Why the rest of India must learn from TN which is the best

Instead of implementing successful policies from developed southern states like Tamil Nadu in the northern ones, the Centre wants to homogenise. This could be economically catastrophic.

In 1990, India, with a per capita income of $368, and China, with $318, stood on the same ground. Though China had started liberalising in the late 1970s, its growth had not reached peak acceleration yet. But the ensuing 30+ years were clearly China’s era, as its increasing dominance in global manufacturing, trade and currency reserves resulted in probably the greatest wealth creation in history. China’s per capita income has surged to $12,614—about five times India’s current level of around $2,480.

We are now entering a new era, one in which enlightened policy and nimble positioning can produce a few decades of similarly stunning growth and prosperity for India. As China’s role in the global economy declines due to an ageing population, and as global investors and trading partners actively de-risk their China exposure, India can become the new engine of growth for the global economy.

We possess the essential ingredients—the largest pool of young human capital, the capacity for global economic integration (not least through English), and the demographic dividend that can lead to the multiplier effects of increasing domestic consumption. To enhance our per capita productivity, which can yield sustained double-digit growth rates, we must equip millions of young Indians with skills for the integrated global market. The best way to achieve such outcomes throughout India is to extract lessons from the best performing states such as Tamil Nadu, and replicate these policies and practices in states with poorer outcomes, thereby improving the national average.

Instead of applying from the best to the rest, it is unfathomable that our Union government has become fixated on pushing a homogenising agenda on the developed south, thereby risking a decline in the national average, as failed models are thrust upon successful states. Instead, it should be focused almost exclusively on the vital priority of securing the future of our younger generations in the highly populated, high-fertility states of the north, which are the farthest behind the national average. Their wholly misdirected focus appears centred on an ephemeral political ideology that seeks to subjugate diverse identities into a ‘One nation, One profile for 1.4 billion people’ fallacy, instead of actually improving people’s lives and livelihoods. Such prioritisation, of political ambition over core governance responsibilities, creates the risk of an economic catastrophe.

I repeat—the Union government’s foremost priority should be elevating health and educational outcomes, particularly in highly populated states where these metrics lag woefully behind Tamil Nadu’s. What makes the neglect of this priority more troubling is that these underperforming states—Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan—are governed by the much-flaunted ‘double-engine sarkars’. If India’s future is to be stellar, children across all states must thrive educationally. So, we in Tamil Nadu yearn for better outcomes in these regions, where tangible results remain elusive despite the ever-increasing infusion of resources for decades.

The disparity between these states and Tamil Nadu is not merely economic—it is social too. Rather than dictating terms to Tamil Nadu, the Centre would be better served learning how to bridge these gaps through improved healthcare access, promoting greater inclusivity (education for girls, in particular), reducing dropout rates, enhancing skill development, and encouraging higher education.

Instead, they have chosen a path of coercion—threatening Tamil Nadu and holding it hostage by withholding rightful funds—perhaps to distract from their own governance failures? This approach is self-defeating. Anyone who comprehends the broader socio-economic canvas will understand why Tamil Nadu stands at the forefront of resistance—opposing disproportionate delimitation, rejecting the three-language formula, and challenging the systematic erosion of states’ rights in our federal structure.

Of particular concern is the proposed delimitation exercise, which strikes at the heart of fair representation. The principle of ‘no taxation without representation’ seems conveniently forgotten. Despite contributing disproportionately higher taxes to the national exchequer, our state faces the prospect of having its proportional share of parliamentary representation reduced. Having successfully implemented population control measures decades ago as a responsible national policy, we now face being penalised. This would squeeze our voice in national affairs, effectively punishing good governance and demographic responsibility. We are being asked to pay more while having less say—a proposition that no self-respecting democracy should consider.

The Centre’s obduracy suggests they are unwilling to learn from successful models. The benefits accrued by Tamil Nadu’s adoption of the two-language formula are unmistakably evident. As is the storied history of our state’s fierce opposition to having any educational policy (or Hindi) blatantly or surreptitiously imposed upon us. This legacy is in the identity of the Dravidian movement from the days of the Justice Party. Our history is replete with iterations of resistance: from the 1930s and 60s to the late 80s. The Tamils are not people who will buckle under strongarm tactics.

Chief Minister M K Stalin remains resolutely committed to defending our state’s rights, our language and, above all, the future of our younger generations. He has approached this campaign through democratic means—convening an all-party meeting to garner support from every quarter and to channel the prevailing sentiment. He has called for a multi-state conference to form a joint action committee to address these issues with a broad coalition. If the Union government believes that Tamil Nadu will stand politically isolated, they have fundamentally misread the mood of the nation.

It is heartening that the BJP has demonstrated astonishing elasticity when political expediency has required it. For instance, though the prime minister embarked on a welfare-bashing spree denouncing a “revdi culture” in 2023, his party has since been doing exactly what he condemned, in state election after election. In a remarkable yet unsurprising u-turn, they have cloned Tamil Nadu’s model of the Magalir Urimai Thogai repeatedly, promising even higher monthly payouts than Tamil Nadu in Maharashtra and Delhi. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

We remain hopeful that the habit of absorbing lessons from Tamil Nadu will continue, and result in the profound societal and policy reforms that must be implemented to improve educational and health outcomes in the large, ‘double-engine’ northern states. More than any other measure, our country’s future depends on how the youth of these states prosper.

Palanivel Thiaga Rajan

Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services of Tamil Nadu.

Media: The Indian Express