Guest Lecture by Narayan Lakshman, Opinion Editor at The Hindu
Mr. Narayan Lakshman, Photo Credits to Ritika Narayanan
Mr. Narayan Lakshman, a opinion editor at The Hindu, brought a fresh new perspective on the Tamil Nadu 2026 elections. When asked whether C. Joseph Vijay’s victory signalled the end of the Dravidian movement or the start of a new chapter, he took us back in time with a history lesson on the movement itself: how it was built on rationalist, atheist, and welfare-state sentiments. While that era also saw charismatic actors like M.G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa at the helm, their successor, Edappadi Palaniswami, failed to hold the cadre together, leading to a split and, ultimately, drastic change. Lakshman attributed this shift to a weariness with the Dravidian duopoly and a desperate need for an efficient leader to navigate the complex socio-economic changes taking place. He further emphasized that Vijay’s strategic campaigning, effective social media outreach and an appeal to younger generations was probably the factor that distinguished him from the seasoned players.
From there, Mr. Lakshman turned to the role of legal journalism in making sense of this political transformation. He noted that there is a growing demand for legal scholars who can effectively draw connections between ongoing political affairs in the state and the legal reasoning that underpins them: whether it be election law, constitutional provisions, or the judicial scrutiny of government schemes. In a time when political narratives shift rapidly, he argued, legal journalism serves as a necessary anchor, separating what is legally sustainable from what is merely rhetorical. When asked about The Hindu’s own reputation as the “newspaper of the opposition,” he called the paper “pro-constitutional” rather than anti-government. He elaborated with a striking analogy: when a machine comes with a manual, it is crucial to follow it. The Constitution, he suggested, is that manual and a newspaper’s highest duty is not to oppose for opposition’s sake, but to hold power accountable to the very framework that authorises it.
This report was prepared by our student, Aparna P.
