By Girish Nikam

When Uttar Pradesh Government headed by Mayawati is on a statue building spree, and has even got into trouble with the judiciary as well as the environmentalists, comes news from deep down South about the kind of statue diplomacy which has surprised one and all.
Last week, the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, visited each other�s State to unveil statues of two great Saint Poets, Thiruvalluvar and Sarvajna, in Bangalore and Chennai respectively, which is now being dubbed as �the dawn of a new era� in the relations between the two states.
The two South Indian neighbours have for decades been at loggerheads, regardless of whichever party has been in power. The major reason was the sharing of Cauvery water over which both States have fought tooth and nail for decades, till a final settlement was arrived at about three years back by the Cauvery River water tribunal. But this final settlement has not meant friendly relations, as a bad monsoon year can kick up a storm again.
Amidst these below-the-surface tensions, for the two Chief Ministers, M.Karunanidhi and B.S.Yeddyurappa to agree on the unveiling of the Statues is certainly a landmark event. It was nearly 19 years ago in 1990, when the Bangalore Tamil Sangham decided to set up a statue in the Cantonment area of North Bangalore of Tamil Saint Poet, Thiruvalluvar. It was a time, when Tamil Nadu and Karnataka were in the grip of the worst tensions between the two States, following the setting up of a Tribunal by then V.P.Singh Government. The Statue got made and was even installed, but because of the prevailing tensions, it never got unveiled.
The State Government over the years has spent lakhs if not crores of rupees protecting the covered statue, through years of tensions between the two States, including the most barbaric riots and killings of Tamils in 1991, after the interim award of the Cauvery tribunal was rejected by the Karnataka Government.
The issue of unveiling of the statue was buried for years, by more than half a dozen Chief Ministers, through the last 18 years. Every time the issue was raised tensions would prevail in the north Bangalore area, with fanatical pro-kannada groups rising in revolt against the idea. Promptly the issue would get another burial. The echoes of these reactions in Bangalore was felt in Chennai, as there the subject of unveiling of the Statue of the Kannada poet, Sarvajna would get embroiled in similar controversies.
It is ironic that these two poets became a subject of such a huge controversy among the neighbours, as both in their vastly read works, have spoken repeatedly about the need for peace and brotherly love among neighbours.
Thiruvalluvar, whose birth is variously ascribed to somewhere between second century BC and eighth century AD, by different experts, however agree that he was a Dravidian Jain saint. The place of his birth however is also not certain, as some think that he was born in Madurai while others insist it was in Mylapore, a well known locality in Chennai today. However what is unquestioned and universally accepted is that he was one of the greatest poets of the Tamil language. His most famous work, Thirukkural, which is considered as the last word by Tamilians on human morals and betterment of life, is often quoted by not just the scholars, but also the housewives, politicians and children. In fact, through his tenure as the Finance Minister, P.Chidambaram has never completed his budget speech, without quoting Thirukkural.
The uniqueness of this most-quoted work is that the poet has used couplets, which are easy to memorise, to lay forth his thoughts, in three sections. The first section, deals with issues of conscience and honour, the second with realities or facts of life and third with the worldly pleasures. For a Tamil, wanting to describe any situation, Thirukkural comes in handy. Another politician who uses it extensively in his speeches and writings is none other than Karunanidhi himself. The 1,330 couplets touch all aspect of life and beyond life.
While Thiruvalluvar is rightly adored and worshipped by all those who love the Tamil language, and even others, as it has been translated into most of the world�s languages, Sarvajna, is as much of a favourite among the Kannadigas. However unlike Thiruvalluvar who used the couplet form, Sarvajna employed what is known as �tripadis�, the three liners to convey his thoughts. His birth as well as the times in which he lived is also, like the Tamil saint poet�s shrouded in uncertainty. However, scholars believe that he lived around the first half of the 16th century, and that he was the son of a Shaivite Brahmin father and a shudra widow, and that his real name was Puspadutta.
Sarvajna became a wandering Monk, and it was his life experiences and what he saw and absorbed, which were all turned into Vachanas, in the tripadi format. There is hardly a young kid in the Kannada speaking families of Karnataka, who has not been brought up with the familiar quotations of Sarvajna. He is an all time favourite for authors and writers who resort to him often to describe various situations. Some of the politicians are heard quoting him in their speeches and discussions to make them livelier and also to communicate more effectively.
So when the proposal to install a statue of Thiruvalluvar in Bangalore was made, it was natural that Kannadigas demanded the statue of Sarvajna in Chennai.
However, what has surprised most is that the statue controversy should have been resolved in the time of a BJP Government in Karnataka. It was not too long time back, during the Chief Ministership of S.M.Krishna between 1999 and 2004, it was the same Yeddyurappa who had created maximum tensions between the two States. As leader of opposition, he had virtually laid siege to Bangalore many times, and also at the border of the two States, protesting against the release of water to Tamil Nadu. He also was most vociferous in his criticism against the Karnataka Government, whenever water was released, as per the tribunal�s orders. There was hardly any love lost between him and the Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers, especially Karunanidhi, whom he had criticized in the most fulsome manner, at every opportunity.
But in a dramatic reversal of his cantankerous ways, he went out of his way to suggest the unveiling of the statue in November last year, in a letter to the Chief Minister Karunanidhi. However, the matter dragged on as some in Karnataka were not too happy with the site chosen in Chennai for the installation of Sarvajna�s statue. By the time it all got resolved, it was late last month, when the two Chief Ministers decided to go ahead with the ceremony, held last week.
Obviously political colour is being given to the dramatic change in Yeddyurappa�s attitude. The most common reason being given is the impending elections to the Bangalore City Corporation, which has been postponed for long. Bangalore city has a huge Tamil speaking population, and the migrants from Tamil Nadu continue almost daily. It is estimated that nearly 30 percent of the over 6.5 million in Bangalore are Tamil speaking. This step of Yeddyurappa to make peace with Tamil Nadu by unveiling the statue of Thiruvalluvar is expected to bring in big dividends in the forthcoming Corporation elections. It would be interesting to see how DMK will fare, as the party also has a presence in the city.
As far as Karunanidhi is concerned, it was one more master stroke to show that he is always for brotherly and peaceful relations with the State. He had made a similar gesture when he had intervened and helped in the release of Kannada film legend Rajkumar from the clutches of dreaded forest bandit, Veerappan.
For the people of two States however, this statue diplomacy will hopefully lead to lasting peace between the two States, unlike in UP, where parties are at war over the statues.

This article has been published in hindi in Dainik Jagran. To read it please click here.