A selfie with political leaders is commonplace in the age of smart phones. But if you want to click one with the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Vaiko, it will come with a minimum support price of ₹100.
The party on Thursday announced those desiring a selfie with Mr. Vaiko would have to contribute “at least” ₹100. And the party has asked people not to present him shawls, which are a symbol of cultural respect in Tamil Nadu.
In the Dravidian State, courtesy calls will not be complete without presenting a shawl and political leaders greet one another with a shawl. This has become all pervasive. Birthdays, public meetings, book releases and every other auspicious occasion will see an exchange of shawls and one can see mound of shawls in party offices and houses of political leaders.
But Mr. Vaiko has a different take. “I do not have the habit of circulating shawls. I am also not compelling anyone to present me a shawl. My argument is when someone spends ₹200 to buy a shawl, he can pay the money to the party to take a selfie,” he told The Hindu .
Books over shawls
In the past, DMK leader M. Karunanidhi once requested the party men to present him books instead of shawls and when the DMK was in power, books were presented to participants in government functions. Mr. Stalin also made a similar announcement, but it was not followed. However, it was the DMK that launched the habit of presenting shawls to leaders and dignitaries.
“The objective was to give a fillip to the sale of handloom shawls. The party even adopted a resolution that only handloom shawls should be presented to leaders. The resolution was also particular that the party flag also should be made of handloom cloth,” said K. Thirunavukkarasu, historian of the Dravidian movement.
Dravidar Kazhagam founder Periyar E.V. Ramasamy used to collect money from his followers for naming their children, signing autographs and attending marriages. “People happily came forward to pay him and all the collections went to the movement’s kitty,” Mr. Thirunavukkarasu recalled. The practice was so popular that a local Tamil Newspaper carried a cartoon of Periyar with rates for various events he would attend. “He also collected money by selling in auction whatever was presented to him,” Mr. Thirunavukkarasu said.
