role of political parties in the welfare of the people and the people

Tamil Nadu’s progress rests with its people, not its parties or leadersWhen Tamil Nadu is compared with other states and found to stand at a certain level, the reason is not the DMK, the AIADMK, other political parties, their agitations, or their leaders. The largest share of credit belongs to the people born and raised in this soil.

Parties may have raised the state up, held it steady, or claimed they will do so in future, but that is not the real story. What matters is the character of these people — their culture, their stubborn resistance, their capacity to celebrate, and the sharp rejection they show when something is discarded. 

Political parties and the leaders of the time merely channelled the basic qualities already present in the people and used them for their own purposes. That is the bitter truth.Even Periyar did not simply correct or transform the people single-handedly. The people already possessed enough maturity to listen to him and accept what he said. The same pattern holds for any leader or public figure who has been elevated: their success depended on the essential role played by the people of this land.

Statements such as “Without Dravidianism Tamil Nadu would have been nothing,” “Without Periyar…,” “Without Kamaraj…,” or “Without Bharati…” are largely expressions of attraction to those leaders, popular personalities, and their ideologies. In reality, the people of this land have long possessed a deep ideology and a broad outlook through Tamil itself. They have taken part at both extremes of thought and action.

Even today, once clarity is gained, these people can settle everything in a single election. The real problem is that they do not know whom to trust; it remains the same old panchayat politics. Leaders are not actually needed. What is needed is understanding among the people themselves.

No one else can free our minds or free us from our own forms of slavery. Believing that someone will come to uplift or save us is a kind of stupidity. We do not need leaders at all; we simply need to think. The resources required for success are already within us.Political leaders, parties, symbols and popular personalities all stand behind the people of Tamil Nadu. Everything that was achieved became possible because of the people, not because of those figures alone. They only channelled what was already present in the people. That is the reality.

At present many are disappointed with the DMK, AIADMK, BJP, Congress, TVK and the rest. They believe that if not these parties, then somehow some other party will provide the answer. The bitter truth is that parties are not the answer. The answer lies with the people themselves.Honestly, political parties, national boundaries and flags do not exist for the welfare of the people. Welfare is largely a facade. Only the people and individuals can reclaim what is rightfully theirs. The matter is complicated.

Consider a simple example of the government’s so-called welfare facade: the same administration that can clear acres of karuvelam trees within a couple of weeks to build a highway somehow cannot find the time or will to make the land self-sustaining and more fertile. If the land remains in that neglected state, it is intentional.When land naturally enables people to live sustainably, the government finds it difficult to take it away when it wants. But once the land is rendered infertile and useless, it can be seized and used for any purpose. If people remain independent, they will not need to approach the government for anything.

Controlling resources, deciding what the public may use, and channelling people for the gain of those in power — that is what government does. The modern state is not a welfare state. Politics is not primarily about welfare. Democracy, in practice, often becomes a failure or simply a licence to control, extract and exploit people.What the world needs now are strong-minded individuals who refuse to trap themselves inside the small boxes of fandom, cinema, political ideology, party loyalty or blind belief. Yet the thought also lingers that such a change may be impossible. Amusingly, most people will not even notice the point.

Note: The writing is a translation or expansion of a original post . The OG is raw , this duplicate one is done with help of Grok .