Letters: Caste out

Apropos T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan's book review "Tamil Nadu's 'non-Brahmin' trinity" (January 6), it must be mentioned that Dravidian parties have done gross injustice to an entire generation in Tamil Nadu. The failure of the people of Tamil Nadu to merge into mainstream India is because of the rigid attitude and mismanagement by these parties over a period of five decades. It was unfortunate that eminent politicians such as the late K Kamaraj could not rein in such erring politicians. A forward-caste citizen could not get any benefits even if his parents' salary was as low as Rs 60 a month, but a backward caste landlord's son would get all the concessions in education, hostel, examination fee, and so on, even if he owns acres of land. It is only caste, not economic criterion, that determines eligibility even today. Even powerful samaritans such as the late M G Ramachandran tried to correct this anomaly, but he too succumbed to political pressures.

The Congress never had the temerity to groom a strong leader, and the splintered political casteist groups that emerged later could not transform the society as graft encompassed the system at all levels.

V Nagarajan Chennai

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