THANJAVUR: Tamil nationalist groups on Monday merged to form a political outfit called the ‘Tamilar Desiya Munnani’ to espouse the cause of Tamils.
This was announced by P Nedumaran, president, World Tamils Confederation, and the Tamilar Desiya Iyakkam, which also merged with the new outfit here on Monday. Nedumaran said that 400 members from around 60 Tamil nationalist organisations deliberated on Sunday at the Muthamizh Mandapam in the Mullivaikal Memorial, and decided to float the new outfit and have a blue and yellow striped flag. “Blue signifies Tamils spread all over the world and yellow their valour and culture, he added.
Explaining the salient features of the party’s charter, Nedumaran said the policy of the new outfit would be to strive for a socialist Tamilagam with complete sovereignty. On the economic front, it would strive to retrieve the Tamil Industry and Commerce from the clutches of MNCs, he added. Proclaiming that the organisation would strive for a caste-free society, he said members should neither have caste titles attached to their names nor participate in activities of caste outfits.
He said that inter-caste marriages should be encouraged, and the inter-caste couple and their wards should be given priority in government jobs. The party would insist on deputing Tamils as ambassadors to Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, which have significant Tamil population. Nedumaran, elected president of the outfit, said the Munnani would be registered as a political party and explore the options of contesting elections.