Tag: India Elections

9Apr

Delhi’s Tibetans find their political voice after 50 years

A Tibetan monk in New Delhi's Majnu Ka Tila colony. For the first time since they arrived in India more than five decades ago, Tibetan immigrants living here will vote in India's parliamentary election this month.  Photo: Rishabh Gupta

For the first time since they arrived in India more than five decades ago, Tibetan immigrants living in a Delhi settlement will vote in India’s parliamentary election this month.

Thousands of Tibetans fled across the Sino-Indian border in the late 1950s when Mao Zedong’s forces seized their homeland. Some took refuge in the North Delhi colony called Majnu Ka Tila where they were provided makeshift shelters.

Over the years these makeshift shelters have morphed into permanent homes. The first and second generations spent their lives coping with the basic issues of bread and shelter. The third generation has now gained the right to vote. Though according to Indian law, a person born on or after July 1, 1987, is a citizen of India if either parent is Indian, Tibetan settlers in some parts of India were not seen as full citizens till a Karnataka High Court ruling in August 2013.

Katen Tsering, head of the Residents Welfare Association at the Tibetan colony, said, “Only a few people have enrolled for voter cards because of the shortage of time and lack of necessary residence proof.” Out of 350 families at Majnu Ka Tila, only about a dozen have registered. Others tried to register but were late. As a result, most politicians are not paying much attention to the colony.

Asked which party they would favour, Katen said, “We are not favouring any party but we will push for our rights from whichever party comes to power.”

But the first-time Tibetan voters are clear what they want. It’s not very different from what the average voter in Delhi wants. As one shopkeeper said, “We want better schools, hospitals and roads.”

The residents of Majnu Ka Tila are mainly traders, tour registrars and guides. Many also sell Tibetan products in the narrow lanes of the colony. Most of them are happy with what the government has provided till now. Tenzin Wangchuk, 27, a member of the Tibetan National Congress, said, “We are happy that the Indian government has given us many amenities. Most importantly, they have provided us exclusive schools where our community’s children can study.”

However, many parents in the settlement want better schools. Suman, who operates a food business and has a child, said, “I will vote for that party which can promise me that my child will be better educated and can live a respectable life.”

The younger generation, which has been educated in Indian universities, can now get jobs, thanks to citizenship. Norbu, a 22-year-old graduate from Delhi University, said, “I would like to give my vote to the Congress because they have promised better jobs for youth.”

A mother of two, shopping for groceries, said, “I am waiting for my voter card. I will vote for the Aam Aadmi Party because they will bring down inflation by reducing corruption”. The woman was unwilling, however, to give her name.

What also needs addressing, say residents, is the discrimination that the Tibetans sometimes face in the public sphere. Chime, a young woman who has also applied for her card, said, “Now that we have a voter card, perhaps the discrimination we sometimes face will end and we can get good jobs.”

The Tibetans are slowly finding their political voice in their adopted homeland. Irrespective of whom they vote for, this election will be a landmark for these one-time refugees as they become part of the Indian mainstream.

Photo: Rishabh Gupta

4Apr

Sharp rise in unrecognised parties, independent candidates

The 2014 Parliamentary elections will see the highest number of unrecognised parties in the fray in India’s electoral history.

The number of unrecognised parties has shown a five-fold increase from the 2009 figure, reaching  a total of 1,593, according to data from the Election Commission of India.

Unrecognised parties, as the label indicates, are the ones that are registered but not recognised by the EC. To be recognised, a party needs to complete five years of registration. Alternately, it needs to win 4% of votes polled in a state or Parliamentary elections, whereupon it would be recognised as a state party.

The rise from 322 in 2009 to 1,593 is the largest growth spurt seen in registered parties since 1951.

In 1984, the number of unrecognised parties was just nine.

Data from the EC also shows a steady rise in independent candidates from the 1998 figures. In 1998, 1,915 independents had contested the elections. The number had risen to 3,831 by 2009, and this year, it is expected to be higher.

The number of independent candidates was at its highest in the 1996 elections — a whopping 10,636.

By means of comparison, the number of independent candidates during the 2010 General Election in the UK totalled 308, which equates to just 8% of the number of independents contesting the 2009 Parliamentary elections in India.

In contrast, the number of national parties in India has barely fluctuated, remaining just under double digits, whilst the number of state parties has been slowly rising. An increase of 20 this year brings the total number of state parties to 54.

25Mar

Why Tamils like their politicians to be movie stars


Why Tamil like their politicians to be movie stars

My heart is touched when the world wakes up at the sight of the rising sun
and I get reminded of the days when King Chera’s flag flew high on the Himalayan peaks
– Lyrics from Anbe Vaa  (1966)

I wasn’t around in 1966, but  as a child growing up in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, I have watched Anbe Vaa (Come Darling) many, many times. And like thousands of my generation, and the generation before, I enjoyed it immensely.

I just could not figure out though why the hero, the unparalleled M Gopalan Ramachandran, was singing such a song in a romantic comedy. True the film was set in Simla, so there was cause to look to the Himalayas. But why was he interested so much in the rising sun? And why on earth was he wearing that red-and-black striped jacket all the time?

It was much later that I came to understand that MGR was the face of Tamil Nadu’s major political party, the Dravida Munettra Kazhagam. The rising sun was its party symbol, and its flag had red-and-black stripes. And MGR made sure all his  films carried signs of his political stance. He propagated the philosophy of C N Annadurai, the founder of DMK, through his films. MGR was the DMK’s face till  he left the party to start the Anna Dravida Munettra Kazhagam in the 1970s.

Coming from a family of ardent MGR fans, I grew up watching pretty much all MGR movies. More to the point, I got to witness the kind of sway he held over his followers. My grandfather, who became spellbound when MGR appeared on the silver screen, was one among the millions of die-hard MGR followers, and he remained a loyal ADMK man to his death.

Such was the charisma of MGR. He used his immense popularity as a movie star to ascend the political ladder and become chief minister of the movie-crazy Tamil Nadu. That action was not without consequence. It led many Tamil actors to attempt the same feat, with varying levels of success, to the point that Tamil politics and films are inexorably intertwined in a way seldom seen elsewhere. 

But wait, was it MGR who used films for political gains? Or was it politics that used MGR to mobilise masses?

And why is that the Tamils are so susceptible to charm of the movie stars?

Arts and drama have always been part of the Tamil culture. For instance, the therukoothu,  the street theatre that depicted stories from the Indian epics, is a way of life for the Tamils, dating back to the Sangam period of 3rd and 4th century AD. Cinema replaces such ancient art forms, and the Tamils, who have always enjoyed such entertainment immensely, have transferred their adulation from the heroes of old to the heroes of the silver screen. 

The DMK was one of the first parties to realise the potential movies held for politics, and act on it in a significant manner through  MGR and his films. It was the DMK, under the leadership of Annadurai, that took film seriously as a vehicle of political mobilisation. 

An excellent orator, writer and a theatre artist, Annadurai himself was part of the film fraternity. He debuted as a screen writer in 1948 with the film Nallathambi. The film was against the Zamindari system, and Annadurai went on to script many films such as Vellaikari, Rangoon Radha, and Or Iravu, all of which had the ideas of self-respect, women’s rights, and anti-Braminism. There were other movie stars — S S Rajendran and Shivaji Ganesan, to name two — who believed in Annadurai’s ideas and joined him.

“Their films introduced symbols and references to the DMK, and the party rode the rising popularity of cinema,” writes Professor Robert L Hardgrave in his paper Politics and the film in Tamil Nadu. “Film artists brought glamour and electoral support to the DMK, and actors graced the platforms of party rallies.”

The strategy attracted scorn from other mainstream politicians initially. Erik Barnouw and S Krishnawamy write in their book Indian Film how  K Kamaraj, who was then president of the Congress Party, scoffed at the idea: “How can there be government by actors?”

Unfortunately for Kamaraj, there did come about government — governments, actually — by actors. Shivaji Ganesan was the first to rise to fame and become the face of DMK. But he did not stay with the party for long. He went on to join the Congress, and always preferred to keep his movies and politics separate.

It was then that MGR became the face of DMK. All his films propagated DMK ideas. Dialogue and songs were carefully crafted to hint at the political stance of the actor and promote the party among the masses. In Vivasayi (Farmer) 1967,  for example, MGR sings: ‘There might be many flags of many parties in the country, but the only flag that can fly high is the flag of prosperity’. When he sings about the flag of prosperity, the DMK flag is shown in the background. 

Aroor Das, who penned scripts for many MGR films, has written about how particular the actor was that all his movies was  pro-DMK and nothing his character did hurt the sentiments of the party. And this is evident in movies such as  Neethikku Thalain Vangu, Sirithu Vazha Vendum, Meenava Nanban, and Maduraiyay Meeta Sundarapandi.

MGR, S S Rajendran and Shivaji Ganesan were all actors who rose to fame with the support of DMK. DMK used films intelligently to reach the masses. This set an example to the future generation of actors. People of Tamil Nadu have been tuned to watch films as a part of political propaganda. Today we have a number of actors-turned-politicians.  Vijayakanth, Sarathkumar and Karthik are good examples.

News of actors joining politics is  common in Tamil newspapers. It seems to have become a tradition of the state. Recently Nirmala, a contemporary of J Jayalalithaa, the present chief minister who herself has donned the female lead in more than 20 MGR movies, joined the All India Anna Dravid Munnetra Kazhagam. Actors like Kushboo, Vadivelu, and Radhika have campaigned for different parties.

Tamil Nadu has seen a total of 10 chief ministers since Independence.  Of the 10, five have been from the film industry: C N Annadurai, M  Karunanidhi, MGR, V N Annadurai and J Jayalalithaa.

Politics and films are two branches of the same tree in Tamil Nadu. Years of enculturation have primed the masses  to identify an actor who wants to be the future leader of the state from the dialogue he or she delivers in films. Elsewhere in India, there are film stars like Jaya Bachchan, Jayaprada, and Shatrughan Sinha who are active in politics. But the number of stars who enter politics in Tamil Nadu is higher. That is the tradition the Dravidian parties have created. 

Kamaraj was wrong. This is the state where you can have government by actors.

Manolakshmi Pandiarajan is a doctoral candidate at the University of Madras, Chennai.

Illustration: Safa Tharib

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