New Delhi: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa significantly expanded the welfare system in Tamil Nadu, funded by generous liquor revenues, to provide everything from meals to health checkups and mineral water free of cost. At the same time she did this in an authoritarian fashion, where any questions or criticism attracted a charge of defamation, even sedition.
While it is true that every government in Tamil Nadu has indulged in 'Welfare Populism' Jayalalithaa raised the bar by several notches. In addition to keeping the schemes of her bete noire DMK intact, she launched her own schemes like Amma Unavagam (Canteens), Amma Marundagam (Pharmacies), Amma Kaipesi Thittam (Mobile Phone Scheme), Amma Kudineer Thittam (Drinking Water Scheme), Amma Seeds et al. The 'Amma' served as a reminder that Jayalalithaa was the State and the State was Jayalalithaa.
In the process she became the mother, the elder sister and the protector, all rolled in one. The flip side of this is that any criticism of the social and political set up or of her government was akin to criticising Jayalalithaa. Criticize the State or criticize Jayalalithaa, it didn't matter because the boundaries had blurred. It could only be dealt by slapping sedition charges, as the folk singer Kovan discovered when he was slapped with sedition for his songs against the liquor policy.
"She has been incredibly successful as a populist leader, but at the same time she was also authoritarian," S. Anandhi, an Associate Professor at the Madras School of Economics, told News18. "That's not necessarily a paradox, people can like totalitarianism if it can offer protection," she added.
During the Chennai floods of 2015 local reporters were working under the threat of inviting defamation charges for stories deemed critical of the government. There are more than 200 criminal defamation cases against journalists and news outlets in the sessions court in Chennai.
To understand how Tamil Nadu achieved favourable development outcomes along with 'authoritarian populism' one has to look at the social justice movement. A self-respect wave swept through the state a century ago aimed at dislodging the dominant Brahmin community and empowering weaker sections and the OBCs. The DMK inherited that tradition of social justice, which ensured that communities across the caste spectrum gained representation in a variety of profession services.
At the same time the breakaway AIADMK, established by Karunanidhi's friend-turned-foe M.G. Ramachandran turned to liberal welfarism to counter the DMK's redistributive justice. "Tamil Nadu has always been conscious about the need for using populism for ensuring development," said Kalaiyarasan, who teaches at the Institute for Studies in Industrial Development.
For instance the mid-day meals scheme was first started by former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran. Although it was ridiculed initially, its role in improving school attendance rates and literacy has been universally acknowledged.
The 'paternalist welfarism' was expanded by Jayalalithaa, funded by taxes - liquor was said to contribute a large portion. Voters loved the expanding list of freebies and elected her back to power this year. But critics, like Kovan, who questioned the state exchequer’s dependence on liquor were hounded by the might of the state and charged with waging war against the state, which is what sedition is.
Women especially saw her as someone who struggled and rose to the top in a field dominated by men. Along the way she had to face tribulations that women in a patriarchal society go through: from whispers of being the 'other' woman in MGR’s life to an incident where the pallu of her sari was pulled allegedly by a DMK member in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
Jayalalithaa laid the foundations of 'populist welfarism' – critics call it 'authoritarian welfarism' – in a state that has excellent socio-economic indicators. But at the same time she also destroyed inner party democracy in the AIADMK. She was the one who called the shots. She was also dogged by corruption charges throughout her political career.
For better or for worse, 'Puratchi Thalaivi' (Great revolutionary leader, the moniker bestowed on her) left an indelible imprint on Tamil Nadu's politics.
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