Those familiar with godfa-thers and their mafias need no introduction to ‘Family’ and ‘Omerta’. But for the uninitiated, here is some enlightenment: In the ganglands of Italy and more particularly, the island of Sicily, mafias are controlled by families and the two words are, therefore, virtually synonymous. And ‘Omerta’ is a self-imposed vow of silence and secrecy, to be broken only at the risk of being silenced eternally. No one speaks against the mafia, and ah yes, the family … You got it? And the long of the arm of law ever remains folded in obeisance and unfolds only to salute. Now, if some of us in Tamilnadu get a sinister feeling that we may be living in one such land, do not blame it on hangovers from late-night novels or blood-soaked movies. TN for quite some time now has been seeming like a surrogate Sicily.
Maybe, mafia is as yet a strong word to describe the outfits here. So we will keep that open ended, but there is no mistaking the many similarities. Wth the two Dravidian parties alternating in power, a slew of kith, kin and sundry other kingpins like adopted sisters have progressively increased their vice-like grip over the State. These family-friend coteries are so well entrenched that they control virtually every aspect of life and business, from teashops to TV channels. Nothing can stir without their signal and no one dare defy them for fear of incurring the wrath of the supreme leaders at the top. Omerta is an unwritten rational dictum! Of course, one is free to praise and flatter.
Take for instance the Kanchi Acharya issue of ‘04-’05. There was a murder and a body. Someone at the top, for some strange, unfathomable reason, concluded the Acharyas were the masterminds. And lo, the entire administrative mechanism swung into action with single-minded devotion to a ruler’s whim. But the official assault apart, the paralysis that gripped the State’s media megaphones had to be felt to be believed. The omerta was pervasive: Anyone raising doubts over the acts and motives of the prosecution was deemed an accessory or an accomplice. And despite the Supreme Court casting severe strictures on the course and content of the case, the State was unrepentant and on the contrary, got more vindictive. The target had to be chased and nailed, come what may, ran the official credo. Mario Puzo’s script seemed to have come alive in TN.
Tha.Kiruttinan was by all means a co-born, in true Dravidian tradition. His brutal hacking bang in the middle of Madurai was widely believed as a fraternal killing, or friendly fire, as they say. The needle of suspicion promptly zeroed in on K.Azhagiri, the movement also aided by a hostile regime. The needle is now back to base, thanks to a judicial reprieve. Of course, we are not attributing the change of judicial winds to change of regime but it certainly seems to have weakened the resolve of the prosecution which originally beieveved it had a strong case against Azhagiri. So, instead of the natural legal course of an appeal to the higher court, what we have is an official omerta! There is no such restraint, however, in A’s camp.
With the acquittal coinciding with the plus two results, his apologists promptly burst into some ugly celebrations accompanied by uglier rhetoric like ‘the boss has passed’. And the State seems to agree. It is as sure of Azhagiri’s innocence now as it was of the Acharya’s guilt then. We know that in both cases, the ‘State’ is only a tool. But now again, there is a murder and a body; and the victim could not have hacked himself. The police weather Central Minister is a law unto himself. It looks sabotaging Sethus was only a pastime for him. He has more lucrative pursuits on the sly. The plum cabinet post plus his party’s position as a prominent partner in the UPA have raised TRB’s ratings and valuations to dizzy heights. So when Baalu was caught in Parliament and beyond soliciting financial favours for his family firms, his response was as cool as a polar breeze. There was no denial, no remorse; instead what we got was a brazen ‘so what’! It was the turn of the accusers and observers to court Omerta. The PMO which despatched letter after letter to bail out Baalu & sons, remains silent as ever. Here omerta is a habit, enforced by a ‘higher power’.
The Supreme Court routinely transfers cases from TN to other States on the ground that there cannot be a fair trial here. But this is not considered a slight on self-respect. Indeed, the grisly political gangs here can give even Sicilians a few lessons. But with natural disasters wiping out entire populations and terrorists felling hundreds, should we be complaining about mundane murders and ministerial malfeasance? So what do we do? What else? Omerta, meaning, Shut Up!
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