CHENNAI: A committee under retired HC judge Justice K Chandru will make suggestions to the Tamil Nadu government on steps to prevent caste and communal differences among students and create a harmonious environment in schools and colleges.
Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday ordered the setting up of the committee. He said in a statement that the one-man committee would seek the views of educationists, students, parents, social thinkers, and media on the issue and submit a report to the government.
The CM referred to the brutal attack on a student and his family members by his classmates due to an alleged caste dispute at Nanguneri in Tirunelveli district recently and said the incident has shocked the people of the state. He said casteist feelings among youth would not augur well for the future of Tamil Nadu and it is important that the issue is addressed expeditiously.
Stalin said the people of Tamil Nadu knew that the government headed by him had been striving for an egalitarian society without caste and communal differences and is aiming for inclusive growth by taking along all sections of the society.
“At this juncture, the attack on students has pained me a lot. The DMK government is keen on implementing schemes for the betterment of people in terms of education, skill development, and creation of job opportunities so that the future generation would lead a life without caste and communal feelings,” Stalin said.
The CM also said the Nanguneri incident has brought out a bitter truth that a section of college students are engaged in caste issues. “On knowing about the incident, I deputed finance minister Thangam Thennarasu to meet the affected student and his family members. School education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi too has said the entire higher education expenses of the affected students would be borne by him,” Stalin said.
Meanwhile, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, in a statement, urged the state government to ensure severe punishment to those involved in the case. He said all sections of the society lived in harmony during the AIADMK regime but the situation changed after the DMK government came to power.
Meanwhile, the CPM’s state council, at a meeting led by party’s senior leaders Prakash Karat, G Ramakrishnan, K Balakrishnan and others, adopted a resolution condemning the Nanguneri incident and welcomed the state government’s decision to appoint the one-man panel. The resolution said the recommendations made by various commissions for preventing caste clashes in southern districts were yet to be implemented and they should be enforced immediately.
CPI state secretary R Mutharasan said the lack of adequate jobs in Nanguneri for a long time has given anti-social groups the opportunity to nurture divisive tendencies. Industries should be started at the special economic zone formed during former chief minister M Karunanidhi's tenure in the area expeditiously, he said.