ABSTRACT

The previous chapter reviewed a range of potential social and political divisions in Tamilnad that political entrepreneurs could use to mobilize a following. There was no inevitable outcome in the development of the party system in south India. If linguistic re-organization had not occurred the dynamic of the party system may have been very different. The heterogeneity of south India offered a range of possibilities that political entrepreneurs could develop. This chapter shows how the party system in Tamilnad has remained dynamic since the early twentieth century. The party system has not divided between two obvious ‘alternatives’ separated by a key cleavage. It needs to be remembered that during an important part of the period discussed below Tamilnad was part of a larger unit, the Madras Presidency. It was only in 1957 that a general election was held within a unit that recognized Tamil speakers as a majority. However, divides in Tamil political opinion were expressed by movements and parties well before 1957 and party politics was shaped by earlier developments. Key political figures from a range of parties gained their initial experience of politics well before 1947. Even in the absence of mass suffrage political entrepreneurs experimented with political narratives and attempted to divide, or unite, society to their advantage.