Tamil Nadu: Caste-related question in history exam lands Periyar University in trouble

New Delhi: In Tamil Nadu’s Periyar University, MA second semester students in a history exam were asked, “Which one is the lower caste that belongs to Tamil Nadu?” The question since then has created an uproar amongst students.

The controversial question was asked under Part A of the paper, that focused on the ‘Freedom Movement in Tamil Nadu from 1880 CE to 1947 CE’. The question had four options to choose from - Mahars, Madars, Ezhavas and Harjans

Tamil Nadu | 1st-year MA History students of Periyar University in Salem got asked in the exam, "Which one is the lower caste that belongs to Tamil Nadu?" with 4 options mentioning different castes pic.twitter.com/kdJxQrMo5R

— ANI (@ANI) July 15, 2022

The question went viral on social media, and netizens slammed the Periyar University and its Department of History for setting such a question. Former Chief Minister, K. Palaniswami said: “Is the DMK’s Dravidian politics of social justice now revolving around ridiculing the ideology of Periyar and promoting caste inequality among students through such questions in a semester examination.”

மக்களே பாரீர், 'பெரியாரின்' பெயரை தாங்கி நிற்கும் பல்கலைக்கழகத்திலேயே மாணவர்களிடத்தில்,
பெரியாரின் கொள்கைகளை கொச்சைப்படுத்தியும்,
சாதிய ஏற்றத்தாழ்வுகளை ஊக்குவித்தும் செமஸ்டர்தேர்வு வினாத்தாளில் கேள்விகள் கேட்டிருப்பதுதான் விடியா அரசின் திராவிட மாடலா? இதுதான் திமுகவின் சமூகநீதியா? pic.twitter.com/3G8eBsHk1q

— Edappadi K Palaniswami-SayYEStoWomenSafety&AIADMK (@EPSTamilNadu) July 15, 2022

A Salem-based social activist Rajesh Chandran told IANS, “It’s really bad on the part of the university to have set such a question for the History exam paper. They should at least understand that the University is named after one of the greatest social reformers of the state on whose ideology Dravidian politics have evolved in the state."

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According to PTI, the Registrar of Periyar University, D. Gopi, stated that the varsity will take action against the wrong doers. “When we conducted an enquiry, teachers who set the question paper said that it is part of the syllabus. This could have been avoided," he said.

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