S TAMILNADU BEING MARGINALISED?

IS TAMILNADU BEING MARGINALISED?

A few news items could be thought provoking to people of Tamilnadu .

--The Ramanujam Institute named after a Tamilian said to be one of India’s greatest mathematicians, trains youngsters to succeed in the CET—The entrance exams to the prestigious IIT’s. In each of the last three years all the students of this Institute got into the IIT . These students were from rural areas and their success in the highly competitive entrance tests has drawn national attention. Should we congratulate the Government of Tamilnadu for this brilliant scheme? Not at all since this Institute is in Bihar!

--the recent report on the status of school education in the country by Pratham the research organization tells us that Tamilnadu and Kerala have shown sharp deterioration in the quality of school education and are now heading to the bottom of the ladder.

-Every state clamors for an IIM but not Tamilnadu.

--Thousands of new entrepreneurs are emerging all over the country but few Tamil names are evident, For that matter one cannot think of even one company from the state that is avidly discussed in stock market , venture capital or private equity circles.

--Small towns in the rest of the country are now producing top class cricketers but hardly anyone from TN.

--few youngsters from the state fare well in competitive exams like for the I.A.S or IIT ‘s.

--New talent is emerging in movies and Bollywood is becoming more and more sophisticated in themes , techniques and production values but Tamil cinema is largely stuck in its old routines with a marked inability to transcend boundaries

-Even Tamil TV programmes exhibit poor production values, regressive themes presented shabbily, crude comedy and uninspiring characters. Loud acting, poor dress sense, hackneyed themes are the norm though the producers may justify all this as being relevant to the intended audience. Why not uplift the tastes of the audience with something aspirational ?

--Visiting Presidents and prime ministers make a detour from Delhi and visit Bangalore but never Tamilnadu.

-Not one minister from the state can make a smart impact on any foreign investor. Not one politician from TN is talked of as a potential national leader.

--development issues are rarely at the centre of discussion in the local press. People seem to be satisfied with arguing whether Lord Ram liked to imbibe drinks or not That is when they are not discussing Rajnikant .

--the rest of the country finds it easier to understand God than to decipher what makes Tamilians adore Rajnikant and Vijayakant.

--Several states are vying to get Formula One races to their locations but TN with a history of car racing and racing stars like Karthikeyan seems to blissfully unaware of the sport

The list is long but the essential theme is this—are the leaders and people of the state not in touch with modernity and are they content with low level thinking?

Have we carried our caste politics to a level where nothing else matters? Are the people content with handouts—free dhotis, TV sets etc? In this competitive handout giving political culture are we going to see free underwear for men in the next elections?

I believe the fundamental error –and this is sadly evident in various degrees in may states and at national levels—is in believing that development is a top down issue in which it is enough if the State gives handouts from time to time. This approach is not working and betrays a condescending attitude. Development can take of on its own momentum when it is initiated by an approach that involves empowering the common people to shape their own destinies and not just rely on reservations.. High quality education beginning from elementary school is the very first step. But then this kind of thinking is too much to expect from most of our leaders.

I know I am repeating this theme but I feel I am justified in doing this.

I have a hypothesis. If you dress smart and modern you are likely to think smart and modern.I refer to the concept of the necessary but not sufficient condition.

Can TN leaders smarten their attire? Just look at Maran the only TN politician to make a national impact[apart from the exception of Chidambaram] Maran was never seen in the shabby dhoti so loved by TN politicians. Maran was, in a national opinion poll rated the most effective union cabinet minister. It is not surprising that Maran is now in the shadows while a pre-modern guy is touted as the next CM.

K.R.RAVI

USA