Southern states should demand separate country of ‘Dravida Nadu’, says DMK leader MK Stalin

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) working leader MK Stalin said that the he will welcome the decision if southern states come together and make demands for a separate country of ‘Dravida Nadu’ (Dravida country).

The comment comes within a week of two southern Chief Ministers complaining that the south contributes more in taxes to the Centre than it gets in return.

On asked if the southern states should come together to demand a separate country of ‘Dravida Nadu’, Stalin said, “If it (such a situation) comes, it would be welcome. We hope that such a situation arises.”

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had complained in a column on Friday that the southern states are subsidising more than the northern states but no incentives are given for development.

While Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had complained about the fact that their states give money to the Centre but get nothing in return.

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Stalin’s comments are not much shocking since the DMK, which was founded in 1949, had always wanted a separate country of Dravida Nadu and this was their key goals. However, in 1962, at the time of Indo-China war, the party dropped the idea of Dravida Nadu.

The DMK’s Dravida Nadu aimed at creating a separate state for those in the south. According to the DMK, the south are racially different from the ‘north Indian Aryans’.

The DMK, as an alternative, had also proposed a separate unit of the southern states which will continue to be a part of India but will lease autonomy in finance and governance.