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The Dravidian Model: Interpreting the Political Economy of Tamil Nadu
This book adds to the growing literature on dynamics of regional development in the global South by mapping the politics and processes contributing to the distinct developmental trajectory of Tamil Nadu, southern India.
Using a novel interpretive framework and drawing upon fresh data and literature, it seeks to explain the social and economic development of the state in terms of populist mobilization against caste-based inequalities. Dominant policy narratives on inclusive growth assume a sequential logic whereby returns to growth are used to invest in socially inclusive policies. By focusing more on redistribution of access to opportunities in the modern economy, Tamil Nadu has sustained a relatively more inclusive and dynamic growth process. Democratization of economic opportunities has made such broad-based growth possible even as interventions in social sectors reinforce the former.
The book thus also speaks to the nascent literature on the relationship between the logic of modernisation and status based inequalities in the global South.
Using a novel interpretive framework and drawing upon fresh data and literature, it seeks to explain the social and economic development of the state in terms of populist mobilization against caste-based inequalities. Dominant policy narratives on inclusive growth assume a sequential logic whereby returns to growth are used to invest in socially inclusive policies. By focusing more on redistribution of access to opportunities in the modern economy, Tamil Nadu has sustained a relatively more inclusive and dynamic growth process. Democratization of economic opportunities has made such broad-based growth possible even as interventions in social sectors reinforce the former.
The book thus also speaks to the nascent literature on the relationship between the logic of modernisation and status based inequalities in the global South.
- GenresPoliticsNonfictionIndia
268 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2021
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June 22, 2021
Tamil Nadu has a unique political trajectory within the Union of India. While Kerala's impressive outcomes in terms of human development was not backed by an expansion of productive sectors, States like Gujarat and Maharashtra have delivered on the growth front but have lagged behind in the domain of human development. It is hence significant that Tamil Nadu has not only managed to produce a high per-capita income (indicator for economic growth), but also managed to reduce poverty levels through welfare measures, maintain above-average wages, achieve high literacy levels, low infant mortality, maternal mortality and under-five mortality rates, while upholding the principles of social justice and equality by greatly diminishing caste hierarchies.
What explains these outcomes?
The Dravidian movement conceptualised the injustice emanating from caste hierarchies to be more systemic than that of economic class in the Indian context. The political labour of leaders belonging to subaltern intermediate caste groups and a section of Dalits helped create an integrated Dravidian-Tamil common sense which forged the diverse non-Brahmin interests while rejecting the Brahminical caste hierarchy. This translated into an imagination of social justice that saw abolishing caste hierarchies and injustice as fundamental to building an egalitarian socioeconomic system, and nurtured the demand for self-respect through access to modern educational institutions and places of work. The ideals of self-respect and equality through the diminishing of caste was institutionalised in the form of affirmative action policies in the region, starting as early as the 1920s led by the Justice Party, sustained by the Congress party under political pressure from Dravidian leaders in the opposition in the 50s, and carried forward and revolutionised by the DMK post 1967.
The authors delineate how the political mobilisation around the Dravidian movement and the aspirations that it created among people, coupled with a strong political will by legislators and an efficient and socially inclusive bureaucracy helped Tamil Nadu to combine the processes of structural transformation with human development. This is apparent in the fact that the State consistently and uniquely features among the top in indicators relating to both economic growth and human welfare (education, health, employment, rural relations and more) as stated earlier.
The authors also highlight areas of fissures and limitations that are emerging in the model, such as poor learning outcomes in terms of education, increasing corporatisation of healthcare, failure to address the domination of upper caste elites in the senior positions in the organised, urban labour market and persisting violence against Dalits and a failure to adequately address their inability to enter the domain of capital accumulation.
Some of these limits cannot be overcome at the sub-national level, the authors concede, while explaining the limits to policy interventions within a pan-Indian polity which has had a consistent elite bias.
What explains these outcomes?
The Dravidian movement conceptualised the injustice emanating from caste hierarchies to be more systemic than that of economic class in the Indian context. The political labour of leaders belonging to subaltern intermediate caste groups and a section of Dalits helped create an integrated Dravidian-Tamil common sense which forged the diverse non-Brahmin interests while rejecting the Brahminical caste hierarchy. This translated into an imagination of social justice that saw abolishing caste hierarchies and injustice as fundamental to building an egalitarian socioeconomic system, and nurtured the demand for self-respect through access to modern educational institutions and places of work. The ideals of self-respect and equality through the diminishing of caste was institutionalised in the form of affirmative action policies in the region, starting as early as the 1920s led by the Justice Party, sustained by the Congress party under political pressure from Dravidian leaders in the opposition in the 50s, and carried forward and revolutionised by the DMK post 1967.
The authors delineate how the political mobilisation around the Dravidian movement and the aspirations that it created among people, coupled with a strong political will by legislators and an efficient and socially inclusive bureaucracy helped Tamil Nadu to combine the processes of structural transformation with human development. This is apparent in the fact that the State consistently and uniquely features among the top in indicators relating to both economic growth and human welfare (education, health, employment, rural relations and more) as stated earlier.
The authors also highlight areas of fissures and limitations that are emerging in the model, such as poor learning outcomes in terms of education, increasing corporatisation of healthcare, failure to address the domination of upper caste elites in the senior positions in the organised, urban labour market and persisting violence against Dalits and a failure to adequately address their inability to enter the domain of capital accumulation.
Some of these limits cannot be overcome at the sub-national level, the authors concede, while explaining the limits to policy interventions within a pan-Indian polity which has had a consistent elite bias.
July 10, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
கடந்த 50 ஆண்டு கால திராவிட ஆட்சியில் எதுவுமே நடக்கவில்லை என்ற கட்டுக்கதைகள் எல்லாம் கடந்த 10 ஆண்டுகளாக தீவிரமாக முன்னெடுக்கப்பட்டு வந்தது, 2016 இல் அதை அடிப்படையாக வைத்து ஒரு கூட்டணியே அமைந்தது, ஆனால் எது உண்மை? கடந்த 50 ஆண்டுகளில் நாம் என்னென்ன மாற்றங்களை சந்தித்தோம்? அதற்கு அரசு இயற்றிய சட்டங்கள்/திட்டங்கள் எவை? என்பன பற்றி எல்லாம் விரிவாக பேசும் புத்தகம் தான் “The Dravidian Model”. பேராசிரியர்கள் Kalaiyarasan A, Vijayabaskar M ஆகியோர் இணைந்து எழுதியுள்ளார்கள், இதில் திரு Vijayabaskar அவர்கள் மாநிலத்தின் திட்ட குழு உறுப்பினராக சமீபத்தில் நியமிக்கப்பட்டார் என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.
முதலில் “Model” என்றால் என்னவென்றே விளக்கத்தை இவர்கள் கொடுத்து விடுகிறார்கள், ‘ஒரு அமைப்பு அல்லது செயல்முறை எவ்வாறு செயல்படுகிறது என்பதைப் புரிந்துகொள்வது தான் Model’. இதில் குறைகளே இல்லை, எல்லாம் அப்பழுக்கற்ற விசியம் என்றெல்லாம் எந்த இடத்திலும் கூறவில்லை, இன்னும் சொல்லவேண்டுமானால் கடைசி பகுதியை இதில் உள்ள குறைகளை சுட்டிக்காட்டியும், அடுத்து இந்த Model சந்திக்கவிருக்கும் சிக்கல்களை குறிப்பிட்டும் விரிவாக எழுதியுள்ளார்கள்.
இந்திய அளவில்ஆய்வு தளத்தில் பெரிதாக பேசுபொருளாக இருக்கும் பொருளாதார Model இரண்டு தான் ஒன்று மனிதவள குறியீடுகளில்(Human Development Indicators) முன்னணியில் இருக்கும் கேரளா Model , மற்றொன்று பொருளாதார வளங்கள் மற்றும் தொழில்துறையில்(Industrial Developments) முன்னேற்றமடைந்த மாநிலமான குஜராத் Model. கேரளா Model பெரியளவில் பேசப்படுவதற்கு ஆய்வு தளத்தில் இருக்கும் இடதுசாரி ஆய்வாளர்கள் முக்கியமான பங்கு வகித்தார்கள், குஜராத் மாடல் என்பது மோடியை பிரதமராக வேண்டும் என்று ஊதி பெருக்கப்பட்ட பிம்பம் தான். இதை தவிர்த்து இன்னொரு மாடல் இருக்கிறது அது தான் இதுவரை யாரும் பெரிதாக பேசாத திராவிட Model . பொருளாதார வளர்ச்சி மற்றும் மனித வள குறியீடு ஆகிய இரண்டிலும் சரியான சமநிலையை கொண்டு இயங்கும் Modelஆக இதை குறிப்பிடலாம்.
இந்த புத்தகத்தில் நடக்கும் ஒப்பீடுகள் எல்லாம் மகாராஷ்டிரா, குஜராத், இந்தியா ஆகிய பொருளாதாரங்களிலிருந்து தமிழ்நாட்டின் பொருளாதார வளர்ச்சி எப்படி வேறுபடுகிறது, அது எவ்வித மாற்றங்களை சந்தித்துள்ளது, அந்த முன்னேற்றம் மற்றும் வளர்ச்சியில் அரசின் பங்கு என்ன என்பன பற்றி எல்லாம் தரவுகளுடன் வாதங்கள் முன்வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன.
மேலும் ஏற்றத்தாழ்வு மிகுந்த ஒரு மாநிலம் அனைத்து தரப்பு மக்களின் அபிலாசைகளை(Aspirations) எல்லாம் எப்படி நிறைவேற்றியது, அதற்கு எத்தகைய திட்டங்களை எல்லாம் வகுத்தது, அது எவ்வாறு சாத்தியப்பட்டது என்பன பற்றியும் பேசபட்டுள்ளது. கல்வி, மருத்துவம், கிராம மற்றும் நகர முன்னேற்றம், வளர்ச்சின் & மூலதனங்களில் ஜனநாயக போக்கு போன்றவை நூலின் மைய கருக்கள்.
sub - national அடையாளங்களை ஆதாரமாக கொண்டு இயங்கும் ஒரு அரசு தன்னால் சாத்தியப்பட்ட எல்லைகளில் வரை சென்று முடிந்தளவிலான முன்னேற்றங்களை எப்படி மேற்கொள்ளும்/கொள்ளலாம் என்பதற்கு இந்த Model ஒரு எடுத்துக்காட்டு.
இந்த மாற்றங்களை எல்லாம் Antonio Gramsci கோட்பாடான “Building a national popular will by a political force so as to forge a common vision of social change by incorporating subaltern sections into political process ” என்பதனை அடிப்படையாக வைத்து விளக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.
இந்த மாற்றங்கள் சாதாரணமாக நிகழவில்லை என்பது தான் தமிழ்நாட்டை ஆய்வுசெய்தவர்கள் கூறும் கருத்து, இதற்கான காரணங்களாக சிலர் திராவிட இயக்க நடவடிக்கைகளால் விளைந்த “Dravidian common-sense” என்கிறார்கள். Marguerite Ross Barnett தமிழகத்தின் அரசியல் கலாச்சாரமே(political-culture) இப்படிப்பட்டது தான் என்கிறார். Samuel paul போன்றவர்கள் இந்த அரசுகள்(Dravidian parties) கல்வி மற்றும் மருத்துவம் போன்ற மக்களின் அடிப்படை தேவைகளில் காட்டிய அக்கறையின் விளைவு தான் இந்த மாற்றங்கள் என்கிறார். S. Narayanan போன்றவர்கள் இது அதிகாரவர்க்கத்தின் ஜனநாயகப்படுத்தல்(Democratisation of bureaucracy ) மற்றும் அரசு எந்திரத்தில் அரசியல் கட்சியின் தலையீடுகளால் நடந்தது என்கிறார்கள்.
புத்தகத்தின் உள்ளடக்கம் மிக ஆழமானது அதை இரண்டு பக்கங்களில் எல்லாம் சொல்லி முடிக்க இயலாதது, அதனால் வாய்ப்பிருக்கும் நண்பர்கள் அவசியம் வாங்கி வாசிக்கவும். நீண்ட கட்டுரை ஒன்றினை எழுதும் எண்ணம் இருக்கிறது, விரைவில் எழுதுகிறேன்.
Book : The Dravidian Model
Author: Kalaiyarasan A, Vijayabaskar M
கடந்த 50 ஆண்டு கால திராவிட ஆட்சியில் எதுவுமே நடக்கவில்லை என்ற கட்டுக்கதைகள் எல்லாம் கடந்த 10 ஆண்டுகளாக தீவிரமாக முன்னெடுக்கப்பட்டு வந்தது, 2016 இல் அதை அடிப்படையாக வைத்து ஒரு கூட்டணியே அமைந்தது, ஆனால் எது உண்மை? கடந்த 50 ஆண்டுகளில் நாம் என்னென்ன மாற்றங்களை சந்தித்தோம்? அதற்கு அரசு இயற்றிய சட்டங்கள்/திட்டங்கள் எவை? என்பன பற்றி எல்லாம் விரிவாக பேசும் புத்தகம் தான் “The Dravidian Model”. பேராசிரியர்கள் Kalaiyarasan A, Vijayabaskar M ஆகியோர் இணைந்து எழுதியுள்ளார்கள், இதில் திரு Vijayabaskar அவர்கள் மாநிலத்தின் திட்ட குழு உறுப்பினராக சமீபத்தில் நியமிக்கப்பட்டார் என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.
முதலில் “Model” என்றால் என்னவென்றே விளக்கத்தை இவர்கள் கொடுத்து விடுகிறார்கள், ‘ஒரு அமைப்பு அல்லது செயல்முறை எவ்வாறு செயல்படுகிறது என்பதைப் புரிந்துகொள்வது தான் Model’. இதில் குறைகளே இல்லை, எல்லாம் அப்பழுக்கற்ற விசியம் என்றெல்லாம் எந்த இடத்திலும் கூறவில்லை, இன்னும் சொல்லவேண்டுமானால் கடைசி பகுதியை இதில் உள்ள குறைகளை சுட்டிக்காட்டியும், அடுத்து இந்த Model சந்திக்கவிருக்கும் சிக்கல்களை குறிப்பிட்டும் விரிவாக எழுதியுள்ளார்கள்.
இந்திய அளவில்ஆய்வு தளத்தில் பெரிதாக பேசுபொருளாக இருக்கும் பொருளாதார Model இரண்டு தான் ஒன்று மனிதவள குறியீடுகளில்(Human Development Indicators) முன்னணியில் இருக்கும் கேரளா Model , மற்றொன்று பொருளாதார வளங்கள் மற்றும் தொழில்துறையில்(Industrial Developments) முன்னேற்றமடைந்த மாநிலமான குஜராத் Model. கேரளா Model பெரியளவில் பேசப்படுவதற்கு ஆய்வு தளத்தில் இருக்கும் இடதுசாரி ஆய்வாளர்கள் முக்கியமான பங்கு வகித்தார்கள், குஜராத் மாடல் என்பது மோடியை பிரதமராக வேண்டும் என்று ஊதி பெருக்கப்பட்ட பிம்பம் தான். இதை தவிர்த்து இன்னொரு மாடல் இருக்கிறது அது தான் இதுவரை யாரும் பெரிதாக பேசாத திராவிட Model . பொருளாதார வளர்ச்சி மற்றும் மனித வள குறியீடு ஆகிய இரண்டிலும் சரியான சமநிலையை கொண்டு இயங்கும் Modelஆக இதை குறிப்பிடலாம்.
இந்த புத்தகத்தில் நடக்கும் ஒப்பீடுகள் எல்லாம் மகாராஷ்டிரா, குஜராத், இந்தியா ஆகிய பொருளாதாரங்களிலிருந்து தமிழ்நாட்டின் பொருளாதார வளர்ச்சி எப்படி வேறுபடுகிறது, அது எவ்வித மாற்றங்களை சந்தித்துள்ளது, அந்த முன்னேற்றம் மற்றும் வளர்ச்சியில் அரசின் பங்கு என்ன என்பன பற்றி எல்லாம் தரவுகளுடன் வாதங்கள் முன்வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன.
மேலும் ஏற்றத்தாழ்வு மிகுந்த ஒரு மாநிலம் அனைத்து தரப்பு மக்களின் அபிலாசைகளை(Aspirations) எல்லாம் எப்படி நிறைவேற்றியது, அதற்கு எத்தகைய திட்டங்களை எல்லாம் வகுத்தது, அது எவ்வாறு சாத்தியப்பட்டது என்பன பற்றியும் பேசபட்டுள்ளது. கல்வி, மருத்துவம், கிராம மற்றும் நகர முன்னேற்றம், வளர்ச்சின் & மூலதனங்களில் ஜனநாயக போக்கு போன்றவை நூலின் மைய கருக்கள்.
sub - national அடையாளங்களை ஆதாரமாக கொண்டு இயங்கும் ஒரு அரசு தன்னால் சாத்தியப்பட்ட எல்லைகளில் வரை சென்று முடிந்தளவிலான முன்னேற்றங்களை எப்படி மேற்கொள்ளும்/கொள்ளலாம் என்பதற்கு இந்த Model ஒரு எடுத்துக்காட்டு.
இந்த மாற்றங்களை எல்லாம் Antonio Gramsci கோட்பாடான “Building a national popular will by a political force so as to forge a common vision of social change by incorporating subaltern sections into political process ” என்பதனை அடிப்படையாக வைத்து விளக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.
இந்த மாற்றங்கள் சாதாரணமாக நிகழவில்லை என்பது தான் தமிழ்நாட்டை ஆய்வுசெய்தவர்கள் கூறும் கருத்து, இதற்கான காரணங்களாக சிலர் திராவிட இயக்க நடவடிக்கைகளால் விளைந்த “Dravidian common-sense” என்கிறார்கள். Marguerite Ross Barnett தமிழகத்தின் அரசியல் கலாச்சாரமே(political-culture) இப்படிப்பட்டது தான் என்கிறார். Samuel paul போன்றவர்கள் இந்த அரசுகள்(Dravidian parties) கல்வி மற்றும் மருத்துவம் போன்ற மக்களின் அடிப்படை தேவைகளில் காட்டிய அக்கறையின் விளைவு தான் இந்த மாற்றங்கள் என்கிறார். S. Narayanan போன்றவர்கள் இது அதிகாரவர்க்கத்தின் ஜனநாயகப்படுத்தல்(Democratisation of bureaucracy ) மற்றும் அரசு எந்திரத்தில் அரசியல் கட்சியின் தலையீடுகளால் நடந்தது என்கிறார்கள்.
புத்தகத்தின் உள்ளடக்கம் மிக ஆழமானது அதை இரண்டு பக்கங்களில் எல்லாம் சொல்லி முடிக்க இயலாதது, அதனால் வாய்ப்பிருக்கும் நண்பர்கள் அவசியம் வாங்கி வாசிக்கவும். நீண்ட கட்டுரை ஒன்றினை எழுதும் எண்ணம் இருக்கிறது, விரைவில் எழுதுகிறேன்.
Book : The Dravidian Model
Author: Kalaiyarasan A, Vijayabaskar M
October 20, 2023
It was more of a textbook than a popular read. Thus, the pages were a bit dry strewn with facts. Having said that, that also means, the facts were well researched and are a product of decades of research. Research that I have never been a part of, but every neuron in my brain, so badly wants me to.
It was like the North Vs South book, only more textbook-y and none of the flowery language one usually gets acquainted with in a popular non-fic book.
It was like the North Vs South book, only more textbook-y and none of the flowery language one usually gets acquainted with in a popular non-fic book.
January 28, 2023
For a genuine understanding of Dravidian philosophy read Anna and Periyaar's Biography. This propaganda book solely exists for hashtag reasons #Dravidian model
Not undermining the happenings in the state which is still amongst the leading states in India, but when we discuss on a narrative called "Dravidian" - that vigor stopped around 90s till getting corporate driven I.e. reactive approach. Afterwards its mere capitalising the maximum on manufacturing/ software boom on cheap labor for the west. In this case, the dravidian model which stood to eliminate inequality, poverty, by enhancing "Self-respect" simply converted to enhancing cash flow into the state from the west which is not bad. We could still argue if the distribution of wealth got better in a proportional way, but you could see the improvements there too.
Thanks to BJP's push towards Hindutva and organizations like PETA intervening in cultural elements like Jallikattu, the "Dravidian" belonging is getting stronger without a meaning on what it stays for. The incumbent DMK govt is showing good proactive signs to strengthen economics of the State and making it visible globally. The #Dravidianmodel solely serves for this visibility. Soon as possible, the philosophy needs to upgrade itself to the times - call it Green Dravidian, the environmental narrative is missing completely. Call it Clean Dravidian - Sanitation, access to clean air, clean water is still a huge issue. Call it Innovative Dravidian - with increasing cost of labor in TN, enter migrants from other states #vadakkans (north) which is normal. That's how Americans would have seen us #Kelakkans (east)! But now the competition should not be with the vadakkans, rather the Merkans (west)! You need high skill development and R&D to promote patents for that which is almost nonexistent. Remittances are not a thing to be proud of. Youngsters leave to places where they get want they want. In this case - Innovation. There are more adjectives that we could add to the #Dravidian like tourism, press freedom, energy etc. The source for it are the 17 Sustainable development goals from the UN. Where does Dravidian model stay on that measure? Hard truths could be found, unlike the selective statistics in the book.
Not undermining the happenings in the state which is still amongst the leading states in India, but when we discuss on a narrative called "Dravidian" - that vigor stopped around 90s till getting corporate driven I.e. reactive approach. Afterwards its mere capitalising the maximum on manufacturing/ software boom on cheap labor for the west. In this case, the dravidian model which stood to eliminate inequality, poverty, by enhancing "Self-respect" simply converted to enhancing cash flow into the state from the west which is not bad. We could still argue if the distribution of wealth got better in a proportional way, but you could see the improvements there too.
Thanks to BJP's push towards Hindutva and organizations like PETA intervening in cultural elements like Jallikattu, the "Dravidian" belonging is getting stronger without a meaning on what it stays for. The incumbent DMK govt is showing good proactive signs to strengthen economics of the State and making it visible globally. The #Dravidianmodel solely serves for this visibility. Soon as possible, the philosophy needs to upgrade itself to the times - call it Green Dravidian, the environmental narrative is missing completely. Call it Clean Dravidian - Sanitation, access to clean air, clean water is still a huge issue. Call it Innovative Dravidian - with increasing cost of labor in TN, enter migrants from other states #vadakkans (north) which is normal. That's how Americans would have seen us #Kelakkans (east)! But now the competition should not be with the vadakkans, rather the Merkans (west)! You need high skill development and R&D to promote patents for that which is almost nonexistent. Remittances are not a thing to be proud of. Youngsters leave to places where they get want they want. In this case - Innovation. There are more adjectives that we could add to the #Dravidian like tourism, press freedom, energy etc. The source for it are the 17 Sustainable development goals from the UN. Where does Dravidian model stay on that measure? Hard truths could be found, unlike the selective statistics in the book.
May 5, 2024
How the Dravidian model delivered
The authors' contention is that even with a robust democracy and a well entrenched bureaucracy the development parameters of some parts of India are comparable only to a few Sub-Saharan countries and are lower than Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, whereas States like Tamil Nadu and Kerala are comparable to Asian countries, presumably the well to do in East Asia.
Focussing on Tamil Nadu, the book says the State has done better than most States in India, especially in the areas of education and healthcare.
Citing recent studies with plenty of data, the book says Tamil Nadu like Maharashtra and Kerala has crossed the take-off stage and is comparable to developed countries in diversifying its sources of growth.
Ever since India adopted economic reforms in 1990s different states have been mobilising their resources for investments. The Western region, especially Maharashtra and Gujarat and the southern region, particularly Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Karnataka have succeeded in drawing investors and grown at an impressive rate.
Economists have debated the paths a state can take for an inclusive development. In the famous debate between Jagdish Bhagwati and Amartya Sen, the former argued for a growth-centric model that will eventually ensure distribution through the trickle- down effect, while Sen made a case for investments in human capabilities first that can contribute to economic development eventually.
While one cites the Gujarat model for rapid development, the other draws from the experience of Tamil Nadu and Kerala to argue why investments in public health and education are necessary for an inclusive growth.
One major difference why the two southern states could achieve inclusive development is that over decades they have drawn power from the lower classes by offering services such as the Public Distribution System, noon meal scheme in schools and other welfare schemes.
West Bengal and Bihar in contrast have also been mobilising of power from the lower classes but they have not shown much progress in human development.
Tamil Nadu could achieve a level of inclusive development only because of a subnational trajectory that was guided by the Tamil- Dravidian identity.
The authors in citing studies to make this point acknowledge that the studies highlight the limitations of the populist measures but say that the studies do not take into account the State's ability to sustain more inclusive growth in the post-reform period. The book claims that Tamil Nadu not only reduced the poverty levels but also ensured high per capita incomes, higher than the all-India rate.
Tamil Nadu's human development unlike that of Kerala was backed by expansion of productive sectors. West Bengal neither revived the industrial base it inherited from the colonial period nor improve upon the human development indicators despite implementing land reforms.
Maharashtra and Gujarat have done well on the growth front but are behind Tamil Nadu in human development. So Tamil Nadu compared to all these States has well done in growth, human development, income and reduction in poverty. To illustrate, the incidence of poverty in the State has come down from over 50% in the 1960s to 6% in 2011-12.
More importantly, the poverty rate among SCs has come down by 43 percentage points, which ranks it better than Maharashtra and Gujarat.
As early as in 1960s Tamil Nadu's poverty levels were higher than the national average, but its per capita income was also higher than in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Tamil Nadu's per capita income grew from 14% higher than the national average in 1960s to 155% of the all-India average in 2010s. In 2014 Tamil Nadu occupied the second position among all States.
It fares better than Maharashtra and Gujarat also in diffusion of economic growth, which gives an indication of the inequality level in the different societies.
With higher population shifting to the industrial sector from agriculture, which contributes less than 8% to the State's income, the level and diversity of industrialisation achieved is one of the highest.
Manufacturing is labour intensive in textiles, garments, automobiles and leather industry in Tamil Nadu, which occupies the third position after Maharashtra and Gujarat in gross value added.
The State has the highest employment in the organised and unorganised sectors.
Termed as the 'Detroit of the south' Chennai accounts for 35% of automobile production in the country. Tamil Nadu along with Karnataka and Telengana is responsible for 60% of ITES exports from India.
Tamil Nadu ranks among the top five in public governance indices such as infrastructure, social delivery, fiscal performance, law and order, judicial service, quality of legislature. In provision of roads, electricity and telecom, it is rated third and in renewable energy it figures among the top nine States.
The literacy rate, reduction in gender gap in literacy and improvement in enrolment in school and higher education, including among the SCs and the STs have all improved significantly and places the state on par with Maharashtra and Gujarat or above them.
The state has also achieved universal coverage in retaining children in schools across caste groups.
In terms of infrastructure, teachers and access to education the State is among the top States.
Though the learning outcomes in public schools are better than in private schools, in the overall learning outcomes Tamil Nadu is placed in the 17th position.
The average pupil-teacher ratio and the pupil-classroom ratio is lower than the national average.
Tamil Nadu and Kerala were placed the best in education by the Niti Aayog School education quality index in 2017.
Education was always seen as a vehicle for social mobility. As early as in 1930 Periyar included compulsory education in the 14- point programme of the Justice Party.
Similarly, in health parameters such as the infant mortality rate (IMR) and the maternal mortality rate (MMR), Tamil Nadu stands way above most States, including among SCs and other lower castes. It is among the few states in India to achieve the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals in IMR and MMR. To illustrate, the IMR among upper castes in UP in 2015-16 was 60.2 points while for the SCs in Tamil Nadu it was 23.6 points.
Staffing at health centres is also one of the highest in the country.
The number of medical colleges in 2014 is higher than the recommended norm.
The number of allopathic doctors per million is the second highest.
The state has higher average of nurses than the national average. Vacancies in PHCs are much lower than in other states.
The per capita expenditure on health is in the third position after Kerala and Punjab.
In Tamil Nadu the percentage of women delivering at a public health facility and not at home, is 99.
Primary Health Centres, the basic unit of public health services, and Community Health Centres cover more population than in other states.
In other words the health of the people regardless of differences in Tamil Nadu is far more robust.
If the numbers mentioned above are impressive it is partly due to policy making since the days of the Justice Party. The party fought the 1921 election on two planks, one of them being health and education for all.
The Madras Presidency was the first province in British India to pass a Public Health Act in 1939 which placed the responsibility for provision of public health services, including maternal and child health, in the hands of the state.
Even when other states merged public health services with medical services in 1950s, Tamil Nadu retained its separate character of public services. While health services increasingly became curative in nature in other places, serving those who can pay, the state continued to concentrate on public health with universalist intent.
The reason why Tamil Nadu could sustain a wide and stable network of health services is that it has an incentive structure to retain professionals in the public health system, while other states faced an exodus of staff to private hospitals or foreign countries.
The way the public health services in Tamil Nadu is structured needs special mention as it explains the efficiency of the system. The state offers 50% quota for in-service staff in medical postgraduate courses. On completion of the course the candidates availing the quota will have to work in public hospitals for three years. This rule has ensured that doctors work in rural areas.
The state has a distinct public health cadre for which candidates with MBBS background are appointed through the public service commission. They are required to pick up a diploma in public health. Thus, there is a strong force of 36,000 personnel dedicated to public health, about 42% of the total health force in the state. This department offers distinct incentive structure with internal promotion opportunities.
Similarly, a village health nurse (VHN) who manages sub-centres is recruited from anganwadi workers. They can go on to become the Community Health Nurse and retire as District Maternal and Child Health Officer.
Schemes offering the benefit of ₹18000 to first two pregnancies to every woman in the state have ensured the required maternal and child care. A higher percentage of women, especially from the lower classes, avail the public health services, which reduces their out-of- pocket expenses.
The state also has an early and transparent record of procuring and distributing drugs to the needy. Drugs and diagnostic services are also offered at prices much cheaper than the market rates.
Thus the access to public health services is more equitable and efficient than in other states.
Tamil Nadu also launched a state-funded health insurance scheme for the poor that enabled them to access private healthcare since 2006.
Best but not diverse
The authors recognise Kerala as having the best human development indices, but it lacks the diversified productive base that Tamil Nadu built, which merits comparison with Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Though the authors don't offer a comparative analysis of the political and policy processes in the western states and the southern states, their thesis suggests that Tamil Nadu's achievements are attributable to the path of socially inclusive modernisation its political parties followed. It involved what can be loosely called the Dravidian mobilisation of middle and lower castes to address their identity and economic concerns.
Such a mobilisation of castes since the early part of the 20th century is to be understood against the dominating status of elite castes, particularly Brahmins who were overwhelminginly present in the colonial administration and Brahminism in the cultural sphere, evident in the importance given to Sanskrit and Vedic traditions.
According to the authors the Tamil-Dravidian movement, as a counter to the hegemonic influence of the Brahmin-nationalist tradition, evolved over the last century, from the days of Justice Party through the Self Respect Movement, the rational movement of Periyar and later the politics of DMK party and the AIADMK. It played a crucial role in the shaping of the socially inclusive modernisation in Tamil Nadu.
The subnational Dravidian ideology developed in opposition to the nationalist ideology, which was championed by the north Indian Brahmin-Baniya castes. The subnational thinking gave rise to a Dravidian common sense, say the authors, which laid stress on caste-based reservation, broadbasing mobility, regional autonomy and opposition to Hindi because of its links with the spiritual sanction of caste and gender hierarchies.
An important difference between the Dravidian thinking and left-based populism is that while the latter laid stressed on land reforms and distribution, the former developed a common sense that advocated wide access to resources and opportunities via reservation.
It is this thinking that partly explains the State ensuring the highest reservation of 69% in education and employment in the country. Not only did it seek exemption from the cap on 50% reservation set by the Supreme Court, it also passed a bill in the Assembly to the effect.
Interestingly, Tamil Nadu has been able to form a coalition of disparate caste groups in matters of reservation despite differences among them, whereas in UP and Bihar, mobilisations of backward castes and SCs were dominated by specific castes in each of these categories. In other words, the cause of the varied castes could be projected on a common Dravidian platform and the benefits obtained for their members.
The subnational identity seems to have wider acceptance in the State, evident in the spontaneous support of the people for holding jallikattu or protests against NEET. This identity apppears to be stronger than any paricular caste or national identity.
The authors attempt to capture the distinctive feature of the Dravidian parties' policy-making in terms of social popular and economic popular. While the social popular consisted in ensuring the rights of the backward castes and SCs to access basic goods like education and health, the economic popular lay in providing people material goods like loan waivers, laptops to students, bicycles to girl students and other goods that are dubbed as "freebies".
Social popular measures such as reservation can ensure material benefits like jobs and economic popular can translate into social empowerment when students partake in noon meal or cycle to school.
Some of the notable policy decisions of the DMK and the AIADMK over the years include establishing the first Backward Classes Commission in India in 1967, reservation for rural students and first generation graduates in higher education, enactment of the Equal Inheritance Act for daughters, encouraging self respect marriages, giving rights to tenants to claim titles of agricultural land and abolishing hereitary posts and appointing village administrative officers through the public service commission.
In assessing the Dravidian model of development in Tamil Nadu, the authors give credit to the self-respect movement that was critical to creating 'capacities to aspire' for development. The lower castes in the state, unlike in other states, could assert their right to educate and uplift themselves and demand the conditions for development.
Tamil Nadu also has to its credit constituting the first panel, the Rajamannar Committee, in 1969 to review the centre-state fiscal relations. It recommended more taxation powers to regional governments. Time and again it has been pointed out that Tamil Nadu like Gujarat and Maharashtra has been contributing a higher share to the Central Government tax revenue, but receives much less compared to more populated states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which carry more political weight by virtue of the number of parliamentary seats.
Economic growth in the state rose from a mere 2.1% in the 1960s to 6.2% only in the 1990s after the market reforms. It crossed 8% in 2000-14 , the same rate as Maharashtra, but less than that of Gujarat.
Despite a steep fall in the share of agriculture from 52% in 1960-61 to 7.4% in 2014-15, the state has the highest productivity in maize, groundnut and oilseeds.
The share of manufacturing has come down, but Tamil Nadu is still one of most industrialised states. Also, there are other positives like the state being more labour intensive, especially in leather, textiles and automobile sectors compared to Gujarat and Maharashtra. The units are more spatially distributed.
The services sector has seen steady growth, accounting for 67% of state's income in 2014-15, higher than all India's 58 %.
While the upper castes continue to be in the control of large enterprises, the lower castes have been able to own medium and small ones. OBCs own 67% of units while Dalits own 18%.
As per the Economic Census 2013–14, one out of every four Dalit enterprises in the ‘20–99 workers’ category is located in Tamil Nadu.
As per the 2018 report of National Council of Applied Economic Research Tamil Nadu has the best index for investment potential after New Delhi.
The state achieved 100% rural electrification in 1970s itself and has the third largest installed capacity of power after Gujarat and Maharashtra. Renewable energy accounts for 40% of energy produced.
Though Tamil Nadu and West Bengal had a sound industrial base at the end of the colonial period, the latter failed to develop it further whereas the state made a pitch for modernisation and industrialisation since the beginning of the 20th century. The Justice Party passed the State Aid to Industries Act in 1923. The missionaries had a role in training the lower caste youth in certain sectors like hosiery, which later contributed to Tiruppur becoming a major hub of production.
The authors' contention is that even with a robust democracy and a well entrenched bureaucracy the development parameters of some parts of India are comparable only to a few Sub-Saharan countries and are lower than Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, whereas States like Tamil Nadu and Kerala are comparable to Asian countries, presumably the well to do in East Asia.
Focussing on Tamil Nadu, the book says the State has done better than most States in India, especially in the areas of education and healthcare.
Citing recent studies with plenty of data, the book says Tamil Nadu like Maharashtra and Kerala has crossed the take-off stage and is comparable to developed countries in diversifying its sources of growth.
Ever since India adopted economic reforms in 1990s different states have been mobilising their resources for investments. The Western region, especially Maharashtra and Gujarat and the southern region, particularly Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Karnataka have succeeded in drawing investors and grown at an impressive rate.
Economists have debated the paths a state can take for an inclusive development. In the famous debate between Jagdish Bhagwati and Amartya Sen, the former argued for a growth-centric model that will eventually ensure distribution through the trickle- down effect, while Sen made a case for investments in human capabilities first that can contribute to economic development eventually.
While one cites the Gujarat model for rapid development, the other draws from the experience of Tamil Nadu and Kerala to argue why investments in public health and education are necessary for an inclusive growth.
One major difference why the two southern states could achieve inclusive development is that over decades they have drawn power from the lower classes by offering services such as the Public Distribution System, noon meal scheme in schools and other welfare schemes.
West Bengal and Bihar in contrast have also been mobilising of power from the lower classes but they have not shown much progress in human development.
Tamil Nadu could achieve a level of inclusive development only because of a subnational trajectory that was guided by the Tamil- Dravidian identity.
The authors in citing studies to make this point acknowledge that the studies highlight the limitations of the populist measures but say that the studies do not take into account the State's ability to sustain more inclusive growth in the post-reform period. The book claims that Tamil Nadu not only reduced the poverty levels but also ensured high per capita incomes, higher than the all-India rate.
Tamil Nadu's human development unlike that of Kerala was backed by expansion of productive sectors. West Bengal neither revived the industrial base it inherited from the colonial period nor improve upon the human development indicators despite implementing land reforms.
Maharashtra and Gujarat have done well on the growth front but are behind Tamil Nadu in human development. So Tamil Nadu compared to all these States has well done in growth, human development, income and reduction in poverty. To illustrate, the incidence of poverty in the State has come down from over 50% in the 1960s to 6% in 2011-12.
More importantly, the poverty rate among SCs has come down by 43 percentage points, which ranks it better than Maharashtra and Gujarat.
As early as in 1960s Tamil Nadu's poverty levels were higher than the national average, but its per capita income was also higher than in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Tamil Nadu's per capita income grew from 14% higher than the national average in 1960s to 155% of the all-India average in 2010s. In 2014 Tamil Nadu occupied the second position among all States.
It fares better than Maharashtra and Gujarat also in diffusion of economic growth, which gives an indication of the inequality level in the different societies.
With higher population shifting to the industrial sector from agriculture, which contributes less than 8% to the State's income, the level and diversity of industrialisation achieved is one of the highest.
Manufacturing is labour intensive in textiles, garments, automobiles and leather industry in Tamil Nadu, which occupies the third position after Maharashtra and Gujarat in gross value added.
The State has the highest employment in the organised and unorganised sectors.
Termed as the 'Detroit of the south' Chennai accounts for 35% of automobile production in the country. Tamil Nadu along with Karnataka and Telengana is responsible for 60% of ITES exports from India.
Tamil Nadu ranks among the top five in public governance indices such as infrastructure, social delivery, fiscal performance, law and order, judicial service, quality of legislature. In provision of roads, electricity and telecom, it is rated third and in renewable energy it figures among the top nine States.
The literacy rate, reduction in gender gap in literacy and improvement in enrolment in school and higher education, including among the SCs and the STs have all improved significantly and places the state on par with Maharashtra and Gujarat or above them.
The state has also achieved universal coverage in retaining children in schools across caste groups.
In terms of infrastructure, teachers and access to education the State is among the top States.
Though the learning outcomes in public schools are better than in private schools, in the overall learning outcomes Tamil Nadu is placed in the 17th position.
The average pupil-teacher ratio and the pupil-classroom ratio is lower than the national average.
Tamil Nadu and Kerala were placed the best in education by the Niti Aayog School education quality index in 2017.
Education was always seen as a vehicle for social mobility. As early as in 1930 Periyar included compulsory education in the 14- point programme of the Justice Party.
Similarly, in health parameters such as the infant mortality rate (IMR) and the maternal mortality rate (MMR), Tamil Nadu stands way above most States, including among SCs and other lower castes. It is among the few states in India to achieve the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals in IMR and MMR. To illustrate, the IMR among upper castes in UP in 2015-16 was 60.2 points while for the SCs in Tamil Nadu it was 23.6 points.
Staffing at health centres is also one of the highest in the country.
The number of medical colleges in 2014 is higher than the recommended norm.
The number of allopathic doctors per million is the second highest.
The state has higher average of nurses than the national average. Vacancies in PHCs are much lower than in other states.
The per capita expenditure on health is in the third position after Kerala and Punjab.
In Tamil Nadu the percentage of women delivering at a public health facility and not at home, is 99.
Primary Health Centres, the basic unit of public health services, and Community Health Centres cover more population than in other states.
In other words the health of the people regardless of differences in Tamil Nadu is far more robust.
If the numbers mentioned above are impressive it is partly due to policy making since the days of the Justice Party. The party fought the 1921 election on two planks, one of them being health and education for all.
The Madras Presidency was the first province in British India to pass a Public Health Act in 1939 which placed the responsibility for provision of public health services, including maternal and child health, in the hands of the state.
Even when other states merged public health services with medical services in 1950s, Tamil Nadu retained its separate character of public services. While health services increasingly became curative in nature in other places, serving those who can pay, the state continued to concentrate on public health with universalist intent.
The reason why Tamil Nadu could sustain a wide and stable network of health services is that it has an incentive structure to retain professionals in the public health system, while other states faced an exodus of staff to private hospitals or foreign countries.
The way the public health services in Tamil Nadu is structured needs special mention as it explains the efficiency of the system. The state offers 50% quota for in-service staff in medical postgraduate courses. On completion of the course the candidates availing the quota will have to work in public hospitals for three years. This rule has ensured that doctors work in rural areas.
The state has a distinct public health cadre for which candidates with MBBS background are appointed through the public service commission. They are required to pick up a diploma in public health. Thus, there is a strong force of 36,000 personnel dedicated to public health, about 42% of the total health force in the state. This department offers distinct incentive structure with internal promotion opportunities.
Similarly, a village health nurse (VHN) who manages sub-centres is recruited from anganwadi workers. They can go on to become the Community Health Nurse and retire as District Maternal and Child Health Officer.
Schemes offering the benefit of ₹18000 to first two pregnancies to every woman in the state have ensured the required maternal and child care. A higher percentage of women, especially from the lower classes, avail the public health services, which reduces their out-of- pocket expenses.
The state also has an early and transparent record of procuring and distributing drugs to the needy. Drugs and diagnostic services are also offered at prices much cheaper than the market rates.
Thus the access to public health services is more equitable and efficient than in other states.
Tamil Nadu also launched a state-funded health insurance scheme for the poor that enabled them to access private healthcare since 2006.
Best but not diverse
The authors recognise Kerala as having the best human development indices, but it lacks the diversified productive base that Tamil Nadu built, which merits comparison with Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Though the authors don't offer a comparative analysis of the political and policy processes in the western states and the southern states, their thesis suggests that Tamil Nadu's achievements are attributable to the path of socially inclusive modernisation its political parties followed. It involved what can be loosely called the Dravidian mobilisation of middle and lower castes to address their identity and economic concerns.
Such a mobilisation of castes since the early part of the 20th century is to be understood against the dominating status of elite castes, particularly Brahmins who were overwhelminginly present in the colonial administration and Brahminism in the cultural sphere, evident in the importance given to Sanskrit and Vedic traditions.
According to the authors the Tamil-Dravidian movement, as a counter to the hegemonic influence of the Brahmin-nationalist tradition, evolved over the last century, from the days of Justice Party through the Self Respect Movement, the rational movement of Periyar and later the politics of DMK party and the AIADMK. It played a crucial role in the shaping of the socially inclusive modernisation in Tamil Nadu.
The subnational Dravidian ideology developed in opposition to the nationalist ideology, which was championed by the north Indian Brahmin-Baniya castes. The subnational thinking gave rise to a Dravidian common sense, say the authors, which laid stress on caste-based reservation, broadbasing mobility, regional autonomy and opposition to Hindi because of its links with the spiritual sanction of caste and gender hierarchies.
An important difference between the Dravidian thinking and left-based populism is that while the latter laid stressed on land reforms and distribution, the former developed a common sense that advocated wide access to resources and opportunities via reservation.
It is this thinking that partly explains the State ensuring the highest reservation of 69% in education and employment in the country. Not only did it seek exemption from the cap on 50% reservation set by the Supreme Court, it also passed a bill in the Assembly to the effect.
Interestingly, Tamil Nadu has been able to form a coalition of disparate caste groups in matters of reservation despite differences among them, whereas in UP and Bihar, mobilisations of backward castes and SCs were dominated by specific castes in each of these categories. In other words, the cause of the varied castes could be projected on a common Dravidian platform and the benefits obtained for their members.
The subnational identity seems to have wider acceptance in the State, evident in the spontaneous support of the people for holding jallikattu or protests against NEET. This identity apppears to be stronger than any paricular caste or national identity.
The authors attempt to capture the distinctive feature of the Dravidian parties' policy-making in terms of social popular and economic popular. While the social popular consisted in ensuring the rights of the backward castes and SCs to access basic goods like education and health, the economic popular lay in providing people material goods like loan waivers, laptops to students, bicycles to girl students and other goods that are dubbed as "freebies".
Social popular measures such as reservation can ensure material benefits like jobs and economic popular can translate into social empowerment when students partake in noon meal or cycle to school.
Some of the notable policy decisions of the DMK and the AIADMK over the years include establishing the first Backward Classes Commission in India in 1967, reservation for rural students and first generation graduates in higher education, enactment of the Equal Inheritance Act for daughters, encouraging self respect marriages, giving rights to tenants to claim titles of agricultural land and abolishing hereitary posts and appointing village administrative officers through the public service commission.
In assessing the Dravidian model of development in Tamil Nadu, the authors give credit to the self-respect movement that was critical to creating 'capacities to aspire' for development. The lower castes in the state, unlike in other states, could assert their right to educate and uplift themselves and demand the conditions for development.
Tamil Nadu also has to its credit constituting the first panel, the Rajamannar Committee, in 1969 to review the centre-state fiscal relations. It recommended more taxation powers to regional governments. Time and again it has been pointed out that Tamil Nadu like Gujarat and Maharashtra has been contributing a higher share to the Central Government tax revenue, but receives much less compared to more populated states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which carry more political weight by virtue of the number of parliamentary seats.
Economic growth in the state rose from a mere 2.1% in the 1960s to 6.2% only in the 1990s after the market reforms. It crossed 8% in 2000-14 , the same rate as Maharashtra, but less than that of Gujarat.
Despite a steep fall in the share of agriculture from 52% in 1960-61 to 7.4% in 2014-15, the state has the highest productivity in maize, groundnut and oilseeds.
The share of manufacturing has come down, but Tamil Nadu is still one of most industrialised states. Also, there are other positives like the state being more labour intensive, especially in leather, textiles and automobile sectors compared to Gujarat and Maharashtra. The units are more spatially distributed.
The services sector has seen steady growth, accounting for 67% of state's income in 2014-15, higher than all India's 58 %.
While the upper castes continue to be in the control of large enterprises, the lower castes have been able to own medium and small ones. OBCs own 67% of units while Dalits own 18%.
As per the Economic Census 2013–14, one out of every four Dalit enterprises in the ‘20–99 workers’ category is located in Tamil Nadu.
As per the 2018 report of National Council of Applied Economic Research Tamil Nadu has the best index for investment potential after New Delhi.
The state achieved 100% rural electrification in 1970s itself and has the third largest installed capacity of power after Gujarat and Maharashtra. Renewable energy accounts for 40% of energy produced.
Though Tamil Nadu and West Bengal had a sound industrial base at the end of the colonial period, the latter failed to develop it further whereas the state made a pitch for modernisation and industrialisation since the beginning of the 20th century. The Justice Party passed the State Aid to Industries Act in 1923. The missionaries had a role in training the lower caste youth in certain sectors like hosiery, which later contributed to Tiruppur becoming a major hub of production.
November 18, 2025
8.7/10
In left wing and developmentalist circles, I am surprised that Tamil Nadu gets so little traction. I suppose because the Dravidian model does not come from the policies of a classic communist or socialist regime, it is ignored, to everyone’s detriment. The case of Tamil Nadu’s development should be studied for U.S. application, let alone in backwards north India.
It is not often one finds a governing ideology that champions affirmative action as much as ‘Dravidianism’ does. The Indian poor, like in the U.S. and elsewhere, are disproportionately historically disadvantaged groups (the lower castes). This means both greater poverty and lack of access to skill advancement and jobs outside of menial labor. The Dravidian nationalist/”Stand Upright Movement” sought to eradicate this shameful disparity and do away with such backwards ideas with comprehensive affirmative action and universal policies guaranteeing food, education, healthcare, employment, etc.
This goal, utilizing all the methods and tools of any other third world developmental regime, has been achieved to a great extent. Tamil Nadu is far and away better than most of India in terms of all major human development metrics. Investing in human’s capabilities and guaranteeing their material security, unsurprisingly, produces great results. Beyond this, the traditional caste inequalities of society, still so rampant and ugly in north India, are being reduced to an incredible extent. Tamil Nadu is, overall, an inspiring case.
Books like these teach me two lessons. The first is the practical steps required to achieve mass prosperity, as investing in everything that makes people maximize their potential is key (socialism). The second lesson is the need to know that these things are possible, even in a country like the U.S. Pessimism about our ability to fight racism and poverty (deeply interconnected) falls apart in the face of cases like Dravidian development, and the results will be just as astonishing when these policies are pursued in our country
In left wing and developmentalist circles, I am surprised that Tamil Nadu gets so little traction. I suppose because the Dravidian model does not come from the policies of a classic communist or socialist regime, it is ignored, to everyone’s detriment. The case of Tamil Nadu’s development should be studied for U.S. application, let alone in backwards north India.
It is not often one finds a governing ideology that champions affirmative action as much as ‘Dravidianism’ does. The Indian poor, like in the U.S. and elsewhere, are disproportionately historically disadvantaged groups (the lower castes). This means both greater poverty and lack of access to skill advancement and jobs outside of menial labor. The Dravidian nationalist/”Stand Upright Movement” sought to eradicate this shameful disparity and do away with such backwards ideas with comprehensive affirmative action and universal policies guaranteeing food, education, healthcare, employment, etc.
This goal, utilizing all the methods and tools of any other third world developmental regime, has been achieved to a great extent. Tamil Nadu is far and away better than most of India in terms of all major human development metrics. Investing in human’s capabilities and guaranteeing their material security, unsurprisingly, produces great results. Beyond this, the traditional caste inequalities of society, still so rampant and ugly in north India, are being reduced to an incredible extent. Tamil Nadu is, overall, an inspiring case.
Books like these teach me two lessons. The first is the practical steps required to achieve mass prosperity, as investing in everything that makes people maximize their potential is key (socialism). The second lesson is the need to know that these things are possible, even in a country like the U.S. Pessimism about our ability to fight racism and poverty (deeply interconnected) falls apart in the face of cases like Dravidian development, and the results will be just as astonishing when these policies are pursued in our country
June 13, 2021
This books gives perspective to the reader, about the importance of ideologies of the government the influences the schemes that would affect the micro and macro indicators of the economics. For example, the equality democracy self respect and self reliance of the person is micro level and self reliance of the state Is macro level. Democratizing education and business will encourage the earning power of each citizen and the states development which can be measured through economic indicators such as per capita income, gross enrolment ratio, assets and liabilities of agriculture and non-agriculture households and gdp, growth rate, trade budget defeciets, inflation...etc...so ideology and socio- economic development are married to each other is the essence of the book
May 6, 2024
Lot of stats and references. Found it a lil difficult to read. I wish the authors had taken the approach to tell a story like South vs North.
But this book is packed with a lot of data. The outcomes are known today. But it outlines thru several data points and references about these outcomes and gives a solid base for the Dravidian Model.
People think Dravidian Model is an instrument of DMK. It is only because DMK in govt has been the most forceful in implementing this. But it belongs to both the large parties of TN and also inherited from the legacy of Periyar and the Justice party.
All in all a good read.
But this book is packed with a lot of data. The outcomes are known today. But it outlines thru several data points and references about these outcomes and gives a solid base for the Dravidian Model.
People think Dravidian Model is an instrument of DMK. It is only because DMK in govt has been the most forceful in implementing this. But it belongs to both the large parties of TN and also inherited from the legacy of Periyar and the Justice party.
All in all a good read.
March 11, 2025
Detailed writeup on how Tamil Nadu progressed with its own social reformist movements. Rich inclusion of statistics.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews