N.NANDHIVARMAN IN NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

NEW INDIAN EXPRESS Articles

1. Home Away from Home : Re Union Tamils [13.04.2004]

2. Man of Letters: Great Litterateur Gnanou Diagou [14.08.2004]

3.  Art of Dance [21.08.2004]

4. A Lesson in hygiene [29.08.2004]

5.  The Glory of Arikamedu[ 04.09.2004]

6.  A Poet and A musician [11.09.2004]

7.  Setting an Example [18.09.2004]

8. The Gingee Fort : A story of Valour [25.09.2004]

9. A Slice of Paris in Pondicherry [02.10.2004]

10.Romain Rolland Library:177 year old Treasure Trove [ 9.10.2004]

11.Multi Faceted Scholar Chevalier Madana Kalyani [ 30.10.2004]

12.Inventor of New Musical Instruments [6.11.2004]

13.All Roads go Dutch [13.11.2004]

14.The citadel of Saiva Siddhandha and Ceylonese scholars [27.11.2004]

15.An artist's aspiration[20.11.2004]

16.Earthquakes, Tsunamis and Continental drifts [01.01.2005]

17.Tamil music through ages [ .........2005]

18.Calenders galore [08.01.2005]

19.Universal festival of Harvest [22.1.2005]

20.The Welsh Connection [29.01.2005]

21.Lessons from London [.................]

22.A Life almost forgotten [19.02.2005]

23.French citizens of Pondicherry and their rights [ 19.03.2005]

24.Saving the Coast [04.06.2005]

25.Brothers in Bondage [11.06.2005]

26.Toponymical Probe Tracing oneness of Humanity [18.06.2005]

25.Language Labour [17.06.2005]

26.Drama on Extinction route [21.06.2005]

27.Mystics and Men of Medicine [ 28.06.2005]

28.Pope keeps People's Hopes alive

29.Studying Pallava iconology [02.07.2005]

30.Pondicherry Quake prone says experts [09.07.2005]

31.Historic Atlas of South India [16.07.2005]

32.The Dancing Peacock of Switzerland [23.07.2005]

33.A hero from Pondicherry [06.08.2005]

34.Narayana Guru and Tamil Soil [13.08.2005]

35.Treasure Trove of History [20.08.2005]

36.Poongodi following in her father's footsteps [27.08.2005]

37.Marching Ahead in Tamil based computing [03.09.2005]

38.A journey in Rythm [10.09.2005]

39.Singapore surges Ahead[17.09.2005]

40.Priyan's Paintings [24.09.2005]

41.An opera of Life [8.10.2005]

42.Log in, to be prepared [15.10.2005]

The writings of Nandhivarman

Dravida Peravai is a political party with a difference. It strives to unite global Tamils without aspiring for power. Following the rationalist ideals of Periyar E.V.Ramasamy and Aringnar Anna for a decade this party had been active from Pondicherry in India. Its General Secretary N.Nandhivarman by his speeches, writings and press statements spelt out the policies of the party. This website lists out the articles which form the basis of the party's ideology

THE IDEALS OF NANDHIVARMAN

In NEW TIMES OBSERVER, the Premier English weekly from Pondicherry

Editorials

1.   Farmer's Plight  [16.09.1994] 

2.  Heed to the Engel's Word of Caution [ 21.11.1994] 

3.  Indianomics for Emancipation [12.12.1994] 

4.  English is the Lingua Franca Nature offers [06.03.1995 ] 

5.  Workers of the World Unite [01.05.1995] 

6. The Impersonal God of Evolution [ 25.05.1995] 

7.  Cultivate Galaxy-al Thinking [05.06.1995] 

8.  Exploitation is the Capitalist Creed [19.06.1995] 

9.  Panchayat Raj will not succeed in post-Rajiv era [26.06.1995] 

10.Religion is Power Mongers Paradise [10.07.1995]

11.Law with Lacunae and Loopholes [07.08.1995] 

12.Statehood is for people's good [21.08.1995] 

13. Evolve Concrete Programme -Avoid Election Year Gimmicks [04.08.1995] 

14.Time for Gandhian Renaissance [25.09.1995] 

15.Simple living for Global Justice [16.10.1995] 

16. Economic Sovereignty is in grave danger [ 30.10.1995] 

17. Is Panchayat Raj Beginning of India's October Revolution ? [06.11.1995] 

18.Cooperative Socialism [20.11.1995] 

19.Finance Ministry's faux pas [27.11.1995]

20.Pondicherry's Geo fracture : A warning of Nature [ 16.12.1995]

Articles in New Times Observer

1. Language Adulteration [18.9.1972] 

2. We stand  for Scientific Socialism [ 13.11.1972]

3. For a Fair Deal [ 25.12.1972]

4. Capitalism will give way to [ 26.07.1993] 

5.  Link All Rivers [ 02.08.1993] 

6. Let India guide the World [ 11.10.1993] 

7. Protest without causing hardship to people [ 01.11.1993]

 8.  Towards a better tomorrow [ 06.12.1993]  

9. Preserve Nature's Treasure Trove [ 10.1.1994] 

10.Global Market Culture [24.01.1994] 

11.Few count millions while millions suffer in silence [ 14.01.1994] 

12.Law Makers versus Law Breakers [25.04.1994]

 13.Is it our fate to be late ? [16.05.1994] 

14.Umbrella against American Imperialism [ 18.07.1994]

 15. Reservation is no answer to raising Unemployment [ 25.07.1994]

 16. Vulture Culture [ 08.08.1994] 

17. Science A prisoner of Super powers [ 15.08.1994]

 18. Social Justice or Partial Justice [ 29.08.1994]

 19.Looting Lobbies and helpless have-nots [ 05.09.1994]

20. Share prosperity and care for tribes [03.10.1994] 

21.Classless Casteless Society [ 10.10.1994] 

22. Beware of Graft Craftsmen [ 17.10.1994]

23.Brain Drain [ 07.11.1994] 

24. Plague of Corruption [ 14.11.1994] 

25.Global village with Nuclear garbage [ 28.11.1994]

26. Live in Harmony with Nature [ 05.12.1994] 

27.Economics without Ethics [ 19.12.1994 ] 

28. One God One Creed [ 26.12.1994]

 29. Let Have-nots Have Smile-lit faces [02.01.1995] 

30.Politics of Pollution [23.01.1995] 

31. The irreversible Reform-raj [ 06.02.1995] 

32.To redeem Humanity from poverty [ 13.02.1995] 

33.Build on Gandhian Lines [27.02.1995] 

34. Dialectics of Technology [13.03.1995]

 35.American Spider's Web [ 13.03.1995] 

36.Frozen and Flying Foreign Exchange [20.03.1995] 

37.A concept of God acceptable to all: An Alternate Society for Global Peace [ 03.04.1995] 

38. New Times for Global Peace [ 10.04.1995]

 39. What is Truth ?[ 17.04.1995] 

40. Tamil script Reform [24.04.1995] 

41. Economic programme to make all people happy [ 24.04.1995] 

42. Evolve single Global currency to integrate global economy [29.05.1995]

 43. Rational Research on Religions [19.06.1995] 

44.Apostles of Change Evolve Cosmic culture [03.06.1995] 

45.Emerging Enviro-Consciousness [ 10.07.1995] 

46. Inner party democracy absent in our days of Autocracy [28.08.1995] 

47.Stop Boasts of Food Exports:  Feed empty stomachs first [ 23.10.1995] 

48.Plans needed for Pondicherry Water Resources Management [20.11.1995] 

49 Under Manmohanomics School Everyone is welcome to exploit [ 11.12.1995]

50.Economic barbarity [ 25.12.1995]

51.Mr.Le Batonnier Gnanou Diagou-a Profile [ 15.11.1996] 

52 The Enviro History of Pondicherry [ 24.01.2000] 

53. Pondicherry Port: A Boon to boost our economy[ 28.08.2000]

54. Is Indus Valley the cradle or catacomb of Dravidian Civilization-I [20.10.2004]

55.Is Indus Valley the cradle or catacomb of Dravidian Civilization-II [24.11.2004] 

56.Is Indus Valley the cradle or catacomb of Dravidian Civilization-III [ 12.01.2004]

M.K.STALIN SHOULD LEGALLY FIGHT TO SHIFT THE ASSEMBLY AND FOR STATE AUTONOMY

JUSTICE RAJAMANNAR COMMITTEE REPORT ON CENTRE-STATE RELATIONS TABLED IN TAMILNADU ASSEMBLY

The Rajamannar Committee on Centre-State Relations, set up by the Tamil Nadu Government on May 27, 1971 recommended the constitution of a high-power commission to redistribute powers between the Centre and the states. The committee also suggested immediate formation of an inter-state council as provided for under Article 263 of the Constitution; abolition of the Planning Commission as at present constituted and its replacement by a wholly new one to be created with a statutory basis under a Parliamentary enactment and free from control by the Central executive; widening of the states to include the corporation capital value of assets in the divisible pool; repeal of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act of 1951, with a new Act providing for control by the Centre of only industries of national or all-India character, and conferment of industrial licensing powers on the states.

The committee, headed by a former Chief Justice of Madras, Dr P.V. Rajamannar, was set up by the state government in September, 1969, to examine the entire question regarding the relationship that should subsist between the Centre and the states in a federal set-up and to suggest amendments to the Constitution to secure to the states the utmost autonomy. The three-member committee consisted of, besides Dr Rajamannar, the former Vice-Chancellor of Madras University, Dr A Lakshmanaswamy Mundoar, and a former Chief Justice of Andhra, Dr P. Chandra Reddy.The Committee submitted its report in 1971. 

The report comprises of 21 Chapters, as follows:1. Introduction11. Territory of the State2. Federal Set Up12. Representation of States in Parliament3. Administrative relations13. Language4. Legislative Field14. Trade and Commerce5. Financial Relations15. Public Order6. Central Planning and Planning Commission16. Machinery for Conducting Elections to State Legislatures7. Judiciary17. Inter-State Water Disputes8. Governor18. Sea-bed under Territorial Waters9. Emergency Provisions19. Union Executives10. Jammu and Kashmir20. Amendment of the Constitution21. Summary of RecommendationsThe committee’s recommendations, most of which were obviously drastic and far-reaching, stemmed from its conviction that though the Constitution set up a federal system, there were admittedly several provisions that were clearly inconsistent with the principles of federation. There were unitary trends and in the allocation of powers there was a strong bias in favour of the Centre. In an ideal federation the national and state governments existed on a basis of equality and neither had the power to make inroads on the definite authority and functions of the other unilaterally — whereas in India the national government was vested with powers on certain occasions to invade the legislative and executive domains of the states.

The committee summed up that “there is a theme of subordination of the State running right through the Constitution.”Quite apart from some provisions of the Constitution conferring special powers on the Centre, factors like one-party rule, both at the Centre and in the states, inadequacy of the states’ own fiscal resources and consequent dependence on the Centre for financial assistance and the institution of Central planning and the role of the Planning Commission had, in the committee’s view, contributed to the “perpetuation and growth” of unitary trends.Inter-state council proposed: Following this line of argument, the committee asked for the “omission” of Articles 256, 257 and 339 (2), which empower the Central executive to issue directions to the state governments — or, alternatively, to ensure that no direction under any of these Articles is issued except in consultation with “and with the approval of” the inter-state council.The committee said that the inter-state council should be composed of the Chief Ministers of states or their nominees, “all States having equal representation,” with the Prime Minister as the chairman; and no other Minister of the Central Cabinet should be a member of the council. Every Bill of national importance and likely to affect the interests of one or more states should be placed before Parliament at the time of introduction of the Bill. Also it “should be definitely provided” that before the Central government takes any decision of national importance or affecting one or more states, the council would be consulted. Exceptions may be made “probably” in regard to subjects like defence and foreign relations, but even in such matters the Central government’s decision should be placed before the council without delay.

Financial relations: The committee’s recommendations on financial relations between the Centre and the states — “and these are the most important part of our report,’ according to Dr Rajamannar — were designed “to secure for the States a larger devolution of taxes than at present so that in actual practice the need for grants-in-aid under Article 275 either disappears or is minimised.”The committee sought to widen the base of devolution of resources to the states by adding corporation tax, customs and export duties and the tax on the capital value of assets in the divisible pool. Even in regard to the grants by the Centre to the states, the committee wanted an independent and impartial body such as the Finance Commission to be in charge of the distribution.To ensure real autonomy for the states and what the committee’s chairman described as ideal federalism, the committee also suggested the transfer of a number of items not only from the Concurrent to the State List in the Seventh Schedule but also from the Central to the State List.

STATE AUTONOMY AND MURASOLI MARAN

`Murasoli' Maran, 1934-2003.

T.S.Subramaniam in The FRONT LINE December 6-19 of 2003

`MURASOLI' MARAN played an important role in the dynamics of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu and national politics. He commanded respect in New Delhi as a Member of Parliament and built up a formidable reputation as the Union Minister for Commerce and Industry. He was a Union Minister without portfolio when he died at the age of 69 after protracted illness, in Chennai on November 23.

Maran was the conscience-keeper of his maternal uncle and mentor, DMK president and former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. He was handpicked by Karunanidhi to be the party's face in New Delhi. He was continuously elected to the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha for 36 years from 1967 on the DMK ticket. Three top political leaders of the day, Rajaji, DMK founder C.N. Annadurai and Quaid-e-Milleth of the Indian Union Muslim League, proposed Maran's name for the byelection in 1967 to the South Madras Lok Sabha constituency, which fell vacant when Annadurai resigned the seat to become Chief Minister.

Maran was the architect of the DMK's political alliances in New Delhi. He foresaw quite early the shift towards multi-party coalitions from confrontational politics. Maran was instrumental in the revival of the DMK's ties with the Congress under Indira Gandhi in 1980; he was behind the DMK's strategic role in the formation of the National Front in Chennai on September 18, 1988; and he played an important part in the DMK joining the United Front governments headed by H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral at the Centre. At the party general council meeting that took place a few weeks before the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) headed by A.B. Vajpayee lost the vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha (consequent to the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam withdrawing support to it) in April 1999, Maran suggested that the DMK would perforce have to ally with the BJP. Senior DMK Ministers - the party was in power in Tamil Nadu at that time - were aghast at this suggestion, for the DMK was steadfastly opposed to many basic policies of the BJP, including its stand on the Ayodhya issue and its pro-Hindu tenets. The unthinkable, however, happened, and the DMK went on to partner the NDA in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections. The NDA came to power, and Maran became Union Minister for Commerce and Industry in the Vajpayee Ministry.

That Maran pitched for the BJP was not a surprise because at a personal level, he was not allergic to it. He had even declared that "no party is untouchable". He once told this correspondent, "The BJP is the most cadre-based party after the DMK".

In his autobiography Nenjukku Needhi (Justice to the Heart), which was serialised in the Tamil daily Murasoli, the DMK organ, , Karunanidhi delineates Maran's role in the DMK-Congress partnership in the 1980 Lok Sabha elections. Karunanidhi recalls how C.M. Stephen, a trusted lieutenant of Indira Gandhi, got in touch with Maran and told him that the Congress (I) wanted the DMK to forget the bitter past and form an  alliance. The Indira Gandhi government had dismissed the DMK government headed by Karunanidhi in 1976 for its opposition to the Emergency and imprisoned DMK leaders (including Maran) under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA). Karunanidhi refers to "the great efforts taken by Indira Gandhi to revive the alliance" and explains how this became "a turning point" in Tamil Nadu politics.

A party ideologue, Maran did not fight shy of accepting the fact that the DMK was essentially committed to the welfare of the backward classes. Within the DMK, senior leaders feared him because of his proximity to his uncle. But the cadre liked him because he had the courage to call a spade a spade. At party general council meetings, he was known to berate DMK Ministers and MLAs for inefficiency, for neglecting people's welfare, or for being unhelpful to party cadre. At one such meeting, he is said to have reproached some Ministers and told them: "Instead of hovering around the leader (Karunanidhi) always, serve the people".

He was himself highly work-conscious and without the frills of office. Maran's official car never had a swivelling red light on top, a blaring siren or any other emblem to indicate that it was a Union Minister's vehicle. When suggested that the red flashes or the siren would enable him to reach Cabinet meetings quickly without getting caught in the traffic, Maran would only say, "I don't want to be a hindrance to the traffic. Let us flow with the people's traffic."

Whatever portfolio he held, whether Urban Development in the V.P. Singh government, Industry in the Deve Gowda and Gujral governments or Commerce and Industry in the Vajpayee government, he studied the subject in depth. He shone as the Minister for Commerce and Industry. He was in his mettle at the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) at Doha in 2001. He reminded the affluent West that developing countries had not received justice in the implementation of the decisions reached during the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations. He told the developed nations that they could not hope to have non-tariff barriers in agriculture with high subsidies to their farmers while Third World countries were asked to dismantle their subsidy regime. Farmers in the Third World, he said, would not be able to survive in a non-subsidy regime.

Arun Jaitley, Union Law Minister holding additional charge of Commerce, acknowledged that Maran's contributions in the sphere of multilateral trade negotiations were "immense". "He left an indelible imprint with his brilliant performance" at the Doha Ministerial conference. He articulated India's concerns forcefully and he was a constant source of inspiration and guidance for me at multilateral trade forums, including the recent Cancun Ministerial conference," Jaitley said.

Maran introduced several initiatives in the commerce and industry sectors. Although the suggestion that the States should be rewarded for encouraging exports was bandied about for two decades, it was only after Maran assumed charge of the portfolios that a scheme in this regard was introduced - the Assistance to States for Infrastructure Development for Exports (ASIDE). Maran is also responsible for the modernisation of the tannery industry, which provides substantial employment opportunities, especially in Tamil Nadu, to Dalits and minorities. He got leather products that could be manufactured only by small industries de-reserved. Maran was instrumental in establishing the Chennai Trade Centre and was the driving force behind the plan to set up a Special Export Zone at Nangunery in southern Tamil Nadu. But the project has remained a non-starter since the AIADMK returned to power in May 2001.He played an important role in the setting up of the TIDEL Park for software technology in Chennai.

A multi-faceted person, Maran excelled in films and journalism as well. He scripted 20 Tamil films, directed two and produced five. Born Thyagaraja Sundaram at Tirukkuvalai village in the unified Thanjavur district, he changed his Sanskritised name to Maran, which is pure Tamil. When he was writing the script for the AVM production Kulavilakku, there were three other persons with the name Maran in the field. In order to distinguish himself from the others, he prefixed "Murasoli" to his name as he was at that time the Editor of Murasoli.

Maran is a writer of repute in Tamil. His book Manila Suyatchi (State Autonomy), published in 1974, is a seminal work on the demand for State autonomy, federalism and various aspects of Centre-State relations. In his foreword to the book, Dravida Iyakka Varalaru, which was first published in September 1991, Maran attempts to project the history of the Dravidian movement in an accessible format to the DMK cadre and provide them an ideological bearing. Maran had completed about three-fourths of the second volume of the book before he fell ill. Another book on the Dravidian movement written by him is En Vendum Inbath Dravidam? (Why Do We Need This Pleasurable Dravidam?) He authored most of the election manifestoes of the DMK right from 1977. He had a hand in the drafting of the Common Minimum Programme of the United Front government and the National Agenda for Governance of the NDA government.

He firmly opposed the DMK aligning itself with caste outfits in the 2001 Assembly elections. He asked, "Is it an NDA-front or a communal front?" and to the consternation of Karunanidhi, he announced his retirement from active politics. But he was brought around and he took part in the election campaign too.

He remonstrated with Vajpayee and Union Home Minister L.K. Advani during a Union Cabinet meeting in July 2002 after the Tamil Nadu Police arrested Vaiko, general secretary of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) for speaking in support of the banned Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Maran demanded to know what steps they proposed to take to get Vaiko out of prison, reminding them that the MDMK was an NDA constituent. Vaiko, who is still in the Central Prison at Vellore, received permission from the court to visit Chennai to pay his last respects to Maran.

Maran is survived by his mother Shanmugasundarathamal, wife Mallika, sons Kalanidhi and Dayanidhi and daughter Dr. Anbukkarasi. Maran's death has shattered Karunanidhi, who doted on his nephew with avuncular affection. The death has left a big void in the DMK.

Volume 20 - Issue 25, December 06 - 19, 2003
India's National Magazine
from the publishers of THE HINDU

KALAIGNAR IN THE HINDU OPINION PAGE of 2007 EXPLAINED THE HISTORY OF STRUGGLE FOR STATE AUTONOMY

September 12-13 of 1970 @ Anna Nagar Chennai DMK conducted a State Autonomy Conference, for which 50 DMK cadre from Pondicherry carried by relay race State Autonomy Torch and in the stage handed over to to Tamilnadu Chief Minister and D.M.K.President Dr.Kalaignar M.Karunanidhi. Pondy District DMK Secretary M.A.Shanmugam, Avaith Thalaivar Era.Seran, Dravida Manavar Munnetrak Kazhagam State Secretary N.Nandhivarman, C.N.parthasarathy Municipal Councillor, Villiyanur Govindasamy jointly handed the TORCH in the hands of Dr.Kalaignar. Photograph of that event adorned the Office room walls of ANNA THEATRE in Pondicherry till M.A.Shanmugam was alive..

Dr.KALAIGNAR M.KARUNANIDHI recalls that Conference 

Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi

AUGUST 15, 2007  IN THE HINDU : OPINION COLUMN 

The time is ripe now for establishing a true federal system that will strengthen the bonds of mutual cooperation, unity, and cordiality between the Centre and the States.

The DMK is of the view that for proper and ideal Centre-State relations, there should be more powers for the States. To be more appropriate and precise, there should be autonomy for the States and federalism at the Centre.

The demand for restructuring Centre-State relations is as old as the adoption of the Constitution of India in 1950. The creation of a new structure of constitutional government for independent India deserves to be seen in historical context, particularly by taking into account the objective political situation that existed then. In fact, political imperatives emerging out of the independence movement historically as well as the immediate imperatives of the Partition of India influenced the design of government incorporated in the Constitution. On the one hand, the framers, drawing the spirit of the independence movement, found the federal scheme appropriate for India; on the other hand, Partition created a fear of centrifugal elements in the nascent nation.

Indeed, the major part of the history of the struggle for self-rule and independence reflects efforts to find a solution to India’s gigantic diversity. Even the mobilisation for the national movement was based on federal principles. The acceptance of language as the basis for redrawing the provincial boundary, for example, was a result of such a mobilisation. The history of federalism and Centre-State relations in India is marked by political mobilisation and intermittent struggle to fashion a more federal set-up. Even though such efforts have not yet resulted in any major constitutional changes towards a more federal orientation, the struggle has not been entirely fruitless.

In the phase lasting until the last 1960s, the task of nation building and development was the main concern of the nation’s rulers. However, this period was not solely dominated by the trend of centralisation. One of the major democratic movements in the post-Independence period — the movement for the formation of the linguistic States — took place in the 1950s, which resulted in the formation of linguistic States in 1956. The Central government resisted this demand and gave in — in the face of strong popular movements. This laid the basis for the later assertion by the States for greater powers.

“It is the Sappers and Miners who go in advance clearing the bushes and the thorns and preparing the way for the tanks in the Army. I plead with the ruling party to use us as Sappers and Miners to clear the way for them. We are not mindful of the dust we would gather in the course of this task. The ruling party should utilise our services for getting more powers transferred from the Centre to the States.” It may be borne in mind that these were the words Arignar Anna [C. N. Annadurai, who became Chief Minister a decade later] spoke fifty years ago, on May 6, 1957, in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.

The second phase began with the 1967 general elections. Non-Congress State governments came into being. The demand for restructuring of Centre-State relations picked up momentum. In this connection, it may be useful to recall the impression of Arignar Anna, gathered by him as the Chief Minister. In his last epistle to his brethren titled “Hail, The Dawn!” published in Home Rule in January 1969, he wrote about “Federalism” and about our Constitution, “which on paper is federal but in actual practice tends to get more and more centralised.” After the passing of Arignar Anna in February 1969, when I was asked to bear the burden of responsibility, I continued the tenor and tone of our towering teacher and mentor.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam decided to carry on a campaign on Centre-State relations in a systematic and scientific manner. It was on March 17, 1969, during my first visit to New Delhi as Chief Minister — in the course of answering searching questions on a wide range of subjects by over fifty newsmen representing newspapers from all over the country — that I said the Government was considering the setting up of an Expert Committee to go into the question of Centre-State relations and recommend the powers that should be transferred from the Centre to the States. On August 19, 1969, I announced on the floor of the Legislative Assembly the formation of a Three Member Committee with Dr. P.V. Rajamannar as Chairman and Dr. A.L. Mudaliar and P. Chandra Reddy as Members.

In February 1970, in the DMK Conference in Tiruchy, in order to take the Will of Arignar Anna to the hearts of partymen, a popular slogan, “Autonomy for the States; Federalism at the Centre,” was given and it started reverberating through the length and breadth of the States.

With a view to taking the concept of State autonomy to the people, the DMK conducted on September 12 and 13, 1970, a State Autonomy Conference at Anna Nagar, Chennai. Thanthai Periyar E.V. Ramasamy, Quaid-e-Milleth Ismail, the then West Bengal Chief Minister, Ajoy Mukherjee, Pranab Mukherjee, N. Srikandan Nair, Arangil Sridharan, S.M. Krishna, and a number of MPs and leaders participated. I presided over the conference.

In its 1971 Election Manifesto, the DMK announced: “Though the Constitution of India is described as a Federal one, the balance is more tilted towards the Centre and hence the States are not able to function freely in the administrative and financial spheres. Only such powers as are necessary for the Centre to preserve the strength of India should be assigned to the Centre and all the other powers should be left to the States without impairing the ideal of a strong India.”

The report of the Rajamannar Committee was received on May 27, 1971. On April 16, 1974, I moved a historic resolution in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly requesting the Central government to accept the views of the Tamil Nadu government on State autonomy and the recommendations of the Rajamannar Committee and proceed to effect immediate changes in the Constitution of India to establish a truly federal set-up. In 1974,

In 1974, Murasoli Maran, an inimitable ideologue of the DMK, brought out a brilliant treatise on State autonomy. He explained in simple and effective language decentralisation and federalism; devolution and provincial autonomy; the nature of the Indian Constitution; and the basis for State autonomy.

For the first time, in 1989, a National Front coalition government headed by V.P. Singh, which included major regional parties like the DMK, took office at the Centre. Though short-lived, this government took certain steps to strengthen the federal principle. The Inter-State Council was constituted in 1990. The entry of regional parties in coalition governments at the Centre became a regular feature in 1996 with the formation of the United Front government and in all subsequent ones — and presently in the United Progressive Alliance government functioning under the esteemed guidance of Sonia Gandhi. The Left parties, which supported both the National Front Government in 1989 and the United Front government in 1996-1998 and the present UPA government, are strong supporters of the federal principle.

Attempts have been made to impose a unitary form of government in the country. The character of India as a multinational, multilingual, multi-religious state has been blatantly ignored. The relevant recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission on the restructuring of Centre-State relations have not been accepted and implemented in true spirit — as a result of which there has been a persistent trend of centralisation of economic and political powers in the country. The time is ripe now [for a transformation] with almost every major political party realising — by sheer experience and because of objective conditions — the need to establish a true federal system that would strengthen the bonds of mutual cooperation, unity, and cordiality between the Centre and the States.

It needs to be remembered that only the spirit of “co-operative federalism” — and not an attitude of dominance or superiority — can preserve the balance between the Union and the States and promote the good of the people. Under our constitutional system, no single entity can claim superiority. Sovereignty does not lie in any one institution or in any one wing of the government. The power of governance is distributed in several organs and institutions — a sine qua non for good governance. Even if we assume that the Centre has been given a certain dominance over the States, that dominance should be used strictly for the purpose intended, not for oblique purposes. An unusual and extraordinary power like the one contained in Article 356 cannot be employed for furthering the prospects of a political party or to destabilise a duly elected government and a duly constituted Legislative Assembly. The consequences of such improper use may not be evident immediately. But those do not go without any effect. Their consequences become evident in the long run and may be irreversible.

As the DMK is wedded to the principle of more powers to the States to ensure a true federal set-up in India, it has been ceaselessly and tirelessly underlining this principle wherever the occasion arises. It may be recalled that in the Governor’s address of January 20, 2007, in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, it has been explained that “this Government, holding Arignar Anna’s principle of State Autonomy close to its heart, while voicing its demand for rights and at the same time extending a hand of friendship, shall endeavour to secure the due rights and benefits for our State from the Union Government.”

(The writer is Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and president of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. His unprecedented record of half a century as a legislator was celebrated recently in Chennai.)