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Tamils have a new voice in LS
WSN Network
 CHENNAI:
Even as the Tamil Diaspora worldwide protests against the treatment
being meted out to the Tamils in Sri Lanka, in India Tholkappian
Thirumavalavan, a Tamil MP known for his pro-LTTE views, has emerged
as the lone voice in the Parliament after the defeat of MDMK general
secretary Vaiko who lost the election.
Thirumavalavan,
known as a rabble rouser, won the elections from Chidambaram
constituency — his first win in three attempts — and has often made
strong pro-LTTE speeches that angered Congress leaders. He is an
ally of DMK chief M Karunanidhi and attracts major Dalit votes.
It has taken him
two decades of hard work to emerge as a youth icon for the Dalits by
focussing on the inadequacies of Dravidian politics. Beyond the
revolutionary social reforms decades ago, Dravidian politics was not
able to take the process to the lowest level, leading to a situation
where Dalits continued to be oppressed, though this time by the
backward communities. This resulted in clashes in the rural
hinterland.
In the 1980s, when
he was a Government employee, well-known Dalit activist Malaichamy,
the then convenor of Dalit Panthers of India (DPI), took him under
his wing. After the leader's death, he was the automatic choice as
successor in 1989. It was in the 1990s that he shot to prominence,
organising Dalit youth to stop oppression, through muscle if needed.
The militant nature of the resistance, in the backdrop of years of
silent suffering, soon spread across the state.
In those years, the
DPI stayed away from electoral politics, criticising both DMK and
AIADMK for exploiting the community's votes. But realising the
difficulty in bringing about a change without participating in the
democratic process, Thirumavalavan took the leap and contested as a
'Third Front' Independent from Chidambaram in 1999. He lost. It was
a repeat in 2004, when he contested as a JD(U) candidate.
Between 2006 when
he was an ally of the AIADMK-led front and now, the Dalit Panthers
became the Liberation Panthers Party (Viduthalai Chiruthaikal
Katchi). The outfit is trying to grow out of its Dalit-only tag,
sharing dais on every Tamil cause.
Thirumavalavan is
unlike the average Tamil politician. Even while addressing the
lowest strata of society, this bachelor is always in black trousers
with his shirt neatly tucked in. Besides his acerbic speeches, he
writes extensively on caste issues and Lankan conflict. He maintains
a blog that has links to his speeches hosted on YouTube. He has also
acted in two movies, one incidentally as a Lankan militant.
20 May 2009
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