The recently concluded 1st Tamil Nadu Young Thinkers’ Meet (TNYTM) organised by India Foundation checked many boxes that suggest the evolution of democratic discourse in the state and at large, the nation. It had a chosen 50 participants from across various districts of Tamil Nadu below the age of 40 deliberating on understanding the current socio-political scenario and building a platform to develop an alternative to the prevailing discourse dominated by left-liberals. When an established writer like Ramachandra Guha questions “Where are the Right-Wing Intellectuals”, the topic does garner momentum from the already established “Left-Wing Intellectuals” and a chance to introspect for those who espouse the causes of the Centre-Right or Far-Right.

That’s where the complexity of the debate begins. In India, classifying ideologues as “Left” and “Right” does more than confuse the audience, it also misappropriates the intellectual property of those who do not align with either sides. In the TNYTM, it was fairly evident that liberal ideologies jostled for space with the conservatives, and yet it was under an over-arching umbrella of establishing a new standard of discourse that doesn’t get shaded by Nehruvian propaganda. Is this the new Right? It is too early to say. Do they offer a chance to ideate, express and engage without being the cheerleaders of the BJP government? Possibly so.

In sessions, on issues ranging from Tamil Culture to Social Intergration and Distributive Justice to India at 70, there was large evidence of the participants being openly critical of the ruling (State and Central) governments’ policies while simultaneously understanding the teething troubles of an economy trying to find its place on topics like free markets, affirmative action and aggressive foreign policy. Beginning with an inaugural talk by Dattatreya Hosabale (senior functionary from the RSS), TNYTM offered a chance to explore issues under a new light. Walter Andersen’s sentiment that the ‘RSS is most misunderstood and unnecessarily feared’ found validation in the modern and dynamic talking points of Hosabale’s speech.

The undercurrent of redefining what the Dravidian movement means in the current times, unburdening it of strong stereotypes including the anti-Brahmin, anti-Hindi call for action, truly set the tone for every session. Renowned Tamil Scholar Dr. G. Gnanasundaram and S. Ramachandran of South Indian Social History Research Institute offered insights into the evolution of Tamil society, its culture and movements over history. Extended debates on the prevalence and importance of North Indian languages in the Dravidian heartland, appeasement of local communities through manipulative popularization of classical literature of non-religious nature, and the more recent Cauvery issue as a harbinger of Tamil sentiment led to a serious rethink on the necessity of a third dharmic alternative in Tamil Nadu.

In a keynote address on “India at 70: National Influence of the Dominant Socio-Political Forces”, speaker Swapan Dasgupta (journalist and MP, Rajya Sabha) highlighted how the ‘Idea of India’ has been conveniently created and media-managed to only include the past 200 years of Indian history, forgetting the 2000 year old civilisation ethos of the nation. To a nation that has forever been mesmerised and easily bought by Western thought and science, indigenous traditions, philosophy and culture needs to be revived as a part of its own self-realisation. For the room full of engineers, lawyers, humanities graduates and entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds, this struck a deep chord. Hence, it is imperative for a Right Wing discourse to exist that is simply not a binary to the Left Wing intellectualism.

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