A Hindi Speaker Asks about Tamilnadu Freedom Movement
TAMIL TRIBUNE, May 2005 (ID. 2005-06-02)
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I have a few questions for you. I have read some of your articles on the Internet and I am confused about the reasoning behind some of your ideas.
Why do you want freedom for Tamil Nadu from India? All you say in your articles is that non-Tamil politicians are biased against Tamil Nadu. You are basically blaming all your problems on Indians that do not speak Tamil. If the rest of India hates Tamilians so much, why is our president a Tamilian? Either way, how are you going to get freedom? The Indian army can easily put down any rebellion. It has army units stationed in Tamilnadu already and I doubt a bunch of farmers would be able to take on heavily armed soldiers. Anyway, I doubt the majority of Tamil Nadu wants to leave the Indian Union. You guys write that Tamil Nadu is one of the poorest states in India in your articles. How is leaving the Indian Union going to help Tamilnadu? It will only make it poorer.
March 3, 2005
Response
1)
Why do we want freedom from India? Please read Reference 1.
2)
I never said that "non-Tamil politicians are biased against Tamil Nadu" or that "rest of India hates Tamilians". In fact, we feel empathy with the other nationalities within the Indian Union who are trying to get independence (Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Tripura, ...). We have no quarrel with Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and other non-Hindi states either. I have never said that Hindi people hate Tamil people either, although SOME do. What I and other Tamil nationalists have written is that Hindi politicians (with the implicit and/or explicit support of the Hindi population in general) impose Hindi language and culture into the throats of unwilling Tamil people through the power of the Indian Government [Reference 2]. We also hold the view that the Indian Government is dominated by Hindi-belt politicians and is discriminating Tamilnadu and many other non-Hindi states economically [References 3].
3)
I have never written, "Tamilnadu is one of the poorest states in India". I had written that Tamil Nadu has not reached its full economic potential within India because of discrimination and that the standard of living in Tamil Nadu would have been much higher if it had become an independent country when the British colonial rule ended in 1947. Tamilnadu and some other non-Hindi states are economically subsidizing Hindi states from 1950 onwards, and this is bringing down the standard of living of these non-Hindi states.
4)
The fact that a Tamil is the Indian President does not make any impact on our basic grievances (Hindi imposition, economic discrimination). The current president Dr. Abdul Kalam is from Tamil Nadu. But the position of president in India is a ceremonial position with no real power.
Even if a Tamil were to become the Prime Minister of India, it would make no impact. The real power rests with the Hindi-belt politicians who form the largest linguistic group in the Indian Parliament [Reference 4]. Though there had been no Tamil Prime Minister, there had been prime ministers from the south (non-Hindi). They are allowed to serve only if the Hindi politicians approve of what they do. If they even slightly deviate from the Hindi-imperialistic policies, they would be ousted. That was what happened to former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda from Karnataka. All he did was to say that Indian Government operated "Agro Channel" television programs that gave farmers timely information on weather trends, markets and prices should be broadcast in all Indian languages and not just in Hindi. He was soon ousted as Prime Minister and was replaced by Gujral who said that "television would be used to spread Hindi" when he was the minister of Communications and Broadcasting some year before [Reference 5]. So, whether a Tamil is the Prime Minister or President of India does not remedy our grievances of economic discrimination and Hindi imposition.
5)
As for the comment that "a bunch of Tamil farmers would not be able to take on heavily armed Indian soldiers", all I can say is that lesser people have achieved greater things. Sometimes help for the downtrodden people do come from unexpected places. We can learn from the history of other countries [Reference 6].
6)
Regarding the remark, "I doubt the majority of Tamil Nadu wants to leave the Indian Union", my retort is, "how do you know?" Indian government amended the Indian Constitution in 1963 to prohibit individuals and parties seeking independence from contesting elections (the sixteenth constitutional amendment) [Reference 7]. So we cannot assess people's inclination from election results. Indian Government refuses to conduct a plebiscite in Tamil Nadu as to whether people want to be part of India or not. Tamil nationalists challenge India to hold such a plebiscite. If people vote for independence, Tamil Nadu should become an independent country. If people vote against independence, Tamil nationalists would cease all activities. Why does the Indian Government refuse to hold such a plebiscite? Given people's opposition to Hindi imposition and disgruntlement about economic discrimination, does the Indian Government experts predict a win for independence demand?
May 13, 2005
[Summary: A Hindi speaker asks about reasons for Tamilnadu freedom movement, separatist aspirations and economic discrimination. A Tamil nationalist responds point by point.]
REFERENCES
1. Why Independence (Freedom) for Tamil Nadu from Indian Rule? (by Thanjai Nalankilli), TAMIL TRIBUNE, April 1999.
2. India, Tamil Nadu and Hindi Imposition
3. Economic Discrmination of Tamil Nadu within the Indian Union
4. Who Rules India? (Part I) (by Thanjai Nalankilli), TAMIL TRIBUNE, November 2000.
5. Why Gowda Went Out, and Gujral Came In As The Prime Minister? (by Usha Ramanathan), TAMIL TRIBUNE, September 1997 (11 KB).
6. AN EXCHANGE OF VIEWS: Can Tamil Nadu be freed from Indian Rule? (NO: R. Damodaran, YES: Thanjai Nalankilli), TAMIL TRIBUNE, July 1998.
7. DMK, Dravida Nadu and D.B.S. Jeyaraj (by K.J. Trivedi and Thanjai Nalankilli), TAMIL TRIBUNE, July 2003 (10 KB)
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