Naam Tamilar Katchi (Tamil: நாம் தமிழர் கட்சி,transl. We are Tamils Party; NTK) is aTamil nationalist political party active in the Indian state ofTamil Nadu and theunion territory ofPuducherry. It is led by former Tamil actor and film directorSeeman. The party is noted for its ideology ofTamil Nationalism. It primarily aims for the creation of a vote bank among Tamils.

In 1958, Indian politicianS. P. Adithanar founded the "We Tamils" (நாம் தமிழர் கட்சி) party on the platform of the formation of a sovereign Tamil state. The party advocated for the creation of a homogeneousGreater Tamil Nadu, incorporating Tamil-speaking areas of India andSri Lanka. The party headquarters was named as "Tamiḻaṉ Illam" (lit. The Home of the Tamilian).

In 1960, the party organised statewide protests in favour of thesecession of Madras from India and the establishment of a sovereign Tamil Nadu. Demonstrations included immolation of maps of India (with Tamil Nadu excluded). Adithanar was arrested for organising the protests. The party, along withM. P. Sivagnanam'sTamil Arasu Kazhagam, was also involved in the movement to change the name of the state fromMadras State toTamil Nadu.^[8]

Adithanar lost the1962 election fromTiruchendur^[9] but was elected to the Legislative Council in 1964.^[10] The WT contested in the1967 election as a part of the coalition led by theDravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) under the DMK's "Rising Sun" symbol. Four members of the WT were elected to the Assembly, including Adithanar, who won fromSrivaikuntam. Later that year, the party merged with the DMK.^{[11][12][13][14]}

On 18 May 2010 inMadurai, a year after the decisive end of theSri Lankan civil war, the military subjugation of theSri Lankan Tamils and the first anniversary of the Naam Tamilar Iyakkam (We Tamils Movement), Tamil actor and film directorSeeman formed the Naam Tamilar Katchi party as a revival of S. P. Adithanar's We Tamils party.^[15] Seeman, the NTK's chief co-ordinator, said that the party would be an alternative party to mainstream political parties in Tamil Nadu; Seeman claimed that the establishment of an independentTamil Eelam would be the moral goal of not just the party, but of all Tamils in Tamil Nadu.^[16] During the rally, Seeman stated; "We are not founding the Naam Tamilar party, we are continuing what S. P. Adithanar founded."^[17]

The party name indicates that "we are Tamils", not labelled by caste or religion.^[16] It emphasises Tamil rule of Tamil-majority areas, opposing theDravidian parties which have they claim have contributed to the downfall of theTamils.^[18] The NTK flag is similar to theflag of Tamil Eelam; its tiger is also the emblem of theCholas and theTamil Tigers. The flag was introduced inThanjavur, the historic Chola capital.^[16]

The declared principles of the Naam Tamil Party are as follows:^[19]

1. The revival of Tamils is the goal of us Tamils.
2. The only solution to the Eelam Tamil issue is the establishment of a separateTamil Eelam state. Our ideal is to fight for the establishment of Tamil Eelam.
3. Autonomy for all states is the birthright of national races. We will fight for a constitutional amendment for a federal union of sovereign republics.
4. Let Tamil live everywhere. Let's rule Tamil forever.
5. We will transition the current cooperative system into a people's cooperative to pave the way for an equitable path.
6. We will reform land to ensure that the landless forty percent get either a house or land.
7. We will develop scientific discoveries suitable for nature that are beneficial to the majority and promote technical education.
8. We will unite all global Tamils and fight to secure Tamil rights.
9. We will establish a common Tamil government and eliminate economic disparities.
10. We will eliminate caste-based exploitation and eradicate thevarna system.
11. We will eradicate caste and religious dominance. We will pave the way to live equally. Let's unite beyond caste and religious differences and conquer governance for Tamils.
12. Providing equal opportunities for women is not charity – it is their birthright. We will strive for it.
13. Tamil everywhere, in everything. We will learn and teach in Tamil.
14. In all sectors, Tamil should be the language of administration, speech, and worship. Employment in Tamil Nadu should be guaranteed to those educated in Tamil medium.
15. We will prevent cultural degradation through appropriate cultural revolutions in media arts.
16. Tomorrow's Tamil governance will not favor any religion, and the government will not interfere in anyone's personal religious beliefs.
17. Justice administration without political interference. All administrations will be free from bribery and corruption.
18. We will create a self-sufficient economic plan through men's and women's self-help groups to meet basic needs.
19. We will fight to decentralise power and wealth. We will structure them like a pyramid.
20. We will prevent private looting of profits. We will eliminate the black market for money.
21. We will remove the distinction between organised and unorganised labourers and establish the right to live.
22. We will make healthcare a basic human right. We will ensure all medical facilities are accessible to the grassroots level.
23. We will ensure rights and protection for Tamils living in other states through the establishment of National Ethnic Friendship Associations in every state.
24. We will enhance cultural tourism and unify global Tamils.
25. People's courts to investigate all malpractices. We will create laws to critique court decisions.
26. We will prioritise Tamil martial arts such asSilambam andKalaripayattu.

The NTK denies theDravidian identity,^[20][21][22] They want the identity ofTamils to be solely linguistic.^[23]

NTK strongly advocates for equal representation of women in all areas. The party has allocated 50% of the seats it contested in the 2019 and 2024 national elections and the 2016 and 2021 state elections to women. This gained widespread attention creating a sense of gender-equality in politics among theTamils both inTamil Nadu and the diaspora. In contrast, theBJP,INC, andDMK only allocated 16.3%, 14%, and 14% seats for women in Tamil Nadu, respectively, in the2024 Lok Sabha election.^[24] The NTK was the first state party to field atransgender candidate, fielding 33-year-old Devi to contest againstAIADMK supremoJ. Jayalalithaa in the RK Nagar constituency in Chennai.^[25][26] Despite losing, this move marked a significant step towards inclusive representation.

The party has launched several demonstrations demanding Tamil Nadu's share ofKaveri River andMullaperiyar Dam water from upstream states.^[27][28] Seeman has criticised political apathy on this issue and theillegal sand mining of the state's riverbeds.^[29][30]

Between 2011 and 2012, when Tamil Nadu was in the midst of a power crisis which led to exorbitant tariffs and industrial failure,^[31] the management ofNeyveli Lignite Corporation (a government-owned company inNeyveli) considered selling stock to private investors. This sparked unrest in the state, and NLC employees organised a strike against the central government's decision. The corporation was accused of manipulating its workers and attempting to cover up the issue.^[32][33]

The NTK opposed the decision, with Seeman saying that the Tamil strikers were experiencing discrimination from non-Tamil management. He also criticised the NLC for investing in other Indian states during an acute power shortage in Tamil Nadu.^[32][34]

Seeman cited a deterioration in law and order in the state during the rule of theCongress-DMK alliance.^[35] Denying NTK involvement in an assault on a group of Sri Lankan tourists in Chennai, he said that the party abhors violence in any form and cadres who violate its principles of conduct would be punished.^[36]

NTK has highlighted the plight ofSri Lankan Tamils who seek refuge in India, and their persecution by the state and central governments. Moreover, it appealed for the inclusion ofSri Lankan Tamils as Indian citizens and the abolition of ill-treatment against them by authorities in any form. This created a notion among theEelam Tamil refugees for the improvement in their livelihoods.^[37]

NTK has supported commuting the death sentences and releasing those convicted in theassassination of Rajiv Gandhi. Seeman said that the party's stance was not limited to the three Tamils condemned to death, but for the complete abolition of the death penalty in India.^[38] Naam Tamilar Katchi has also called for the humanitarian release of prisoners jailed for more than 10 years. The party supported the closure of Sri Lankan Tamil refugee camps in Tamil Nadu, in which inmates were reportedly tortured.^[39]

Seeman insists thatKatchatheevu is an Indian island, and claims it was illegal to cede the island toSri Lanka. The handing over ofKatchatheevu which disadvantaged the fishing population and endangered their lives, was viewed as an act of authoritarian betrayal among the local population. In reply to thisSeeman warned the government that he could reclaim Kachatheevu by arming fishermen, which resulted in sedition charges.^[40][41]

Seeman said that thechief minister of Tamil Nadu should be aTamil.^[42] According to a party slogan, everyone has right to live in Tamil Nadu but only a Tamil has the right to govern the state as chief minister.^[43] He justified his statements by citing the fact that most of the former Chief ministers of Tamil Nadu were not Tamils by origin. This gained public attention revealing thatMK Stalin, the current Chief minister of Tamil Nadu is also a man ofTelugu origin. In spite of this Seeman's statement was criticised asracist, and he was accused ofidentity politics and creating ethnic divisions.^[44] Tamil media asked, "Who is a Tamil? How do you define a Tamil?"^[45][46][47] He replied that "Men who support the Tamil cause to acquire basic rights, men who oppose suppression of his dignity and men who get triggered when Tamils get humiliated, are trueTamils, others aren't". His statement received mixed reactions from Tamil nationalists.^[48][49][50]

Naam Tamilar Katchi is against the proposed Chennai-Salem Expressway project. According to the party, the project would be a disaster for the region's fragile ecology and would enable mining companies toillegally mine valuable minerals in theKalrayan and Servarayan Hills (on the expressway's proposed path). Seeman and his cadres, protesting the project's implementation, were arrested on 18 July 2018.^[51] The party also filed a written petition in theMadras High Court, and the court quashed the government order to acquire land for the project.^[52]

Naam Tamilar Katchi supports the cause ofTamil Eelam, a proposed independent Tamil state in the north ofSri Lanka. The primary idol of the party isVelupillai Prabhakaran,^[53] who is viewed as a freedom revolutionary among Tamils, especially the Tamil nationalists. After the military defeat of theLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009 as a result of several war crimes and human rights abuses committed by the government of Sri Lanka and its nine different allies during theSri Lankan civil war, the Eelam movement adopted non-violence for political solutions. Naam Tamilar Katchi appeals for the creation of an independentTamil Eelam or the fulfillment of Tamil rights in the island nation. In the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Naam Tamilar Katchi is viewed as the main supporting faction of the Eelam Tamil activism^[54] andTamil nationalism. Additionally it appeals theUnited Nations Human Rights Council for the serving of justice to theSri Lankan Tamils, who faced several war crimes such as systematically organized sexual assaults which is estimated in thousands,^[55] massacres in hospitals and schools, driving away of people as a part of ethnic cleansing operations which led to a genocidal killing of 70,000 Tamil civilians as a part ofWar crimes during the final stages of the Sri Lankan civil war.

The NTK spearheaded a campaign against theIndian National Congress in the2011 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election for their alleged role in the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka and other anti-Tamil policies.^[56][57]

The NTK contested in all 234constituencies in Tamil Nadu and in the districts ofPuducherry andKaraikal.^[58] On 12 February 2016, all 234 NTK candidates were introduced inCuddalore by Seeman. The party promotes equal rights, and has included candidates with disabilities. It is the first party in the history of Tamil Nadu with atransgender candidate. TheElection Commission of India authorised twin candles as the party's symbol.^[59]

Seeman told aCPI (M) member that his party would receive more votes than the CPI (M)'s People's Welfare Alliance in the 2016 state assembly elections, or he would dissolve his party and join the CPI (M).^[60] The NTK received fewer votes than the alliance, and fewer thanNOTA.^[61] The NTK lost everywhere; Seeman finished in fifth place in Cuddalore, and lost his deposit.^[62] Asked by reporters about his challenge, Seeman said that he challenged the Communists (not theVijayakanth-PWF alliance); his party received more votes than every single party in the PWF alliance, winning the challenge.^[63] The NTK received 458,104 votes (1.1 percent) in the2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, more than older parties such asMDMK,CPI,VCK,CPM andTMC.^[64]

The NTK fielded K. Kalaikottudhayam as its candidate for the2017 R. K. Nagar by-election.^[65] According to Seeman, voters in Tamil Nadu pay more attention to party symbols than to the candidates. He said that the election commission should replace party symbols with candidate numbers or give every election new party symbols.^[66] Seeman criticised the commission for not attempting to halt the bribery of voters in the constituency, asking about the location of promised CCTV cameras.^[67] Tamil news channelPuthiya Thalaimurai TV surveyed the constituency on which participating party was an alternative toDMK andAIADMK. The results were: NTK 11.72%,BJP 8.99%,DMDK 8.54%,CPI 5.45%, and no one 62.67%.^[68][69] The by-election was not held as planned on 12 April, because the election rules were violated by bribery and corruption.^[70] Seeman expressed his dissatisfaction with democracy in India, saying that it was unfair of the Election Commission to stop the elections, rather than disqualifying the parties involved in bribery.^[71] The R. K. Nagar by-election was held on 21 December 2017, despite voter-bribery allegations.T. T. V. Dhinakaran reportedly gave voters about₹10,000 per vote;AIADMK gave₹5,000, andDMK₹2,000.^[72] Independent candidateT. T. V. Dhinakaran won the election, andAIADMK andDMK took second and third place. NTK finished fourth, with 3,802 votes.

Naam Tamilar Katchi contested all 39 Tamil Nadu constituencies and Puducherry.^[73] NTK was the first party to field 20 women in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections for the total of 40 seats (39 in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry).^[74][75]

The NTK received 84,855 votes for H. Mahendran in the Sriperumbudur constituency, the party's highest vote count in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.^[76] V. Jainteen received 17,069 votes in the Kanyakumari constituency, the party's lowest vote count in the state.^[77] NTK received a total of 1,645,185 votes,^[78] 3.909 percent of the 42,083,544 votes cast in the state.^[79]

Naam Tamilar Katchi contested all 234 assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu and 28 in Puducherry. The party again fielded equal numbers of male and female candidates (117 women and 117 men in Tamil Nadu). On 7 March 2021, Seeman introduced his party's candidates at a meeting in Chennai.^[80] Seeman would contest theThiruvottiyur constituency, although he said earlier that he would contest theKolathur constituency againstDMK leaderM. K. Stalin.

Lok Sabha Elections

Year	Party leader	Seats won	Change in seats	Popular vote	Percentage of votes	Vote Swing	Outcome
Tamil Nadu
2019	Seeman	0 / 39		1,668,079	3.91%		Lost
2024		0 / 39		3,560,485	8.19%	4.28%	Lost
Puducherry
2019	Seeman	0 / 1		22,857	2.89%		Lost
2024		0 / 1		39,603	4.90%	2.01%	Lost

Year	Constituency Name	Popular Votes	Percentage of Votes	Vote Swing	Outcome
Tamil Nadu
2021	Kanniyakumari	58,593	5.34%	3.71%	Lost

Year	Party leader	Seats won	Change in seats	Popular vote	Percentage of votes	Vote Swing	Outcome
Tamil Nadu
2016	Seeman	0 / 234		458,007	1.06%		Lost
2021		0 / 234		3,067,458	6.89%	5.83%	Lost
2026		0 / 234	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
Puducherry
2016	Seeman	0 / 30		3,888	0.47%		Lost
2021		0 / 30		28,189	3.37%	2.9%	Lost
2026		0 / 30	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Year	Constituency Name	Popular Votes	Percentage of Votes	Vote Swing	Outcome
Tamil Nadu
2017	RK Nagar	3,802	2.15%	0.71%	Lost
2019	Poonamallee	10,871	4.24%	3.17%	Lost
	Perambur	8,611	4.56%	2.84%	Lost
	Thiruporur	9,910	4.56%	3.65%	Lost
	Sholingur	5,188	4.56%	4.1%	Lost
	Gudiyatham	4,670	2.29%	1.85%	Lost
	Ambur	3,127	1.81%	1.45%	Lost
	Hosur	6,740	2.95%	1.96%	Lost
	Pappireddipatti	3,783	1.76%	1.48%	Lost
	Harur	3,902	1.98%	1.65%	Lost
	Nilakottai	4,934	2.7%	2.01%	Lost
	Tiruvarur	8,144	3.95%	3.23%	Lost
	Thanjavur	11,182	5.83%	5.2%	Lost
	Manamadurai	9,315	4.73%	3.12%	Lost
	Andipatti	5,810	2.54%	1.88%	Lost
	Periyakulam	5,825	2.96%	2.42%	Lost
	Paramakudi	6,710	3.81%	2.24%	Lost
	Vilathikulam	4,628	2.93%	1.77%	Lost
	Aravakurichi	2,227	1.29%	0.81%	Lost
	Thiruparankundram	5,467	2.42%	New	Lost
	Sattur	5,004	2.76%	1.90%	Lost
	Ottapidaram	8,666	5.09%	2.73%	Lost
	Sulur	4,335	1.93%	0.58%	Lost
	Vikravandi	2,921	1.55%	0.97%	Lost
	Nanguneri	3,494	2.05%	0.7%	Lost
2023	Erode East	10,827	6.35%	1.30%	Lost
2024	Vilavancode	8,150	5.08%	2.24%	Lost
	Vikravandi	10,602	5.40%	1.13%	Lost
2025	Erode East	24,151	15.59%	9.24%	Lost

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