While the governments and politicians are trying to play divide and rule by muddying Mullaperiyar and Koodankulam, the activists and common people of Kerala and Tamilnadu have to be vigilant against any such attempt. Choosing one wrong policy over another is an utterly false choice and turning it into a fight between people of two states is very unfortunate.  Mullaperiyar river water issues should be solved amicably through dialogue and shouldn’t be used to break the Kerala-Tamindau people’s solidarity on Koodankulam.

We are publishing these two open letters: by Dr. S P Udayakumar, leading activist of the Koodankulam movement and by Thomas Kocherry, well known human and labour rights activist and coordinator of the National Fish Workers Forum.

Thomas Kocherry, Coordinator, National Fish Workers Forum

Dear Friends,

1. Let us look at the Nuclear Power and Mullaperiyar issues separately. It is very dangerous to compare these. These will complicate further. Let us take the issues  one by one on its own merit. There are are many problems interconnected. Each issue is different and let us not complicate that further.
2. Let us take Nuclear issue. Kerala as a state says no Nuclear Power in Kerala. All the political parties are unanimous on this.However Kerala as a whole is not supporting the struggle against Koodankulam Nuclear Plant(KNP). No political party came in support of the struggle against KNP. Though Kerala Chief Minister compared these two in the context safety, he did not support the agitation against KNP. He will not dare to do that, because he knows that Prime Minister will not entertain that.
3. On the  other hand Tamilnadu is unanimous with regard to Mullaperiyar and its safety. Whether this is correct or not, history will have to prove. Scientists and Engineers have to play an important role.However Kerala has a different stand concerning Mullaperiyar and safety of the Dam. It is very interesting to know that that there is no difference on the  sharing of water among Kerala and Tamilnadu.. It is here that the PM,  the Supreme Court, and the Central Empower Team have to play an important role to settle the issue. It is heartening to know that such positive steps are taking place.
4. Mullaperiyar issue is a highly an emotional issue both in Kerala and Tamilnadu.If we do not use our mind this can flare up to other issues, like language issues, Tamils and Malayalees  issues. Blocking Vehicles and attacking people are dangerous. All have to take self control in this. All the political parties, religious groups and other groups have to play an important role not to flare up to such issues. We cannot afford to do that now in the present juncture.
5. In the same way let us use our mind concerning KNP. Kerala can play an important role to show the reason why they do not want Nuclear Plant? We have to go beyond political parties and reason out why we do not want Nuclear Plants.Kerala can help the Prime Minister to understand the Nuclear Issue in a different manner. We have to think in an all inclusive manner going beyond any kind of exclusiveness like my state. We have to think like Indians together. Then we can solve the problems fast.

All the best. My prayers are with you all.

Thomas Kocherry,
thomasksa@gmail.com,
+91 9360645772

S P Udayakumar, PMANE

Dear Sisters and Brothers of Kerala:

I have a strong feeling that “Dam 999” and the subsequent political hoopla over the Mullaperiyar dam controversy is the Congress Party’s conspiracy to win the upcoming bye-election in Kerala and to divide the people of Tamil Nadu and Kerala on the Koodankulam issue. They try to hit two mangoes with one stone.

As the Tamil-Malayalee solidarity was taking shape so fast and so well on the Koodankulam issue, the Delhi government and its intelligence agencies desperately wanted to abort it. If Koodankulam was stopped, all the planned nuclear power projects all over India would be stopped. And all the nuclear agreements with the United States, Russia, France, Australia and so on will have to be rescinded. All this would mean a huge loss of kickbacks and commissions to the vested interests in India as well as in all of the above countries.

So they most definitely want to stop the KKNPP agitation. When the people of Kerala join hands with the Tamil Nadu agitators and share their own hard-learned lessons and wisdom with them, the struggle obviously becomes much stronger. This must be stopped, as far as Delhi is concerned. So “Dam 999” pops up; Congress Party’s Chief Minister Oomen Chandy issues provocative statements; Youth Congress workers set out to demolish a baby dam and beat up innocent Tamil people.

Water disputes take place all over the world. We can identify many of them in our own country. There are several water disputes between districts in a state, and between communities in a district. These water disputes will only become even more numerous and stronger as we are spoiling all our water bodies so indiscriminately and callously. These conflicts have to be negotiated patiently and peacefully with maturity.

Playing up people’s fears, whipping up people’s emotions and making them hate their neighbor is a wrong and unacceptable approach. The Congress governments in Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram are least bothered about the unity and integrity of the country. They want to win the by-election that is coming up in Kerala and stop the anti-KKNPP agitation.

The Mullaperiyar dam issue is an intricate conflict and has defied any tangible solution so far. That does not mean more thoughtful and humane citizens from Tamil Nadu and Kerala cannot solve it in the future. Maybe, our youth and children from Tamil Nadu and Kerala can think of better and more creative ways of solving the issue once and for all. And that opportunity must be given to them. They must be allowed to live a long and healthy life by scrapping the deadly Koodankulam nuclear power plant.

My point is let us get our priority straight. Let us not fall for the cunning political manipulations of the Congress Party and Congress governments and get divided! Let us, the people of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, struggle together to scrap the KKNPP project and who knows, we may be able to solve the Mullaperiyar dam issue much more easily and effortlessly.

Sincerely,
S.P. Udayakumar, Ph.D.
Coordinator
People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE)
National Alliance of Anti-nuclear Movements (NAAM)