chennai law college issue.

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Fight for justice
Clashes at the Law College – Fact Finding committee report
Commitee of Academics and Human rights activists
Contact address 3/5 First cross street, Sastri Nagar, Adayar,
Chennai-20
Mobile: 94441 20582, 94442 14175, 94434 39869


The clash that took place on 12th November at the Chennai Dr.Ambedkar
Law College has shaken the entire state. The fact that these clashes
have taken caste lines seeks extra concern. Based on the repeated
telecast in visual media the general understanding amongst public is
that of particular community students conducting a heinous attack on
another community students. From a lay viewpoint though this seems
like the actual truth, this is just a half truth. This issue has much
deeper roots. We cannot understand this problem without a clear
knowledge of the existing caste equations within the law college and
the caste system as a whole.

Many law college students, teachers and social activists brought these
things to our notice. As a result a fact finding committee comprising
of Academics and Human rights activists was formed with the following
members.


Dr. A. Marx, K. Palanisamy, Advocate Rajini, Thai.Kandasamy(PUCL),
Advocate Kesavan, Advocate Sujatha (CPCL), Advocate Manoharan (IAPL),
Academics Dr.P.Sivakumar (Former principal, L.N.Govt arts college,
Gudiyatham), Dr.K.Santhosham,(Former Physics Professor, Presidency
College), Prof.Lenin(Loyola College), C.Jerome Chamraj (Iyothee dasar
scholar forum), R.Revathi (Penngal sandippu), Advocate Raghavan.

This team met the students Bharathi kannan S/o Devakottai Karuppiah
(IVth year student), Ayya Durai S/o Sankaran Koil Mariyappa Thevar,
(II year student), Arumugam S/o Kamaraj, Tiruvannamalai(IIIrd year
student), all three admitted for treatment at the Government general
hospital, Chennai, student Chithirai Selvan S/o Kuppusami, Pattukottai
(IVth year student), admitted for treatment at the Royapettah General
Hospital (IVth Year), And dalit students kept at the Puzhal Central
prison Prem Kumar, Ilayaraja, Ashok, Gokul raj, Kanaga Raj, Gopala
Krishnan, Siva.Kadiravan, P.Govindan, V.Govindhan, and the newly
appointed principal of the Dr.Ambedkar law College Prof. Mohammed
Iqbal, professors who were eye witness to the incident, and Scientist
Gopal and advocate Rajini Kanth who happened to be at the spot of
violence. They also met the flower bazaar Assistant Commissioner of
Police Bala Chandran and had a telephonic conversation with the
Esplanade police inspector Jeyakodi. We met the parents of the
affected students too.

Back Ground: The clashes between students in the Dr.Ambedkar law
college have been happening for many years now. Apart from the direct
caste clashes the student clashes have happened between the hostellers
and between hostellers and day scholars. A huge majority of the
hostellers are dalit (149). Only 7 students from the backward
communities stay at the hostel. In all the above mentioned clashes
Caste has played key role. For instance even the clash between the
hostellers and day scholars also has to be seen as a caste clash.

In this situation, a caste organization was formed in the law college
for the first time. Until now many political parties have had their
presence in the campus but never a caste outfit. This “Mukkulathor
Manavar Peravai (Mukkulathor student organization)” was initiated and
supported by Thevar peravai and other caste organizations from
outside. This outfit has the habit of celebrating October 30 of every
year as Thevar Jeyanthi on Muthuramalinga thevar’s birth anniversary.
In all the posters and pamphlets printed for this function apart from
casteist slogans the name of the Dr.Ambedkar law college has been
truncated to Chennai Law College removing Dr.Ambedkar’s name. The
college administration also let this happen unhindered. This has
created a feeling of hurt and anger in the minds of the dalit students
studying in the college. In all the functions that take place in the
college garlanding the Ambedkar statue inside the premises is a
regular event. However during Thevar Jeyanthi procession this has been
avoided.

Last academic year beginning some senior students have ragged the
fresher. The ragging was a mild teasing unlike the serious ragging.
During this a student Vijay pradeep has threatened his seniors by
saying “Don’t play with me without knowing about my background. My
uncle is the first accused in the Melavalavu morgues murder case.”
This has inflamed both sides. This Vijay pradeep has been instrumental
in grouping the Students on caste lines and many including professors
of the college say that he was mainly involved in the October 30
Thevar jeyanthi celebrations.

This year also posters were printed at the end of October for thevar
jeyanthi. Mukkulathor Students federation students say that some dalit
students infuriated at the removal of Dr. Ambedkar from the name of
the law college tore away a few of these posters. Dalit students claim
that they did not tear the posters but only asked the Mukkulathor
federation students about the deletion. So some kind of an altercation
has taken place on this issue that day. As a result one side of the
students has threatened the dalit students saying “If you come to
write the exam we will hit you and break your legs.”

We have to understand one thing in this. When we say Dalit students it
refers to the dalit students in the hostel. As they all stay in the
hostel together they have the opportunity to discuss issues and act
collectively. So they have been the target in many a caste violence.
There has been a previous enmity between the wounded and arrested
student Chithirai Selvan and the wounded students Bharathi kannan and
Arumugam. On a complaint given by Chithirai Selvan two years ago there
are PCR cases that were charged on Bharathi Kannan and Arumugam for
attacking Chithirai Selvan. Bharathi kannan had taken an anticipatory
bail in this case. Arumugam accepted to us that there is a PCR case on
him. Police Inspector Jeyakodi informed us that out of 11 cases filed
on law college students three were on Bharathi kannan.

In this context when exams started on Nov.5th some dalit students
didn’t appear for exams out of fear. Bharathi kannan and Arumugam have
threatened some students who came despite the threat. On November 7th,
students Meghanathan, Shivaraj, Raja and Ezhumalai were attacked in
the bus stop near the college by a group including Bharathi kannan,
Arumugam, Ayya Durai, Vijay pradeep, Tirulokeswaran and Sukumaran we
hear. The dalit students have met and discussed this incident in the
hostel and have decided not to go to police since exams were happening
and instead decided to provide protection to the dalit students who
are writing exams.

Even professors have seen Bharathi Kannan roaming with a knife inside
the premises. It is significant to note that Bharathi kannan and
Arumugam did not have any exam on the day of the incident. Some
professors have dispersed students who were trying to stop dalit
students from writing the exams. In this background the November 12
incidents have taken place.

The November 12 incident

On the day of the violent incident, Bharathi Kannan and his group
tried stopping some dalit students from entering the college to write
exams. Some professors and the in charge principal Sridev have gone
and dispersed the group. Meanwhile hearing that dalit students are
being threatened and stopped from writing exams around 40 hostellers
armed with sticks arrived at the college from Purasawakkam in buses. A
professor confirmed to us that apart from the casuarina sticks that
they had they did not pocess any dangerous weapons.

In this melee the college administration has shut the gates of the
college. The students have pushed the gates open and ran into the
premises. When the Principal and the professors came to enquire they
have told them that they have no intention of hurting anyone and that
their only purpose was to provide protection to the students who were
writing exams.

A disturbed college administration sought the police’s help. The
principal has sent a written complaint to the nearby Esplanade police
station. When tensions escalated he had gone in person also to the
station to seek intervention. Assistant Commissioner Narayana Moorthy
who is presently under suspension has given Bahujan Samaj Party leader
Armstrong’s phone number and Advocates association president Paul
kanagaraj’s number to the principal and suggested that he can disperse
the students by asking these two to mediate. The principal has done
the same. Advocate Rajini kanth has also spoken to the students on the
request of the principal. Scientist Gopal was with him at that time.
The students had told them also that they are there for the protection
of those hostellers writing the exam. As they were leaving the college
and getting into the high court Scientist Gopal has seen Bharathi
Kannan sharpening his knife on a stone near the parapet wall
separating the Law College and the High Court.

Meanwhile Ayya Durai has come out of the exam hall after completing
his exams. As Ayya Durai has previously stopped dalit students from
writing their exams and attacked them the dalit students have attacked
him. But as they realized that Ayya Durai was unarmed on that day they
have actually comforted him, gave water to him and sent him away. This
was witnessed by Advocate Prakash who had come to escort his daughter
who was writing the same exam. Professors also confirm.

At this juncture Bharathi kannan and Arumugam came running with knifes
into the college. The scene of Bharathi kannan running with a raised
Knife is well registered in the visuals of the incident shown on
Television. When we visited Bharathi Kannan we were told that he was
under sedation. His parents spoke to us. Arumugam who spoke to us
clearly agreed that he and Bharathi kannan had knifes on them. He told
us that they both went inside after hearing that Ayya Durai was being
beaten up to protect him. The dalit students have backed seeing
Bharathi kannan running to them with an open knife yelling abuses on
them.

We saw that Bharathi Kannan and Arumugam’s past enmity with Chithirai
Selvan. Both armed with knives have pounced on Chithirai selvan.
Seeing chithirai selvan fall with heavy injuries on his head and body
the enraged dalit students have hit both. We saw on visual media that
the two were beaten up badly after their knives fell to the ground. We
also saw that the police despite being present on the spot did not
take any effort to stop the violence or disperse the students.

Present Situation:


Three cases have been registered after the November 12th incident.

1. Crime no 1371/2008 on 8 dalit students and others. In this so far
23 dalit students have been arrested. They are lodged in the Puzhal
central jail and in the Saidapet sub jail. Chithirai Selvan admitted
at the Royapettah Government hospital has also been arrested. Sections
147, 148, 307, 506(2) (Attempt to murder) of the IPC have been invoked
on these students.

2. Crime no. 1372/2008 is the case registered based on the complaint
given by Chithirai selvan in which Bharathi kannan and Arumugam have
been named. Unlike in the above case unnamed others are not added to
this. Only Section 506(2) i.e., Murder threat of IPC has been invoked.
No body has been arrested so far.

3. Crime no 1373/2008: This is based on the complaint given by the
principal. Based on a complaint given by the principal we hear that
some students were arrested on 19th.

The state has taken action on some police officers by transferring
them and placing them under suspension.

Our Views

1. It’s disturbing to note that violence and caste based outfits
prevailing in the campus. The violence on 12th is strongly
condemnable. But November 12 violence should not be seen just in the
context of that day’s incidents. It should be seen in the context of
the series of events that have taken place in the campus.
2. Caste based outfits should not be allowed to function inside
college premises. Specifically the college administration should have
prevented posters being made without Dr.Ambedkar’s name in the college
name and putting out of such posters near the premises. The college
should have resorted to counseling, organizing parents-students-police
meetings if required, punitive action when decisions are violated to
deal with such issues.
3. The police claim that the college administration did not allow them
inside on that day. But the college administration says that they gave
a written complaint. When we spoke to the police inspector Jeyakodi
about this he said he did not know about the complaint. But he also
mentioned that he only lifted the wounded students and took them to
the hospital. This attitude of the police is worrisome. When a
cognizable offence is taking place in front of their eyes to stop that
they do not need any order or permission.
4. Most government colleges especially the law colleges are an
extension of Tamil rural life. The caste feelings that operate in
these villages reflect in the campuses also. Not just in the City law
college in most of the government colleges this is the status. This
problem is prevalent in the Coimbatore Law College also. For this
problem to be more pronounced in the law colleges the nature of the
legal profession is itself an important reason. Registering as an
advocate is itself a caste related event today. Political parties do
not condemn this. We can see that a student being part of a political
party as well as a caste based outfit.
5. Government colleges and Law colleges are grossly neglected by the
state. Teacher vacancies are filled up with immediacy. Many classes
get cancelled due to this. Students idly standing in the campus when
classes get cancelled results in small fights at times. We heard that
at least 55 vacancies exist unfilled in the Dr.Ambedkar Law College
Chennai. But at the same time in the “Elite Schools” that the self
same government runs its public knowledge that classes run regularly.
It is important to note that the Dr.Ambedkar law College did not even
have a permanent Principal at the time of this incident. A college
functioning under in charge principal cannot enable stern decisions
and conduct.
6. The commission set to enquire a clash that took place some years
back had given a set of recommendations. These recommendations
including the one to appoint a permanent full time residential warden
have not been implemented so far.
7. Preventing students from writing their exams have far reaching
implications on the students’ life and career. The college
administration should have been concerned about this. Neither the
college Administration nor the professors could confirm the number of
students who could not write their exams due to threatening.
8. Both the government and the police have the narrow outlook of dalit
students attacking the Thevar students. Every dalit student who came
across the police eyes has been arrested. Gokul Raj, a student totally
unconnected to the incident and who is not even a student of the
Dr.Ambedkar Law college has been arrested as he was passing that way
and placed in the Puzhal central jail. When he told them he is a
student of the Tirupathi college the police have asked him to go but
then called him back and asked him which caste he belongs to and when
he answered “Dalit” he was immediately arrested. Students Ilamugil,
Kanagaraj, Gopalakrishnan, Dileepan are also innocent and unrelated to
this incident though they study in the same college. They were also
arrested just because they were dalits. The parents of these students
have also been harassed. Some officials have verbally abused the
arrested students.

Recommendations



1. Caste based outfits functioning inside the campus and publishing
pamphlets and posters should be banned. The actual name of a college
should be used in the full form. It should be made a crime to remove
any word from the name of a college including “Dr.Ambedkar”
2. In the present context the demand from some quarters to remove
Dr.Ambedkar’s name from the law college name is strongly condemnable
and the state should not accept this.
3. Similar clashes have taken place in the Coimbatore Law College and
other colleges. Students writing exams in these colleges have also
been attacked. State and administration should take action and prevent
violence.
4. The action taken by the state are one sided. Even though chithirai
selvan is grievously injured in his head and his ear torn his
attackers have not been charged with attempt to murder. The caste
based outfit’s other students who were in the back ground for these
clashes have not been named in the FIR. These are condemnable. State
should rectify these serious errors immediately.
5. Harassing parents in the name of searching the students should be
avoided. Innocent students who have been arrested particularly the
Tirupathi college student Gokul raj should be released forthwith.
6. The inaction from the police despite a written complaint from the
principal has to be enquired. The same police who gave the Bahujan
samaj party leader Armstrong’s number to the principal to seek his
mediation seem to have plans to arrest him in this regard. If this is
being done under the pressure of other caste based organizations it’s
wrong and this also has to be enquired.
7. Teaching vacancies in the college should be filled immediately.
Exams that are put on hold should be conducted immediately. Special
separate exams should be conducted for those students who could not
write their exams due to threatening after enquiry. Permanent
counseling mechanism and peace committee should be formed in the
college. A full time residential Warden should be appointed to the
hostel
8. Similar to the house surgeon training imparted to medical students,
law students in their final years (III and V) should placed on
training in government’s legal departments, legal cell authority, High
court registry and other suitable places as apprentice with pay
9. All the students housed in the Saidapet sub jail should be
transferred to the Puzhal Central prison.