Advaita, the absence of duality, is a doctrine propounded by Adi Shankara the theologian and philosopher who lived in early 8th century AD. But then he was born in a region which is now in the state of Kerala. He could not have been a native of Tamil Nadu because here the extant philosophy has always been Dwaita or duality.
In Tamil Nadu there is ever a place for two at the top – not more, and certainly, not less. This is true in every field of life.
For example, in politics since the 30s the Justice Party and Congress were on top. No other party could come near them. Since the 70s it is DMK and AIADMK.
In the cine field right from the time of talking movies it was MGR and Sivaji Ganesan who were the reigning super heroes. In the 70s they moved out and Rajnikant and Kamal Haasan took their places. In recent times it is Vijay and Ajit. New stars rise every day but without a matching contrast they all disappear.
Same too, it appears, is the state of affairs with ExServicemen (ESM) of Tamil Nadu. They fall into two categories viz., the Normalites and the A-politicalites.
Let us first study the A-politicalites. They believe that retired defence personnel should lead a life of silent, self seeking, indolence. They want their followers to limit their political activities to merely voting in the parliamentary and assembly elections. They don’t understand Panchayati Raj and its elections, and so keep away from them. They consistently vote for AIADMK which is the worse of the two Dravidian major parties when it comes to looking after the welfare of Ex-Servicemen.
In spite of their expressed aversion to politics some, just a few, A-politicalite associations act as conduits for distribution of cash for votes among its ESM members. Such actions are hush-hush and outwardly they don’t show any indication of that. On this issue it should be said in fairness that they don’t show party bias and act in favour of anyone who approaches them.
Though the A-politicalites write thundering mails on the net they firmly believe in outward inactivity. In recent times there is a virulent agitation going on in Northern India demanding One Rank One Pension. The A-politicalites of Tamil Nadu openly oppose the agitation though they covet the benefits of the struggle by brother veterans.
The Normalites on the other hand believe in struggling for the betterment of the lives of ESM. They also believe that ESM need not be a-political. After retirement every one is a normal citizen and should take part in normal political activities which includes struggling on the streets as well as taking part in electoral activities such as candidacy and canvassing.
In a recent article entitled ‘Army needs to learn’ its erudite author Brig V Mahalingam argues for just such a stand. He says, “Where do we go from here? Can the services ever have its say in India? Yes. The solution lies in ESM being able to elect their representatives to the Lok Sabha and the Legislative Assemblies.” This is exactly the view of the Normalites.
But MLAs and MPs just don’t come off the top. They have to be cultivated from the panchayat level. Therefore the Normalites believe in taking part in election for ward members and chairmen of village panchayats, panchayat unions, district panchayats, town panchayats, municipalities and city corporations. Today’s councilor is tomorrow’s MLA, today’s MLA is tomorrow’s MP. That is the trajectory visualized by of the Nomalites.
Thus we see that the veterans of Tamil Nadu are split between the Normalites and A-politicalites with the Normalites having the greater strength cutting across ranks, services, arms and corps. Normalites are also getting ready for elections as candidates of Sainik Samaj Party fully supported by many constituents of United Front of ESM.
So, how would the people in Delhi view the Dwaita in Tamil Nadu ESM community?
Some years back I was talking to a leading Congress person in Chennai. When asked a similar question she had this to say, “We are not really interested in coming to power in Tamil Nadu. But we want that whoever is in power here should support us in Delhi.” Today BJP seems to be following an analogous policy. Perhaps that is the way Veterans of Tamil Nadu will be viewed by Delhi.
As of now it appears the A-politicalites may be more connected with Delhi, but Normalites have a greater following, are vastly more numerous in number, are organizing themselves more rapidly and can only ignored by Delhi at their peril.
Lt Col CR Sundar, psc, MSc (Defence Studies),
President Tamil Nadu Sainik Samaj Party
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