Black money remembers the role of C N Annadurai in challenging the Hindi imperialism and authoritarian centre ,against the federal norms

The Black money letter to PM, the third in a three part series on demonetization  is not merely a satire but also echoes the heartbeat of every Indian citizen , the real  Indian of not so many India, but only one India, the United  States of India, the  true  federal India which the former chief Minister , C N Annadurai of Tamil Nadu dreamt of  and articulated on many platforms ,including in Indian parliament .He envisaged India as one federation where all the constituents of  states will have more powers and autonomy in economic decision taking and the Centre will keep only those areas –the spheres of activity which   the states cannot  and will not perform  and the centre alone should /could do .Given the academic partner or independently  I will work on his vision at an uncertain future date fusing with the basic elements of Marx and Keynes .During my student days  I had been an admirer of Anna for his simplicity, frugality and scholarship, though coming from an ordinary farmer’s/weaver’s family, without any political background . Most of the youngsters like us were part of the anti-Hindi agitation in 1965.But for the DMK movement led by Annadurai,the Hindi imperialism would not have been moderated .

To readers and my students, I must hasten to add that our opposition was not against the language Hindi but against its imposition on the country as the sole language to the utter neglect of other languages which are richer and stronger in literature and many thousands year old tradition ,history and grammar .In my village school, I was good in English ,Tamil and also Hindi. Before the imposition of Hindi ,we started learning Hindi  from 8^th standard onwards .How many of you will believe when I recollect from memory and say that I was extremely well versed in Hindi grammar and in one of the examinations  I secured 95% out of 100, beating /outsmarting one boy and who had come from Ahmadabad  and he later  became school leader .when we went to 10^th and 11^th standard.

I fondly remember my two Hindi  High school Teachers Mr Shanmugham and Mr Krishnamoorthy  .I had also passed the Hindi prathmic  -the first level examination  and the certificate, which was photo framed  and kept for a long time at home was  thrown into dustbin  later while  clearing the debris .All the certificates including from Tamil Manram were gone and  all the certificates met a  similar fate .  Even now I have few Hindi books, read by my first  M Phil  Literature daughter and I  do have an occasional glance .My handwriting in Hindi is on par with English and Tamil .People in the south are not against the Jindi language but only against the imposition .

My youngest daughter who is fluent in both English and French, did not read Hindi, but by watching TV, mastered the spoken language and she could follow and converse it ,besides having some silken touch with Telugu language .

Going back to Anna many scholars from Canada and the United States have done proper and relevant research on his political ideology and opined that he has relevance for all time. Being a scholar in Economics from Pachiappa’s college ,Madras  and also having an incredible mastery and   command over  Tamil and English with greater fluency in both , he had the concern for the common man as he lived in the age of common man .

It  is  our great loss that he breathed last within just two years after the assumption of office as CM of Tamil Nadu ,which was called as Madras state before he took over as CM. In 1969  he changed the name of Madras state into  Tamil Nadu .I was the second year  M A student  in Madras presidency college at that time .Against the  doctor’s advice  he participated in the function of renaming Madras as Tamil Nadu , held at Kalaivanar Arangam in Triplicane  and I was a participant there ,standing in the balcony ,to get a glimpse of the unshaven face of one of the greatest world leaders –a real statesman  ,par excellence .

If God wills besides going through my areas of specialization namely, currency crisis and globalization literature, I will go into the idea of  true federal India that every citizen wants  and do some good write up for safeguarding the real federal structure of India where states will not be treated as appendages and puppets in the hands of the centre, but will become the  active participants in deciding the fate of the nation, as India is a land of great  cultural diversity, richness of several languages and healthy traditions and practices .