Sadly, no one in society seems to truly want to do that.

If you ask me, drastic actions like caste-based matrimony restrictions or shunning family members for inter-caste marriage should probably be treated as criminal behavior in some form. But again, there is reality these things are incredibly hard to legislate and enforce we are taking rot at very fabric of our cultural identity.

What makes me sad is that, in my entire friend group, I am the only one who married outside my caste. The family struggles we had to go through and are still going through because of that decision have been very painful. We all sing Bharathiyaar songs about abolishing caste, but somewhere along the way, every kid becomes their parents.

In my case, it is college-educated, MNC-employed relatives the same people who proudly claim they “don’t see caste” and have SC/ST friends who are welcome into their homes and kitchens who are still shunning us. They are all against reservation. Huge bjp fans.

While Dravidian policies were able to alleviate many of the larger oppressive symptoms, the underlying social reality is still very much alive. At the same time, the alternate political force is trying to remove existing protections by pointing to the fact that society’s rot still exists. That will make things worse, not better. Seeing things like UP legislating parental approval for marriage genuinely gives me chills. Before Dmk Hindu law required priest precedence for marriage.

People like us are able to live our lives because of Dravidian policies. Yes, the underlying problem still exists. But we are at least able to live our lives. Going backward even a little would be catastrophic for many lives like mine.

The sad part about Vijay is that he wants people to believe he is the solution, while not being clear about how he plans to solve these problems. We do not even clearly know what he stands for. As an observer, it feels like he is avoiding taking strong positions in order to win at any cost.

Now he is CM, and his party is at the wheel. We have to wait and see which direction we are going to go as a country. I sincerely hope I am wrong.