CHENNAI: Last week, a one-man committee headed by retired Justice K Chandru put forth recommendations to address caste-based discrimination perpetuated in educational institutions in Tamil Nadu. The committee was constituted in the aftermath of an incident involving a teenage Dalit student and his sister being assaulted by classmates hailing from a dominant caste, in Nanguneri, last August. The suggestions include bringing all schools under the School Education Department, removing prefixes such as ‘Kallar Reclamation’ and ‘Adi Dravidar Welfare’ from school names, granting permission to setting up of new schools only if they do not include a caste affiliation in their names.
A recommendation that drew ire was one prohibiting coloured wristbands, rings, or forehead marks, like tilaks — essentially indicators of caste. This suggestion sparked a political firestorm in the state. On Monday, a BJP councillor, Uma Anandan from Ward 134 of the Chennai Corporation tore up a copy of the Justice Chandru report during a council meeting. She went on to ask whether students will also be banned from eating thayir saadam (curd rice) in schools. A similar spectacle played out before the Tirunelveli Collectorate where Hindu Makkal Katchi (HMK) cadre staged a kneel-down protest. The group questioned why the committee did not offer suggestions pertaining to Muslim students wearing a hijab, or Christian students wearing a crucifix to schools.
One might recall how two years ago, a controversy broke out in Karnataka when a few Muslim students were barred from attending classes owing to them wearing a hijab, which was not in line with the prescribed uniform. Last December, in a clever bit of political posturing, aimed at thumbing the nose at the erstwhile BJP administration, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said his government will withdraw the order that barred Muslim girls from wearing the hijab in classrooms. This begs the question — whether the suggestions made by the Justice Chandru panel in Tamil Nadu is beset by double standards.
Per data available in the public domain, as many as 179 crimes, (which include communal incidents) involving students from schools and colleges in the state, were recorded between May 2021 and Aug 2023. Among the districts, Cuddalore has the dubious distinction of topping the chart with 42 cases (which includes 36 that had to do with school students). Even more shameful is the phenomenon of the formation of student bodies (political and cultural) centred around caste identity in state campuses.
Our state, which prides itself on metrics of social justice, having been administered for over 50 years by political outfits owing their allegiance to the ideologies of Periyar, and the anti-caste Dravidian movement, is still plagued by the malignancy of caste prejudice. Look at our history of honour killings, which added yet another shameful chapter in January this year when a 19-year-old woman was butchered in Thanjavur for marrying a SC youth. Concealing cultural or religious markers among school students or enforcing a policy of social inclusion and eradication of caste discrimination will only add to optics than bring about real change.
Stakeholders must create a conducive ecosystem, where such uncomfortable questions can be raised and addressed in a civil manner — both politically, and in public fora. We must build a vocabulary that aims at inclusion, not alienation or ostracisation. It must start with the educators — the ones at home, namely the parents, and the ones on campuses.