Dr. K. Veeramani
President, Dravidar Kazhagam
They sparkle briefly and vanish. Only electricity gives sustained light. That electricity is the DMK-led alliance. Its path is permanent, according to Dravidar Kazhagam president K. Veeramani. He says actor-politician Vijay seems to have applied the ‘work from home’ philosophy to politics
At 93, Dravidar Kazhagam president K. Veeramani has spent the past several weeks campaigning tirelessly for the Secular Progressive Alliance in Tamil Nadu. He has witnessed 17 elections, but insists this one is different — an ideological war and not just a contest among political parties. In this conversation, he reflects on Dravidian ideology, the limits of law in dismantling caste, the crisis of federalism, and the relevance of the Dravidar Kazhagam. Edited excerpts:
You have witnessed several elections. How do you read this one?
This election is unlike any I have seen. Some predict a hung Assembly, but I do not see it happening. There is no anti-incumbency to speak of. The Stalin government has delivered — and the people recognise it. During my campaign, the reception among women has been extraordinary. They are coming out in numbers and with an awareness that I have not seen in the earlier elections.
The Hindu’ reporter Thiru. Nachinarkkinian interviews Asiriyar Dr.K.Veeramani, amidst his hectic election propaganda-tour.
The DMK front, the AIADMK, and Vijay’s TVK invoke Dravidar Kazhagam founder Periyar E.V. Ramasamy. What separates them?
In Tamil Nadu, no party can operate in politics without invoking Periyar. He is the very air of this political culture. But invoking a name and embodying an ideology are different. The scope of ‘Dravidian’ is not a matter of pronunciation or branding — it means equality for all lives, social justice, and the protection of Tamil Nadu’s distinct culture against every form of imposition. Whichever formation has clarity on that ideology, it is the true inheritor. Take the NEET. The DMK’s position is clear and its record of fighting for it is clear. The AIADMK states the same policy — but when danger came, it did not protest, did not travel to Delhi, did not even place a condition for their current alliance. Claiming an ideology is one thing, but fighting for it is another. As for the TVK, it is not yet a party or organisation in any meaningful sense. It is a spectacle. It has no ideological spine, no programme, no substance on the questions that define Dravidian politics — NEET, Hindi imposition, reservation, State rights, and caste. There is a philosophy now called ‘work from home’ — Vijay seems to have applied it to politics. He tells everyone to come to him, when politically he must go to the people. Fireflies cannot dispel the darkness. They sparkle briefly and vanish. Only electricity gives sustained light. That electricity is the DMK-led secular alliance. Its path is permanent.
Naam Tamilar Katchi, led by Seeman, has sharpened its critique of Periyar and gained a notable vote share. Tamil nationalist formations have also surfaced periodically. Why does this appeal persist despite Dravidian dominance? What sustains it?
Traitors exist in every era, in every movement, in every part of history. In The Ramayana, Vibhishana betrayed his own king — and was given the title ‘Chiranjeevi’, the eternal one, because betrayal endures across time. In The Bible, Judas identified Christ with a kiss. Mercenary forces always exist on the side of those who oppose justice. But history shows that those who oppose progressive movements sometimes come around. Ma. Po. Sivagnanam, who spent years in opposition to the Dravidian movement, eventually aligned with it — and Kalaignar [M. Karunanidhi] himself unveiled a statue in his honour. When crop grows, so will weeds along with it.
Rationalism and the denial of caste are the movement’s two core principles. How has the DMK government measured up on both?
Caste is a catastrophe. To put it plainly, caste dehumanises society, and the Dravidian movement exists to rehumanise it. The DMK governments have advanced this battle — through the temple priest legislation, 69 per cent reservation protected under the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution [the AIADMK government], through the morning breakfast scheme which quietly dismantles caste separation by seating children of all communities at the same table, through women as ‘Othuvar’, and through the committee on honour killings now working toward a preventive legislation. These are not isolated schemes — they are a connected philosophy. Can a government of 50 years eradicate a 5,000-year-old disease of the mind? No. Caste is not a structure you can demolish with a crowbar. It is a chain placed on the brain — invisible and deep-rooted. Law must be preceded by a shift in public consciousness. The Dravidar Kazhagam and allied progressive forces are preparing that ground. This is a silent social revolution. Gradual, but real.
With government jobs shrinking and youth moving to the private sector, what is the contemporary relevance of reservation?
The erosion of the public sector is not merely an economic policy — viewed from a social angle, it is a deliberate assault on reservation. The RSS’s and the BJP’s object is to hollow out public institutions and transfer them to private capital — to Adani, Tata, Ambani — where no reservation obligations
exist. The Dravidar Kazhagam was the first to identify this danger and has consistently demanded reservation in the private sector. The Congress and the Communist parties have now formally accepted this position; [Congress leader] Rahul Gandhi articulates this policy forcefully.
Tamil Nadu has pushed back on delimitation, but the structural imbalance in federalism persists. Even when a ruling party that wins all 39 constituencies, the State cannot fully protect its interests. How should the debate on State autonomy develop?
India has never had full federalism, only quasi-federalism at best. The committee that had drafted the Constitution had four upper-caste members among its six. Hence, Periyar called it out and burnt it [a copy of the Constitution] as inimical to social justice. The RSS’s clear policy is to extinguish State autonomy and centralise all power. But the constitutional reality is the opposite: India is a Union of States. The idea of a ‘Union government’ is a legal fiction — it has no people of its own; it can function only through the States. Autonomy and separatism are different concepts — the RSS conflates them deliberately. This awareness, once limited to Tamil Nadu, is spreading — Karnataka, the north-eastern States, West Bengal, and even Uttar Pradesh are asserting their federal claims. Just as the Mandal Commission generated a national consciousness on social justice, this moment will generate one on federalism. We have miles to go. But the direction is clear.
What is the contemporary relevance of the DK and what comes next for the organisation?
Consider the black shirt. In Madurai, black shirts were once publicly burnt. Today, there is no party in the country that does not stitch them for its cadre — including the Congress, of which members wore them in Parliament. The DK does not ask for votes for itself — since Periyar’s time, we have asked for society, not for ourselves. We build opinion, create political clarity, and direct people toward those who will fight for their rights. We have visible members in black shirts and invisible members across all parties. We are a movement, not a party. As long as caste persists, as long as rationalism requires defenders, the DK has work to do.
if the next government is formed by the alliance you support, what should it prioritise?
Three things. Social justice in society. State rights in politics. The public sector in the economy — people’s assets must not be sold to private capital and multinationals. The three ideals Ambedkar inscribed in the Preamble of the Constitution — justice, social, economic, and political — must be pursued in practice. [Chief Minister M.K.] Stalin has already delivered a silent revolution; Tamil Nadu remains an island of peace while communal violence is stoked elsewhere. That is the achievement of the Dravidian movement. The next government must continue on that path. There must be equity — not a society permanently divided between those above and those below.
Courtesy: ‘The Hindu’ – 21st April 2026
