For Tamil Nadu, a State hitherto unknown for compulsive protestors and impulsive agitations, the year that saw ‘the protestor’ bringing about sweeping political changes in many parts of the world was different. For, two major agitations by common people, who came out into the streets spontaneously, continued to defy resolution even as the year drew to a close.The first agitation, in an obscure fishing hamlet called Idinthakarai, suddenly began in August as India’s nuclear establishment was all set to commission its brand new 1000 MW power project at Koodankulam, built with help from Russia. A loud thud heard during a heat trial run of the newly built VVER reactor triggered panic among the villagers in the locality, who had vignettes of the Fukushima disaster fresh in their mind.Having heard so much on the dangers of nuclear reactors for close to 25 years from anti-nuclear activists, ever since the idea of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) came about during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure as prime minister when the Soviet Union was a superpower, the people thought enough was enough.Their decision not to allow the nuclear rector to whirr in their midst, even though the government had already downed `14,000 crore on it and the State was in desperate in need of electricity with most households facing long hours of power cuts daily, first seemed like it could be reversed with some cajoling and coercion.But as days rolled by, the protestor in Indinthakarai turned out to be a hard nut to crack. There was no let up with people from adjoining villages trooping to the pandal at the premises of the Our Lady of Lourdes Church and taking turns to keep the protest going. Several attempts by the Central and State governments yielded no result and the Department of Atomic Energy, which managed to quell the protests to get clearance for the project a decade ago, fumbled as the protestor of 2011 stood firm.Armed with every piece of information on nuclear reactors and the power needs of the State, the protestor held debates on matters of scientific import, flummoxing those who were keen on having the plant commissioned and getting a respite from power cuts.The other agitation, also spontaneous, however, was widespread and not confined to a particular place or time. It broke out on the streets against the Kerala government’s efforts to knock down the 116-year-old Mullaiperiyar dam, which provides water to five districts in Tamil Nadu’s rain shadow region.Though the people of villages around Theni and Cumbum who marched towards the Kerala border in Kumili faced the wrath of the police, out to control them, there were sporadic protests across state, some in the form of attacks on business establishments owned by Malayalees.The Mullaiperiyar controversy, which has been raging for more than three decades, saw the people of Tamil Nadu picking up the gauntlet in 2011. So far, it has been a passionate issue for the people of Kerala, who were told that the dam could give way any moment. But with the Tamil Nadu government asserting its rights over the Mullaiperiyar waters, some anti-social elements in Kerala attacked Ayyappa devotees, who were on their annual pilgrimage, triggering protests on the other side of the border.
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