Ex-feudal baron tests clout in Karaikudi for a sixth term

Congress stalwart and former Union finance minister P Chidambaram's envious winning record in Sivaganga, his Lok Sabha pocket borough for seven terms, rested on two feudal pillars. The votes of the mercantile chettiar community he belonged to and the bulk votes that an associate delivered as the "ambalam", or headman, of a "nadu" or a region in the nearby town of Devakottai.
Today the same headman, who belongs to the landowning kallar community, is testing his clout again. In these agrarian parts in southern Tamil Nadu, K R Ramaswamy's writ was the law until recently. Disputes were too often settled not by police and courts but by Ramaswamy. People voted for him out of loyalty and blind faith.
But there are signs of change. For one, his critics point to his defeat in the 2011 polls after five terms as MLA. A larger-than-life leader is passe even for dalits in these parts, says Thangamani, the Kannangudi union secretary of dalit party VCK. Yet, since the DMK has aligned with the Congress along with another dalit party Pudhiya Thamizhagam, Ramaswamy may notch up his 6th win. In other words, a political ally may deliver him a block of votes from a community that was historically a captive voter base.
The memories of the old ways are alive though. At the Congress party office in Devakottai, a chettiar, Appachi Sabapathy, who's helping in the campaign, sees his candidate's role as vital to the social order. He keeps the peace in these parts where a triad of intermediate mukkalathor castes - maravar, kallar and agamudiar - dominate, says Appachi. "Ramaswamy ensures that chettiars are protected and they carry on with their profession - in business and retail trade."
If Ramaswamy is the 'nattar' (countryman) from the nadu, Appachi is the nagarathar (resident) from the urban areas. The nattar-nagarathar alliance was a crucial factor in the Ramaswamy-Chidambaram combination.
Shanmugham, who runs a petty shop in Kannangudi, says Ramaswamy is an honest man who is not just a politician. "We of the nadu are his slaves. If I do anything wrong, he takes action. He stands for what is right. If we need to go to the police station, he tells us," says Subramaniam who works at a ration shop.
Ramaswamy's father, the predecessor ambalam, was also a multi-term Congress MLA who commanded much support and feudal loyalty. So what explains his loss in 2011?
Some say it was due to the erosion of the idea of a feudal lord and his fiefdom. But Ramaswamy believes he lost out to delimitation as the area he had nursed was moved to Karaikudi constituency where other sections are not very familiar with him.
The reasons may differ, but the idea of a benevolent feudal leader is outdated, says Thangamani, the Kannangudi union secretary of dalit party VCK. The leader of today must be accessible, he adds.
Ramaswamy and his supporters seem to be aware of these charges and have sought to set that right by campaigning extensively this time. He himself admits, "Those days are gone. Today, no one can deceive or enslave anyone."
Across the road in Kappalur, opposite K R Ramaswamy's ancestral house, is a dalit colony. "Educated and young pallars won't support him. But the rest of us will all vote for ayya. It is a tradition. If we have a problem, we go to him. They gave us this land many years ago so we could live here," says Subramaniam, who works as a driver in Muscat and has come here on vacation. Just five years ago, Ramaswamy helped to lay a road here -- a cement road that looks only a patch on the better roads here.
But in another dalit settlement some 8km away, Muthuraman says Ramaswamy goes for the status quo in community disputes. "If dalits want temple entry, he would advise restraint. Why create trouble, he would ask," he says.
Activists who have long campaigned against Ramaswamy, say there is opposition not only from dalits but from others from within his community. "Ramaswamy represents oppressive feudal rule. Many people from his own community want a more democratic approach," says Simpson, a CPI(ML) activist. Indeed, in Kannangudi, there is talk of a challenge to Ramaswamy from his kinsmen.
Some 3km from Devakottai is Kandadevi where dalits have been demanding the right to pull the temple car. Nearly 10 years ago, Kandadevi became a flashpoint as a riot broke out during a temple festival with kallars opposing the demand. Since then the dispute has simmered and the temple car is not being pulled. "Still, this year, we will vote for Congress. We know K R Ramaswamy is the kallar ambalam of a nearby nadu, but he is not violent or repressive like others. He follows certain principles and has no corruption charges. Moreover, our leader Krishnaswamy is part of the DMK-Congress alliance," says Jagannathan, a pallar from Mannanvayal.
If the scales were to tilt toward the DMK statewide, Ramaswamy, with his personal standing, may well secure a victory.