News Tamil Nadu

MIT Sloan MBA, Ph.D Holder DMK Min PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan Sings Paens For Loyola Grad DMK Scion Udhayanidhi Stalin For His Birthday

November 28, 2024
The Commune

DMK Minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan (often referred as PTR), who often boasts about his privileged background, academic credentials and professional accomplishments, has surprised many by taking a distinctly sycophantic tone on the occasion of DMK scion Udhayanidhi Stalin’s birthday. PTR, an MIT Sloan MBA graduate and Ph.D. holder with a career spanning global financial markets, marked the day by releasing a two-page advertisement in the DMK’s mouthpiece Murasoli. This move, is seen as unusual for a leader of his stature, who in fact disses BJP cadres’ admiration for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as sycophancy.

The Advertisement That Outshone All Others

While it seemed to be a contest of sorts among the DMK cadre and minister as to who would outshine the others, some ministers chose modest one-page advertisements to celebrate the Chief Minister’s son, one released a song for the scion’s birthday, PTR went a step further, doubling down with a two-page spread.

It is noteworthy that DMK ministers who were elected as MPs hailed Udhayanidhi during their oath-taking ceremony in parliament earlier this year.

Coming back to the elaborate gesture by PTR, it featured effusive praises for Udhayanidhi, who, in stark contrast to PTR’s Ivy League pedigree, is a graduate of Loyola College with a career in Tamil cinema churning out back-to-back flop film before entering politics.

PTR’s lavish tribute stands out even in a party known for its public displays of loyalty. The advertisement which explains/gives a statement for each vowel in the Tamil language reads,

“November 27 is the day of the dawn of the vowel (uyir ezhuthu)

The one who was born to rule Mother Tamil Nadu!

The illustrious Dravidian son who won against Aryanism

The icon of youth uprising/rebellion!

An unparalleled success story!

The life painting of siblings!

A hero of policy that the town admires!

He is one for everyone!

He is an uplifting hero!

Five-letter mantra! (Udhayanidhi)

Hope for all Tamils!

The Dravidian generation of restless hard work!

You are full of authority!

May you live for many years….“

The advertisement is signed as follows:

P.T.R. Palanivel Thiagarajan

Minister of Information Technology and Digital Services

In your path as long as I am alive…

PTR’s Illustrious Background

PTR who keeps boasting about his academic and professional credentials are hard to match. He graduated in chemical engineering from NIT Trichy, earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in human factors engineering from the University at Buffalo, and later completed an MBA in financial management at the prestigious MIT Sloan School of Management. His professional career spanned top-tier financial institutions, including Lehman Brothers and Standard Chartered, where he apparently held senior leadership roles. He even holds a patent for structured loan commitment transactions.

Despite this, PTR’s political trajectory within the DMK appears increasingly dominated by adherence to the party’s culture of elevating its leadership through public demonstrations of loyalty.

Political Allegiance Over Accomplishment?

PTR who was initially the Finance Minister after the DMK came to power was later made the IT Minister following the leak of his purported audio accusing Chief Minister MK Stalin’s family of making more money in one year than they’ve made during their life time.

Udhayanidhi Stalin, the son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and a prominent DMK figure, is widely seen as the next in line for the party’s leadership. With a comparatively modest academic and professional background, Udhayanidhi has relied on his film career, and family legacy to make his mark in politics. The contrast between his résumé and PTR’s highly credentialed profile underscores the dominance of DMK’s first family.

Critics argue that PTR’s grand advertisement reflects an “element of hereditary slavery,” as some observers have put it. His willingness to publicly sing paeans to a younger colleague, regardless of the latter’s credentials or achievements, raises questions about the subjugation of meritocracy within the party’s internal hierarchy.

A while ago, an interview clipping of PTR Thiagarajan went viral. In the undated interview, PTR is seen saying, “If you run the party for unfit, useless successors, then some talented party will enter the scene and wash you away.”

It is not clear who PTR is speaking about but there is an inkling.

Additionally, PTR did not attend Udhayanidhi’s swearing-in ceremony as Deputy CM of TN and presented very vague reasons for his absence. Whether PTR wrote such a long poem for Udhayanidhi to wash off this embarrassing memory is a thing to ponder.

A Broader Political Culture

The episode is emblematic of a larger trend in Indian politics, where loyalty to dynastic leaders often eclipses individual qualifications or achievements. For a leader of PTR’s caliber to dedicate such an elaborate tribute to Udhayanidhi highlights the power dynamics within the DMK, where the elevation of the family’s younger generation is paramount.

PTR’s family history adds another layer of irony to the episode. He is the grandson of P.T. Rajan, who briefly served as the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency, and the son of P.T.R. Palanivel Rajan, who served as the Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Assembly from 1996 to 2001. His personal accomplishments, combined with his family’s storied political legacy, make his participation in such overt displays of loyalty seem incongruous to many.

The two-page tribute has reignited discussions about the balance between merit and allegiance in Tamil Nadu’s political landscape. 

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