tamil Nadu’s political history has always drawn a clear line: stand up to delhi, or surrender to it. From C. N. Annadurai to M. Karunanidhi, from M. G. Ramachandran to J. Jayalalithaa, tamil leaders built their legacy by defending state rights against central overreach. That tradition fractured under Edappadi K. Palaniswami — a leader critics now remember not for resistance, but for seven signatures that rewired tamil Nadu’s federal spine. Each decision was justified as “pragmatism.” Together, they read like a surrender document.
🧨 THE SEVEN SIGNATURES THAT LEFT PERMANENT SCARS
1. NEET: The End of Social Justice in Medical Education
tamil Nadu’s opposition to NEET was rooted in decades of social justice policy — policies even jayalalithaa resisted fiercely. By yielding, the state allowed a single exam to override its model, narrowing access for rural and poor students. What was once merit with equity became merit without context.
2. UDAY: Handing Over the Power Sector
Under the uday scheme, tamil Nadu surrendered control of its electricity framework to central oversight. The result? Tariff pressures, policy constraints, and a slow erosion of the state’s ability to protect consumers. Energy sovereignty quietly slipped away.
3. GST: From Fiscal Autonomy to Dependency
GST was sold as “cooperative federalism.” In practice, it reduced states to petitioners waiting for delayed compensation. tamil Nadu — once fiscally assertive — found itself negotiating for its own revenue, its financial independence diluted by design.
4. Food Security Act: Undermining a Model PDS
tamil Nadu’s Public Distribution System was globally admired — universal, efficient, humane. Accepting a one-size-fits-all national framework threatened that uniqueness, placing a centrally dictated ceiling over a system built on state-level innovation.
5. Farm Laws: Standing Against Farmers Without Standing Up
When farmers across india protested laws that endangered procurement security and state authority, tamil Nadu’s ruling establishment backed the Centre. Silence in the name of alliance became complicity — and rural trust paid the price.
6. CAA: Choosing party Loyalty Over Pluralism
tamil Nadu has historically resisted policies that fracture its social fabric. Supporting the citizenship amendment act aligned the state with a law widely seen as exclusionary, contradicting its legacy of inclusive politics and minority protection.
7. Hydrocarbon Projects & the 8-Lane Highway: Sacrificing the Delta
The Cauvery delta — tamil Nadu’s granary — became collateral damage in the push for corporate-led development. Farmland, livelihoods, and ecological balance were treated as negotiable, traded for central approval and political survival.
🕯️ FINAL VERDICT
Leadership is defined not by how long you sit in a chair, but by what you refuse to sign. karunanidhi fought delhi with words. mgr fought it with will. jayalalithaa fought it with confrontation. Edappadi Palaniswami, critics argue, chose accommodation.
history will not remember the explanations.
It will remember the signatures.
And in the story of tamil Nadu’s fight for state autonomy, those seven signatures may stand not as footnotes — but as fault lines.
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