WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.240 Imagine a politician whose, well, whose public 00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:07.540 words were so inflammatory, they allegedly sparked 00:00:07.540 --> 00:00:10.140 literal fires in neighboring villages. Right. 00:00:10.220 --> 00:00:13.359 Actual fires. Yeah. A political candidate who 00:00:13.359 --> 00:00:17.160 in his election year faced the absolute highest 00:00:17.160 --> 00:00:20.359 number of pending criminal cases of anyone on 00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:22.640 his ballot. Like completely off the charts compared 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:25.800 to the others. Exactly. But he still commanded 00:00:25.800 --> 00:00:29.820 this massive, fiercely loyal following. And then 00:00:29.820 --> 00:00:32.380 imagine that after his death, his own family 00:00:32.380 --> 00:00:34.359 stepped in front of the cameras to claim his 00:00:34.359 --> 00:00:37.020 political allies. The very people he helped bring 00:00:37.020 --> 00:00:39.719 to power, mind you. Right. His own family claimed 00:00:39.719 --> 00:00:42.359 those allies orchestrated his demise. I mean, 00:00:42.380 --> 00:00:44.020 it sounds like the plot of a dense political 00:00:44.020 --> 00:00:46.240 thriller, doesn't it? It really does. But it 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:48.579 is actually the documented history of a very 00:00:48.579 --> 00:00:51.060 real, very influential figure in South Indian 00:00:51.060 --> 00:00:53.740 politics. Welcome to today's deep dive. Today 00:00:53.740 --> 00:00:56.159 we're focusing on Jairam and Guru Nathin. Though 00:00:56.159 --> 00:00:58.579 he's far better known to the public as Kaduveri 00:00:58.579 --> 00:01:01.359 Guru. Right, or simply Jai Guru. And we're going 00:01:01.359 --> 00:01:03.380 to explore his life, his turbulent political 00:01:03.380 --> 00:01:06.060 career in India, his extensive legal issues, 00:01:06.180 --> 00:01:09.000 and the massive, I mean, truly massive controversy 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:11.340 that erupted after his death. It's a lot to unpack. 00:01:11.579 --> 00:01:14.140 It is. My mission for you listening today is 00:01:14.140 --> 00:01:16.719 to help you understand how grassroots mobilization, 00:01:17.019 --> 00:01:20.379 caste identity, and political power all intersect. 00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:23.060 And we're looking at all of this through the 00:01:23.060 --> 00:01:26.560 lens of one highly controversial, deeply polarizing 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:29.540 figure. And before we really get into the mechanics 00:01:29.540 --> 00:01:32.099 of it. rise to power, it is important to lay 00:01:32.099 --> 00:01:33.840 down some ground rules for our discussion today. 00:01:33.980 --> 00:01:36.219 Always a good idea with topics like this. Definitely. 00:01:36.439 --> 00:01:38.519 Because the history we are exploring contains 00:01:38.519 --> 00:01:41.540 highly politically charged content. It involves 00:01:41.540 --> 00:01:44.840 accounts of severe caste -based violence, deeply 00:01:44.840 --> 00:01:47.239 inflammatory rhetoric, and intense political 00:01:47.239 --> 00:01:49.859 rivalries. Yeah, it gets very intense. It does. 00:01:49.959 --> 00:01:52.019 Because of this, we want to be perfectly clear, 00:01:52.140 --> 00:01:55.439 our goal here is strict neutrality. Right. We 00:01:55.439 --> 00:01:57.700 are not here to endorse, validate or condemn 00:01:57.700 --> 00:02:00.680 any of the viewpoints, parties or actions we'll 00:02:00.680 --> 00:02:02.959 be discussing. We're just trying to convey the 00:02:02.959 --> 00:02:05.099 ideas contained in the original source material. 00:02:05.379 --> 00:02:08.120 Exactly. We're simply unpacking the factual history 00:02:08.120 --> 00:02:10.360 to help you understand the broader political 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:13.180 mechanics at play in regional politics in India. 00:02:13.819 --> 00:02:17.139 We are just the guides to the history. So let's 00:02:17.139 --> 00:02:19.189 start at the very beginning. The origin story. 00:02:19.430 --> 00:02:23.990 Do it. So Guru was born in February 1961 in a 00:02:23.990 --> 00:02:27.030 small village called Karuveti. Hence the name 00:02:27.030 --> 00:02:29.550 Karuveti Guru. Right. This is in the Aryalur 00:02:29.550 --> 00:02:32.289 district of Tamil Nadu, which is a major state 00:02:32.289 --> 00:02:35.110 in southern India. He belonged to the Vanyar 00:02:35.110 --> 00:02:37.449 community. And that's a prominent... demographic 00:02:37.449 --> 00:02:40.509 group found throughout northern Tamil Nadu. But 00:02:40.509 --> 00:02:43.490 his entry into public life, it wasn't at the 00:02:43.490 --> 00:02:45.449 top. It was very much from the ground up. Very 00:02:45.449 --> 00:02:49.009 grassroots. Yeah. In 1980, he joined the Vanyar 00:02:49.009 --> 00:02:51.250 Sangam, which is an organization representing 00:02:51.250 --> 00:02:53.330 the interests of the Vanyar community. And he 00:02:53.330 --> 00:02:55.090 started as a simple cadre, right? Just a guy 00:02:55.090 --> 00:02:57.110 on the ground, yeah, organizing at the village 00:02:57.110 --> 00:03:01.050 level. That grassroots beginning is crucial to 00:03:01.050 --> 00:03:04.099 understanding his later power. I mean, he didn't 00:03:04.099 --> 00:03:06.280 just parachute into a leadership role with massive 00:03:06.280 --> 00:03:09.120 funding or or family connections. No, he spent 00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:12.020 two decades rising through the ranks of this 00:03:12.020 --> 00:03:14.900 caste organization. And to understand how someone 00:03:14.900 --> 00:03:17.139 does that, you really have to look at the ground 00:03:17.139 --> 00:03:19.639 level mechanics of Indian political history. 00:03:19.800 --> 00:03:22.780 It is all about aggregating local grievances. 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:25.319 Right. A cadre's job is to organize protests, 00:03:25.699 --> 00:03:28.719 demand local resources and basically build a 00:03:28.719 --> 00:03:31.580 patronage network. Over time, if you're effective. 00:03:32.189 --> 00:03:34.490 You become the indispensable voice of your local 00:03:34.490 --> 00:03:36.949 community. And he was very effective. By the 00:03:36.949 --> 00:03:39.969 early 2000s, Guru's effectiveness had propelled 00:03:39.969 --> 00:03:42.409 him to the very top. He became the president 00:03:42.409 --> 00:03:45.110 of the entire Vanir Sangam. So he takes this 00:03:45.110 --> 00:03:47.370 massive social organization and essentially turns 00:03:47.370 --> 00:03:49.810 it into a political weapon. Exactly. And this 00:03:49.810 --> 00:03:51.870 transition from a social and community organization 00:03:51.870 --> 00:03:55.090 to a formal political power structure that is 00:03:55.090 --> 00:03:57.430 a classic mechanism in democratic politics. Yeah, 00:03:57.469 --> 00:04:00.090 because the Patali Makol Kachi Party. Commonly 00:04:00.090 --> 00:04:02.569 known as the PMK. Right. The PMK was actually 00:04:02.569 --> 00:04:05.870 formed directly from the Vanier Syngham. The 00:04:05.870 --> 00:04:08.449 community organization literally birthed the 00:04:08.449 --> 00:04:10.750 political party. They realized that to get the 00:04:10.750 --> 00:04:13.030 systemic changes and the resources they wanted, 00:04:13.110 --> 00:04:15.289 they couldn't just protest outside the government. 00:04:15.449 --> 00:04:17.410 They needed to be inside the legislature. Right. 00:04:17.490 --> 00:04:20.110 And Guru was right at the center of that overlap. 00:04:20.410 --> 00:04:23.470 He represented the PMK party, making the leap 00:04:23.470 --> 00:04:26.269 from community leader to formal political candidate. 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:29.120 He was trying to become an MLA. A member of the 00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:31.199 Legislative Assembly. Right, which is essentially 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:34.350 a state -level representative in India. But his 00:04:34.350 --> 00:04:36.750 electoral track record was an absolute roller 00:04:36.750 --> 00:04:39.250 coaster. Oh, totally. He first tries to win a 00:04:39.250 --> 00:04:41.689 seat in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in 00:04:41.689 --> 00:04:46.050 1996, but he loses. Right. Then in 2001, he runs 00:04:46.050 --> 00:04:48.930 as a PMK candidate from the Andamadam constituency 00:04:48.930 --> 00:04:51.970 and wins. OK, so he's officially an MLA. Yes. 00:04:52.069 --> 00:04:55.509 But then in 2006, he runs for a different constituency, 00:04:55.930 --> 00:04:58.589 John Condom, and he loses to a candidate from 00:04:58.589 --> 00:05:01.850 the AIADMK. And to give you some context on that. 00:05:02.120 --> 00:05:04.680 Tamilandu politics is largely dominated by two 00:05:04.680 --> 00:05:08.420 massive rival regional parties. The AIA -DMK 00:05:08.420 --> 00:05:11.379 and the DMK. Right. Smaller parties like the 00:05:11.379 --> 00:05:14.759 PMK often have to form strategic alliances with 00:05:14.759 --> 00:05:17.399 one of these two giants just to survive. Or to 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:20.279 act as kingmakers, yeah. Exactly. So when alliances 00:05:20.279 --> 00:05:23.860 shift, electoral fortunes swing wildly. That 00:05:23.860 --> 00:05:26.500 explains the constant whiplash he experienced. 00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:29.209 Because he doesn't stop. He runs for that same 00:05:29.209 --> 00:05:32.149 giant condom seat again in 2011 and he wins it 00:05:32.149 --> 00:05:35.129 back. Okay. Then he tries to defend it in 2016 00:05:35.129 --> 00:05:38.730 and comes in second again to the AIADMK. Just 00:05:38.730 --> 00:05:41.110 back and forth. It really is. But perhaps the 00:05:41.110 --> 00:05:43.490 most dramatic swing of his entire career was 00:05:43.490 --> 00:05:46.230 in the 2009 general elections. Right. The record 00:05:46.230 --> 00:05:48.410 defeat. Yeah. Guru stood in the Tiruvannamalai 00:05:48.410 --> 00:05:50.990 constituency and suffered a massive record defeat. 00:05:51.209 --> 00:05:53.509 And the context for that defeat is fascinating. 00:05:54.250 --> 00:05:55.850 If we connect this to the bigger picture. Go 00:05:55.850 --> 00:05:59.129 ahead. In June 2008, Guru made some highly aggressive 00:05:59.129 --> 00:06:01.730 public comments against various ministers of 00:06:01.730 --> 00:06:04.750 the DMK party. Which at the time was a heavyweight 00:06:04.750 --> 00:06:07.069 political ally. Right. And you don't publicly 00:06:07.069 --> 00:06:09.769 insult the ministers of your powerful ally without 00:06:09.769 --> 00:06:12.490 consequences. No, you do not. This caused the 00:06:12.490 --> 00:06:14.730 DMK to completely end its political alliance 00:06:14.730 --> 00:06:17.850 with the PMK. So by the time the 2009 elections 00:06:17.850 --> 00:06:21.589 rolled around, the DMK actively targeted PMK 00:06:21.589 --> 00:06:24.480 candidates. They mobilized their massive voter 00:06:24.480 --> 00:06:27.980 base against Guru specifically, which led to 00:06:27.980 --> 00:06:30.879 that crushing loss. This really highlights a 00:06:30.879 --> 00:06:33.680 core dynamic of regional politics. Local caste 00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:35.860 identity can be leveraged to build an incredibly 00:06:35.860 --> 00:06:38.819 formidable political machine. The Vanyar Sangam 00:06:38.819 --> 00:06:41.879 provided a built -in mobilized voter base for 00:06:41.879 --> 00:06:44.519 the PMK. However, relying so heavily on specific 00:06:44.519 --> 00:06:47.620 community identity combined with a highly vocal 00:06:47.620 --> 00:06:50.680 and polarizing figurehead like Guru makes that 00:06:50.680 --> 00:06:53.259 political machine highly volatile. Because the 00:06:53.259 --> 00:06:55.939 alliances fracture easily. Exactly. The fiery 00:06:55.939 --> 00:06:58.139 rhetoric required to keep the core base energized 00:06:58.139 --> 00:07:00.839 is the exact same rhetoric that alienates broader 00:07:00.839 --> 00:07:03.199 political partners. It's a constant tightrope 00:07:03.199 --> 00:07:05.699 walk. Speaking of fiery rhetoric, OK, let's unpack 00:07:05.699 --> 00:07:07.740 this, because when a politician is giving speeches 00:07:07.740 --> 00:07:10.120 that alienate powerful political allies, you 00:07:10.120 --> 00:07:11.819 have to wonder what exactly they are saying. 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:13.879 Right. And that rhetoric is what we need to look 00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:16.180 at next, because Guru was widely known for his 00:07:16.180 --> 00:07:18.459 inflammatory speeches. And we should warn you, 00:07:18.519 --> 00:07:21.579 this wasn't just standard political slinging 00:07:21.579 --> 00:07:24.560 or debates over tax policy not at all these were 00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:27.519 deeply disturbing controversies specifically 00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:31.939 regarding intercast marriages in 2012 during 00:07:31.939 --> 00:07:35.000 a highly controversial speech guru reportedly 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:37.519 stated that in the case of an intercast marriage 00:07:37.519 --> 00:07:41.269 the groom should be killed The language documented 00:07:41.269 --> 00:07:44.230 from that period is incredibly severe. He is 00:07:44.230 --> 00:07:46.050 alleged to have publicly condemned marriages 00:07:46.050 --> 00:07:49.290 between Vanyars and Dalits. And for you listening, 00:07:49.410 --> 00:07:51.509 it is important to understand the cultural weight 00:07:51.509 --> 00:07:54.310 here. Yes. Dalits are historically marginalized 00:07:54.310 --> 00:07:57.089 communities in India. They're often placed at 00:07:57.089 --> 00:07:59.050 the absolute bottom of the traditional caste 00:07:59.050 --> 00:08:01.750 hierarchy, facing severe systemic oppression. 00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:04.959 In deeply entrenched caste systems, marriage 00:08:04.959 --> 00:08:07.220 isn't viewed merely as a personal choice between 00:08:07.220 --> 00:08:09.980 two individuals. It's seen by hardliners as the 00:08:09.980 --> 00:08:12.680 primary mechanism for maintaining caste boundaries. 00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:15.480 Right, maintaining social hierarchy and so -called 00:08:15.480 --> 00:08:17.579 purity. So an inter -caste marriage, especially 00:08:17.579 --> 00:08:20.019 involving a dominant caste woman and a marginalized 00:08:20.019 --> 00:08:23.259 caste man, becomes a flashpoint. Exactly. It 00:08:23.259 --> 00:08:25.560 is often framed by political hardliners not as 00:08:25.560 --> 00:08:27.980 a romance, but as an existential threat to the 00:08:27.980 --> 00:08:30.339 community's honor. A threat that demands a response. 00:08:30.680 --> 00:08:33.100 And Guru went so far as to allegedly call upon 00:08:33.100 --> 00:08:35.740 his community to chop off the limbs of anyone 00:08:35.740 --> 00:08:38.240 who falls in love with Vanyar women. And we have 00:08:38.240 --> 00:08:40.299 to emphasize, these weren't just empty words 00:08:40.299 --> 00:08:42.700 shouted into a microphone. No, they were immediate. 00:08:43.120 --> 00:08:46.039 devastating real world consequences. Just a few 00:08:46.039 --> 00:08:49.200 days after this virulent speech in 2012, around 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:52.659 250 houses belonging to Dalits were burnt down 00:08:52.659 --> 00:08:55.899 in the Dharmapuri district. 250 houses. Yeah. 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:58.360 And this was following a love marriage between 00:08:58.360 --> 00:09:02.100 a Dalit man and a Vanyar woman. Guru was cited 00:09:02.100 --> 00:09:04.700 as having actively fomented the tension between 00:09:04.700 --> 00:09:06.659 the two communities that led to this explosion 00:09:06.659 --> 00:09:09.419 of violence. What's fascinating here is when 00:09:09.419 --> 00:09:11.340 you are looking at how speech functions in a 00:09:11.340 --> 00:09:13.789 volatile political era, to a system, it ceases 00:09:13.789 --> 00:09:16.169 to be just communication. It becomes an action. 00:09:16.450 --> 00:09:19.570 Yes. This is a stark sociological example of 00:09:19.570 --> 00:09:22.350 how a leader's words can bypass formal political 00:09:22.350 --> 00:09:25.070 channels and directly trigger catastrophic social 00:09:25.070 --> 00:09:29.009 violence. It weaponizes the base. Exactly. By 00:09:29.009 --> 00:09:31.190 framing a relationship as a communal threat, 00:09:31.450 --> 00:09:34.750 the rhetoric shows you why political speech is 00:09:34.750 --> 00:09:37.970 so heavily scrutinized and regulated in democracies. 00:09:38.169 --> 00:09:40.149 Which brings me to something I genuinely don't 00:09:40.149 --> 00:09:43.220 understand. If a politician is giving speeches 00:09:43.220 --> 00:09:46.200 that result in actual villages burning. He'd 00:09:46.200 --> 00:09:48.019 expect some intervention. Right. I have to imagine 00:09:48.019 --> 00:09:50.679 the authorities step in at some point. But when 00:09:50.679 --> 00:09:53.600 we look at his legal battles, the sheer volume 00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:56.299 is staggering. Oh, his rap sheet is extensive. 00:09:56.659 --> 00:09:59.639 During the 2011 state assembly elections, Guru 00:09:59.639 --> 00:10:01.919 tied with another candidate for having the most 00:10:01.919 --> 00:10:04.620 outstanding legal cases of anyone running. They 00:10:04.620 --> 00:10:08.250 each hit nine. Nine cases. But by the 2016 state 00:10:08.250 --> 00:10:11.389 assembly elections, out of 324 total candidates 00:10:11.389 --> 00:10:13.230 running. He was at the top of the list. He had 00:10:13.230 --> 00:10:15.570 the absolute highest number of pending police 00:10:15.570 --> 00:10:19.230 cases. He had 18 cases pending with formal charges 00:10:19.230 --> 00:10:22.169 pressed in six of them. Wow. Are there no electoral 00:10:22.169 --> 00:10:24.870 laws in place that disqualify candidates with 00:10:24.870 --> 00:10:27.009 violent criminal records from being on a ballot? 00:10:27.169 --> 00:10:29.309 You would think a rap sheet like that would be 00:10:29.309 --> 00:10:32.330 an instant disqualifier. Yeah. But under Indian 00:10:32.330 --> 00:10:34.710 electoral law, there is a crucial distinction 00:10:34.710 --> 00:10:36.690 between being charged. charged with a crime, 00:10:36.750 --> 00:10:39.950 and being convicted of one. Ah, okay. Presumption 00:10:39.950 --> 00:10:42.950 of innocence. Exactly. Because the judicial process 00:10:42.950 --> 00:10:46.009 can be incredibly slow, and because political 00:10:46.009 --> 00:10:49.289 rivals frequently file false police cases against 00:10:49.289 --> 00:10:51.330 each other as a harassment tactic. Oh, that makes 00:10:51.330 --> 00:10:53.850 sense. Right. The law states that until there 00:10:53.850 --> 00:10:56.409 is a formal conviction by a judge, a candidate 00:10:56.409 --> 00:10:58.929 is legally presumed innocent and can run for 00:10:58.929 --> 00:11:02.009 office. OK, but we should clarify what his specific 00:11:02.009 --> 00:11:04.870 charges actually entailed, because he wasn't 00:11:04.870 --> 00:11:07.129 just getting parking tickets or minor defamation 00:11:07.129 --> 00:11:10.009 suits. Far from it. The case is mostly related 00:11:10.009 --> 00:11:12.509 to allegations of attempted murder, damage to 00:11:12.509 --> 00:11:15.789 public property, unlawful assembly, rioting and 00:11:15.789 --> 00:11:18.610 speeches inciting racial hatred. Heavy charges. 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:22.279 Very. For example, in 2012, he was cited under 00:11:22.279 --> 00:11:24.460 the Indian Penal Code for unlawful assembly and 00:11:24.460 --> 00:11:27.039 rioting related to a speech he delivered at Thazamber. 00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:29.600 He was even arrested under the National Security 00:11:29.600 --> 00:11:33.700 Act, the NSA, twice. First, in July 2008, he 00:11:33.700 --> 00:11:35.700 was imprisoned on remand on suspicion of attempted 00:11:35.700 --> 00:11:38.019 murder. And we should pause on the National Security 00:11:38.019 --> 00:11:40.879 Act because that is not a standard criminal charge. 00:11:41.080 --> 00:11:44.799 No, it is not. The NSA is a stringent law that 00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:47.379 allows the state to hold individuals in preventative 00:11:47.379 --> 00:11:50.720 detention for months without formal charge. If 00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:52.720 they are deemed a threat to national security 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:55.659 or public order. Right. It is an incredibly heavy 00:11:55.659 --> 00:11:58.919 handed tool, theoretically meant for counterterrorism, 00:11:58.919 --> 00:12:01.720 but it is frequently criticized for being used 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:04.659 politically to sideline troublesome regional 00:12:04.659 --> 00:12:07.259 leaders. Which seems to be exactly what happened 00:12:07.259 --> 00:12:10.000 here. The detention order under the NSA in 2008 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:12.570 was eventually revoked. later that year, but 00:12:12.570 --> 00:12:14.889 with strict conditions attached. Like posting 00:12:14.889 --> 00:12:17.409 bail and promising to desist from making inflammatory 00:12:17.409 --> 00:12:20.470 speeches. Right. Then a speech at a festival 00:12:20.470 --> 00:12:22.610 in Mamala Purim resulted in his second arrest 00:12:22.610 --> 00:12:25.649 under the National Security Act in 2013. And 00:12:25.649 --> 00:12:28.549 yet, despite this extensive legal tally and multiple 00:12:28.549 --> 00:12:30.929 stints in preventative detention, his response 00:12:30.929 --> 00:12:33.409 was always one of absolute defiance. Always. 00:12:33.490 --> 00:12:36.049 He publicly protested that he had never lost 00:12:36.049 --> 00:12:38.370 a case and has a clear conscience. And to be 00:12:38.370 --> 00:12:41.269 fair to his claim, He was indeed acquitted of 00:12:41.269 --> 00:12:44.590 the 2008 attempted murder case in 2010 due to 00:12:44.590 --> 00:12:47.429 a lack of evidence. But it still raises an important 00:12:47.429 --> 00:12:50.330 question. How does a candidate with 18 pending 00:12:50.330 --> 00:12:53.470 criminal cases still wield immense political 00:12:53.470 --> 00:12:55.970 power? Well, to understand that, we can look 00:12:55.970 --> 00:12:58.750 at a dynamic scene in populist movements globally. 00:12:58.909 --> 00:13:01.710 The archetype of the outlaw or the martyr. Exactly. 00:13:01.889 --> 00:13:03.850 Yeah. How does that work in this context, do 00:13:03.850 --> 00:13:06.929 you think? Well... When a leader's entire brand 00:13:06.929 --> 00:13:10.750 is built on fiercely defending a specific, often 00:13:10.750 --> 00:13:13.909 rural community against perceived outside threats. 00:13:14.110 --> 00:13:16.029 Including the state government itself. Right. 00:13:16.549 --> 00:13:19.129 Arrests and legal battles don't look like criminality 00:13:19.129 --> 00:13:21.129 to their supporters. No, they look like persecution. 00:13:21.470 --> 00:13:24.950 Exactly. When Guru was arrested in 2008, the 00:13:24.950 --> 00:13:28.789 founder of the PMK, S. Ramadoss, publicly protested 00:13:28.789 --> 00:13:30.870 the arrest, calling it a political vendetta. 00:13:31.029 --> 00:13:33.519 And when a leader is framed as a martyr. taking 00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:35.700 hits from a corrupt system on behalf of the community, 00:13:35.960 --> 00:13:38.980 a long list of police cases paradoxically boosts 00:13:38.980 --> 00:13:40.759 their credibility. It proves they are fighting 00:13:40.759 --> 00:13:43.299 the establishment. It's the psychological idea 00:13:43.299 --> 00:13:46.039 that if the establishment is trying this hard 00:13:46.039 --> 00:13:48.299 to lock him up, he must be doing something right 00:13:48.299 --> 00:13:51.220 for us. That is an incredibly powerful tool for 00:13:51.220 --> 00:13:54.519 solidifying voter loyalty. Very powerful. But 00:13:54.519 --> 00:13:56.639 eventually, the political battles gave way to 00:13:56.639 --> 00:13:59.840 a physical one. Guru suffered from interstitial 00:13:59.840 --> 00:14:03.419 lung disease for several months. His health deteriorated 00:14:03.419 --> 00:14:06.159 rapidly. Yeah, he even had to undergo a tracheotomy. 00:14:06.460 --> 00:14:11.200 He ultimately passed away on May 25, 2018, in 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:14.299 a private hospital in Chennai. He was 57 years 00:14:14.299 --> 00:14:16.860 old. And given the fierce loyalty of his base 00:14:16.860 --> 00:14:19.240 that we just discussed, the immediate reaction 00:14:19.240 --> 00:14:22.740 to his death was predictably explosive. It was 00:14:22.740 --> 00:14:25.159 absolute chaos. Following his death, members 00:14:25.159 --> 00:14:28.019 of his caste were accused of attacking 100 government 00:14:28.019 --> 00:14:31.840 buses across Tamil Nadu. 100 buses. Yeah. Shops 00:14:31.840 --> 00:14:33.639 were forced to close because people were getting 00:14:33.639 --> 00:14:35.759 injured by stones being thrown in the streets. 00:14:35.940 --> 00:14:38.480 The region basically locked down in violent mourning. 00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:41.460 You might assume the story ends there. A controversial 00:14:41.460 --> 00:14:44.179 grassroots leader dies of an illness, his supporters 00:14:44.179 --> 00:14:47.080 riot, the dust settles, and the party moves on. 00:14:47.309 --> 00:14:48.789 But here's where it gets really interesting. 00:14:49.129 --> 00:14:52.049 Oh, this is the wildest part. The real explosion 00:14:52.049 --> 00:14:54.230 didn't happen in the streets. It happened a year 00:14:54.230 --> 00:14:57.129 later in front of a microphone with his own family. 00:14:57.309 --> 00:15:00.370 The transition from political mourning to internal 00:15:00.370 --> 00:15:04.809 conspiracy is staggering. In March 2019, Kataveti 00:15:04.809 --> 00:15:08.149 Guru's son, Kanalara -san, along with Guru's 00:15:08.149 --> 00:15:11.289 sister and mother, held a press conference. And 00:15:11.289 --> 00:15:13.570 they alleged that Guru's death was not natural. 00:15:13.899 --> 00:15:16.039 Right. They weren't alleging a direct assassination 00:15:16.039 --> 00:15:18.960 like a poisoning, but something far more insidious. 00:15:19.299 --> 00:15:22.360 Deliberate medical neglect driven by political 00:15:22.360 --> 00:15:25.279 strategy. Wait, his own family. Why would they 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:27.980 accuse the very party he helped build and represent 00:15:27.980 --> 00:15:30.480 for decades? Well, the family claimed that the 00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:33.279 PMK High Command intentionally denied him proper 00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:36.009 treatment. His mother explicitly stated that 00:15:36.009 --> 00:15:37.789 her son could have been saved if he had been 00:15:37.789 --> 00:15:39.850 treated properly. Wow. They claimed that the 00:15:39.850 --> 00:15:42.429 party essentially kept him as a circumstantial 00:15:42.429 --> 00:15:44.769 prisoner and barred the family from accompanying 00:15:44.769 --> 00:15:47.210 him or making decisions for his medical care. 00:15:47.330 --> 00:15:49.730 And the motive they presented turns this into 00:15:49.730 --> 00:15:52.450 a Shakespearean level of political drama. It 00:15:52.450 --> 00:15:54.649 really does. What was the motive? The family 00:15:54.649 --> 00:15:57.899 alleged that Guru had become too powerful. He 00:15:57.899 --> 00:16:00.519 was seen as a direct obstacle to the political 00:16:00.519 --> 00:16:03.580 growth of Ambamani Ramados, who was the son of 00:16:03.580 --> 00:16:06.059 the party founder. Okay, so a rivalry. More than 00:16:06.059 --> 00:16:09.340 that. They claimed the PMK High Command actually 00:16:09.340 --> 00:16:12.019 wanted Guru out of the picture for 30 years. 00:16:12.200 --> 00:16:15.039 Yeah. Because his grassroots popularity rivaled 00:16:15.039 --> 00:16:17.200 the official dynastic leadership of the party. 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:19.860 That is a massive accusation to level against 00:16:19.860 --> 00:16:23.529 a powerful political machine. Huge. And the fallout 00:16:23.529 --> 00:16:25.610 from these accusations was incredibly dangerous. 00:16:25.929 --> 00:16:27.750 The family claimed they were initially offered 00:16:27.750 --> 00:16:30.509 bribes to just stay silent about the medical 00:16:30.509 --> 00:16:33.129 neglect. And when they refused. The situation 00:16:33.129 --> 00:16:36.230 escalated to severe physical threats. Guru's 00:16:36.230 --> 00:16:38.330 son claimed that his sister had to be married 00:16:38.330 --> 00:16:40.350 off hastily because a group of people had actually 00:16:40.350 --> 00:16:42.990 planned to kidnap and assault her. Just horrifying. 00:16:43.500 --> 00:16:45.639 Yeah, all to force her into a marriage with a 00:16:45.639 --> 00:16:48.700 relative of the party founder, S. Ramados. They 00:16:48.700 --> 00:16:51.019 claimed thugs were actively targeting them, trying 00:16:51.019 --> 00:16:52.860 to drive them out of their own home. And the 00:16:52.860 --> 00:16:55.860 conflict didn't stay verbal. By May 2020, things 00:16:55.860 --> 00:16:57.720 had escalated to the point where functionaries 00:16:57.720 --> 00:17:00.879 of the PMK actually attacked Guru's son, his 00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:02.919 son -in -law, and other relatives with lethal 00:17:02.919 --> 00:17:05.819 weapons. It's just a total violent fracture between 00:17:05.819 --> 00:17:08.420 the family of the grassroots icon and the political 00:17:08.420 --> 00:17:10.660 machine he spent his life building. And that 00:17:10.660 --> 00:17:13.160 fracture completely reshaped his legacy in the 00:17:13.160 --> 00:17:15.900 region. It didn't just stay a family feud. It 00:17:15.900 --> 00:17:18.200 became a formalized political schism. Because 00:17:18.200 --> 00:17:21.359 in February 2019, a brand new splinter faction 00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:25.940 was formed. Called the Maviran J. Right. The 00:17:25.940 --> 00:17:28.460 coordinator of this new group explicitly stated 00:17:28.460 --> 00:17:31.460 that the blatant sidelining, humiliation, and 00:17:31.460 --> 00:17:34.680 harassment of Guru's family by the PMK led to 00:17:34.680 --> 00:17:37.160 their creation. And their stated goal was incredibly 00:17:37.160 --> 00:17:40.230 specific. They formed this group. to actively 00:17:40.230 --> 00:17:43.990 oppose the PMK's Ambumaniramados in the upcoming 00:17:43.990 --> 00:17:47.089 2019 Luxhaba elections. Just to clarify for you 00:17:47.089 --> 00:17:49.329 listening, the Luxhaba is India's lower house 00:17:49.329 --> 00:17:51.210 of parliament. Essentially the equivalent of 00:17:51.210 --> 00:17:53.690 the U .S. House of Representatives or the U .K. 00:17:53.730 --> 00:17:55.650 House of Commons. These are massive national 00:17:55.650 --> 00:17:58.930 elections. Exactly. So the very political engine 00:17:58.930 --> 00:18:02.150 Guru spent his life building was now facing a 00:18:02.150 --> 00:18:05.410 rival organization, named in his honor, run by 00:18:05.410 --> 00:18:08.579 people furious at his treatment. actively trying 00:18:08.579 --> 00:18:11.259 to sabotage the party's national ambitions. So 00:18:11.259 --> 00:18:13.559 what does this all mean for you? We've covered 00:18:13.559 --> 00:18:15.759 an incredible amount of ground today. We really 00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:19.279 have. We've tracked the wild arc of Karuveri 00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:22.460 Gur, a man who rose from a simple village organizer 00:18:22.460 --> 00:18:26.319 in 1980 to become an absolute political kingmaker 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:29.140 in Tamil Nadu. We looked at how his inflammatory 00:18:29.140 --> 00:18:32.319 rhetoric regarding caste purity had devastating, 00:18:32.500 --> 00:18:35.339 fiery consequences in the real world. We examined 00:18:35.339 --> 00:18:38.359 the intricacies of Indian electoral law, and 00:18:38.359 --> 00:18:41.339 how a rap sheet of 18 pending police cases and 00:18:41.339 --> 00:18:43.779 preventative detentions actually functioned as 00:18:43.779 --> 00:18:46.140 a resume of martyrdom for his supporters. And 00:18:46.140 --> 00:18:55.240 finally, we saw... ...allies of a sprawling conspiracy 00:18:55.240 --> 00:18:58.130 to end his life. It is truly a masterclass in 00:18:58.130 --> 00:19:00.210 the complexities of regional politics, because 00:19:00.210 --> 00:19:02.089 depending on which angle you look from, this 00:19:02.089 --> 00:19:04.789 one man's life is simultaneously a crusade for 00:19:04.789 --> 00:19:07.569 community representation. A dark campaign of 00:19:07.569 --> 00:19:10.430 violent hate speech. And ultimately, a cautionary 00:19:10.430 --> 00:19:13.789 tale of deep political betrayal. It forces us 00:19:13.789 --> 00:19:16.009 to look beyond simple narratives and examine 00:19:16.009 --> 00:19:18.349 the structures of power themselves. It really 00:19:18.349 --> 00:19:20.329 does. Which leaves us with something to think 00:19:20.329 --> 00:19:23.190 about. When a political leader builds their entire 00:19:23.190 --> 00:19:27.960 legacy on fierce, un - compromising loyalty to 00:19:27.960 --> 00:19:31.799 a specific in -group and uses hostility toward 00:19:31.799 --> 00:19:34.960 outsiders as the primary glue to hold that group 00:19:34.960 --> 00:19:37.460 together, is it inevitable that the movement 00:19:37.460 --> 00:19:40.299 will eventually turn that exact same ferocity 00:19:40.299 --> 00:19:43.400 inward on itself once the leader is gone? That 00:19:43.400 --> 00:19:46.240 is a heavy but essential question to chew on. 00:19:46.319 --> 00:19:48.160 Absolutely. Thank you so much for joining us 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:50.240 on this deep dive into the complex history of 00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:52.380 Kaduvedi Guru. We hope it helped connect the 00:19:52.380 --> 00:19:54.460 dots on how grassroots identity shapes national 00:19:54.460 --> 00:19:57.339 politics. Until next time, keep questioning the 00:19:57.339 --> 00:19:59.160 narratives and stay insanely curious.