Former Justice Chandru who hurled casteist slurs at Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is now appointed by the DMK government to head a committee to advise the government on the measures to be taken to create an environment without caste and ethnic divisions among school and college students.
A horrifying incident unfolded in Nanguneri, Tirunelveli district, as a Class 12 Scheduled Caste student, Chinnadurai, aged 17, and his younger sister, aged 14, were viciously attacked with sickles within the confines of their home on Wednesday (9 August 2023) night. The assault, carried out by three of Chinnadurai’s schoolmates, comes just hours after he had lodged a complaint against them with the school headmaster, detailing their persistent harassment. The assailants, who belonged to a dominant caste, have since been apprehended by the police and are facing charges under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Though the news was widely covered in National media, Tamil media, Tamil journalists, and Tamil actors either did namesake reporting or refrained from debating the matter due to its potential to reflect poorly on the ruling DMK government.
In this situation, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said that a one-man committee headed by retired Justice K. Chandru has been set up to advise the government on the measures to be taken to create an environment without caste and ethnic divisions among school and college students.
While the initiative by the Tamil Nadu government is indeed positive, concerns have been raised regarding the potential casteist leanings of former Justice Chandru, who has been selected to lead the committee established by the DMK government with the aim of eliminating caste and ethnic divisions among students in educational institutions.
Ever since assuming the role as the committee head focused on addressing caste issues, an old tweet by former Justice Chandru has been circulating on social media. In this tweet, Justice Chandru appeared to make a veiled remark about a BJP leader, presumably Annamalai, by stating, “Like Pickle Lady (a derogatory term targeting Tamil Brahmin women), he is attempting to become a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka.” He implied that Annamalai’s aspirations mirror those of Nirmala Sitharaman, referred to as ‘Oorka Ammaiyaar.’
Even at that time, these remarks made by former Justice Chandru have been met with criticism from various quarters, sparking inquiries into the nature of the judgments issued by him during his tenure as a judge, amid concerns of potential bias stemming from his apparent casteist perspectives. However, the tweets and account of former Justice Chandru are unavailable and only a screenshot of his remarks is available.
The online community, or netizens, have expressed their perplexity over how an individual with casteist inclinations could be entrusted with leading a committee aimed at dismantling caste-based mentalities among students.
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