Why the cry for Kongu Nadu is turning shrill in Tamil Nadu?
The question has cropped up following a social media debate about carving out the Konga Nadu region in western Tamil Nadu as a separate territory. The provocation appears to be the induction of L. Murugan, who hails from a village near Namakkal, into the Union cabinet as well as the choice of K. Annamalai, who took over from him as the Tamil Nadu BJP president. Annamalai is from the same region. The mention of Kongu Nadu in minister Murugans profile reinforced the impression. To top it all, TN BJP general secretary Karu Nagarajan said that peoples wish will be fulfilled. Kongu Nadu, which comprises Namakkal, Salem, Tirupur and Coimbatore, is reckoned as an AIADMK stronghold though there is no place officially by that name. It is mainly a domain of the Gounder community, a powerful Other Backward Class (OBC) in the state to which the previous chief minister, E.K. Palaniswami, belongs. The community enjoys considerable clout. Most political parties in TN have denounced the idea of Kongu Nadu as outrageous. At the BJPs executive committee meeting of Coimbatore North unit held at Annur on July 11, a resolution was passed urging the central government to reorganise Tamil Nadu and create a separate state of Kongu Nadu to safeguard the self-esteem of the people of the region, protect their livelihood and spur growth. Analysts point out that it is perhaps a riposte for the ruling DMK being assertive about the use of Union (Ondriya in Tamil) government instead of Central (Madhiya in Tamil) government to refer to the BJP-led NDA government in Delhi. Senior BJP leaders, including newly appointed BJP state president K. Annamalai, have distanced themselves from the demand. I will clarify this once I assume my new responsibility (on June 16), he said. The partys state media unit president, A.N.S. Prasad, said a prosperous Tamil Nadu and a strong India is the BJPs goal. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin says he will continue addressing the BJP-led government in Delhi as Ondriya Arasu as it encapsulates the philosophy of federalism. Earlier, both the DMK and AIADMK used the term Madhiya Arasu. Analysts point out that there has been a shift in the notion Tamils had that the central government is beyond accountability and is all powerful. Deploying the new moniker is perceived as a shift in the stand of the DMK in CentreState relations. During the tenures of previous DMK chief ministers, C.N. Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi, Madhiya Arasu was used freely, possibly because there was no perceived threat to the federal structure or autonomy of states. Now, the situation has changed as the DMK believes that the Centre wants all the power for itself and is slowly depriving states of their powers and rights. It is in this political backdrop that the DMK is striving to assert that there is only a Union Government and not a Central Government in Delhi in the context of the federal structure envisaged in the Constitution. Kongu Nadu seems to have emerged as a counter-narrative to it. No one can divide Tamil Nadu or even dream of such a thing. Dont worry, says DMK MP Kanimozhi. Tamil Nadu Congress president K.S. Alagiri is ponderous about it. The BJP has created a planned but wrong marketing gimmick that would fizzle out after a few days of debate, he says. What cannot be ruled out is that it is a cry that will be heard time and again, just like asking for backward Bundelkhand being carved out as a separate territory from Uttar Pradesh.