Bridge Snub

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s conspicuous absence during Prime Minister Narendra Modi inauguration of the new Pamban Sea bridge in Rameswaram was a calculated snub, and a clumsy one at that.

The Pamban bridge, which connects Rameswaram island to the mainland, is a marvel of modern engineering and a symbol of national investment in the region. Stalin’s refusal to attend its unveiling sent a signal of parochialism when the moment called for unity. After all, the bridge is not a BJP project but a national asset, decades in the making and financed by taxpayers across India. Its inauguration was not just Modi’s moment, but Tamil Nadu’s too.

While Stalin cited prior commitments, the boycott coincided with his public demand that the Prime Minister offer assurances on the proposed delimitation exercise, specifically that Tamil Nadu’s share of parliamentary seats would not be reduced in favour of states with higher population growth.

By skipping the event, Stalin squandered an opportunity to project Tamil Nadu not as a periphery, but as a partner in India’s infrastructure renaissance. The message he sent was one of narrow-minded provincialism—more akin to the rhetoric of a perpetual opposition leader than the statesmanship expected of a sitting chief minister. It was a moment to rise above political friction; instead, Stalin chose to sulk in the shadows.

To be sure, Stalin’s concern over the delimitation exercise is not without merit. Southern states like Tamil Nadu, which have successfully implemented family planning policies and brought down population growth rates, fear being punished for their good behaviour.

But the way to make that argument is through deliberation and diplomacy, not petulance. Stalin could have stood beside the Prime Minister at the ceremony, welcomed the bridge as a win for Tamil Nadu, and used the occasion to reiterate his call for fair and equitable representation.

Instead, he handed the Prime Minister the optics of national benevolence meeting regional small-mindedness. And in a place like Rameswaram, the birthplace of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who oversaw the earlier restoration of the old Pamban bridge during his presidency, such symbolism matters. Kalam belonged to both Tamil Nadu and India. Stalin, instead, chose to stand apart.

Such slights are not forgotten easily by Modi, whose political memory is long and strategic. A man with a finely tuned sense of symbolism, Modi is known to return every political cold shoulder with calibrated force. Stalin’s absence will not go unanswered; Tamil Nadu may find itself edged out of future high-visibility projects or economic largesse. The BJP does not yet hold sway in Tamil Nadu, but it has been making steady inroads. What better fuel for its rise than the optics of a petulant regional satrap refusing to share a stage with the elected leader of 1.4 billion people? India’s federalism is strongest when its leaders can disagree without disengaging. The Pamban bridge was built to connect; Stalin’s absence turned it into a metaphorical divide.