Whats in a name? - What 'Kudavolai' means!

Democratic systems are nothing new to the state we all live in. The 'Kudavolai' system (yes, that is the origin of this blog's name) was practised as far back as 900 AD as per the inscriptions of Parantaka Cholan on the walls of the Vaikunta Perumal temple in Uttiramerur in the Kanchipuram district.

This system consisted of people writing the names of people they thought were appropriate posts in the village administration on palm leaves or 'olai) and dropping them in a big pot or 'kudam'. The elders counted the leaves to install the one with the most leaves and installed him to that post. This was the first recorded instance of 'free and fair elections'.

Well as the years rolled on, so changed the way these elections were conducted. From the total absence of this institution during the time of India's bondage to the first elections after Independence on August 2, 1951, millions of people excercised their franchise to keep the largest democracy, our India moving forward to what it is today. Needless to say, the Congress won in that election.

And in all these elections, media played a key role. We know the way TV changed elections and the careers of people like Prannoy Roy.

This blog is an effort to take a closer look at this exciting phenomenon of our 'democracy in action' in the legislative elections in Tamilnadu that are slated to take place in 8 May, 2006. This blog will among other things attempt to profile various constituencies and their uniqueness, profile the various candidates and their track records (not just the celebrity ones) and profile the vagaries of this campaign.

As of tomorrow, 26th March 2006 there are 44 days to the election and we begin this countdown. In any competition we say 'let the best person win'. But, here we sincerely hope that democracy wins.