The storm in Tamil Nadu!

The relationship between Governors, the constitutional head for States appointed by the President (but under the advice of the Central Government), has often been varying with the State governments with opposing political views.

West Bengal had a long history of crossing swords with many governors in the past, who could, at the snap of their fingers, dismiss elected governments, often on flimsy grounds, under the garb of ‘deteriorating law and order.’ Such draconian provisions in the Constitution under Art 356 declaring the failure of constitutional machinery was enough to impose President’s rule. Such Governor’s actions have been put on leash with strict riders by the parliament and the courts. Despite the power tilting heavily in favour of the elected governments, the Centre often tries to utilize the services of their appointed Governors to embarrass the opposition-ruled States in every way they can.

The latest flash point is the Tamil Nadu Governor’s standoff with the ruling DMK party over the name of the State. Tamil Nadu, called earlier the Madras State, had its name changed in 1969 and has remained ever since. The State capital, also called Madras city, was changed to Chennai, in a countrywide name-changing spree, with States finding nothing else worthwhile to do. Interestingly of the 29 States and 9 Union Territories, Tamil Nadu is the only State to carry a ‘Nadu’ in its name, which can also be interpreted as ‘country.’

Governor Shri R.N. Ravi skipped portions of the speech customarily read at the beginning of the Assembly. The speech is always prepared by the State and sent to him for his approval, which must be read by him, which is the legal position. There is a consultative and corrective mechanism for a middle-line of approach. However, some Governors often add or leave out portions which contain questionable claims of achievements by the State. The Governor’s skipping portions of the government’s draft during his speech prompted immediate protests as His Excellency exited midway through his speech.

The Governor, while addressing the newly elected civil servants the following day, further queered the situation by suggesting that they must all stand with the Centre and not with the State if there is a standoff between them. His indication that the Centre is a legal custodian of the constitution and the States are not is a wrong perception.

However, while sending the invitation for the Pongal celebrations, the Governor has changed the official name of Tamil Nadu to ‘Tamizhagam,’ literally meaning home of Tamil, which has been objected to by the ruling DMK party and its allies. The VCK party has demanded the Governor’s resignation, and senior DMK leaders visited the President of India to submit a memorandum over the Governor’s unconstitutional actions.

The backdoor entry of Hindi and the fear of losing a distinctive Tamil identity has always been the trump card for the Dravida parties to garner the support of the Tamil masses. The Centre seems to push its agenda, and the Governor’s actions seem to strengthen the feeling. Unity in diversity must not be confined to history books but must be practised. DMK, on its part, must not confuse periodically on its distorted views of cooperative federalism and that India is a federal democracy or union of states like in the USA. They must understand that India is a united country and shall stand as such.

Jai Hind

Sampath Kumar
Intrépide Voix