On May 6 when MK Stalin walked into Kalaivanar Arangam shortly after 11 am, the excitement was palpable. Editors, senior ministers, and top IAS/IPS officers had trooped in for the press meet like never before; the conference hall on the third floor resembled a fancy cauldron of state diplomacy. The press meet didn’t look like a customary one. Stalin walked around the tables and personally greeted everyone.
None sat on the dais. Instead, he and senior ministers sat amidst journalists. The three-hour programme was packed with proud speeches, PPT presentations, and a 4-minute video that took everyone through the 4-year journey of the Stalin government. The mother of all press meets but without a Q&A session! Not mandatory in these days of ‘Mann Ki Baat’.
Like every other state, TN too signed MoUs worth zillions, the difference being a high conversion rate, fortunately. As it counted every new job opportunity created, an uncompromising zero for the state’s Gini coefficient was a work in progress. A herculean task indeed, tucked away from the glitz of the lustrous corporate world.
The tag of fastest growing state (with a 9.69% GSDP growth) comes in handy for the ruling party that stuck to its stated policies of social welfare measures and brought on track most of its poll promises even when it was choked by a nasty fund crunch. Their political foes and cynics of the so-called ‘revdi culture’ may be forced to lower their din. Can’t blame if some think this holds the potential to shatter an old DMK jinx and push the ruling party back to power.
Stalin and his party would not want to take any chance. The other day he boarded a route bus at the Omandurar Government Estate stop. He spoke to woman commuters and enquired about the ‘Vidiyal Payanam’ scheme that provided them free travel. Squirrel away a neat Rs 2,000 a month and spend it on essentials -- that’s what most woman commuters do these days. No eyebrows are raised over how TN women make up nearly half of India’s female factory workforce.
The CM’s Breakfast Scheme for elementary kids and ‘Pudhumai Penn’ scheme for girls’ higher education are being replicated by the other states concerned about the widening income inequality. In a country where the top 10% of the population holds 77% of the total national wealth, as per the much-hated Oxfam survey, social welfare measures deserve to be more than an ornamental basic right. Everyone needs three meals; the right to refuse it can be a prerogative of the privileged.
While the economic reengineering slowly shrinks the inequality gap in TN, caste-related atrocities leave an enduring smear on the state’s social fabric. Violent caste squabbles are all-pervasive; ‘honour killing’ in the name of caste remains a routine crime story.
Many temples are still being labelled as belonging to a particular ‘caste’. The Melpathi temple in Villupuram district is a classic case. A court verdict recently forced it to open on April 27, almost 22 months after it downed shutters following tension between Dalits and caste Hindus belonging to MBC. The trigger? A Dalit boy entered the temple and “desecrated it”. While Dalits continue to stay away from the temple despite a court order, the old patrons are probably waiting to do a ‘purification’ ritual and cleanse the deities. Nobody is happy.
With the BJP joining hands with the AIADMK, looking to expand the alliance, and TVK hoping to gain a foothold, the 2026 state election promises to be a fight ahead. A communal disharmony can disrupt the ruling party’s calculations. The Madras High Court verdict that temples are not fertile grounds for nurturing divisive instincts and creating social unrest is quite loud. There aren’t too many options for the government. Neither for the electorate. A state that shows ‘progress’ can’t afford to walk backwards in prayers.
