Hello and welcome to the interview series here on The Thinktank Well Cast. It is election season in India and the purpose of the think tanks well Cast is to gain a deeper understanding of the political system by speaking to the voices which shape it. While a lot of the media our attention focuses on India's two main national parties, the Congress and the BJP. There are several other political parties across the country which have a prominent base in their respective States
@ThinkTank · 0:41
To start off. The DMK was founded as a result of the trivial Movement for Selfrespect, which in many senses was the first subalternative movement to have successfully made the transition to electoral politics in South Asia. And several academics have drawn parallels between the Black Lives Matter movement in America and the selfrespect movement in Tamil Nadu. Among the main issues which the movement was seeking to address was the imposition of Hindi and Tamil Nadu
@ThinkTank · 0:41
And if you could also give us some examples of progressive steps taken by governments over the years in terms of policies which were enacted to address the plight of those being exploited on the basis of caste, I think that would be very insightful and interesting to listen to
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
@ThinkTank · 0:10
Moving on to the political situation in India today. And although they haven't made serious inroads into Tamil Nadu yet, how do you view the rise of the BJP on the national stage
@ThinkTank · 0:28
An issue which props up around every election season, especially in Tamil Nadu, is the question of election expenditure as well as funding. Unlike the United States, political funding in India is still largely opaque, and the BJP government in the center conceptualized a scheme called Electoral Bonds, which aimed to bring in more transparency but was still questioned on many counts. What is the DMK's view on the topic of election financing and bringing transparency into the system
@ThinkTank · 0:18
In its manifesto, the DMK has requested the setting up of regional benches and Courts of Appeal of the Supreme Court of India, which is currently in the national capital, New Delhi, Manuraj, as a senior lawyer and legal expert, do you have any concerns about the judicial system in India
Manuraj Sundaram
@Manuraj1983 · 4:14
It seeks for all languages to be treated on an equal footing. That is, it seeks to establish linguistic equality in India. In 1950, when the Official Languages Act was passed, it was decided that in 15 years hence that is, by 1965 Hindi would replace English as the predominant official language. In a way, much of the anti Hindi imposition movement traces its origin and acceleration to this period
Manuraj Sundaram
@Manuraj1983 · 4:52
It would be around the 1924 or 1925 that the two social weapons against the caste system are, according to them, interdigning and intermarriage. Now, this probably reflects the situation and circumstances in society prevalent in the 1920s, but it also tells us what we have done and what we must do by and large today, as we stand in 2021, almost 100 years after these words were said by Peryar and Abedkar
Manuraj Sundaram
@Manuraj1983 · 2:24
The rise of the Bhartijanta Party and today the prevalence of the Bhartajintha Party in and across India is a massive threat for democracy at large. Over the last six to seven years, I have found that the space for dissent and therefore naturally democracy at large has shrunk greatly because of the actions of the Bhatijanta Party. There has been a rise in fascist autocratic tendencies. There has been less levels and decreasing levels of tolerance acceptance
Manuraj Sundaram
@Manuraj1983 · 2:46
The best argument for the electoral bond system is that a greater amount of political funding or election funding would move from being in that of the cash domain to that of the bank transaction domain
Manuraj Sundaram
@Manuraj1983 · 3:16
There are a number of concerns with regard to the judiciary or the judicial system at large. Firstly, as a practicing lawyer here I would always point to the delivery of justice, meaning the extraordinary time that it sometimes takes to have cases heard and adjudicated. And also, in some cases we have seen that judicial pronouncements are somewhat conflicting, contradictory, and ultimately confusing. The second concern with regard to the judiciary is that of accessibility and affordability
Manuraj Sundaram
@Manuraj1983 · 3:20
I hope that as a political class we can lead the way in ensuring that we create a more equal society in India, which is true and sincere to the constitutional beliefs and value systems that the Founding Fathers and mothers and visage in 15
@ThinkTank · 0:28
Manoraj, I think we've covered a lot of ground and you've given us a clear idea of not only the ideological foundations of the DMK, but also your personal values and vision for politics in Tamil Nadu. Thank you also for addressing the question about reverse migration and and using the opportunity to utilize human potential to its fullest throughout the various cities of your state. I look forward to having you back here on the think tanks worldclass soon, all the very best. And thank you so much. Bye