Kamal Haasan- Leader of mass, future of TN and true vision of Periyar and Anna

The recent interview of Shri Kamal Haasan to CNN-IBN has cleared the air and doubts of most people of Tamil Nadu. He has clearly and categorically stated that he sees both DMK and AIADMK as two eyes of the same dragon called ‘corruption’. Therefore a new reformist movement is necessary for the state and it must uphold the values of governance, corruption free administration and must follow the rationalist vision of Anna and Periyar rather than the sentiments and interests of a dynasty and family.

Every political observer can see two distinct faces of Tamil Nadu politics viz., resurrection, social justice & equal participation, reform in education, growth and development based politics largely dominated during the pre-MGR era. During MGR era, it looks like it was a learning curve for most politicians to perfect the art of looting public money. Subsequent to the demise of MGR, the great degeneration of the state politics has started. Corruption and dynastic ethos become the bloodline of Tamil Nadu politics.

In brief, the Tamil Nadu politics was dominated by two stages of Dravidian politics viz., the first phase was largely for Dravidian identity, its development, values, and culture. The second phase was represented by exploitation of the Dravidian movement to establish and stabilize the dynastic rule and rule of corruption & conversion of politics as big business enterprise.

Today, if we look back at all those great reforms achieved by the Dravidian movement in the great past, has disappeared and what remains is some of its old blocks chant the holy laurels of Dravidian movement to engage in all unholy politics of dynasty and corruption.

If Periyar or Anna ever visit Tamil Nadu may get shocked and may even say the landmass called Tamil Nadu they never want to visit again. They worked hard to reform the people and free them from superstition and irrationalism. But today the idol worshiping sentiments of people have gone far too high and we can see temples being constructed at every 500-meter distance. The number of people swarms around these temples is amazing.

Today, Tamil Nadu is the center of sentiments, superstition, idol worship, irrationalism, castes & caste centric politics besides its Nobel Prize-winning status in corruption and scams.

Kamal Haasan is a leader par excellence. He represents certain values which are truly scientific, sensible, reform centric and uncorrupt. If Kamal Haasan enters Tamil Nadu politics and works to end the present form of Dravidian rule, certainly the state will automatically be free of corruption. He can certainly invoke the true essence of Periyar, a Godless, sentiments less, superstition less society where merit, values, honesty and sacrifices alone shall prevail and not the rule of family, dynasty, scams, and corruption.

The biggest calamity of Tamil Nadu has come from the present system of education. Dravidian movement of yesteryears kindled people about the importance of education. The Dravidian leaders of the present era intelligently converted the same ideal into a great business. As a result most the ‘scam money’ they could divert to build medical colleges and engineering colleges. Politicians running medical colleges and engineering colleges is not wrong. But to ensure their business interest, they smartly reduced the quality and merit of education to ashes and have started to produce students with distinctions and ranks but with least to no knowledge.

Tamil Nadu may rank the only state in the world to have the highest number of Engineers and Doctors, Ph.D’s, etc., but never can be a literate state in the real sense because the state produces graduates mostly with no fundamentals.

Kamal Haasan is not just an accidental leader but a leader born and grown in the soil where Periyar was born. Kamal Haasan might have been a mute, helpless witness to all the corruption that has been taking place in the name of the Dravidian rule, might have also been the worst victim of the above politics as he was in public life for several decades.

Kamal Haasan will be a leader from the heart and head, true spirit and soul of Periyar and Anna, uncorrupt and incorruptible. Rationalism, scientific temperament, creativity, innovation, improvement, achieving incredible fete are other exemplary qualities of Kamal Haasan.

Certainly, youths of the state could easily connect with Kamal Haasan and people wants him to be more vocal against DMK as well because AIADMK is already is a dead horse so beating it repeatedly makes no sense.

Kamal Haasan can invoke the true values of Periyar and can put an end to dynastic, family centric Dravidian exploitative politics.

Who knows a better tomorrow is in the making through Kamal Haasan.

Dr S Ranganathan