Kamal Haasan mulls southern alliance to fight Delhi

Actor Kamal Haasan, who is set to begin his political journey with a trip across Tamil Nadu preceded by the launch of his party on February 21, has declared an ambition to unite all the southern states under a Dravidian plank to take on the Centre.

The Ramanathapuram native, who will start his tour from former President APJ Abdul Kalam’s residence in the district, has envisaged a larger Dravidian dream by bringing in satraps from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala to form a collective to enhance the region’s bargaining power — both political and economic — with the Centre.

“Some say that the Centre is collecting taxes here (Tamil Nadu) and using it to develop north Indian states. It’s how it works in a joint family,” the actor wrote in his weekly column in a Tamil magazine. “The big brother, who is the breadwinner, will look after the unemployed younger ones. But the younger siblings should not leave him hungry,” he wrote.


“Chandrababu Naidu (CM, Andhra Pradesh), Chandrashekar Rao (CM, Telangana), Siddaramaiah (CM, Karnataka) and Pinarayi Vijayan (CM, Kerala) are all Dravidians,” he added, “If the Dravidian identity is imbibed all over South India, the discrimination (from the Centre) which we complain about now will vanish. Together, our voices will become a loud chorus that will allow us to talk to Delhi.” The Dravidian identity need not be exclusive to Tamils and can be happily shared with people who speak other languages, he added.

The actor has clearly set his eyes on the 2019 LS polls, but only time will tell whether his dream for a National Front-like southern combine becomes a reality.