Foreword: I am afraid this is a long note, and if a reader does not have the patience to read it fully, it is not surprising. In that case, I urge you to read the end part, for a partial read may result in misunderstandings.
I was wondering about the ongoing dispute between the Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments (luckily not peoples) on the Mullaperiyar dam. This very dam is inside the Kerala state, but the dam and the surrounding areas are owned by Tamil Nadu (TN). TN wants to increase the water storage level to 142 feet from the current (I am not sure if it is still current) 136 feet, a move that Kerala opposes, citing that the dam is not strong enough to withstand this and that the surrounding area is heavily crowded by humans; human safety is more important. Kerala is ready to build a new dam, which TN can continue to use. But, for some reason or the other, TN does not agree with this proposition. Kerala was asked to maintain the 142 feet water level by the Hon. Supreme court of India in 2006. However, the later studies on the safety of the dam, conducted independently by two teams comprising the professors from IIT Roorkee and IIT Delhi, both concluded that the dam was "hydrologically unsafe". TN has rejected this report, saying that "the study by IITs can't be relied upon", and that another study by the state (TN) has shown that the dam was safe! I personally don't understand the logic behind this argument. Kerala has repeatedly informed the Hon. Supreme court of India that it was "more concerned with the safety of our people" (The Hindu, Feb 12, 2009). And, TN has rejected (on Feb 12, 2009) the Supreme court’s (not Kerala government's) proposal to form an expert committee to examine if the dam can withstand the pressure of the raised water level. Why is this (I will call 'negative') attitude from TN?
A couple of days back TN has gone to the Supreme court again, this time to stay the permission the central government (through the Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh) has given to Kerala to conduct a survey and an investigation in the Periyar Tiger Reserve to find out the possibilities of constructing a new dam in place of the existing Mullaperiyar dam. What is ironic is that, Ms. Jayalalitha, who is the main political foe of Mr. Karunanidhi, the Hon. Chief Minister (CM) of TN, has hailed this decision of the government! To see the irony, you must remember that Jayalalitha's appreciation of Karunanidhi's decision came just one day after she had criticized the state's (TN) and the center's move to help the "stateless" Srilankan Tamils who took refuge in India to get settled here by making them permanent citizens. In reply, DMK (the political front led by Karunanidhi) criticized Jayalalitha "for politicizing the issue" of Srilankan Tamils. Reading between the lines, it may be relevant to ask a question: is Mullaperiyar issue a matter of prestige than reason among the political parties of TN? Because, in all other issues they fight each other, but only in this issue they "stand together"!
Well, I don't intend to construe the situation in any way. I just asked a question, that's all. I know how bold a stand Karunanidhi had taken in the past regarding the RAMASETHU issue. He had stayed with reason and scientific logic than religious feelings and mythology. He did not change his stand even after most of the Indian leaders deplored his comments in the later days. This demands great respect. I wish if he takes the similar stand in the Mullaperiyar issue also. To grow above ones own biases and prejudices and stand with the logic is not only heroic but very much required to maintain amity between the societies, and we expect this quality more from the leaders because their responsibilities are greater.
Now let me tell you why I suddenly wrote this article. There are mainly two reasons: out of concern and out of love. First, let me explain my concern. Today, Kerala's water resource minister Mr. N.K. Premachandran said that the response of the TN's recent move for a stay on the survey will be "strong protest". I don't understand the logic behind this either. First of all, there is a speculation that the TN's attitude is due to political reasons than logical. In that case, how can a "strong protest", however strong that may be, help? If I were the minister, I would have understood the special nature of the situation and tried in all possible ways (through discussions, dialogues, meetings and every democratic and diplomatic means) to convince the TN government and its people the seriousness and truth of the situation and the need for constructing a new dam at the earliest. I would have also listened to all concerns of TN regarding the new dam and taken measures to alleviate them. Our politicians have to mature yet. Now the second reason for writing this note: love. It is rather brotherhood or love between the brothers. Kerala minister Mr. M.A. Baby came to Chennai recently for participating in an Onam celebration of Chennai Malayalees. He asked the Malayali community here and to the people of TN to uphold the long standing brotherhood between them. And it was in the recent past that Karunanidhi declared Onam a holiday immediately (just in three days, the Hindu newspaper says) at the request of the Chennai Malayali community. There is an obvious long standing relationship between the states. But the recent disputes (besides the Mullaperyar, we have the Southern railway division issue also) are quite disturbing. When one looks into the comments by Malayalis and Tamils in websites and groups discussing these disputes, there is a split. Well, I don't want to mention those comments here, which will only malign my blog. On the other hand, the objective is to forget them and reaffirm the age-old ties. It is only through amicable, diplomatic and democratic proceedings that we can sort out this (seemingly simple) issue; this needs a lot of discipline from both parties. I hope this will happen soon and my country (India, not just Kerala) will be safe and out of any internal splits.
This is my personal view, which is obviously not very educated, for I am not an expert in all these; I am just an engineer(ing student). I have not given a precise list of references I have used to write this article; by and large, it is the Hindu newspaper's online contents and some other chhotta-motta websites. The article about the Mullaperiyar dispute in wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mullaperiyar_Dam) has been a good read; the references therein are also very helpful. For a comprehensive history of the dispute, which I did not mention in the article, see R. Krishnakumar's article in Frontline at http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1724/17240420.htm.
If someone find out any kind of bias or prejudice in the above article, please convey the same to me. I hope there is none. I don't look at Kerala and Tamil Nadu differently, and so not at Tamils and Malayalis. I love both. If Malayalam is my great mother, Tamil is my great grandmother. And greater is my beloved nation: India.
I was wondering about the ongoing dispute between the Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments (luckily not peoples) on the Mullaperiyar dam. This very dam is inside the Kerala state, but the dam and the surrounding areas are owned by Tamil Nadu (TN). TN wants to increase the water storage level to 142 feet from the current (I am not sure if it is still current) 136 feet, a move that Kerala opposes, citing that the dam is not strong enough to withstand this and that the surrounding area is heavily crowded by humans; human safety is more important. Kerala is ready to build a new dam, which TN can continue to use. But, for some reason or the other, TN does not agree with this proposition. Kerala was asked to maintain the 142 feet water level by the Hon. Supreme court of India in 2006. However, the later studies on the safety of the dam, conducted independently by two teams comprising the professors from IIT Roorkee and IIT Delhi, both concluded that the dam was "hydrologically unsafe". TN has rejected this report, saying that "the study by IITs can't be relied upon", and that another study by the state (TN) has shown that the dam was safe! I personally don't understand the logic behind this argument. Kerala has repeatedly informed the Hon. Supreme court of India that it was "more concerned with the safety of our people" (The Hindu, Feb 12, 2009). And, TN has rejected (on Feb 12, 2009) the Supreme court’s (not Kerala government's) proposal to form an expert committee to examine if the dam can withstand the pressure of the raised water level. Why is this (I will call 'negative') attitude from TN?
A couple of days back TN has gone to the Supreme court again, this time to stay the permission the central government (through the Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh) has given to Kerala to conduct a survey and an investigation in the Periyar Tiger Reserve to find out the possibilities of constructing a new dam in place of the existing Mullaperiyar dam. What is ironic is that, Ms. Jayalalitha, who is the main political foe of Mr. Karunanidhi, the Hon. Chief Minister (CM) of TN, has hailed this decision of the government! To see the irony, you must remember that Jayalalitha's appreciation of Karunanidhi's decision came just one day after she had criticized the state's (TN) and the center's move to help the "stateless" Srilankan Tamils who took refuge in India to get settled here by making them permanent citizens. In reply, DMK (the political front led by Karunanidhi) criticized Jayalalitha "for politicizing the issue" of Srilankan Tamils. Reading between the lines, it may be relevant to ask a question: is Mullaperiyar issue a matter of prestige than reason among the political parties of TN? Because, in all other issues they fight each other, but only in this issue they "stand together"!
Well, I don't intend to construe the situation in any way. I just asked a question, that's all. I know how bold a stand Karunanidhi had taken in the past regarding the RAMASETHU issue. He had stayed with reason and scientific logic than religious feelings and mythology. He did not change his stand even after most of the Indian leaders deplored his comments in the later days. This demands great respect. I wish if he takes the similar stand in the Mullaperiyar issue also. To grow above ones own biases and prejudices and stand with the logic is not only heroic but very much required to maintain amity between the societies, and we expect this quality more from the leaders because their responsibilities are greater.
Now let me tell you why I suddenly wrote this article. There are mainly two reasons: out of concern and out of love. First, let me explain my concern. Today, Kerala's water resource minister Mr. N.K. Premachandran said that the response of the TN's recent move for a stay on the survey will be "strong protest". I don't understand the logic behind this either. First of all, there is a speculation that the TN's attitude is due to political reasons than logical. In that case, how can a "strong protest", however strong that may be, help? If I were the minister, I would have understood the special nature of the situation and tried in all possible ways (through discussions, dialogues, meetings and every democratic and diplomatic means) to convince the TN government and its people the seriousness and truth of the situation and the need for constructing a new dam at the earliest. I would have also listened to all concerns of TN regarding the new dam and taken measures to alleviate them. Our politicians have to mature yet. Now the second reason for writing this note: love. It is rather brotherhood or love between the brothers. Kerala minister Mr. M.A. Baby came to Chennai recently for participating in an Onam celebration of Chennai Malayalees. He asked the Malayali community here and to the people of TN to uphold the long standing brotherhood between them. And it was in the recent past that Karunanidhi declared Onam a holiday immediately (just in three days, the Hindu newspaper says) at the request of the Chennai Malayali community. There is an obvious long standing relationship between the states. But the recent disputes (besides the Mullaperyar, we have the Southern railway division issue also) are quite disturbing. When one looks into the comments by Malayalis and Tamils in websites and groups discussing these disputes, there is a split. Well, I don't want to mention those comments here, which will only malign my blog. On the other hand, the objective is to forget them and reaffirm the age-old ties. It is only through amicable, diplomatic and democratic proceedings that we can sort out this (seemingly simple) issue; this needs a lot of discipline from both parties. I hope this will happen soon and my country (India, not just Kerala) will be safe and out of any internal splits.
This is my personal view, which is obviously not very educated, for I am not an expert in all these; I am just an engineer(ing student). I have not given a precise list of references I have used to write this article; by and large, it is the Hindu newspaper's online contents and some other chhotta-motta websites. The article about the Mullaperiyar dispute in wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mullaperiyar_Dam) has been a good read; the references therein are also very helpful. For a comprehensive history of the dispute, which I did not mention in the article, see R. Krishnakumar's article in Frontline at http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1724/17240420.htm.
If someone find out any kind of bias or prejudice in the above article, please convey the same to me. I hope there is none. I don't look at Kerala and Tamil Nadu differently, and so not at Tamils and Malayalis. I love both. If Malayalam is my great mother, Tamil is my great grandmother. And greater is my beloved nation: India.
--Sandeep Palakkal.
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