Part 1: Tamilnadu has been a neglected state, while the state continues to be a victim of politics and conspiracies.  PM Modi’s visit to the state can be used to address the issues yis facing for long.

Note: This is part one  of a series on Tamilnadu coinciding with PM Modi’s scheduled visit to the state on 26th May. We will try to cover the state and the issues its grappling with briefly so that the PM can address them in a timely manner before the damages are done permanently. 

Introduction :

The Big man or Motha Bhai hon’ble PM Narendra Modi is slated to visit Tamilnadu on 26th May 2022. We are not sure about his itinerary this time but one memorable visit was made to the state along with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping at Mamallapuram. Though that visit was to host Xi, it was also used by the then state government to remove the ban on hoardings in public places through a court order. It will be interesting to see what new changes PM Modi’s visit will bring to the state this time. . 

If one asks what all has changed in the state since then. the answer is nothing on the positive side and maybe a lot on the negative. For the state has been continuously being neglected and has now reached a state of final choke or strangulation. On the surface, everything appears to be running smooth but the internal story is different. 
The words may sound harsh, unrealistic or whatever one can think of but we have been visiting Chennai almost regularly ever since I was entrusted the responsibility of Chief coordinator of IISF – an event of the ministry of Sc and Technology and Vijnana Bharati in 2017. The event was held at Anna University and was a great success. 

Though I have visited Chennai primarily in my younger and adult days when I had been to  IIT Madras to attend some courses and heard Prof Junjhunwala the telecom man.   It was only now that I began to understand the state, its pure Hindu culture, the spread and danger arising from Christianity and missionaries, the inherent caste war, poor civic state, the politics, and of course the Murugan Idlis and other typical delicacies served on a banana leaf. Do note that we have mentioned the word ‘Danger’ for Christianity because whenever inorganic methods are employed for growth it creates imbalances in the society that is harmful to one and all. Christianity in the state has blossomed while Brahmins by and large have suffered.

Presently the DMK is in power after defeating AIADMK in the last assembly elections. 
However, the DMK seems to be better than the AIADMK on at least one account. Chief Minister Stalin is largely termed as an able administrator that the locals would vouch for. He has announced a big industrial policy for the state and is trying to create a positive industrial environment by inviting businessmen from around the country. The state and especially the region around Chennai or if one goes from Chennai to Bangalore by road is the area where we can see the biggest Auto HUB in the world. It is said to produce one vehicle every three minutes beating Detroit and the likes. 
Unfortunately, Stalin for all his positive abilities is trapped by his association with Christian missionaries on one side and the promised industry revolution that he is trying to bring in the state. For the missionaries, poverty plays a major role in converting people to Christianity. The state has been one of the major hubs of all such activities. Herein comes the vicious circle. The missionaries who have powerful ground mobilizing support are prone to be misused and exploited by other vested interests besides their own nefarious objectives. 

The Industry revolution that CM Stalin wants to see cannot come with the missionaries in command for the reasons stated above. A very poignant case of this was seen during the 22 May 2018 firing in Tuticorin whereby 13 persons were killed in police firing. It is said that these missionaries were funded by Gorge Soros and others to mobilize and work against the expansion plan of Sterlite copper which is the only copper smelting plant in the country after Hindustan copper. This also brings a certain Chinese angle to the episode who wants to dominate the copper and other important commodities ( Please read our blog on FCRA violation a few days ago). In fact, there is one more angle to all these incidents which is the FCRA violations happening in the state. 

A careful study of the blog will now ensure the reader of the crosswinds of the state and its development plans. This vicious circle centers around many missionary organizations and their lobbyists ( we will give a complete list of them in due course). Fatima Babu is one such lobbyist who is stationed in Tuticorin and is largely responsible for the mayhem in that part of the state. Interestingly Kanimozi is the MP from Tuticorin. ( this is a big subject. Readers can read the story in Timesofindia.indiatimes/city/chennai/chinese-cos-with-import-interests-funded-protest-sterlite-tellscourt/articleshow/69981779.cms dated June 28 2019. ; also –https://thewire.in/business/sterlite-closure-india-net-importer-copper dated 15 Feb 2020 ; https://tfipost.com/2020/08/how-china-created-an-army-of-activists-in-india-and-shut-down-indias-biggest-copper-plant/ dated 19Aug 2020. 

Thus while the CM would like to see the state going on a fast track like Gujarat or even Maharashtra there are inherent hurdles that he has to cross first. Unfortunately its not easy for him to discard the missionaries and their supporters as they constitute a large part of the vote bank for the DMK. 

First among Many:

Interestingly the first recognized industrial enterprise of India was a tannery in San Thome ( a missionary place of worship) as early as 1805 and the first dept of the industry was set up in Madras in the year 1900.  Though people consider the first railway track between Thane and Mumbai, the fact is Chinttadripet in the State was the first to have it in 1835 well before the one in Thane i.e. 1853. Madras Regiment is acknowledged as the first regiment of the Indian army and was constituted in Madras in the year 1750. The civic body – Corporation of Chennai was the first and oldest of modern India to be formed in 1688. In fact, there are many first to the capital Chennai (Madras( and the state of Tamilnadu). (all references from the book Chennai by V Sriram). 

The Deterioration:
In the absence of all around development the state is deteriorating by the day. Chennai or Madras city is still looking for a safe water drainage as well as drinking water facility for 11.5  million of its population. There has been ambitious project been launched in the past both by DMK and AIADMK ( Jayalalitha) for a permanent water solution but it could never be materialised. One good man Shekhar Raghvan brought the concept of Rain Water Harvesting in the city of Chennai again a sort of first and way back in 2002 and extablished the Rain center supported by Jayalalitha. Similarly the Telugu Ganga project was launched toto bring Krishna and Pennar river water to the state but could hardly be suffice. 
The 2015 floods in Chennai still sends shock wave in the minds of locals especially the poor and destitute. The drought of 1982 in the city of Madras and state has brought musicians to bring rains – that is again a first in the world. Noted violinist Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan played violin at Kapileshwar temple in Mylapore trying to please raim Gods only in vain. 

Deterioration

Though the supreme court verdict in 2018 has brought the seemingly endless Kaveri river dispute to an end, the issue remains burning from the inside. 

Politically the state is highly sensitive and averse to North Indian vibes. The state still clings to Dravidian Kazagham  and ‘Hindi’ is seen as a threat to its cultural roots. Readers will recall how Stalin was among the first of CMs to protest against HM Amit Shah’s proposal to have Hindi as a national language a few weeks before. 
In a village near Thanjavur, a huge political storm was erupted after Veppathur Town Panchayat chairman Anjammal allegedly removed a photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the civic body office. 

The BJP and the Sangh have risen quite late to the occasion and moreover, they are also inflicted with internal rifts time and again. The present BJP chief Annamalai has been a crowd puller and good orator and administrator. His IPS background has also helped. But there seems to be a fight erupting between the old and new guard that may compromise the party’s prospects in the future. 

After Jayalalitha and Karunanidhi have left the arena, both the AIADMK and DMK have struggled to control the voters and the party. As of now, things look to be under control but then that can be a temporary phase. Both the parties try to outsmart each other and are at loggerheads. There are stories that may shock anyone about how the local politics has damaged the development of the state by and large with both of them trying to remove or create hurdles in the work and projects of the previous government. TN has a record of returning an alternative political party as a winner in assembly elections. A quick summary of the latest election can be read here- https://thewire.in/politics/tamil-nadu-assembly-election-results-tradition. 

Another good read of state politics can be read in this – https://www.epw.in/node/158283/pdf
The state with all its potential and huge resources has indeed become a case of regional politics and shortsightedness

. 
Note:

Part 1. is completed. 
To be continued until PM’s visit to the state to highlight the various issues the state is facing that need immediate attention both at the state and central level. Written in National interest without partisan self-interests. 
Dr Asheesh Shah
with best wishes

Samanvaya.org.in

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