Both Tamil Nadu and the university have said they will probe the controversial question that involved caste.
Published Jul 15, 2022 | 5:14 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 26, 2022 | 2:58 PM
The University regretted the inconvenience caused to students, academicians, and the public by the controversial question. (Creative Commons)
A question on caste, which appeared in a question paper for the MA History course, has landed the Periyar University of Salem in trouble.
The Tamil Nadu Higher Education Department has ordered a probe into the incident, and will likely constitute a committee for that purpose.
Meanwhile, the university has already issued an apology in this regard, and is conducting its own investigation.
Speaking to South First on condition of anonymity, a source from the university said that the question was part of the second-semester exam in the MA History course.
It asked which among the four communities of Mahars, Ezhavas, Harijans, and Nadars was a lower caste in Tamil Nadu.
The source noted that the question appeared in the first-year subject Freedom Movement of Tamil Nadu: From 1800 to 1947.
“It was a mistake, as another university’s professors prepared the questions. No staff from Periyar University prepared the questions. The vice-chancellor has initiated a probe, and we will soon submit a report to the authorities on it,” the source told South First.
Facing intense criticism for the controversial question, the university expressed regret over it.
“We regret the inconvenience caused to students, academicians, and the public by the controversial question. We would take steps to avoid such controversial questions in the future,” it said.
“The committee will conduct an appropriate inquiry, and take action regarding question papers containing controversial questions,” added the university.
Meanwhile, the principal secretary of the Higher Education Department said in the statement that it would form a committee at the level of department officials to investigate the matter.
Taking to Twitter, the leader of the opposition and AIADMK’s interim general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami accused the ruling DMK of promoting caste inequality and asking caste-related questions in the exams.
“Is this the Dravidian model of the DMK”? he asked.
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 (@EPSTamilNadu) July 15, 2022
