User:Na.annamalai/Politics of Tamil Nadu

Deleted material is struck through like this ; new material is written in plain text. Politics of Tamil Nadu is the politics related to the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Pre-Dravidian politics of Tamil Nadu
Indian National Congress dominated the political scene in the initial years post independence with leaders like C. Rajagopalachari and K. Kamaraj. The political influence shifted from national politics towards regional politics with rise of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in the late 1960s.

The era of pre-dravidian politics of Tamil Nadu is dominated by the Indian National Congress (INC). The Indian National Congress was the ruling party of Tamil Nadu for the first twenty years after independence, until a dravidian party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), swept the 1967 elections. Power has since shifted between the two major dravidian parties of the state, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).

K. Kamaraj was the most influential leader during the Congress era in Tamil Nadu. Kamaraj was instrumental in the ascension and downfall of the first six Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu following independence: T. Prakasam, O.P. Ramaswamy Reddiar, Kumaraswamy Raja, C. Rajagopalachari, M. Bhakthavatsalam, and himself. Kamaraj originally threw his support behind T. Prakasam to prevent C. Rajagopalachari from becoming Chief Minister in 1946, however, Kamaraj felt it was too difficult to control Prakasam as he was Telugu and didn't feel the need to report to the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee. Kamaraj facilitated the ouster of Prakasam and the ascension of O.P. Ramaswamy Reddiar as Chief Minister in 1947. Ramaswamy and Kamaraj eventually had a falling out which led to Ramaswamy's downfall though he was Tamil and originally became Chief Minister with Kamaraj's support. Kamaraj eventually elevated Kumaraswamy Raja to the position of Chief Minister in 1949—a position which Raja retained till he lost his seat in the general election of 1952.

The general election of 1952 temporarily reduced the Congress Party to a minority in the state legislative assembly. Though Congress held the most seats in the state legislative assembly—152 out of 375, they did not meet the required 188 seats to prove a governing majority. In response, communist parties began to build a post-election coalition challenging the Congress party. The coalition, the United Democratic Front (UDF), comprised of 30 independents as well as the Communist Party of India (CPI) and CPI backed independents, Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party (KMPP), Tamil Nadu Toilers Party, Commonweal Party, Forward Block (Marxist Group) also known as FBL (MG), All India Scheduled Caste Federation (SCF), and Justice Party (JUSP). With 166 legislative seats, the UDF staked their claim to form a government. The Governor at the time, Maharaja Krishna Kumarsinhji Bhavsinhji, decided to refer the matter to the President of India, Rajendra Prasad, rather than cause controversy at the end of his term as Governor. Per the Constitution, the President sought the advice of the Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who was unable to make a decision on the matter. With the situation at a standstill, Kamaraj was in favor of allowing the UDF to form a government as he believed the coalition government would be short-lived thus providing an opportunity for Congress to gain power back. However, many were opposed to Kamaraj's proposal as they were outraged by the possibility of a Communist government, and turned to Rajagopalachari, a staunch anti-Communist, to lead the government as Chief Minister. Set to lead the state government, Rajagopalachari decided he would not seek election to the state legislature as he believed it was below his status. As Rajagopalachari would not seek election to the lower house of the state legislature, the interim Chief Minister, Kumaraswamy Raja, promptly recommended Rajagopalachari's appointment to the upper house of the state legislature, and the new Governor, Sri Prakasa, swiftly accepted the recommendation. Rajagopalachari was then invited by Prakasa to form the state government and asked to prove his majority in the state legislature. Rajagopalachari proved a majority more than three months later by convincing opposition members to defect, and allying himself with parties that had not joined the UDF.

Kamaraj increased his stronghold over Tamil Nadu politics following the separation of the Telugu-speaking areas from Tamil Nadu in 1953, and facilitated the removal of Rajagopalachari as Chief Minister in 1954 after Rajagopalachari's implementation of the unpopular Modified Scheme of Elementary Education. Kamaraj then ascended to the Chief Ministership himself, and would remain in that position for the next nine years.

As Chief Minister, Kamaraj paid special attention to education as that was the issue that led to his predecessor's downfall. Education was made compulsory and free to all children till the age of 14. 25,234 schools were opened between 1954 and 1962 so that villages with populations greater than 500 had at least one or more schools. At the same time, secondary education was restructured—mathematics, science, and social studies were made compulsory subjects, and students were provided the opportunity to learn their language of choice as well as Hindi and English. Enrollment in primary and secondary schools doubled from 1955 to 1962. By 1954, the state government had opened 140 training schools for teachers. In 1955, the Tamil Nadu government was the first in Asia to provide a provident fund, pensions, and insurance for teachers. The School Midday Meal Scheme launched in 1957 as an incentive to increase enrollment. Beginning in 1960, school uniforms were provided free of cost to children. The state government implemented the School Improvement Movement in 1958 which led to 24,656 schools receiving donations worth about 7,93,00,000 rupees from the public by 1963.

Irrigation was another major focus of the Tamil Nadu government as Kamaraj believed improved irrigation would increase food production and wanted to utilize the hydroelectric capabilities of dams and reservoirs. Nine large-scale irrigation projects reaching about 3,34,000 acres were completed by the state government during the first five year plan (1951-1956) for a total cost of about 29,00,00,000 rupees. Another six irrigation projects reaching about 2,92,000 acres were completed during the second five year plan (1965-1961). The state government pursued multiple large-scale power generation projects to improve electrification—22,103 villages had electricity in 1966, up from 813 villages in 1951. Five industrial zones were created throughout the state to spur growth in heavy industries and multiple industrial estates were created to encourage smaller industries. The Madras Cultivating Tenants Act of 1956 and the Madras Land Reforms Act of 1962 improved farmers rights. Social welfare schemes aimed at improving conditions for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes as well as women were implemented. Tamil became the official language of the state in 1958, and the first Tamil encyclopedia published by the Tamil Academy was presented in 1962.

Kamaraj resigned in 1963 to focus on the revival of the Congress party. M. Bhakthavatsalam succeeded Kamaraj and would remain as Chief Minister until the election of 1967 when power shifted to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.