“Social Freedom is the ultimate Freedom” – Dr.B.R.Ambedkar

• In a society filled with discrimination & Inequality, the basis for social justice is to create greater opportunities for all oppressed classes.The focus should be in creating equalising institutions and mechanisms that narrow the gap between the privileged and lower classes.  They should be given education, employment and access to political authority with affirmative action and due representation.It may take at least 200 years at a minimum for a class of people who have been oppressed for over 2000 years to rise to the level of the privileged classes. Until then, we must pursue social justice for them.

• Women are equal to men not only in numbers, but also in ability,  intellectual capacity and performance.But for millennia we have kept them confined to domestic life citing religion, scriptures, rituals and tradition. Even today in the 21st century it is widely believed that women are created to service men  are widely treated as untouchables during menopause, and looked upon as lower than men in social standing.This messaging has been infused and propagated across Cinema, Television and Literature. This is a great injustice to womanhood.It is time we stop treating women as toys for men and start treating them as flesh and blood.They have been bestowed with all qualities to function efficiently in society at par with man. Given the right opportunity and representation, they will shine brighter.

• A society is for every person and hence by extension, social justice should be sought for every person who is part of the society. Most of the times, policies and projects are not designed keeping in mind the differently abled and people of the other gender.If there are any such policies or projects the benefits rarely reach them.It is the vision of Dream TN team to set this right.We will push for inclusive agenda in all policies and projects and will reach out the marginalised in the society, ensuring a equitable Tamil Society.

• Reservation in itself is not Social Justice. Caste is a social disease and reservation only eases the severity of the pain and does not act as a vaccine.Our ultimate goal is a moral society free of inequality and discrimination. We can only achieve that through social justice.

• At the same time, we should be clear that Social Justice is not a concession that is granted on the basis of caste, religion or race. It is a “Right” earned by the oppressed.A class of people who have been oppressed for over 2000 years across levels of society have naturally earned this right.It should never be said that we gave social justice to them as a concession or a grant.That is to say, we are insulting the self-esteem of the oppressed!

• Social justice should by no means be viewed as against “merit”. In fact, those who have benefited from social justice and come to the forefront are among the key players in India’s development. The best example is Dr.B.R.Ambedkar. Ambedkar completed his undergraduate and graduate studies with a scholarship from King Sayajirao Gaekwad of Baroda, who was committed to social justice. Today India holds the Constitution drafted by Dr.Ambedkar, one of the longest and most comprehensive anywhere in the world, as its supreme governing document. Our constitution owes its creation to Social Justice.Examples are like these are innumerable and far spread. All of them have moved Indian Society as a whole, a little bit forward.Therefore, the Dream Tamil Nadu movement will not only reject the false propaganda against social justice, but will also dismantle it.

• Social Justice in the context of DreamTN has two major concepts i.e) Reservation and Social Benefits. Reservation  is designed to uplift classes that have been traditionally marginalized or sidelined from being a respected member of the society. In essence it is a mechanism to right the wrongs of the past and uplift the historically oppressed classes.Social benefits like public distribution (ration), free education, Guaranteed Minimum Income, social welfare schemes, subsidised Public transport systems, Subsidised Gas and other subsidies are designed specifically for the upliftment of economically weaker sections.Both of these mechanisims are essential in a democracy that aspires for inclusive development and important to establish a social welfare state.

• The real intent of Social Justice is to achieve Inclusive Growth, i.e) Instead of moving just a small part of the society, say a privileged 1000 people, 10 steps forward, Social Justice aims to move lakhs of people from the society one step forward. This ensures that people at the grassroots level of society are gainfully transformed into a prosperous middle class and ensures that the wealth gap in the society is narrowed down. This is the ultimate goal of DreamTN

“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely…” – Lord Acton

• India is a unique country. The majority of the world’s countries are nation states that profess one culture. But India is a multinational state with multiple cultures. The 28 states that make up the Indian Union each have their unique cultural identity, language, fashion,food and means of worship. Not just in culture, but the geographical landscape and natural resources in these states are different.Consequently the needs of the people in these states also vary.  No wonder India has been described as Subcontinent. For example, Tamil Nadu in the deep south often faces water shortages because it is the lower riparian state for most of its river systems.But the northern state of UttarPradesh faces floods from the river Ganga. Similarly Tamil Nadu is low on Mineral resources like Coal while Bihar and Orissa are very rich in deposits of minerals. Only a government with a strong federal structure can govern such a vast subcontinent. India should be a country with Unity in Diversity. But that should not be considered as uniformity. 

• A Federal government can be one of two types. 1) Dual Federalism & 2) Cooperative Federalism. If the powers devolved to the centre are more than states it is called Dual Federalism. If the powers are equally devolved to both the Central and State governments then it is Cooperative Federalism. Dream Tamil Nadu aims to push for an India with a strong Cooperative Federalism structure.

• A key requisite of Cooperative Federalism is the “Right to Determination” for each state. India was envisioned as a great Democratic republic by its founding leaders. But every government that has since followed aimed at concentrating power at the centre. Over a period of time states rights have been constantly violated and centralisation of power happens en masse. Today the states have lost all rights to levy taxes, frame education and healthcare policies for themselves. This does not bode well for Federalism.

• For all intents and purposes Indian State governments should not be just administrative bodies. In most countries states are formed on the basis of geographical boundaries alone. But as stated above India is unique and each state in the Indian Union is demarcated on the basis of language and each state is the homeland of a distinct national species. Strictly speaking India is a Multinational state composed of various Nation States. It is the aim of Dream Tamil Nadu to incorporate the words “Cooperative Federalism” in Central Govt policy. Adding this one word is the key to winning back everything we have lost in these 70 years.

• Advocating Federalism should be viewed as advocating Separatism. What we aim to achieve is Right to self determination and not Independence. It is not something new or unheard. Strong democracies and republics the world over have been built on the principles of Cooperative Federalism. For example each constituent state of the United States of America is guaranteed right to self determination and its enshrined in their constitution. For India to become a developed nation, the Central Government should devolve more powers to states and should restrict focus to Finance, External Affairs and Defence.The Philosophy of Cooperative federalism is not exclusive, rather it is inclusive. 

• Tamil Nadu has a pivotal role to play in ushering in and raising the question of Federalism in India. Tami Nadu has the privilege of being the first state in independent India to elect a regional party to power rather than a national party. Tamil was the first to raise the slogan “Autonomy in the state and Federalism in the Centre” (மாநிலத்தில் சுயாட்சி, மத்தியில் கூட்டாட்சி).In keeping with this tradition, Dream Tamil Nadu movement champions the cause of a Cooperative Federal system for the Indian Union without political compromises..

• It takes two hands to clap.It is enough if Tamil Nadu alone champions the cause of Federalism. We need to educate and inculcate the spirit of Federalism in our Indian Brothers. Hence Dream Tamil Nadu will take it upon itself to spread the philosophy of Federalism to other states and UTs.

“We have laid down in our constitution that india is secular state. That does not mean irreligion. It means equal respect for all faiths and equal opportunities for those who profess any faith.” – Nehru

• India is renowned world over as a spiritual land. She has given birth to a host of religions over millennia ranging from Jainism, Buddhism,Hinduism, Ajvika, Chawarka to the most recent Sikhism. Other religions from outside the subcontinent like Christianity and Islam have found a toehold here.. No wonder religion is entwined in the lives of Indians. All these religions have contributed to the cultural fabric of this nation Keeping this complex fabric in mind, our forefathers have framed a clearly secular policy based on three principles. Our political leaders should govern keeping these in mind,
  • India will always remain a secular country
  • The rulers and bureaucrats who govern India will always be Secular.
  • The political leaders and bureaucrats should be prepared to protect the people from the corrupting influence of religious extremism

This is also the proposal of Dream Tamilnadu.Ambedkar and Nehru who implemented the Hindu religious reform bill and Kalaingar Karunanidhi who created the Hindu religious and charitable endowments board are our true secular figure heads.

• Under no circumstance will Dream Tamilnadu abandon religious minorities nor will it watch them being treated as second class citizens under any scenario. This will remain an eternal promise of Dream Tamil Nadu to all religious minorities in India. We also believe that Secularism includes respecting and preserving the cultural diversity of religions.

• Fraternity and brotherhood are the foundations of Secularism and nobody understands it better than the people of Tamilnadu.We understand that even though we may pray to different Gods, we are connected as Tamils. If not for the political machinations of a few religious groups, Tamilnadu by and large remains a peaceful state without religious divide.Dream Tamilnadu will stand firmly against any kind of religious extremism that is a threat to this fraternity and brotherhood of Tamils.  

• A non secular or pro religious government policy is detrimental to social justice and economic development. It incites the governing class to divide and oppress men in the name of religion. This makes it impossible to the oppressed to have economic development, leading to an economic disparity in the society. This is why Dream Tamilnadu upholds secularism.

• Dream Tamilnadu believes that Humanity is the supreme God.All members of the Dream Tamilnadu community place humanity above religion, caste and race. We endeavour to see a human as human.

How do we accept when a poison weed is presented to us Jasmine? – Anna

• Dream TN strongly believes that today Tamilnadu owes its economic development and cultural preservation to the two language policy based on “Protect Tamil,Promote English”

• Our affinity to Tamil stems not just from the fact that its our mother tongue, but also because it is one of the oldest living languages with a long history of literature,culture and art associated with it. It is a classical language with documented history spanning about 3000 years.

• We have co opted English as a secondary language because today it is the lingua franca of the world. English has come to be so because of flexibility and adaptive nature. It is an indisputable fact that without learning English, it is hard to function in this globalised world.Countries the world over, especially multi nation states have opted to document culture and social information in English. English is important to unlock world knowledge.This understanding has been the divisive factor in laying the foundation of Tamilnadus rapid growth in Industrial development and Information Technology.It is not necessary to dilute this policy with inclusion of a third language. We believe people are capable enough to learn a third language if and when they need it.

• As a matter of fact, we recommend the Dual Language policy, The mother tongue and English be adopted across India for its overall development like in Tamilnadu.India is a country whose states have been formed on a lingual basis. As such each state has its own language with its unique history and culture. Adopting Hindi has diminished the importance and recognition of these languages. Many native speakers of these languages have lost their identity with the imposition of Hindi. When a language disappears, so does its race. This loss of diversity dampens the cultural identity of India. Dream TN strongly believes that Two Language policy will restore the rich cultural and racial diversity of India 

• When it comes to the question of Official Language for the country, we believe English + Regional Language is good enough. Exchange of Information inside the state between various departments can happen in the regional language and English when needed. Exchange of Information between two different states or between the state and the centre can happen in English. Hindi has no definitive role to play here. The practise of naming Central Government departments in Hindi across India is inconvenience enough that has been thrust on the regional speakers.

• It is important for us to keep using English for external and global communication while we continue to celebrate and preserve our mother tongue. At the same time we should create an environment where learning other languages is accessible  if and when a need arises. Just as we want to protect and propagate Tamil, we should recognise the need for language minorities in our state and create an inclusive environment for them to learn their language. 

• A long term vision for Dream Tamilnadu is to modernize Tamil a language and make it usable in a scientific and globalised world just like English. The vision may seem daunting, but we do not consider it impossible. Many languages world over are trying and some have succeeded in achieving this. We will succeed too. 

The world has enough for everyone’s needs, but not enough for everyone’s greed – Mahatma Gandhi

• India is a diverse country not only in people and culture but also in its natural and environmental landscape .India is blessed with beautiful forests as well as arid deserts. This environmental diversity has to be saved at any cost.

• India’s natural resources continue to be exploited by large corporations and some crony politicians with selfish motives. If this practise of indiscriminate industrial development without regards to environmental preservation continues, we risk leaving a barren India to our future offsprings.An environmental and social arising is the need of the hour to prevent such a scenario. Dream Tamilnadu will be at the forefront of this batter.

• The environment is a complex ecosystem. Forests are the core of a healthy environment fit for human habitation. Animals are the lifeblood of the forests. It is essential to safeguard all these.

• It is not just crony capitalists who destroy forests. If we take a look back at history, it is for the use as Farmland that forests have been destroyed on a large scale. This should not happen any longer. Likewise it is also important that we promote jobs and commercial activity related to environmental protection. Carbon trading is a very good example with huge commercial and economic potential. Dream Tamilnadu will participate and encourage such innovations.

• Preserving the oceans is just as important as conserving forests. The vast oceans house marine life that generate more than   80% of the oxygen needed to sustain this planer. For long the oceans have been treated as a dumping ground for industrial, chemical and plastic waste. This has led to change in sea currents and destruction of marine life which in turn affects the weather and environment. Hence preserving marine biology and wildlife, preventing dumping of waste in the oceans is also a responsibility.

• We have reached a point where we need to have a separate policy of groundwater tapping and usage to ensure water is utilised wisely and equitably in the society. India as a whole is running low on potable water due to environmental mismanagement. Water is public property and is common for everyone.Ground water exploitation is increasing at an alarming rate. The common people should be educated that only the land is private property and not the water beneath it. This should be regulated.

• The native dwellers of a geographical location are the owners of that land. This has to be a legally adopted principle.

• Both environmental impact assessment and social impact assessment are mandatory before implementing any environmental plan. These should be done by Experts with public opinion, not by politicians or bureaucrats..

• The government or a corporate entity is not greater than the citizens. So we should not encourage companies and factories to harm the people and the environment. This needs to be controlled by imposing very high taxes and fines. If such companies and factories are involved in any allegation, there must be a representation of citizens on the panel of officials investigating it. This will help prevent corruption and bring exploitation.We should also recognise the work and contributions of ecologists and stand with them where needed.

• Tamil literature and culture has shown us from time immemorial that the secret to a great life is living in harmony with nature.We as Tamils must pass this learning down to our next generation.

Not everybody who dreams wins, rather only people who act on it win. Let us act on this great dream for the Tamils!