Welfare's new colour: From rice politics to consumerist promises

Refrigerators, coupons worth Rs 8,000 to buy any household appliance, eight grams of gold with a silk sari for women at the time of marriage, and a gold ring for newborn girls – it is raining promises in Tamil Nadu as voters head to polling stations on April 23. 

Except for Tamil nationalist Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK), every major player in the state – DMK, AIADMK, and even newcomer TVK – has promised cash transfers and welfare schemes if they come to power. 

Tamil Nadu has been a welfare State since British times (then Madras), with the noon meal scheme introduced by the Justice Party government in 1925 to promote education. The scheme has undergone a massive transformation over the last century, with additions such as bananas, eggs, and a variety of rice dishes, and has been replicated across the country and even abroad. 

The current DMK government went a step further by providing breakfast to about 19 lakh primary school students in government institutions. If re-elected, the DMK has promised to extend the scheme up to Class VIII, benefiting an additional 15 lakh students. 

Successive governments focused on incentivising education by providing free bus passes and later bicycles for students to travel to nearby towns to pursue education, as well as distributing laptops to college students. They also invested in health infrastructure and poverty eradication.

All these were implemented in right earnest as investments in the future. 

Rice, in fact, has been integral to Dravidian politics. DMK rode to power in 1967 on promises such as three measures of rice for one rupee, while Tamil Nadu remains the only state in India to follow a universal public distribution system (PDS). 

After coming to power in 2006, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi provided 1 kg of rice for Rs 2, later reducing it to Rs 1. Since 2011, when J Jayalalithaa returned to power, 35 kg of rice has been distributed free for each family. 

However, the DMK’s promise of free colour television sets to poor households in 2006 – which later became a universal scheme – changed the nature of welfare, with Dravidian parties embracing consumerism. That no political party in the country is now immune to this culture is another story altogether. 

Since then, mixer grinders, pedestal fans, and wet grinders have been distributed universally rather than in a targeted manner, imposing a heavy burden on the exchequer. Tamil Nadu’s outstanding debt is expected to touch Rs 10.71 lakh crore by March 31, 2027, with nearly Rs 5 lakh crore borrowed by the DMK government between 2021 and 2026. 

Implementing just a few of the key promises would cost the exchequer Rs 57,084 crore for the DMK, Rs 83,092 crore for the AIADMK and Rs 1,10,304 crore for the TVK. While the DMK’s schemes have been more targeted since 2021 – though it faced criticism for not fulfilling its promise of monthly assistance to all women – the AIADMK’s and TVK’s promises are universal. 

Schemes such as extending the breakfast scheme from Classes VI to VIII, free laptops to college students, and assistance to unemployed youth could be seen as investments in the future. However, the direct benefit transfers (DBTs), analysts say, must be disbursed only to deserving beneficiaries. 

R Kannan, biographer of Dravidian leaders C N Annadurai and M G Ramachandran, told DH that Tamil Nadu has a rich history of welfare measures such as free cataract surgeries, footwear, saris and dhotis, and subsidised—later free—rice, all aimed at lifting people out of poverty.

But, he added, the tide turned in 2006 when the DMK promised colour television sets – a pivotal moment in the state’s politics.

“The traction for colour TV sets prompted Jayalalithaa to promise mixer grinders, wet grinders, and pedestal fans, which proved equally attractive. Once parties embraced consumerism, voters went for it. Unfortunately, a freebie culture has taken root in Tamil Nadu,” Kannan added. On DBT being targeted now, Kannan noted that politics in the state has become a no-holds-barred contest, with no foolproof mechanism to identify genuine beneficiaries.

However, Prof M Vijayabaskar of the Madras Institute of Development Studies told DH that DBTs are not unique to Tamil Nadu but have been a global phenomenon since the 1990s, preferred for two reasons. 

“One, there are no leakages. Two, the idea of welfare through jobs took a big beating after 1991, when the neoliberal turn limited the ability of sub-national governments to strengthen welfare through quality jobs. 

“It has become the responsibility of governments to ensure social security outside the workplace through such direct transfers. I don’t think there is any other way unless things change,” he said.

Vijayabaskar, however, pointed out that the distinction that one has to make in Tamil Nadu is that, unlike in other states, TN is not replacing one with the other. 

While supporting people through direct transfers, the state is also investing heavily in public school infrastructure, improving learning outcomes, up-skilling students in tertiary education, incentivising government school students to pursue higher education, and investing in public health. 

“This has to be seen, therefore, as layering rather than a mere replacement,” he added.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.