Tamil Nadu: Block in haste, repent at leisure

While governments are known to crack down on media and news portals (or personalities) that dare to question, impugn, counter or even appear guilty of the slightest hint of independent thinking and/ or unflattering views, a recent act of censorship appears to have gone largely unnoticed in mainstream media.

Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s return from Washington DC, the Union government blocked the website of Tamil weekly magazine Ananda Vikatan. Its transgression: publishing a cartoon in its digital edition that depicted a shackled Narendra Modi sitting with US President Donald Trump. The reference was clearly to the abject sight of handcuffed and shackled Indian deportees sent back by the planeloads for illegal entry into the US — and the deafening silence of the Indian establishment.

Zealous BJP functionaries wasted no time bringing the petition to the attention of one of their very own — Union minister of state for information and broadcasting L. Murugan, so fortuitously placed in the right position to act. And act he did, swiftly blocking the unwanted images from cyberspace!

Gone without a trace, the whole thing became public only when Vikatan readers complained about not being able to access their favourite website (Ananda Vikatan and its sister publications are very popular in the state). The petition against this 'objectionable' cartoon was filed by the BJP’s state president, IPS officer-turned-politician K. Annamalai. He alleged that Vikatan was acting as a mouthpiece of the ruling DMK and was guilty of trying to tarnish the image of the Supreme Leader.

The Hindu reported that the Union government did not follow established procedures — the rules stipulate that the government has to issue a notice to allow a website (or any such entity) to make a representation before blocking it. Vikatan, however, received the notice the day after the site was blocked.

In theory, a review committee has to consider the response of the website owner, and if it rules against it, the website can appeal the decision in the high court. Vikatan has vowed to fight back; and it has been backed by the Editors Guild of India (for ‘blatant overreach’), chief minister M.K. Stalin and journalist unions. “No one can defend this action, which was done surreptitiously,” said N. Ram, former editor of The Hindu.

This act of hasty censorship just as Tamil Nadu is warming up for assembly elections next year may prove costly for the BJP, which has been struggling for a foothold in the state.

Lok Sabha rejigs fears

Meanwhile, Stalin has taken the lead in voicing concerns over the proposed delimitation of constituencies by calling for an all-party meeting on 5 March to arrive at a common stand among southern states. Delimitation is set to begin after the completion of the 2026 census. This process could result in southern states losing seats owing to demographic changes since the 1971 census, which is currently used to allocate seats.

The leader of the DMK has warned that this could be a “sword hanging over the five southern states”. Tamil Nadu may lose eight seats, reducing its Lok Sabha representation from 39 to 31. The southern states are concerned that they will be disadvantaged compared to the more populous northern states in any redrawing of constituencies. This could further deepen the divide between north and south, especially on tax devolution and related matters.

Even if the Lok Sabha’s strength is increased to 849 after delimitation, projections warn that Tamil Nadu could still lose at least 12 seats compared to its current allocation. The exercise promises to become yet another hot-button electoral issue in the coming months.

Cracks in BJP ranks

Ranjana Natchiyaar, state secretary of the BJP’s art and cultural wing, has announced she is leaving the party over its stand on the three-language policy. This is one of the first signs of mutiny in the ranks. Posting on social media, the 'Advocate . Actress. Politician.' attacked the BJP, saying it was guilty of blatant misuse of nationalism and religion for its own political ends.

“As a Tamil woman, I cannot accept the imposition of the three-language policy, the growing hostility towards Dravidians, and the ongoing neglect of Tamil Nadu’s needs and aspirations,” she stated in her resignation letter, adding that the BJP’s “centralising policies were eroding Tamil Nadu’s unique cultural fabric”.

BJP leaders in the state have been throwing their weight behind the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which calls for the study of two regional languages and English; they argue that it would open up greater opportunities. Politicians in the state are united in opposing the policy, which they fear would usher in Hindi through the backdoor.

For the last six decades, the state has officially followed the two-language policy of Tamil and English, after the anti-Hindi riots of the mid-1960s (which propelled the DMK to power). Vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar’s recent statement at the 98th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan that the best way to conquer a territory is to overtake its culture and destroy its language cuts too close to the bone for the people of Tamil Nadu, who feel the two-language policy has worked well for them.

The three-language formula in states like Maharashtra or West Bengal, they point out, has actually led to the gradual marginalisation of the local regional languages, namely Marathi and Bengali.

The same fate, they fear, awaits Tamil. In any case, people in Tamil Nadu have shed their earlier inhibitions and picked up a working knowledge of Hindi because of inward and outward migration and Hindi films. That, they feel, is more than enough.

Natchiyaar is known not only for her film roles, but also for slapping and abusing students travelling dangerously on bus footboards. About a year ago, she was arrested after videos of her actions went viral. Her leaving the party after eight years underscores the ferment in Tamil Nadu over the three-language policy — and the attached threat of withholding pending monies due from the Centre if the state fails to fall in line.