A strange disease called amnesia

A medical dictionary tells me that amnesia means loss or an impairment of memory. The dictionary also adds that amnesia may be total, with complete loss of recall or partial, occurring only during the period immediately before or following a ‘traumatic’ event. An optimistic definition however says amnesia is more of a symptom rather than a disease.

Readers may wonder. Why this sudden interest on my part in such a strange disease; some may even think if the writer himself has been affected by amnesia and perhaps thought he was editing a medical journal. To be frank, I would certainly welcome some amount of amnesia, if only to escape from the daily goings on in the political arena. Of course, ‘inviting’ the disease would also be in keeping with the times and I am sure several politicians will, agree with me.

I must now tell you, dear readers, lest I forget of the immediate provocation for this rather perfunctory analysis of a subject, which falls more in the realm of science than journalism. A meeting was held in the city recently to launch the poll campaign of the DMK-led front. It was attended besides the DMK’s new-found allies, by a few so called torch-bearers of the MGR legacy. Of course, what MGR followers have got to do in a DMK meeting defies logic but what transpired in the form of utterances by a couple of leaders did make one sit up and rub one’s eyes.

Former Minister R.M. Veerappan and DMK chief M. Karunanidhi vied with each other to wax eloquent on the virtues of AIADMK founder MGR. Upto a point this was understandable as MGR was a ‘mentor to one and a dear friend to the other’ But as both of them raved on and on it became quite apparent that they were suffering from a severe bout of amnesia. Of course there was no way of finding out whether it was real or feigned. But the symptoms were there for all to see.

If you ask a primary-level school child which year follows 1972, he or she would say without hesitation ‘1973’. Of course it would not be difficult for the child to name the years by numerical order. Adults of course would do this with ease by associating various events also. But, if you ask Mr R.M. Veerappan what comes after 1972 he would say 1996! The intervening 24 years and what transpired during those years appears to have simply skipped out of his memory. If this is not amnesia, I wonder what is. Perhaps the former Minister must hold the Guinness record for the longest bout of amnesia. He says Karunanidhi was MGR’s leader and adds that he pleaded with DMK chief not to expel MGR to which the latter replied that it was not he who did the dirty work but some other person. Mr Veerappan goes on to add that if MGR parted ways with DMK, it was just an accident of politics. We now have reason to believe that the accident has been so severe as to cause such a long period as 24 years of amnesia. For the former Minister, the memory lane appears to have come to a dead end in 1972 and has been conveniently opened for traffic in 1996.

Of course, we the political animals are not so fortunate. We are afflicted by a more potent disease called memory’. We all happen to remember that after 1972, Karunanidhi’s ‘dear friend’ MGR started a party called AIADMK with the main objective of dislodging the former from power. And till death the late leader held Karunanidhi as his number one enemy. Ever since that year when MGR’s political life took a turn for the better and during his 10-year reign as Chief Minister of Tamilnadu all his thoughts and deeds were directed in keeping the DMK leader at bay. Of course Karunanidhi was not lacking in reciprocity but the people of the State always preferred MGR.

Political opportunism being the order of the day, it is now quite natural for Karunanidhi to offer his platform to of MGR ‘loyalists’. His sense of glee at the prospect of such men giving him the clean chit is understandable. It is also convenient for him to forget ‘those’ years, for we have come to learn that amnesia is a communicable disease.

But our hearts reach out to MGR. It is one thing to join hands with erstwhile foes but to tarnish the image and legacy of a great leader and to say things of him as is being done is nothing but a crime of the highest order. In their blind hatred for Jayalalitha the so-called MGR followers have only attempted to distort history to suit their convenience.

email the writer at [email protected]