The series of suicides happened in a span of two weeks to support the long withstanding demand for CMG in the Cauvery water sharing issue with Karnataka.
Tamil Nadu's tryst with suicides, in particular, through self-immolation for political causes continues unabated with at least five people ending the lives in last fortnight for a political cause including seeking for the formation of the Cauvery Management Board.
Though suicides for political causes and hero worship are prevalent across the country, its frequency and intensity make Tamil Nadu standout.
The centre’s failure to set up the Cauvery Management Board as per the Supreme Court’s February 16 order has not only triggered ragging protests across Tamil Nadu but also a spate of suicides over the Cauvery issue. It started with an autorickshaw driver ended his life on April 4 by consuming rat poison in Salem. Followed by a DMK cadre who jumped from a speeding bus in Tirunelveli, a toy seller in Erode district self-immolated on April 12. MDMK general secretary Vaiko’s nephew R Saravana Suresh torched himself on April 13 over the Cauvery issue and succumbed to the injuries next day. A DMK cadre in Chennai has set himself on fire on April 14 and admitted to a hospital here.
When the Buddhist monks in Vietnam self-immolated as a protest against the US-backed regime in the 1960s shocked the world and also captured the attention of the Tamil youths said Dravidian Movement chronicler K Thirunavukkarasu. The self-immolation become a form of protest tool in independent India when Kizhapazhur Chinnaswamy of Perambalur torched himself during an anti-Hindi agitation of the DMK in 1965, he said. He said that people give up their life for the cause when they see no viable end to the issue. “They are not cowards. But they want to sacrifice their lives to get the attention of all the people,” he said.
Beginning from the anti-Hindi agitation in 1965, cadres of political parties in the state started using the suicides as a tool of protest. In the mid-1980s, AIADMK founder and film star MG Ramachandran hospitalisation and death saw several such suicides. Vaiko’s expulsion from DMK in 1993 and the arrest of DMK leader M Karunanidhi in 2001 led to another round of cadres giving up their lives for their leaders. The state witnessed a series of suicides when late AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa was convicted in a corruption case in 2014.
In between, the Sri Lankan armies alleged atrocities against Tamils in the last phase of the war in 2009 triggered a spate of 17 self-immolations in Tamil Nadu seeking India's intervention to end the genocide.
A study on ideological cause and hero worship (IHW) related suicides trends during 2001-2014 published in Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine in 2016 revealed that out of the 2394 suicides attributed to IHW across the country, 1184 were only from southern states with Tamil Nadu accounting for 612 such suicides. The study which was based on the National Crime Record Bureau data also found that Kerala has a relatively low number of IHW related suicides as compared to other southern states.
"Acts of such suicides related to IHW were commemorated by “Nadu Kal (Stone Inscription),” in temple inscriptions and the kinsman of such suicide victim gained many favours including gifts, grants, and tax-free status. Such examples are richly found in Tamil folklore, songs and passed on from one generation to other via stories and other fine art forms including theatre. Today the yester era's chieftain, commanders, and kings are replaced by politicians and film personalities.It has been reported that IHW suicides, especially ones associated with political functionaries, are unduly publicized by contemporary media reports adding a glamour component to such events. The huge financial enticement to the bereaved family, visit by prominent personalities and media attention may add significantly to such IHW suicide idealisation to others with potential suicidal thoughts or those with vulnerable psycho-social makeup," the study noted.
Stalin Rajangam, a Madurai based scholar said that such suicides were not new for the Tamil Nadu as the ancient Tamil literature has several references to people, warriors and kings giving up their lives. “Political parties are in an indirect way are responsible for such suicides. I am not saying that they are inciting the cadres to commit suicide but they are not training their cadres to approach an issue rationally rather than emotionally. The political parties themselves are approaching the issues including Cauvery dispute in an emotional way,” he said. Strangely, he said that such suicides were highly prevalent in a state where rationalist thoughts were propagated in a big way.
Vaiko has made a fervent plea to his cadre and followers not to end their lives no matter what the issues are and instead live and struggle for the issue. The latest round of suicide for political cause began on March 31 when Vaiko commenced his padayatra from Madurai to Theni opposing the environment clearance to India-based Neutrino Observatory project. An MDMK officer bearer from Sivakasi set himself on fire a few metres away from the stage where Vaiko was addressing a rally.
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