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Society and Business: Session 14 Salamah Ansari

The document discusses self-determination movements in multicultural democracies, using examples from India. It summarizes the Tamil nationalist movement that arose in the 1950s-1960s in Tamil Nadu seeking greater autonomy and power. The movement was driven by Tamil leaders who saw Tamils as a distinct racial and social group from northern Indians. The politics of the Tamil movement involved advocating for the Tamil language and history while campaigning against the injustices of the caste system. The movement helped bring the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party to power in Tamil Nadu in 1956 on a platform of gaining more control from the central government in New Delhi.

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Kathiravan Rajendran
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50 views11 pages

Society and Business: Session 14 Salamah Ansari

The document discusses self-determination movements in multicultural democracies, using examples from India. It summarizes the Tamil nationalist movement that arose in the 1950s-1960s in Tamil Nadu seeking greater autonomy and power. The movement was driven by Tamil leaders who saw Tamils as a distinct racial and social group from northern Indians. The politics of the Tamil movement involved advocating for the Tamil language and history while campaigning against the injustices of the caste system. The movement helped bring the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party to power in Tamil Nadu in 1956 on a platform of gaining more control from the central government in New Delhi.

Uploaded by

Kathiravan Rajendran
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Society and Business

Session 14

Salamah Ansari
Module
Nationalism and its manifestations

• Sub-nationalisms and the State


Introduction
• Multicultural Democracy

Self- Determination Movements

1. Tamils in Tamil Nadu-1950s- 1960s

2. Sikhs in Punjab- 1980s

3. Muslims in Kashmir- 1990s

3
Basics of Self-Determination Movements
• Multicultural developing country democracies….Why?
• Ruling groups v. mobilized groups

• Cohesiveness:

1- Political context: Institutionalization of central authority


willingness to share power/resources

2- Group characteristics: Total societies


3- Resource allocation

• Two way feedback loop

4
Democracy: a solution and also a cause of power conflicts
Multicultural Developing Country Democracies

• Colonial moorings

• Introduction of democracy: Abrupt

• Political conflicts over short/medium term

• Universal suffrage v. local identities

• Conflict with the social system

• Late development: distributive, political, social

• Democracy as an imported ideal: Weak institutions 5


Multicultural Developing Country Democracies

• Power gets vested in individuals not institutions

• Greater demand for more equal distribution of power

• Power devolution: economic and political

• Intellectual Hegemonies: 1- Centralized State for welfare

2- Orthodox models of economic

development

• West: Democracy developed gradually

Within the framework of centralized authority 6


Some Concerns…

• International factors

• Relatively high levels of generality

• Cost of aggregation

• Endorsements of State elites/ rights of ethnic movements

7
India is a Noisy Democracy
• Class, caste, parties, language, religion and region.

• Transition of India from well- institutionalized polity to a


populist regime

– Colonial remnants
– National movements
– Effective parliament
– National political party
– Strong central authority
– Rigid and segmented social structures

• Growing personalization of power


8
Tamil Nationalism

• Tamil- language, social group, regional identity

• Tamil Leaders: Dravidian language, distinct racial and social

group

• 1950s- 1960s

• Greater power and control

• Tamil Nation- Secession from India


9
Tamil Nationalism

• Northern Aryan invasion

• Tamil- Brahmins 5%

• Congress- upper caste nexus

• Democratization came relatively early in TN

• Justice Party (1917- 1944)

• Dravidistan
10
The Politics of Tamil Movement

• 1956- Reorganization of linguistic states

• DMK to oust congress

– The injustice of caste system

– Glories of Tamil history

– Social need for Robin Hoods

– Winning elections

– Rise of populist regime


11

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