A country like India, where the majority of people follow Sanatana Dharma and where many people believe that their gods will give them prosperity, wealth, and solve their problems if they donate money or put money in a temple hundi, cannot realistically expect to create a completely corruption free society.

So instead of asking which political party is completely free from corruption, perhaps a more realistic question should be asked: Who is less evil? Who is less corrupt than the others? And who at least does some good for society despite the corruption and allegations against them?

It is also important to understand that caste is one of the biggest forms of corruption in India. As long as caste continues to influence people's social status, education, employment, opportunities, and access to resources, it will be very difficult to completely eliminate corruption and inequality from India.

If corruption and inequality are genuinely going to be reduced, the discussion needs to go beyond political and financial corruption and also address the deep rooted social inequality created by the caste system. A society where someone's opportunities can still be heavily influenced by their caste cannot truly claim to have eliminated inequality.

This is also where the Dravidian movement has had a major role to play. One of its central goals has been to challenge caste based discrimination and promote social equality. This is not simply about providing reservations or welfare. It is also about gradually reducing the importance of caste in people's everyday social identity and public life.

There have been efforts such as encouraging people to use names without caste suffixes, promoting Samathuvapuram, or Equality Villages, where people from different communities are intended to live together without caste based segregation, and removing caste based names from streets and public places. These may seem like small changes individually, but they represent attempts to reduce the visibility and social importance of caste in everyday life.

The ultimate goal should be a society where a person's caste does not determine their status, where people from different communities can live together without segregation, and where a person's identity and opportunities are not defined by the caste they were born into.

Among the major political parties in Tamil Nadu, the DMK continues to strongly follow Dravidian ideology while maintaining a major vote base and a commitment to social justice. Even when there are corruption allegations against the party or its governments, DMK governments have continued to pursue development, infrastructure, welfare, and social justice without completely abandoning their ideological commitments.

People's voices should also be heard under any democratic government. A government should be capable of listening to criticism and acting on it when the criticism is valid. Ordinary citizens should be able to criticize the government without fear of being banned, silenced, or targeted simply for questioning those in power. The press should also have the freedom to question the government and hold it accountable. Tamil Nadu has generally maintained considerable space for political criticism and public debate.

At the same time, whenever DMK governments have come to power, Tamil Nadu has experienced periods of strong economic growth, including periods of double digit growth. DMK governments have also played a significant role in bringing new companies and investments to Tamil Nadu and developing major infrastructure across the state.

The DMK has ruled Tamil Nadu for around 24 years in total, and during its different periods in government, it has been associated with the construction and development of more than 40 reservoirs, around 40 SIPCOT industrial areas, 10 TIDEL Parks, and more than 200 bridges across Chennai alone, along with major roads, flyovers, public institutions, and other infrastructure.

Tamil Nadu has also attracted major companies and investments during DMK governments, including companies such as Hyundai, Saint Gobain, Daimler, Caterpillar, Renault Nissan, and more recently VinFast, along with many other domestic and multinational companies.

The DMK has also introduced several welfare schemes that directly benefit ordinary people, such as Magalir Urimai Thogai, free bus travel for women, and the Chief Minister's Breakfast Scheme. These schemes may be debated politically, but they have had a direct impact on the lives of many ordinary people.

Of course, this does not mean that the DMK is a saint or that the party is completely free from corruption. No political party in India is a saint, and no major political party is completely free from corruption or allegations of corruption. Every party has its own problems, scandals, mistakes, and failures.

But that is exactly why the bigger picture needs to be considered.

Whenever regime changes have happened in Tamil Nadu, political narratives have played a major role. Issues such as 2G and the Sarkaria Commission have been repeatedly used to attack the DMK, and many of these narratives have also been heavily amplified by ideological opponents and what is often described as the Sanghi ecosystem.

Whether it was in 1976 or in 2026, the DMK has repeatedly faced this kind of political targeting. However, a political party should ultimately be judged not merely by allegations or political narratives, but by its actual record in government and the experiences of the people.

Voters ultimately judge governments based on many different factors, including welfare, development, infrastructure, social justice, economic opportunities, leadership, and their own lived experiences.

So the point is simple.

In a country like India, no political party is completely pure, and no political party is completely free from corruption. There will always be scams, allegations, political compromises, and mistakes.

The real question should therefore be: What is the government doing despite all of this?

Who is building more infrastructure?

Who is providing more welfare?

Who is bringing more industries and investments?

Who is creating more opportunities?

Who is addressing social inequality?

Who is genuinely trying to reduce the influence of caste in society?

Who is protecting social justice?

Who is willing to listen when people criticize the government?

And ultimately, which government is doing more good for ordinary people despite its shortcomings?

The DMK stands out in this regard because it combines Dravidian ideology, social justice policies, welfare programmes, infrastructure development, and industrial investment while maintaining a significant political base in Tamil Nadu.

This does not mean that the DMK should be given a free pass for corruption. If there is evidence of corruption, it should be investigated, and if someone is proven guilty, they should be held accountable regardless of their political party.

However, corruption alone should not be the only factor used to judge a government. If that were the standard, then almost every major political party in India would fail.

Instead, governments should be compared based on the overall balance: development, infrastructure, industrial investment, welfare, social justice, economic growth, efforts to reduce caste discrimination, freedom to criticize the government, and the actual improvement in people's lives.

So rather than asking, "Which political party is completely corruption free?", perhaps the more meaningful question is:

"Which party is less corrupt than the others, does more good for society, protects social justice, works towards reducing caste based inequality, develops the state, provides welfare to ordinary people, and causes the least harm despite its shortcomings?"

That is a more realistic way to evaluate politics in a country like India.

If Every Party Is Corrupt, Why Single Out the DMK?