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VIEWPOINT: KAUTILYA
New Bloom In Poes Garden
The politics of Tamil Nadu hits the headlines as a quiet
revolution proceeds
By Jairam Ramesh
The
continuing melodrama of Tamil politics is detracting from the state's
manifold contributions to the shaping of modern India. "Periyar"
Ramaswamy Naicker was one of the greatest social reformers India has ever
known and the social justice movement in the state has been truly revolutionary.
Three out of eight members of the committee that drafted our Constitution
and five out of the 25 finance ministers that independent India has had
have come from the state. K. Kamaraj and C.N. Annadurai were among the
most outstanding politicians in the past half century. It was the Tamil
trinity-C. Subramaniam, B. Sivaraman and M.S. Swaminathan-which spearheaded
the Green Revolution. The two Indian Nobel laureates in physics-uncle
and nephew-were Tamilians. In the Indian diaspora, Tamils occupy pride
of place.
There is clearly a development dynamic in the
state that transcends all political shenanigans. Ranked 11th in terms
of per capita inflation-adjusted income in 1970, the state has jumped
to fifth place today. Compare it to say, West Bengal which has slipped
from fifth to ninth rank or Kerala whose rank has fallen from ninth to
10th in the same period.
 On
key social indicators Tamil Nadu has done very well. In the mid-1970s,
it had a higher infant mortality rate than Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra.
But in just 20 years' time, Tamil Nadu had reached second position below
Kerala. However, its infant mortality rate is still more than four times
that of Kerala. The sex ratio (that is, the number of females per 1,000
males) in the 0-6 age group in four districts-Salem, Dharmapuri, Theni
and Namakkal-is disturbingly low at below 900 (the optimal range is around
943-952) and confirms the prevalence of female infanticide.
Kerala's remarkable success in population control
has been rightly acclaimed all over the world. But what has been applauded
less is Tamil Nadu's achievement at lower rates of female literacy. Kerala
was the first state to reach the critical replacement level of fertility
of 2.1 in 1988 while Tamil Nadu was next to do so in 1993. About a generation
or two after this milestone, the population stops growing. Tamil Nadu
has accomplished this largely because of both sustained political commitment
and administrative zeal of officers like R.A. Gopalaswamy and T.V. Antony.
The state routinely ranks amongst the best in
implementation of rural development and social welfare programmes. The
food security system works for the poor. Dr Manmohan Singh introduced
the National Social Assistance Programme in 1995 based largely on Tamil
Nadu's experience in social security. The state has pioneered nutrition
programmes and the mid-day meal scheme introduced by MGR in 1982 now covers
about 6.5 million pre-school and school-going children daily. Its fiscal
position, reflected in interest payments as a proportion of total revenue,
is the best, although public finances are now under stress and expenditure
reforms are urgently called for. It supplies power free to farmers but
its electricity board is the most efficient in the country with the lowest
losses and the highest level of metering.
No doubt, Tamil Nadu has benefited from public-sector
investments in the 1950s and 1960s. This has helped diversify its economy.
For instance, the state has the lowest share of agriculture in state domestic
product. But it has also had a great tradition of enterprise most in evidence
in its automotive, textile and engineering industries. Unlike Bangalore
and Hyderabad, Coimbatore and Tiruppur have flourished on sheer native
entrepreneurship. Just five years ago, Tamil Nadu was not associated with
information technology (IT) even though it had a first-class network of
higher education. But today, Tamil Nadu is very much on the IT map, and
already leads the nation in IT application, particularly in education
and governance. The title of a recent Harvard University monograph by
Colin Maclay captures the new spirit-"Readiness for a Networked World:
A Quiet Information Revolution in Tamil Nadu". It is also racing
ahead in biotechnology.
Dr J. Jayalalithaa has an outstanding legacy to build on. Her earlier
tenure, though controversial, was also notable for the way she wooed Ford,
Sterlite and Dupont to invest in the state and the emphasis she placed
on social issues. She also kept a tight control over prices of essential
commodities. Intellectually and managerially, she is one of the most impressive
chief ministers. It would be a colossal tragedy if we do not get to see
this side of her personality flower soon. Tamil Nadu has got all that
it takes to replicate the East Asian and Chinese successes. But it also
has all that it takes to become another Bihar, what with the proliferation
of political parties wedded to no larger social agenda, caste violence
and rampant corruption. The choice is hers and hers alone.
(The author is with the Congress party. These
are his personal views.)
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