DMK: How an old party plans to look young, stay relevant

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam traces its history to the century-old social reform movement, which began in November 1916 and has nurtured a long and chequered political past. Nevertheless, it has always aspired to reflect the present-day aspirations of subsequent generations of Tamils and, now, under a new leadership team, is determined to reinvent itself as a party of the future. 

The greatest advantage for the DMK is that it has been bestowed with a lasting legacy and strong ideological core. The party has been wedded to the notion of self-respect, and out of this were born: primacy of personal freedoms, abolition of caste and caste-based rituals, demand for multilingual equality and so on. Every social policy position adopted by the DMK can effectively be traced back to the spirit of self-respect. In terms of economics, the party transformed under Anna’s leadership from its earlier leaning towards marxism to what is best described as ‘consumer socialism’. The flourishing of manufacturing sectors in automobile, textile, electronics as well as financial and I.T. services-oriented industry and a modern agriculture economy are consequences of a balanced economic outlook over the last sixty years. 

Notwithstanding, new challenges have surfaced in the form of a competitive federal market to woo investment and the emergence of the “Startup Culture”. The economic policies of the DMK, therefore, need to be revised to meet such challenges and provide impetus to building an Innovation Economy that is globally competitive.

In the political space, there is still much waiting to be done to sustain the remarkable Dravidian legacy within the state and introduce tenets of Dravidian ideology to other parts of the country. The Dravidian core values of self-respect can resonate across societies, states and social classes. In the recent past, a number of states have found a common call to oppose the predominance of Delhi in policy making.  

The thought leadership provided by DMK and its current President, MK Stalin, in opposing the unfair and prejudicial Terms of Reference in the 15th Finance Commission is well recorded. It was a series of letters written by Stalin to various Chief Ministers and the Union Government that triggered a large scale political discussion on the topic. This ultimately resulted in a concession by the Prime Minister to reconsider the population criterion as well as six states – Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Punjab, Delhi, Puducherry and West Bengal – jointly petitioning the President on the issue. In spite of not being in government, the DMK continues, through such interventions, to play a role in shaping the national political discourse. 

Besides issues surrounding state autonomy, the next set of challenges that confront our society and pose a threat to nation-building may be found in the areas of climate change, social inclusion – women, sexual minorities and differently-abled – and data privacy. The DMK will need to codify its policy positions in the lead up to the upcoming General Elections to Parliament. There will be discussions – internal and external – to decide on what are the best courses of action in addressing each of these issues effectively and expediently. 

Overall, there is a pressing need to professionalise the political setup. Across the country, we are seeing drastic improvements in media management, political speech-making, data analysis and tech-enabled campaigning. The foundation of this political modernisation is the creation of think tanks aligned to political parties. These think tanks – set up within or outside the party – have become ideological beacons to guide the party’s office bearers in a meaningful manner. 

Finally, in the past year, in various districts of Tamil Nadu, we have witnessed a number of youth-led initiatives to revive Dravidian discourse. These have been talks, symposia and closed-door discussions which have attracted young professionals, college students and other persons from traditionally apolitical backgrounds in large numbers. Some have been styled as “Dravidam 2.0”, “Dravidam – Then and Now” (அன்றும் இன்றும்)” and “Dravidian Wings” (சிறகுகள்). These events are predominantly organised by young professionals financed by their own contributions and advertised through social media only; and draw upon an exclusively urban, young and socially conscious patronage.  

It is evident that there is a palpable yearning to understand the modern-day relevance of the Dravidian Movement and its derivatives. Through various efforts led by the current leadership of the party, the DMK has provided space for such initiatives to conceive, blossom and flourish across the state. More than increasing its cadre base through such public fora, many of the party’s leaders are able to engage with non-traditional party supporters and first-time voters. More importantly, the party is able to bring in new perspectives to bolster its ideological base and prepare itself for the next generations of supporters and adversaries.   

Manuraj Shunmugasundaram

Advocate and Spokesperson, DMK 

Link to the Article: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/how-an-old-party-plans-to-look-young-stay-relevant/articleshow/65894626.cms