PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI HAS THE RARE ABILITY to visualise the big picture and then, like an artist, proceed to execute it stroke by stroke. As he told India Today in an interview last December, “When I start something, I know the endpoint. But I never announce the final destination or blueprint in the beginning. There is a progressive unfolding of my vision and plans.” On April 9, 10 days before the voting date in Tamil Nadu, the prime minister held a massive road show in Chennai that wended its way through T. Nagar in the heart of the city and, just as it was about to end, declared: “Chennai has won me over.”
The symbolism of the route the prime minister took for his rally wasn’t lost on Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, who is also the president of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and heads the eight-party Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) that is collectively contesting the 39 Lok Sabha seats in the state. At a public meeting in Dindigul the next day, the CM thundered, “Dear PM, do you know how T. Nagar, the place you held your road show yesterday, got its name? It’s named after a Justice Party leader. It’s a Dravidian fort and you think you can showcase your work there?” The Justice Party, founded in 1916, is thought of as the progenitor of the Dravidian movement in Tamil Nadu, among whose founders was Theagaraya Chetty after whom T. Nagar is named. That movement turned political with the formation of the DMK in 1949, which, along with its splinter group—the All India Anna DMK (AIADMK)—has ruled the state alternately since 1967. No national party—not even the Congress—has been able to shake their hold till date.
Denne historien er fra April 22, 2024-utgaven av India Today.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra April 22, 2024-utgaven av India Today.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Sporting Q+A Fella
IN NETFLIX’S VIJAY 69, ANUPAM KHER PLAYS A 69-YEAR-OLD WHO DECIDES TO COMPETE IN A TRIATHLON. THE ACTOR TALKS ABOUT WHY HE CONTINUES TO CHALLENGE HIMSELF
Museum Under the Sky
Photographer Ahtushi Deshpande's passion project, Speaking Stones documents the threatened rock art of Ladakh
Reclaiming Our Archives
Sumana Roy contests the negative connotations regarding provincials in this thought-provoking book
TRAVEL AND ITS DISCONTENTS
Shahnaz Habib's Airplane Mode is asensitive dive into the complex and contentious activity that modern-day travel has devolved into
CELEBRATING WORDS
The sixth edition of the Dehradun Literature Festival promises a convergence of literature, cinema and societal issues
MORE THAN A FILM FESTIVAL
The 13th edition of the Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) is being held November 7-10 at McLeod Ganj in Dharamshala.
HOLDING THE FORT
PANORAMA EDITIONS, AN INTERNATIONAL ART SALON CURATED BY ARTIST SARAH SINGH, RETURNS WITH A UNIQUE THEATRICAL STAGING AND EXHIBITION IN GWALIOR
A HOMECOMING OF SORTS
Indian contemporary artist Subodh Gupta’s exhibition The Way Home pays homage to Bihar, where his roots lie
Art and the City
Mumbai's leading art fair, Art Mumbai, returns to the iconic Mahalaxmi Racecourse, promising a \"bigger, brighter, and more inventive\" experience for art enthusiasts with a thoughtfully curated display of modern and contemporary art from India, South Asia and beyond.
PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS AN OLD MAN
At 99 and still painting, Krishen Khanna is one of our most venerable artists ever