The Tamil Nadu Assembly, more used to sharp interruptions, briefly sounded like a college reunion on Wednesday. When the Leader of the Opposition, Udhayanidhi Stalin, said that he, Speaker JCD Prabhakar, and the Chief Minister, C Joseph Vijay, are from the same college, the speaker proudly interrupted and said they are all from Loyola College, calling them “Loyolites”.
Tamil Nadu has had towering political figures before and their peculiarities are what stand out. Today, however, the discussion is about commonality. For the first time in the state’s political history, the Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition are alumni of the same institution — Loyola College, Chennai.
The college also represents MLA A Srinath from Thoothukudi, and MLA IP Senthil Kumar from Dindigul. The institution was established by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and officially started functioning in July 1925 with an initial batch of 75 students, according to the college’s official website. It has long occupied a particular place in the state’s imagination. “Wherever you go, you’ll definitely find a Loyolite,” says Shimofin PL, a video producer and Loyola alumnus, recalling what a senior once told him. And he says he has found this to be true. “Whether it’s media, politics, business, social work, or administration, Loyolites seem to have a presence everywhere.”
If one digs deep into the genesis and history, the college’s Visual Communication (VISCOM) department holds a chapter of its own. Loyola was the first college in India to introduce a VISCOM programme, and the department has since sent a striking number of people into Tamil cinema and television. About the legacy of the department, the college website mentions, “It originated from the Loyola Art Club in the 1970s, which grew into the Loyola Institute of Visual Communication (LIVCOM) offering a two-year diploma programme in 1979 before expanding into a full degree programme.” “Other colleges, even years later, started their own VISCOM programmes. MOP did, MCC may have, too. But early on, it was only Loyola,” says an alumnus familiar with the department’s history.
Department findings
Vnodh JD, filmmaker and VFX consultant who studied at Loyola VISCOM between 2000 and 2003, remembers the department occupying a modest shed on campus. “The other department students usually make fun of it, calling it a cow shed. But that is the shed from which the current Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has emerged,” he says. Getting into the department was not easy even then. He adds, “Getting into VISCOM in Loyola was a big deal then.”
Hariharan EA, who headed corporate communications at a Public Sector Undertaking and was part of the 1991 to 1994 VISCOM batch, knew Vijay as he was the actor-politician’s senior at college. He coordinated Vijay’s first television interview after his debut film release, at a time when Sun TV was still establishing itself. “We wanted to give him good exposure among the public,” he recalls. Years later, while pursuing his MPhil on television genres in 2007, Hariharan found through survey data that Vijay was more popular than any other Tamil cinema actor at that time.
What makes Loyola a conveyor belt for public life? The alumni point to a culture that blends relentless academic life with an almost political apprenticeship.
“Loyola, like any college, makes you adapt to any situation in life,” boasts Hariharan. Apart from the extracurricular activities that adds life to the campus life, he says, “There used to be multiple internal examinations, projects, and presentations, which made you stay organised.”
Then there are the student union elections. Unlike some colleges where unions are defunct or dominated by party wings, Loyola still lets students elect their president, vice-president, and other office-bearers through a process that, as Shimofin describes, feels “like a mini local body election.” Only final-year students with a clean record can contest, but the groundwork begins in the second year. “They create close-knit teams with representatives from different departments, slowly reaching out, discussing ideas, and building support. Some candidates spend lots of time, energy, and even money. They give promises, manifestos — everything you associate with real-world politics,” he informs.
Vnodh remembers his first year on campus, witnessing “political campaigning happening all around — it would be like a festival.” He also recalls an ugly rivalry with Pachaiyappa’s College that once spilled into a brawl at the main gate. The competitive intensity, he suggests, was part of the moulding process. Shimofin says he personally knows friends who were deeply involved in college elections and are now “actively working in politics or holding party responsibilities at the base level.”
The cultural festival ‘Ovations’, the photography darkrooms, the short films, the art and architecture modules — all were arenas where communication students were expected to stand out. “The whole college would be looking forward to see what the VISCOM department is going to do during the famous cultural fest, and obviously we’d come out with flying colours,” says Vnodh.
The alumni web
The network of students doesn’t dissolve at graduation, informs the alumni. Vnodh recalls interning at Vijay Television in 2003 and finding 10 to 15 seniors, some of them the Chief Minister’s own classmates, who mentored him. “Whatever I am today in the industry is all because of my seniors from Loyola,” he expresses his gratitude.
He traces the current political configuration partly to that same dynamic. “Mr Udhayanidhi himself has said that his first production, Kuruvi, was offered to him by Mr Vijay. For him to create a big production company like Red Giant Movies, was possible only by another Loyolite who gave him that opportunity. This is how Loyolites actually work hand in hand and pull up their colleagues or their juniors or their seniors in whatever ways possible,” shares Vnodh.
The alumni group chats have been on fire since the election results, exposing the political cross-currents within the fraternity. “There have been proud moments, people sharing their thoughts. There have also been aggression and opposition, because people from all kinds of parties are there. In the last 10 days, the admin had to come in and pull out posts,” Vnodh admits.
That tension over ownership burst into the open when a few people on social media slammed the Loyola Alumni Association for a widely circulated poster titled ‘From Students of Loyola to Leaders of Tamil Nadu’. The poster featured the Chief Minister, the Leader of Opposition, and the Speaker, as the institution’s own. Kennedy objected as Vijay enrolled in the college but left early, without completing his degree, to debut as a hero. The institution itself stayed silent. CE reached out to Loyola College officials and the Alumni Association, but didn’t receive a response.
After his election victory, Vijay received his MLA winning certificate at Loyola College on May 4, completing a journey that had begun — and been left unfinished — in the same campus decades ago.
The road ahead
In the Assembly, Udhayanidhi extended an olive branch to the ruling TVK leader. “Even though we all studied in the same college, when it comes to running a government, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is the senior batch. DMK came to power as early as 1967. On that basis, we are ready to share our knowledge and experience. You should also be ready to accept that. Because for all of us, always, the welfare of the state of Tamil Nadu is what matters the most,” Udhayanidhi shared. It was a sentiment Vnodh, also a TVK member, chose to read positively. “On his first day, the Chief Minister signed off on three policies: free electricity up to 200 units, a renewed push for women’s safety, and a drug-control drive that ordered the closure of 715 TASMAC liquor shops and the creation of 65 new police stations. He said he is going to be the only power centre. He has taken his manifestos very seriously. I am very sure he will provide good governance, at least equal to or more than what the previous government gave us,” says Vnodh.
For the younger Loyolites watching, Vnodh shares the takeaway, “We should be motivated and learn from their path. The way they have worked, from the time they stepped out of college, in whatever field they were in.” Shimofin agrees that the legacy has simply acquired a new dimension. He says, “Loyola does not function like a politically-controlled campus with strong party-based student wings. The college gives students the space and freedom to choose their own representatives and experience democratic participation on their own terms. That balance is what makes the environment unique.”
Whether the state’s governance will mirror that balance is the question now placed before the two men who once walked the same corridors and now sit facing each other across the floor of the House.
