Caste issues return to hog limelight ahead of 2021 Assembly elections

A little over a year after ‘mocking’ the DMK for promising exclusive reservation for Vanniyars during the mini-by poll campaign in May 2019, the PMK has now made it the main demand following which Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has set up a committee to conduct caste census, temporarily silencing S Ramadoss without saying no.

However, the AIADMK regime led by Edappadi K Palaniswami might have opened a Pandora’s Box in obliging Puthiya Tamizhagam leader Dr Krishnasamy and recommending the Centre to bring six Dalit communities under the “Devendra Kula Vellalar” umbrella. Palaniswami is facing uproar among his own gounder community and other OBCs like ‘pillai’ who have ‘vellalar’ suffixed to their communities.

Though the ruling dispensation might attempt to silence the ‘unrest’ by warming up to its friends in the communities, it would be an uphill task preventing the rival political camps from gaining some mileage from the issue.

Admittedly, the proposed caste census could help AIADMK-PMK alliance in enriching its campaign rhetoric, but there is no guarantee that it would be an electoral jackpot. At least, the recent experiences do not inspire confidence. MK Stalin’s DMK did not yield desired success in the mini-by poll despite promising exclusive reservation to Vanniyar’s among whom the party wields considerable influence in northern Tamil Nadu.

Even the mighty MGR had suffered when he disturbed caste dynamics or rather reservation in the Dravidian hinterland. MGR-led AIADMK had suffered a major Parliamentary elections drubbing after fixing Rs 9,000 annual income ceiling to avail reservation benefits. The then AIADMK regime was forced to repeal the order after a hard-learnt political lesson.

Professor Ramu Manivannan, head of department of political sciences of Madras University said; “The demand for bringing six communities under one Devendra Kula Vellalar umbrella is a ploy of the BJP to divide people for votes. AIADMK fell for it. It will not unify the six castes. The division among the castes will remain. How will removing the six communities from the SC category and adding them to the OBC list empower the SC people? They would only lose reservation and other benefits.”

Dubbing the exclusive reservation for Vanniyar as a political strategy of the PMK, Manivannan added, “The demand for providing exclusive reservation for Vanniyar will only increase PMK’s negotiation space during talks with the AIADMK. Otherwise, the PMK does not have any genuine interest in securing exclusive reservation for Vanniyars. It will also prompt other communities to demand exclusive reservation, leading to more confusion.”