. The most important figure in the allIndiaDravidian politicswas M G Ramachandran who splitfromKarunanidhi and launchedAIDMK.For 11 years,till his death onDecember 24,1987,hedominated TamilNadupolitics withouta Dravidian agenda.As a friendof the Congress,his rule even took away the benefits of the Dravida movement. Theconditions of the people worsened.His goverment dealt withworkers, labourers ruthlessly peasants, andemployees.As the chief of All-India DravidaMunnetra he hadno Kazhagam, difficultyin aligningwithnational parties andtheircauses.Andyet he was popular. His popularity was due to his actionson the silver screen. "Charismatic MGR role was that of a mancombating working everyoppression. Thushe fiadactedas a peasant, fisherman, rickshaw-puller,carter, gardener,taxi driver, quarry worker, shoeshine boy, cowherd,etc"[Pandian 1989].His identificationwith the commonman and their strugglesmade it easy to the struggling and toiling masses to identify with his imageon the screen.TherealMGRnever came in contact with the masses. After MGR, Jayalalitha put on the mantleof MGR.Being a brahmin she was not at all ideologicallytunedto the Dravidaideology. In fact, she was responsiblefor the appointmentof brahminarchakasand the causeof Brahmins as chief promoting minister. Besidessheinherited theAIDMK which was ideologically differentfrom DMK.That is waywhenJayalalitha aligned herselfwiththeBJPa party of theAryans, it was no surpriseor shock. III DMK and BJP afterarelentless battleagainst However, brahminism and Aryanism how does Karunanidhi align with the BJP? By its veryideologyDMKhasupheldthetheory of Dravidian race as indigenous and The BJPholdsjust the opposite superior. view wherethe Aryanswerethe original inhabitants of India and the Vedic civilisation pre-datedthe Indus valley civilisation. Ravana is the icon of Dravidians againstthe Aryangod Rama. While the whole BJP is centredon Ram mandir, andthe vedas,Sanskrit, Aryanism construction of Hindu 'rashtra', DMK is
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for reCional autonomy, Ravana, atheism, Tamil, Dravida Nadu and rationalism. Therefore, the alliance with BJP is totally opposed to the DMK ideology. A party committed to social justice and atheism has decided to compromise on ideology by aligning itself with a party of fascism and hinduiva. In terms of social justice, DMK has fought for69 percent reservation in jobs and education for SCs, STs and OBCs. BJP has been averse to any reservations.How does a partythatspearilheaded reforms in the social sphere, equality in the economic sphere and liberation from north Indian imperialism in the political sphere align with the party that is averse to socio-economic equality and propagates the purity of Aryan race? Other than EVR, the leaders ot the Dravidamovement were not atheists. They were anti-brahminsstrongly committed to Tamil local traditions. While there was an assertion of equality. there was also a popular bhakti mox-ement. From the roadside shrines to bliajana mandirs, the bhakti aspect was present even during the height of the Dravida movement. Both Annadurai and Karunanidhi attacked puranicbrahmanismand temple practices and were not aversed to non-brahmanic gurus. Take the example of Kunrakkudi Adigalar, the head of one of the nonbrahmin 'saivite mutts' who was active in organising the Tamil lion-brahmin mutts. He was so close to the DMK that he was appointed by the DMK to the upper house. Strongly evangelical, he emphasised the need for training the oung for spreading the Hitnu religion throughoutthe country. Wiile he advocated control over mutts, he had tought for archakas in Tamil. How can one ftght againstthe brahriaanic religion andyet encourage evangelisation to Hindu faith'?In lact, there is no Hinduism apart from brahminism. During the era of NI G Ramachandran andJayalalitha,Hinduism received further legitimacy. In fact, MGR had no Dravida agenda at all. He was a populist and spent resources on the mid-day meal scheme, dhoti-saree scheme for agricultural labourers, pension scheme for the aged, rehabilitation scheme for the widows and other wellare schemes. While on the one hand he tried to effectively utilise the natural and linguistic sentiments of the Tamils by organising Bharathi centenary celebrations and the World Tamil Conference on the other lie sought to utilise the religious sentimenits ot people of all religions by giving state receptions to andotlers. This was totally Sankaracharyas against the Dravida agenda. Jayalalitha furthered brahmanic interests through temples, priesthood and appointment of archakas from the brahmin community. When Karunanidhicame back to power by defeating Jayalalitha, the ground reality Economic and Political Weekly

in Tamil Nadu was very different. Several incidentsafterAyodhyahadcommunalised Tamil society. The lower castes andclasses had taken to Ambedkarism. The Coimbatore bomb blast and several other incidents against Hindu communalists by the Muslim militants had sharply divided Tamil society. To use this newly made votebank, DMK too became a part of the communal agenda, of winning back the Muslims to its fold while expressing concern for the subalterns.During the Lok Sabha election of 1998, communalism had made sufficient inroads into Tamil Nadu. BJP in alliance with AIADMK performed beyond expectations posing a threat to the survival of the DMK. The reasons are not too difficult to see. DMK had structureditself as a monolithic Tami culturalcommunity. Love forTamil and denunciation of Hindi, Hinduism (brahminism) and Aryan invasion cannot remain political agendas for long without stronig ideological campaigns and commitmentsin termsof action.The monolithic identity formation did not satisfy the aspirations and hopes of dalits and others who were on the lower rungs of Tamil society. While the Tamil self-respect movement helped the backward classes and dominant non-brahmin groups, dalit and most backward classes (MBCs) did not gain much. With the ADMK-DMK contlict, the Dravidian issues took the backseat. The ideological vacuum created by conflicts between DMK and ADMK was filled by RSS and BJP and their front organisations. While Dravida movement defined the Tamil identity in terms of language. BJP forged solidarity along religious lines specially with the dalits and MBCs, The celebrations by the hindutva groups of the feasts ofVinayak, Ram and MuslimHindu riots have come to define the self as Hindu and others as Muslims in some places. The thevar and dalit conflicts and conflicts between differentsub-castes have increased the conflict between 'us' and 'them'. With the number of people below the poverty line on the increase and the government lacking a pluralistic cultural programmewith an economic agenda, BJP with its hindutva has made inroads among
the poor.

IV From Dravida Nadu to Globalisation At the same time there were economic factors at work. Right from the beginning, the DK combined radicalsocialist rhetoric with a demand for separateDravida Nadu. However the rhetoric for an independent Dravida Nadu was given up by the time DMK took over political power in the state, i e, in 1967. The business and industrialgroups of the state made full use

of the demand for separate Dravida Nadu to pressurise the central government to establish several new industries in Tamil Nadu. While on the one hand,the Congress had to facilitate developments in the state for the growth of the partyandto counteract the allegation of Dravida leaders that the Aryans are out to destroy Tamil Nadu, on the other the government at the centre was aware that development would be the instrument to keep Dravida Nadu in the Indian union. Several industries were established, many of them by people close to those with political power. By 1967 when DMK took over the state, there was gradualconsciousness among the business and capitalist classes that an all-India marketfor the sale of the products as well as supply of raw materials was essential if Tamil Nadu was to progress. That is why the demand for a separatenation was given up. Integration became the catch word. By the time India opened up to world markets under globalisation Tamil Nadu business groups too saw a possibility of greater wealth by linking themselves to world markets through export-import business. Isolation was no longerattractive. Tamil cause had lost its relevance. Tamils were never averse to English. Even during the British rule, the Tamils were more hostile to the nationalist leaders hailing from the northernpartof India and to their language than to English. The movement from a demand for a separate nation to integration with India and now to global markets is due to economic interests of the ruling classes in the state than anything else. In the process the Dravidian ideology has taken a backseat. The interest of the business classes has influenced andaltered the Dravidian ideology. The Dravidian ideology flourished because of the support the ideology received from the nonbrahmanicgroups. BusinessinTamil Nadu was never in the hands of the brahmins. The brahminswere employed in education, bureaucracyand civil service. When EVR began the movement, continued by Annadurai and Karunanidhi,the business groups with the intention of wresting bureaucratic and political power from the brahmin class floated the Dravida Kazhagam movement. As a result of the opposition to the brahmanic rule in the state, several brahmin officers took to central deputation. Bureaucratic power gradually flowed into the hands of Dravidians. With globalisation, the situation has changed. In fact, liberalisation of the economy was the beginning of the onslaught on Dravidianculture.Right from the origin of the movement while the Dravidians were hostile to the brahmanic culture, they were open to the culture of TNCs, MNCs and business classes. In 1487

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V (1965): Illan- Ramanujan, of Englishas stated Mudaliyar, Kaliyanasundaram K S (1971): ChallengeandResponse: fact, the importance . An Intimate Report on Tamil Nadu Politics theral, (translated)Madras, pp 125-26. earlier was never undermined while (1967-1971), Sundara Prachuralayam, HindiandSanskrit. TheDravida Naicker, E V R (1959): The Rtimayana:A True opposing Madras, p 30. Reading, Dravidian Press, Madras, p iii. waspopularised thesilver ideology through screen besides street theatre,skits and Pandian, M S S (1989): 'Cultureand Subaltern Ryerson, Charles (1988): Regionalism and Consciousness: An Aspect of MGR PhenoReligion: TheTamilRenaissanceandPopular plays. In fact, the number of theatres fortheStudy menon', Economic and Political Weekly, Hinduism,TheChristianInstitute doubled duringDMK rule. People freof Religion and Society, Bangalore, p 156. July 29, 1989. quentedfilms to have a glimpse of their leaders, forAnnadurai, MGR,Karunanidhi and Jayalalitha were also actors. It is the very same mass mediathat is utilisedby the global businesshouses to further the global agendaand to destroy Asghar Ali Engineer the local )ravida cultures. Through andadvertisement television,newspapers boardstMiere has been a systematicpene- A recent judgment of the Bombay High Court on the resource trationand dominationof the capitalist entitlements of a divorced Muslim woman vis-a-vis her former culture. ThemassmediaspeciallyTV sets husband has revived the controversy which the Shah Bano case of are availableeven in slums. Television, 1986 generated and which led to the enactment of the Muslim Women advertisements, especiallythrough brings (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act. Though path-breaking, it seems imagesof consumergoods, luxuryitems to run counter to the purpose of that enactment. and the fashionablelife. The immediate effectof suchadvertisements andpublicity is creationof a global cultureand in the WITH a recent judgment of the Bombay women, a Bangladesh court upheld in fromtheir High Court the controversy over the 1995 provisions analogous to Section 125 process peoplearedisassociated culturalroots and traditions.People are maintenance of a Muslim divorcee has of Cr PC and allowed maintenance for life alienated from traditional class and revived. A similar judgment by the to a Muslim divorcee. In that case filed communitybonds. Supreme Court in the mid-eighties, by Hefzur Rahman (Md) against Shamsun By tht values it promotes,the global popularly known as the Shah Bano case, Nahar Begum the Dacca High Court consumer culture prevents subaltern had caused much a turmoil in the Muslim delivered thejudgment on January9, 1995. classes froln responding to theirdeterio- community. The court had allowed a The judges, Mohammad Gholam Rabbani conditions. The homogenisation of Muslim divorcee, ShahBano, maintenance and Syed Aminul Islam, maintained that rating culture presents the global culture as for life from her former husband under a person after divorcing his wife "is bound universal and creates needs for com- Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure to maintain her on a reasonable scale modities generatedby global business Code (CrPC). The Muslim leadership beyond the period of iddatfor an indefinite houseswhichthesubalterns canill-afford. objected to this judgment and maintained period, that is to say, till she loses the The subalterns thus are further exploited thatin Islam a divorce can get maintenance status of a divorcee by remarryinganother by creatingfalse needsdue to unemploy- only for the 'iddat' period (i e, a period person". The judges argued that the Qur'an was ment, displacement,price hike and the of waiting for three months after divorce culture of consumerism. Unableto provide is pronounced). It thought the Supreme the word of God and that the word of God for themselves and their families, they Court had no right to interpret the holy must prevail over the opinion of ulema. easily find solace in rites,rituals,dogmas Qur'an - which only a Muslim 'alim' The Qur'an, the judges said, is underandmyths.Thehindulva forcesthushave (scholarin sacredlaw andtheology) can do. standable by all human beings. In the There were massive demonstrations by 54th 'sura' God says, "And We have been ableto exploitthe situationfor their bebefit,byofferingtheopiumof hindutva. Muslims, and the Rajiv Gandhi govern- made the Qur'an easy to understand and The Dravida ideology has become ment was compelled to upturnthe Supreme remember..." The judges also said that obsolete. It has lost its revolutionary Court judgment by passing a new law according to the verse 2:121 one must character. Therhetoric of amarket-friendly known as the Muslim Women (Protection study the Qur'an, which is in conformity dialectic of hi-tech productionprocess of Rights on Divorce) Act. The new law, with the dynamic, progressive and whoseultimate is to makepeople drafted with the help of Muslim clergy, universal character of Islam. purpose a commodity, increase unemployment, was supposedly based on the Qur'anic The Dacca judges then took up verse maximise profitsandbrainwash humanity verse 2:241, which says "Andthe divorced 2:241 and said there were three important into the service of the profit-hungry women, too, shall have (a right to) main- words in this verse: 'mutallaqat', meaning roomforfanatic tenance in a goodly manner;this is a duty divorcee; 'mataaoon', meaning household corporate empire provides andfascistideologies.Pushedto the wall for all who are conscious of God". This stuff; utensils, goods, chattels, provision by the global economic empirein nexus verse makes it clear that the Qur'an re- anrdaRvenience and 'maaroof', meaning withthestate,thepoorhaveto findsolace quires Muslims who fear God to pro- known, recognised, honourable and good, in the opium that Sangh parivaroffers. vide maintenance for their divorced befitting kindness. They go on to argue, Dravida ideology has made way for wives. The 'ulema' (body of theology "So we find that a woman who is divorced hindutvafacism. scholars), however, argued that this is entitled to household stuff, utensils,

Muslim Women and Maintenance

References
Heras, H S J (1953): Studies in Proto-lndoMediterranean Culture, Indian Historical Research Institute. Jesudasan,C and H (1961): A History of Tamil Literature, YMCA Publishing House, Calcutta, p xiii.

maintenance could be given only for the period. of iddat. Interestingly, while the Indian ulema and Muslim leaders agitated against the Supreme Court judgment in the mideighties and forced the government of India to adopt new legislation for Muslim

goods, chattels, provision, convenience which is known, recognised, honourable, good. befitting a kindness. Abdullah Yousuf Ali is, therefore, correct in translating the expression 'mataaoon bil maaroof' as 'maintenance should be provided on a reasonable scale'."

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Economic and Political Weekly

June 12, 1999

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