The predicament of O Panneerselvam seems to be a pattern in the Dravidian parties. Nedunchezhiyan was permanently fixed at the second spot be it the party (DMK or AIADMK) or the government hierarchy and could never reach the top spot. He occupied the Chief Minister’s chair temporarily on three...
As a leader of the opposition, M Karunanidhi was used to the government filing cases against him. On this particular occasion, the case was in reference to a public speech he had made. Karunanidhi read the police complaint and found that his speech had been captured faithfully in the complaint....
A feature of Dravidian politics is the title that gets attached to leaders, so much so that the titles often substitute their names. While Periyar itself is a title, Periyar is known by two other names, Thanthai and Ayya, one standing for father and the latter a term of respect. Anna’s title...
Justice PS Mishra and Justice Shivraj V Patil, the two judges in the Rajakannu case in the film Jai Bhim, have a legacy of standing up for justice and humanitarian intervention. The film Jai Bhim dealt with the case of Rajakannu who was tortured and murdered by policemen at a police station in...
Marxian philosophy holds that what is unchanging is change itself. But this doesn’t apply to Nanmaran, the 74-year-old CPM leader who died recently. Nanmaran never changed. He was always the down-to-earth person whether he was MLA, party worker or neighbor. His economic conditions were always...
