Stalin Keeps A DMK Tradition Of A National Cause Alive

The ruling DMK made its point in Tamil Nadu when it took out a rally to display its solidarity with the armed forces that were actively engaged in the conflict with Pakistan. The ceasefire announcement may have come just as the rally was moving on to the Marina Beach Road, but the DMK has only upholding a tradition of the party supporting the Union government during any external threat to the nation. Carrying the national flag and walking the Marina promenade has been a tradition since the war against China broke out in 1962, which was when the DMK founder Annadurai declared that his party was giving up its separate Tamil homeland (Dravida Nadu) demand in a national Indian cause. The Congress may have run the same kind of rally in Hyderabad and Chennai before chief minister MK Stalin walked to display his solidarity, but the DMK march for a national cause has been something that the party has always revered. So much so, even the Governor RN Ravi lauded the DMK for the rally. Of course, the DMK has come a long way since supporting such causes as Eelam, with a territory covering Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu as a Tamil homeland. Such thoughts are probably only nursed by the likes of Vaiko and other politicians who remain wedded to the romantic notion of a Tamil nation.