CHENNAI: The unveiling of a new statue of German philosopher and economist Karl Marx by Chief Minister MK Stalin on Friday was not well received by a section of the opposition parties with senior BJP leader and former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan questioning the rationale for erecting the statue when Marx, according to her, had no connection with Tamil Nadu nor had he visited the state.
The philosopher, whose writings have had a huge influence across the globe, may not have visited present-day Tamil Nadu. However, his writings show the keen interest he showed in the socio-economic-cultural history of Tamil Nadu and related developments during the British Raj in the 19th century, nearly 170 years ago.
Writing for the New-York Tribune (1857), Marx referred to the report of the Madras Torture Commission, laid before the British House of Commons in 1856-57, to argue that the British rule in India was marked by systemic cruelty, not benevolence.
Specifically, in his 1857 article, Marx referred to a case connected to the Coleroon River (Kollidam) bridge works. Quoting from the commission’s report, he recalled the complaint of a Brahmin villager who, along with people from his village and nearby villages, was forced by the tahsildar (sub-district revenue officer) to supply planks, charcoal, firewood and other materials free of cost for the bridge construction. These labour and materials were demanded without any payment.
When the villagers refused, the tahsildar, with 12 men, seized and brutally assaulted the complainant. Though a written complaint was submitted to sub-collector W Cadell, he neither inquired into it nor offered relief, but tore it up, allegedly to complete the bridge cheaply at the poor’s expense and earn favour with the government.
Referring to the surprise expressed by Soundararajan, Villupuram MP and VCK general secretary D Ravikumar said, “To ask what connection Marx has with Tamil Nadu arises out of a lack of understanding. More precisely, to comprehend the present-day political situation in Tamil Nadu, what Marx wrote 170 years ago continues to be of considerable relevance and value.”
He said Tamil Nadu appears not only in Marx’s journalistic writings but also in his historical notes, later published from Moscow after the Soviet Revolution.
He said Marx made over 1,000 references to Indian history. Among them, he refers to the Madras Presidency in 38 places. He also mentions the Chera, Chola, and Pandya kingdoms. Marx wrote about the languages spoken in the Deccan region, the Ramayana, and various powers that ruled these regions.
He also analysed how the ryotwari system of revenue collection, introduced by Sir Thomas Munro, functioned and documented how people were subjected to oppression under British rule, the MP added.