CHENNAI: Lamenting that federalism in India had lost its voice, Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson and former diplomat Gopalkrishna Gandhi said that only integrous and courageous Dravidian voices could revive the federal spirit.
Speaking at the launch of the book ‘The Dravidian Model: Interpreting the Political Economy of Tamil Nadu’, he emphasised that the concept of Dravidian voice and ethos needed to be better popularised in the rest of the country. “Strong voices of leaders such as CN Annadurai, Rathnaswami, and Era Sezhiyan that echoed previously in the national chambers, are missing now.
TN has a chance to revive the country’s federal spirit,” he added. Noting that Periyar’s extraordinary leadership qualities had vanished even within Dravidian parties, Gandhi stressed, “This is a great tragedy. I do not hear Periyar in the discourse of politics in TN today.
There are many matters wherin Periyar was audacious and ahead of his times.” The book authored by A Kalaiyarasan and Vijayabaskar M maps the politics and processes contributing to the distinct development trajectory of the State.