PICTURE SPEAK

RUNNING FOR COVER: Over 4,000 refugees have arrived in Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka over the last few months

History will bear witness to the fact that every time refugees landed in Rameshwaram, most political parties in the state became overnight torchbearers for the "Tamil cause". They would challenge Delhi's foreign policy with regard to Sri Lanka and give shelter to extremist groups in the state. State Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi even resigned from the state Assembly once to express solidarity with the "freedom struggle" of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. But today, most political parties have moved away from their earlier positions, and are beginning to talk a new language. Karunanidhi himself is closer to Delhi than ever before. "I leave it to the Centre to decide on the Sri Lankan issue," he said last week.

At a hurriedly convened meeting of the ruling alliance partners that was held last week in Chennai, the political shift was evident. For the first time six parties spoke in unison asking the Centre to take "adequate steps on the issue", thereby drifting from their earlier positions.

Karunanidhi, in fact, was forced to hold that meeting as his alliance partner, the PMK, had threatened to join forces with Pan-Tamil politicians-Vaiko of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) and Thol Thirumavalavan of the Dalit Panthers of India (DPI)-to stage a rally on June 16 if Tamil Nadu remained a mute spectator to the refugee problem. Though Karunanidhi managed to pull back the PMK and pre-empted a political crisis in the state, PMK President S. Ramadoss has come down heavily on the Centre for its proposed sale of radars to Sri Lanka and said India must play a role to "ensure equal rights to Tamils as well as Sinhalese".

The chief minister also set up a committee to ascertain the conditions of the refugee camps. And their report, which was presented at the meeting, recommends improved amenities, including providing electricity. There are around 60,000 refugees in over 100 relief camps across the state. Karunanidhi also said he had given "clear instructions to the state police to allow only genuine refugees" into Tamil Nadu.

Perhaps the most vocal support for the Sri Lankan Tamils comes from Vaiko and Thirumavalavan, both of whom have been holding rallies with fringe parties. "We should extend support to them (Tamils) as they are our blood brothers," says Vaiko, while Thirumavalavan adds, "Karunanidhi needs to clarify his stand-whether he supports the Sinhalese or the Tamils."

The aiadmk chief J. Jayalalithaa has consistently taken an anti-terrorism stand. Local body elections are due in a few months, and the last thing a defeated alliance needs is a disunited face. But she too said it was best to leave the issue to the Centre. "The Centre should take immediate steps to bring peace in Sri Lanka," she said.

Karunanidhi, once the champion of the Tamil cause, is today reluctant to use the word "Eelam". His predicament may be the result of the political exigencies of the time. The Tamil issue does not evoke as much sympathy as it used to, especially after the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. His party was, in fact, wiped out in the elections that followed. Now, with the Congress supporting his minority government in the state, and the DMK ministers part of the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, Karunanidhi's hands are tied. So, like Dorairanjan in Danushkodi, Karunanidhi too is walking the tightrope in Chennai.

-with inputs from Saravanan