This column had made the point that Governor R N Ravi was not just an administrative choke point for the government but was seeking to amplify the nationalist narrative as a counter to Dravidian ideology and the DMK. Governor R N Ravi was not just a tough customer who stalled government work...
A Facebook post that came up recently featured a photo of film star Rajinikanth standing next to a shorter, scraggy looking man – purportedly a daily wage worker. The accompanying comment said both came from up north for survival and they should know their place and behave. If this is how at...
Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi’s open dislike of the words ‘Tamil Nadu’ and replacing it with ‘Thamizhagam’ has led to a political storm in the state. The ruling DMK and its allies are of course opposed to it, but so is the opposition AIADMK. The party declared it would stand by the name Tamil...
A recent report by the State Planning Commission of the Government of Tamil Nadu, titled “Regional Growth Pattern In Tamil Nadu” has revealed huge imbalances in growth between districts — the northern and western districts are doing significantly better than the eastern and southern ones —...
Kalaga Thalaivan is a taut thriller that could potentially work for multiplex audiences. It has a complex storyline and a grand ideological premise. It grandly declares that corporates rule Indian life and that includes all political parties. KT has Thiru, aka Udhayanidhi, as the rebel whose...
The Siddha system is often celebrated in Tamil Nadu just as Ayurveda is being upheld elsewhere in the country. Recently a few months back while we were limping back to normalcy from the epidemic, there was a judgement in Madras High court that went largely unnoticed. In the judgement given in...
The Wire and its editorial leadership is under a cloud. They first put out a story on Meta saying that Instagram posts by a satirical account critical of the BJP and Hindutva are being taken down rather too quickly by Instagram. A follow-up article said, based on a purported internal document...
Periyar is there on the bookshelves or as a statue on street corners. So all is right with the world, almost… That I think neatly sums up the Dravidian model. Going through the endless proclamations on the strides made by Tamil Nadu under the leadership of the Dravidian movement, one is struck...
Is MK Stalin more committed to secularism than his late lamented father? We can begin to believe so, though our own instincts might rebel against such ‘hasty’ judgments. Secularism is under existential threat in the entire country at the moment. Only a few opposition Chief Ministers stand...
The Internet has given new hope for news consumers and journalists. The entry barrier in terms of capital cost is low. Unlike in print and television, the investment needed to start and run an online news journalism operation needs to cover only salaries, largely. Unlike established media where...
