Amnesia, Dravidian style

Forgetfulness is a great virtue, without which we cannot live.” This great truth was revealed not by any Confucius but by the senior most politician in this country today, Kalaignar M Karunanidhi. Six years ago while explaining the secret of his longevity, he said there could be no mental peace if one did not have the virtue of forgetfulness. To remember unsavoury incidents of the past would reduce one’s happiness and thus the lifespan itself, he argued eloquently at a public meeting.

Coming from one well-known for recalling dates and incidents from the past to embellish his public speeches, this gem of wisdom about forgetting the past is ironical. But Karunanidhi is well-known for his selective amnesia, a term famously coined by his bete noire Jayalalithaa. This week, Kaurnanidhi true to his style recalled his long association with the family of Nehru, particularly with Indira Gandhi, mother-in law of Sonia whose alliance Karunanidhi now desperately needs to save. He pleaded that despite political differences, he and his party have always been courteous to the late Indira Gandhi. An exemplary illustration of his selective amnesia! Karunanidhi was one of the prime accused in a case of attempt to assassinate Mrs Gandhi at Madurai in 1978. Her procession was disrupted by DMK goons who threw a sledge hammer besides stones and tomatoes at her. She had minor bleeding injuries in the stone throw and was saved from the hammer by Nedumaran, then a dynamic youth leader of the party who took the brunt himself, while shielding Mrs Gandhi from attacks.

Karunanidhi’s party also has verbally assaulted Mrs Gandhi several times. The party always had a line of grade four speakers, known for vituperative, vulgar and obscene attacks against rival political leaders. This was DMK’s contribution to the popular entertainment quotient of the political culture of Tamil Nadu with other major parties emulating DMK. Karunanidhi himself has said sarcastically once, that his government would consider Indira for allotment of widow’s pension if she applied.

But now, Karunanidhi has resorted to praising Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and recalling fond memories of Indira Gandhi. And the motive is quite obvious. He himself has claimed that efforts to break the alliance between DMK and Congress today would not succeed considering the strong and long association he has had with the Nehru family. The truth is Karunanidhi is unable to practise what he preached about forgetfulness. He is struggling to forget two very recent incidents which pose a threat to his alliance with the Congress party. The first incident is the show of strength by the Congess party at Tiruchi where Sonia Gandhi made a politically-loaded and significant statement. “While we respect our allies, we should develop our own distinct identity in the state”, she told the cadres, hungry for power and clamouring for a share in the governance of Tamil Nadu, consistently refused by Karunanidhi. The second incident that Karunanidhi would wish had never happened, is the massive political rally commissioned by Jayalalithaa at Madurai from where Karunanidhi’s prodigal-turned-protector son Alagiri has been ruling a slice of the state. Jayalalithaa made a mince-meat of Alagiri in her speech and demonstrated that Alagiri was not after all invincible at Madurai. The huge crowd that choked Madurai that day had gathered despite overt and covert threats from Alagiri’s musclemen coupled with intimidatory tactics by the pliant bureaucracy and police. Whether the crowd turns into votes or not, Jayalalithaa achieved the immediate goal of deflating the Alagiri balloon and ridding the population of Madurai from a fear psychosis, gripping them for the last five years.

Sonia’s call for distinct identity for state congress and Jayalalithaa’s show of strength have sent shivers through the already battered spine of Karunanidhi. What if Congress switched sides after seeing Jaya’s effective show? With elections round the corner, he has resorted to reminding Congress about his respect for Nehru, friendship with Indira Gandhi and if necessary would flaunt even respect for Sonia’s grandchildren too.

In the coming weeks, he is sure to remind Sonia about how abusive Jayalalithaa had been about her Italian origins. But in politics, there are no permanent enemies or friends. After a traumatic repression of DMK by Indira during Emergency in 1975 and DMK’s murderous attack on Indira in 1978, they came together as allies in 1980. Jaya could also replicate such feats. For the present, Karunanidhi has to resort to selective amnesia for himself as well as others. Longevity of alliances also needs selective amnesia.

http://expressbuzz.com/opinion/op-ed/amnesia-dravidian-style/219434.html