A day after issuing a “closing warning” to the Union authorities on demarcation, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin shortly moved from rhetoric to mobilization. Convene an emergency assembly of DMK district secretaries. He known as for a statewide black flag protest on Wednesday and known as for a statewide black flag protest on Thursday.
Stalin cited Tamil Nadu’s historical past of political advocacy and prompt that if institutional responses fail, public expression will observe. Excerpts from Wednesday’s interview after DMK’s latest escalation:
You described the border not simply as a political problem, however as a difficulty of fairness and federal stability. What do you suppose are the ideas that ought to information India at the moment?
India was not constructed on arithmetic. It was constructed on belief, restraint, and a shared constitutional imaginative and prescient. The Structure didn’t require states to take part in inhabitants competitions. He known as on them to control responsibly. Nations that invested in inhabitants stabilization, schooling, and public well being did in order a service to the nation, slightly than having much less of a voice within the course of.
India was not constructed on arithmetic. It was constructed on belief, restraint, and a shared constitutional imaginative and prescient.
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Are you saying that is about extra than simply setting boundaries?
What we’re witnessing right now is past limits. It is about how energy itself is being restructured to favor one get together or one other. Is that this to strengthen democracy, empower ladies, or recalibrate democracy for political expediency?
I’ve seen this strategy earlier than. Throughout demonetization, hasty selections rendered the hard-earned forex nugatory. Right this moment, it’s a borderline, a close to disenfranchisement of Tamils and a crushing of their voices. This is not only a numbers problem. It is about voice and the burden that voice carries. In a parliamentary democracy, each vote counts. Governments together with the Atal Bihari Vajpayee authorities misplaced by a single vote. Even the slightest bias can change a rustic’s outcomes. Proportional enlargement with out safeguards would widen disparities between states akin to Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
You talked about Vajpayee and the significance of stability in expression. Why is that precedent necessary now?
That’s precisely why Vajpayee froze demarcation to take care of stability till the nation developed extra evenly. Why abandon that knowledge now? Why not proceed doing so till true parity is achieved?If illustration ignores governance outcomes and begins rewarding solely inhabitants development, we is not going to be redressing the imbalance. We’re creating new injustices. A nation that has supported nationwide priorities can now not be politically marginalized. It will get to the guts of cooperative federalism.
The voice of Tamil Nadu is not any coincidence. It is distinctive. As our chief and DMK founder Peralignar Anna (CN Annadurai) stated, we belong to the Dravidian inventory that provides the tangibles of social justice, rationalism, nationwide autonomy and inclusive governance. That voice should be heard, not suppressed in Congress. Federalism is just not an administrative association determined by Delhi. It’s a constitutional provision. If that contract weakens, the concept of India itself will weaken.
You may have additionally expressed concern about linking reservations for girls with boundaries. How do you see this second shaping each illustration and justice in India?
The issue is straightforward. Ought to justice be served or deferred? Reservation for girls is an ethical and democratic obligation. It can’t be conditioned on unsure processes, akin to delays in demarcation or census schedules. Linking the 2 dangers pushing long-overdue reforms into the indefinite future, regardless of widespread nationwide consensus.
What’s extra necessary is to vary the character of reform. What was speculated to be a decisive step in the direction of gender equality has now change into embroiled in a controversial political motion. This raises professional considerations that social justice measures are getting used as a pretense for a deeper restructuring of illustration.
India has already demonstrated by means of native our bodies that reservations for girls may be applied instantly. Tamil Nadu has ensured 50% illustration for girls in native our bodies. In cities like Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai, 50% of the mayors are ladies. The problem is just not feasibility. It is political will.
On the similar time, equity is just not selective. Once we redraw boundaries in ways in which develop alternative whereas weakening sure nations, particularly those who have achieved their improvement objectives, we’re selling justice with one hand and weakening justice with the opposite.
Please let me ask you a query. What prevented the federal government from implementing 33% reservation throughout the present 543 seats in 2024, regardless of claims by the opposition DMK? Why impose new situations? Why shift the goalposts? Why return from your personal timeline? Setting boundaries in a rush and failing raises additional questions.
A mature democracy should distinguish between what’s pressing and what’s complicated. Ladies’s rights are pressing and can’t wait. Boundary setting is a very totally different train with totally different dynamics and outcomes. We have to do each, however one shouldn’t delay the opposite.
You additionally reminded folks of the riots of the Nineteen Fifties and Nineteen Sixties. What did that imply?
Historical past is just not one thing we invoke frivolously. The actions of the Nineteen Fifties and Nineteen Sixties weren’t towards India. They had been an effort to form India right into a federation that revered range, dignity and federal stability.
They confirmed that even when establishments are insufficient and dialogue lacks sincerity, the expression of democracy doesn’t diminish, however deepens and positive factors power amongst folks. In Tamil Nadu, that expression has at all times been peaceable, principled and rooted in constitutional values.
I am simply reminding you that such traditions exist for correction, not battle. It displays a society that engages, questions, and stands agency when fairness is at stake. If this reminiscence makes somebody uneasy, we have to ask why. This isn’t a risk. It’s a name for a course correction. If that is adopted, the Union might be strengthened. Whether it is ignored, the blame lies with those that select to not pay attention.
What do you suppose would be the drawback if this continues?
This can be a historic second not just for Tamil Nadu however for your complete southern area. Because the President of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Chief Minister of a state, I’ve a grave duty to uphold justice as a result of the implications of selections taken right now will form generations to come back. At its core, it considerations one elementary query: What place do Tamils occupy in India’s corridors of energy?
This can be a watershed second for billions of individuals throughout South India. It goes far past electoral politics. It’s about defending the political voice, relevance and dignity of the folks throughout the Indian Union. Recognizing the gravity of this problem, I took the initiative to convene a gathering of seven state premiers to debate honest boundaries. The trouble was not about politics, it was about ideas.
If we do not act now, if we do not advocate for ourselves at this important juncture, the following imbalances might change into everlasting. This isn’t a brief drawback. It is a decisive second.
I see this not simply as a political duty, however as a historic mission to make sure that the voices of Tamil Nadu and the South stay sturdy, revered and important to India’s future.
