The ground shakes when a big tree falls. But in Tamil Nadu, people will make the tree fall by shaking it with their own hands and voices.
I have witnessed this extreme phenomenon during the demise of Puratchi Thalavi Jayalalithaa and Kalaignar Karunanidhi. Both of them have a huge following among the masses and being a revolutionary politicians it is not a surprise to witness the war like situation during those extreme unfortunate times.
But why does the demise of a popular politician and a long serving chief minister warrant such an emergency situation in the state? Shops are shut down and public transport will be stopped. Adding to the woes of general public’s comfort, people are afraid to come out of their homes fearing of violence.
Why?
Emotions and Common Sense
I have a very high regard for Tamil Nadu and its people. There were inspirational moments for me in the past. But I wonder why these people swap emotion and common sense in highly critical situations and act bizarrely to embarrass the public.
Maintaining law and order is the common reason given by the police and the government to shut shops and transport services. Firstly, I don’t understand why certain sections of people resort to violence. Is it deliberately triggered by party officials or people want to express their sorrow and grief about the demise of their leader by demolishing public property and creating arson?
Intellectual capabilities of these kinds of people will sometimes dive into the deepest levels. Why do these fan boys and girls of their respective leaders didn’t create a similar kind of law and order situation when APJ Abdul Kalam, whom Tamil people pride themselves as a national gem, passed away? Why do the priorities differ?
Former chief minister Kalaignar Karunanidhi of DMK passed away today and the official announcement of his death came around 6.30 PM. But chaos started at noon itself fearing of emergency.
I left my office at regular time today evening and witnessed chaos in my area when all the employees of my industrial area started to homes fearing some shit would happen if they don’t reach home as early as possible. They created a frenzied traffic jam. I was aware of Karunanidhi’s situation but after looking at the magnitude of the disorder, I wondered was there any zombie attack or was any clock ticking to create a nuclear explosion? Why are these people so afraid and desperate? And there was huge crowd and serpentine queues at super markets and ATMs. People bought enough groceries for the next three days fearing total blackout. Is this frenzy a warranted characteristic in a democracy?
A day of mourning by government is enough to remember and pay our condolences to people like Karunanidhi and Jayalalitha. I wish their souls to rest in peace. But why does our souls go out of our body to smash public property and create panic?
Not only in Tamil Nadu, these kind of chaotic situations have prevailed all over the world in the past. If a leader is assassinated, there can be an argument for complete shutdown fearing violence and law and order problem. But Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa had a natural inevitable death due to age related ailments and I really don’t understand why windows and glasses of buses are smashed for the same reason.
When a big tree falls, the ground shakes. But in Tamil Nadu, not only does people will make the tree fall by shaking it with their own hands and voices; they also scatter the branches, leaves and fruits of that big tree.
All the views expressed above are my own which came out after many frustrating experiences. I do not have any personal intention to hurt the feelings of followers and disciples of Puratchi thalaivi Jayalalithaa and Kalaignar Karunanidhi. My condolences and respect will be there forever for these two great Dravidian revolutionaries.
The ground shakes when a big tree falls is a popular statement that came after the violence which resulted in the death of hundreds of people when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated.
Images taken from By Prakashfotos – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link and By https://silverscreen.in [CC BY-SA 3.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons
