Coimbatore Conference

It was real galaxy of eminent leaders in the Conference in

Coimbatore. The Campaign for Electoral Reforms in India (CERI)
organized the Tamilnadu Western Regional Conference at the
Nirmala College in Coimbatore. Tamilnadu has changed
tremendously from the time the State Conference was held in
Chennai a year ago. The highlight of the day was that M C Raj did
not need to reply to many questions that were raised about
Proportionate Electoral System. There were many in the audience
who were able to take up the questions by themselves and answer
them as experts. Astonishing development! This is a clear indication
that people have become truly serious about electoral reforms
towards the proportionate electoral system.

What else! Even the former Chief Election Commissioner of

Tamilnadu, Mr. Naresh Gupta who flew from Chennai asserted that
the Election Commission of India has expended its energy on
conducting elections in India without corruption and violence but
has never focused its attention on the possibility of introducing
another system. The commission never exercised itself on reflecting
whether what it was doing for good for India or not. This never
occurred to the Election Commission. It is time that all of us begin
an exercise on this. “I am very happy that CERI has started this
process through serious researches on different electoral systems
by Mr. M C Raj”. Hey, that was something to have come from
Mr.Naresh Gupta IAS. Earlier it was Mr. Lyngdoh, the former Chief
Election Commissioner of India who thundered that he is for full
proportionate electoral system in India. He did this in the Andhra
Pradesh Conference.

But more interesting than Mr. Naresh Gupta were the other stellar
assertions by other stars of the day. Prominent among them was
Professor Rahmatulla who is the leader of the Tamilnadu
Progressive Muslim Front. He had come with some of his followers
and remained through the whole day till the end. He was in his
elements and pledged that the Front will be part and parcel of CERI
till proportionate electoral system comes to India. Wow! This is
something Professor! Let your tribe increase. Not to be outdone was
Sudar Ozhi Sundaram from the Irular community in Tamilandu. They
are an indigenous people in India. Discovery Channel has presented
them as the snake catching tribe of India. He asserted the right of
the Indigenous people of Tamilnadu to be an essential part of CERI.

Trends have changed now, drastically for that matter. CERI does not
have to ask people to join the Campaign. They are openly asserting
that they want to be part of this Campaign. Hare Wa, what a turn
around this is!
It is not isolated you know! There was a chain, a chain of positive
energy and assertion. Neelavendan of Adi Tamilar Peravai, which is
the official Forum of the Bhangi people in Tamilandu not only
asserted its right to be part of CERI but also convinced many others
that this is the need of the hour in India for all those who want to
see equality and dignity in the governance mechanism of India. He
is a young man who has his head and heart in the right place. A
promising youngster! Raj took it as a point to proudly announce to
the audience that was more than 175 that he is now dispensable in
the Campaign as Gurusamy, another leader from the Bhangi
community took on himself the mission of clarifying all questions
about PR system. Oh, this Campaign will be carried on now by many
others. Sorry Raj, we may not need you for too long now.

Of course there was Mr. Chumber from Punjab who travelled all the
way to Coimbatore only to participate in the Conference and
Kristine’s presence was an added advantage as she is from Sweden,
a country that has one of the best PR systems in the world today.
But do not forget that the Netherlands has the best Proportionate
Electoral System in the world today.

It was also a very interesting phenomenon in the Conference of CERI

to have a full pledged Ghandian, the former Vice Chancellor of
Gandhi Gram University to assert that this is what Gandhi also
wanted for India. He was an elderly person but was a post modernist
in his outlook. He said that everything that made itself irrelevant for
today should be thrown out lock, stock and barrel including some
ideas of Gandhi. But Gandhi was clear on transferring political power
to the villages. Mr. Markandan, the Vice Chancellor was categorical
in his statement that the Proportionate Electoral System will fulfill
the dream of Gandhi for the poor of India. A hard bargain indeed! If
Gandhi can turn in his grave towards the proportionate electoral
system the fate of India would turn many times in favor of the
marginalized poor of India. Gandhi, will you do it now in your grave
after going on a fast unto death to deny separate electorate for
Dalits? If only you did not use the most violent weapon in your
hands, the fast unto death, we Dalits would have been different
type of dignified citizens in this country. We shall now atone for your
obvious sins against Dalits.

The release of CERI Manifesto in Tamilnadu and the serious planning

that all the participants did to carry the Campaign forward in their
respective Districts faded into oblivion with the type of involvement
of the students of Nirmala College who organized, volunteered and
took the whole event into their hands. With this we have also got a
very powerful presence of Christians in the Campaign. One by one,
slowly but steadily the Campaign will march forward. People of
India, not for me and not for you but for our country let us join
hands to bring proportionate electoral system to ensure the
representation of all peoples in the Instruments and Mechanisms of
governance.