Self-immolation entwined in Dravidian movement

CHENNAI:When 27-year-old Chinnasamy of Kizhappazhuvur village in Tiruchi district sethimself ablaze on January 25, 1965 during the peak of anti-Hindi agitation, henot only left behind his young wife and infant daughter but also a legacy of anextreme form of protest that modern society cannot be proud of. "Iplan to die in order to protect Tamil. One day, my goal will be met," he said ina note before committing self immolation. The incident sparked off aseries of suicides with six more youths setting themselves afire in the sameyear to protest against imposition of Hindi. In fact, Tamil Nadu watched withshock as three youths bathed themselves in fire in consecutive days.As the dravidian movementconsiders them martyrs, a subway and a park in Chennai city were named after twoof them ��� 'Virugambakkam' Aranganathan and 'Kodambakkam' Sivalingam. Sincethen, self immolation has been entwined with the dravidian movement. Whether itwas the death of their leaders or any humiliation or election reverses sufferedby them, frenzied followers resorted to the extreme step as a means of eithermourning or protest.When dravidian stalwarts like C N Annadurai andM G Ramachandran died, several inconsolable followers took away their lives. Andthe trend continued when DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi and AIADMK supremo JJayalalithaa were arrested and Vaiko, who later formed the MDMK, was expelledfrom the DMK in 1993. While attempt to suicide is a crime as perlaw, it is ironical that self immolation for a general cause' is considered asmartyrdom. Political leaders value such sacrifices' by their followers andcompensate their families, besides honouring the memory of those who took theirlives for their leaders' cause.In his book "Tamizharin Marupakkam"(The Other Side of Tamils), academician and Tamil scholar K P Aravanan hasmentioned that out of the 15 people who took away their lives in the country inthe wake of former prime minister Indira Gandhi's assassination, 14 of thembelonged to Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. "Unlike in other parts ofIndia, the politics in Tamil Nadu is personality cult-oriented. People mostlyget attached to a movement not based on ideologies but due to affinity towardspersonalities. Such kind of allurement was much enjoyed by MGR as his image onthe silver screen, his action and songs, made a deep impression on his fans,"said a senior leader associated with the Dravidian movement.Describing the trend as "highlycondemnable," political analyst and journalist, Cho S Ramasamy, said thepractice took roots after the advent of the DMK and spread to its offshoots likethe AIADMK and the MDMK. "Although they call themselves asrationalists, they encourage such practices by rewarding the victims' familiesand glorifying them as martyrs. In fact, when Karunanidhi was arrested duringMGR's regime, the DMK's party organ 'Murasoli' brought out a list of theirmartyrs everyday," he said.Calling the practice a "peculiar habit ofTamil psyche," Indian Psychiatric Society former president S Nambi said selfimmolation had been part of Tamil culture ever since the sangam period. Pointingout to the great Tamil epic 'Silappathikaram' in which Kannagi, the protagonist,sets fire to Madurai to avenge her husband's killing, he said self-immolationwas seen as a means to ventilate one's emotional feelings and express hissacrificialquality.