The Chennai police arrested a 27-year-old man for extorting money from around 350 men, by using his woman-like voice for sex chats with these men. According to reports, the accused had been doing this since 2017.  An engineering graduate, Vallal Rajkumar Reegan of Panakudi in Tirunelveli district, managed to pull off the crime by targeting men who download the app Locanto, looking for jobs.  P Udhayaraj from Maduravoyal had approached the police with a complaint that a woman named Priya was calling him on his phone, demanding money. He told the police that he had downloaded Locanto on February 16 to browse for job opportunities when a pop-up offering sex chat appeared on his screen. A few minutes into the chat, Udhayaraj allegedly received a call from a woman named Priya, who offered to provide sexual favours in exchange for money. On payment of Rs 100, he also received a nude picture of a woman. Later, Priya allegedly told him to pay Rs 1500 in exchange for a video. However, Udhayaraj refused to pay and blocked the number. A few hours after he blocked the number, he reportedly received the copy of a sexual harassment complaint filed against him by the woman. He also started receiving calls from many other numbers. Police began their investigation with Priya’s phone number which Udhayaraj gave them.  During investigation, police found that the number belonged to a man. While questioning him, he allegedly confessed that he was running the racket since 2017 and had extorted money from over 350 men so far using the same modus operandi. He also told the police that he lodged police complaints against men who refuse to part with their money and that he had filed around 300 such complaints so far since 2017, using the Tamil Nadu police online complaint system.  Joint Commissioner of Police, East, R Sudhakar told Times of India that Reegan was doing this to extort money from the men and that none of the affected men had approached the police till date since they feared getting exposed. Police have registered an FIR against Reegan under sections 384 [Punishment for extortion] and 506 (i) [Criminal intimidation] of the IPC and under various sections of the Information Technology Act. 

Recovering vehicles towed away by traffic police for parking in a no-parking zone is all set to become more expensive as the state home department increased the ‘Helper and Towing’ charges across the state. As per reports, the Helper and Towing charges, which is a part of the no-parking fine, was increased recently for all classes of vehicles. The revised helper and towing charges for a car is Rs 450, which is a substantial increase from the earlier Rs 325. Similarly, the charges for a two-wheeler has been increased from Rs 160 to Rs 225. These are apart from the basic fine that the violators must pay to the police. For vehicles involved in road accidents, the government has increased the helper and towing charges by 10-25%, depending on the category of the vehicle. The Chennai police have been cracking down on vehicles parked in no-parking zones since December last year. Apart from locking the wheels of the cars, the police have also been towing away vehicles if they had caused traffic obstructions on busy streets and roads. The decision to revise the charges came after the police found it difficult to find helpers who will be on the towing vehicle doing the rounds around the city. While the police hire towing vehicles on monthly rent, the charges for the helpers were being paid by the police department and then filed for reimbursement from the department later on. In Chennai, less than 25,000 vehicles are booked for parking in unauthorised spots every month. However, the number has increased to 40,000 in February says the news report. Annually, around 3 lakh vehicles are asked to pay fine for parking in unauthorised spots in Chennai. Obstructive parking has also caused fatal accidents in which 320 people have died in 1700 accidents. 

Continuing the spate of suicides within college campuses, a 19-year-old student was found dead in her hostel room at the SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur campus, near Chennai on Saturday. Ayushi Rana, a BTech student, was found dead by fellow students who looked for her when she did not come out of her room for a long time on Saturday. Speaking to TNM, the Maraimalai Nagar police said that Ayushi had not left any note behind, that could have explained the reason behind her decision to kill herself. “Ayushi had returned to her hostel late on Friday night and was questioned by the warden. The warden had also called her parents to inform them about Ayushi coming in late. After that her parents called Ayushi and spoke to her,” a police officer from the station told TNM. He also added that Ayushi and her parents were already in disagreement over her wish for shifting to an accommodation outside of the college campus. Read: ‘Copycat’ suicides in SRM Institute: What colleges, families and friends must do This is the fourth student suicide reported from the SRM campus near Chennai since the beginning of the academic year 2019-20. While two students killed themselves in May 2019, another B Tech student killed himself allegedly due to arrears in his exams. Following the suicides of three students within a span of 60 days inside the campus, the DGP of Tamil Nadu JK Tripathi had ordered for a CBCID probe into the suicides on July 17, 2019. The CBCID police had also conducted searches in the college campus in August as a part of the investigation into the suicides. A team of 30 officers had also seized two DVRs, some documents and had also questioned around 25 witnesses in relation to the three suicides. TNM’s attempt to reach SRM Institute of Science and Technology for a comment did not succeed.   If you or anyone you know is feeling depressed or suicidal, consider reaching out to one of the following helplines: Tamil Nadu: State health department suicide helpline number - 104 Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050 Telangana:   Telangana government suicide prevention toll free number - 104  Roshni- 040-66202000, 66202001 SEVA- 09441778290, 040 - 27504682 (between 9 AM and 7 PM) Karnataka: Sahai : 24-hour helpline numbers: 080- 65000111, 080-65000222 Kerala: Maithri helpline - 0484-2540530 Chaithram helpline: 0484-2361161 Both are 24-hour helpline numbers. Andhra Pradesh:  Life Suicide Prevention Helpline No.78930-78930  Roshni -  Helpline 1: 9166202000  Helpline 2: 9127848584 

The Indian government has decided to ban commercial surrogacy in an attempt to curb “exploitation of women”. The key aspects of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 has come under severe criticism and the latest Select Committee report recommends major changes to the Bill. While it is to be seen if the government will accept the suggestions or ignore it like previous instances, the following series of reportage from Tamil Nadu and other states attempts to find out if the ban would make sense, and focuses on the actual socio-economic inequalities around the assisted reproductive healthcare. It was less than a week into the new year in 2014. Pon Kathiravan, a member of the CPI (ML), as per his daily routine at the party office in Namakkal district’s Komarapalayam was busy reading the morning newspaper. As he flipped through the pages, he realised the presence of a man in his 30s sitting across the table. Before Kathiravan could realise what was happening, the man jumped from his chair and attacked Kathiravan. As Kathiravan, with multiple cuts on his head, hastily climbed down the stairs to get out of the building, he was stabbed again. “Navaraj is his name. I had never seen him before, never saw him again,” recounts 59-year old Kathiravan, six years after the incident that completely shook his life. He quickly clarifies: “After the incident, I saw him once when the police wanted me to identify him before the arrest. He is now out on bail.” Pon Kathiravan Just days before Kathiravan was stabbed, a then 27-year-old Sakunthala had approached the party office along with a neighbour who was also a party member. She wanted help in filing a complaint against her abusive husband Navaraj, and Kathiravan had helped her draft it. Later, police officials, after counselling the couple, arranged a mutual separation. Triggered by the series of incidents, Navaraj attacked Kathiravan and later stabbed Sakunthala, who too survived after multiple injuries. In the eight years of her married life, Sakunthala was forced by Navaraj and his mother to donate her oocyte (egg) 18 times at various hospitals in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. According to the police report, she was also forced to sell one of her kidneys soon after her wedding in 2006. When Sakunthala finally resisted, she was attacked. Ignoring such regressive domestic environments that women like Sakunthala are forced to encounter, the latest Surrogacy Regulation Bill also conveniently evades other complexities around assisted reproduction like egg donation. In an attempt to “curb exploitation” of surrogate mothers it bans commercial surrogacy and allows only “close relatives” to be surrogates. If the prime concern of the government is to curb exploitation of women, it should have brought in a regulative mechanism for egg donation too. More than surrogacy, it is the egg donation that is more rampant and exploitative, says Nikhil Datar, a Mumbai-based senior gynaecologist and advocate of reproductive rights. Also read: Ban on commercial surrogacy in India is futile without addressing larger inequalities Just days after Sakunthala was attacked in Tamil Nadu, Yuma Sherpa, a 23-year-old shop assistant, died mysteriously in the national capital of New Delhi, following a medical procedure that involved oocyte extraction procedure. Four years before Yuma’s death, 17-year-old Sushma Pandey died in Mumbai of “brain haemorrhage and pulmonary haemorrhage due to ovarian hyper-stimulation shock syndrome”, after donating eggs thrice within 10 months. This was a brazen violation of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines which has fixed the age of those donating eggs to between 18 and 35. The deaths of Yuma and Sushma gained national attention and raised a lot of questions on the legal and ethical aspects of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART). But no stringent rules were brought in. Earlier this month, a Select Committee made recommendations to the strongly criticised Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019, after the government failed to acknowledge the suggestions of a Standing Committee. And, last week the Union Cabinet approved the ART Bill that covers a larger gamut of medical procedures, unlike the Surrogacy Bill. Besides all the legislative process, a curious case emerges in Tamil Nadu, where issues like prohibition, pollution and the current economic downturn are connected through an invisible thread: a $20 billion global fertility market services. Domino effect 1: A secret called ‘batch’ In Komarapalayam, it is exactly six years since Sakunthala was attacked: neither the police officials nor the CPI (ML) members know her whereabouts. As I unsuccessfully search for Sakunthala’s house through the streets of powerloom towns – Komarapalayam and the neighbouring Pallipalayam – a very closely guarded secret unfolds: a secret that the women hold to themselves, tucked in the midst of closing down of powerlooms and growing debt. It is called the ‘batch’. Twenty-six-year-old Dhanam* is also part of the secret, something that her family doesn’t know and only her close friend and neighbour knows. She is hesitant, initially, to talk about the ‘batch’ that is filled with agony and pain, but often coloured in shame and stigma. Dhanam was only 13 years old when she got married and hardly 18 when her husband, a powerloom worker in Komarapalayam, died. Dhanam, also employed in the powerloom industry, struggled to bring up her two sons. Even as she worked hard, her debts grew. Apart from being a casual worker at construction sites she works in powerlooms too whenever she gets a job, while her debts have ballooned to more than Rs 1.5 lakh. Dhanam remarried in 2014 in hopes of a better life for her and her sons. However, this time it hit her severely when the man turned abusive. With debts piling up and subjected to domestic violence, she was “offered help” by a friend. “I was told there was an easier way to solve all my problems. The lady at the construction site told me she’d take me to a hospital where I’d be injected to take my fertile eggs and would be paid for it. At first, I was a little sceptical and thought about it for a while before agreeing.” Name boards of hospitals, fertility clinics and scan centres at a junction in Erode Unable to recollect when she first donated, Dhanam says it was “less than three years ago”. She adds, “You remember when Rs 500 and 1,000 notes were scrapped? Since then it has become difficult to find regular jobs at construction sites and powerlooms. So, I went to the hospital for my first ‘batch’ with the lady who had suggested the idea.” Sitting next to Dhanam, her 33-year-old friend Seetha* who is also an egg donor, nods in agreement. She adds that most of their friends decided to take up egg donation as a means of earning after they went through job cuts in the last couple of years. “I was rejected in my first attempt as my ovulation was not good enough for (egg) retrieval. I was given medication and told to visit the hospital after a month. This time it was successful and I was paid Rs 15,000. Every single visit we make to the hospital to donate eggs is termed as ‘batch’,” claims Dhanam. “Agents say ‘batch’, so we call it that too,” admits Dhanam, who has gone for “10 batches in three years,” neglecting the fact that repeated ovarian stimulations would take a huge toll on her health. Domino effect 2: The two headwinds between warp and weft The noisy yet rhythmically alternating clackety-clack sounds of the powerlooms’ weft and warp fill Pallipalayam’s earthy scent on a hazy afternoon. In one of the lanes, off the Erode main road, is a small powerloom unit that manufactures lungis, towels and bedsheets, and has 10 employees. Forty-year-old R Sumathi, who has been working in the powerloom sector for over 20 years, is busy segregating the sized yarn before it is transferred to a ring package. Her parents were in the handloom sector and she started off assisting them since she was 13. She dropped out of school after Class 8 and since then her world has been spinning around looms. “There are very few large powerloom units around Erode and Namakkal, most are smaller units run like cottage industry. Children assist parents, siblings would have a joint unit, spouses would do business together: all it needs is a little space. Every alternate house would have at least a single unit running throughout the day,” says Sumathi, who has witnessed the rise of the powerloom industry in the 1990s as a kid along with the downfall of handloom. “And now, this too,” she adds, pointing to the large units in front of her. Sumathi adds that the powerloom business has been hit very badly in the last two years. Even as they were struggling to realise the impact of demonetisation, the new taxation – Goods and Services Tax (GST) – pushed things from bad to worse, and things have further plummeted in the last few months. Inside a powerloom unit, Pallipalayam Sumathi, whose factory has halved its production from 12 powerlooms, points towards two buildings on the opposite road and says that the factories have remained non-operational for four months. With over 5.62 lakh powerlooms and more than 10.18 lakh people employed in the sector, Tamil Nadu has the second largest powerloom industry in the country, next to Maharashtra which employs over 15.54 lakh people across its 9.5 lakh looms. Five years ago, D Rathna, while working on women’s issues in Pallipalayam, came across women who sold oocytes due to financial constraints. She adds that the number of women from smaller towns around Erode and Namakkal who have turned to egg donation as a means of income has only increased in the last few years. This increase closely coincides with the growing debt and the shutting down of powerloom units in the twin towns of Pallipalayam and Komarapalayam following the two headwinds – demonetisation and GST. The cycle of economic crisis, job cuts and debt are not new to these towns. However, mapping the three-decade trajectory points to the larger socio-dynamic transition from kidney to oocyte sale. The Textile Policy of 1985 followed by liberalisation of the Indian economy came as a huge blow to the handloom sector. As Pallipalayam and Komarapalayam – major centres for handloom – switched over to powerloom, there were major job losses and debt, turning the towns into a hub for a kidney racket in the late 80s and 90s. Kidney theft cases were emerging even after the adoption of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act by Tamil Nadu in 1994, leading the state to implement a set of rules for streamlining organ donation and transplantation in 2008. Now, more than a decade later, Tamil Nadu leads the country in organ transplantation. In the last few years a newer problem has hit these towns in the name of oocyte sale, as the cycle of economic crisis, job cuts and debt recurs. The women, who are almost an equal workforce in the unorganised powerloom sector, end up becoming suppliers to the infertility market, valued at nearly half a billion in India. The semi-urban setup of the two towns with a good mix of migrant population makes it easier for women to take up egg donation (and occasionally surrogacy), which would otherwise be viewed with stigma in a closely-knit rural setup. Many of the egg donors claim that they were initially stigmatised by their families, only to be later coerced into it once the family began to reap the financial benefits. “When someone sold off one of their kidneys it was equated to a sacrifice, like the person did it to save (her/his) struggling family. But when women like us become a surrogate or egg donor for the well-being of the same family, it becomes a matter of shame for everyone around us,” says Dhanam. Domino effect 3: Pollutants in Bhavani river The heavy rains from the previous week have led to a good flow in the Bhavani river, the banks on which the powerloom towns are situated. After a small hiatus, the November rains are gearing up to pour again in the western region that has significantly contributed to the rise of fertility clinics in Tamil Nadu, a state with the second highest number of ART centres, next to Maharashtra. Talking about the mushrooming of fertility centres in Erode and Namakkal, Dinakaran, who is with a non-profit organisation that works with women in Namakkal, claims that the districts of Erode, Tiruppur, Karur and Namakkal have all the elements required for the “infertility market’s supply chain”. Apart from the availability of egg donors as “suppliers”, there is a “natural demand – infertility” that has developed due to the extreme contamination of the Bhavani river over the last three decades due to discharge of untreated water from the numerous dyeing and bleaching units of the textile industries. One of the streets lined with powerloom units The 217-km-long Bhavani river that courses through Coimbatore and Erode before its confluence with the Cauvery is Tamil Nadu’s second largest river and stretches around 91 km in Erode district. It’s a major source for agriculture and drinking water. Various studies at different time periods by both union and state Pollution Control Boards have reported that the effluents severely affect the river and several legal proceedings have led the courts to direct the state to ensure that water is let out into the river only after effluent treatment. Yet, it remains unregulated and the river contaminated, according to locals. “The pollution affects all those who live along the river. At least if there was sand on our river beds, it’d have filtered out the chemicals that are let off. But continuous plunder of the river sand has made even that impossible,” claims Dinakaran. Mumbai-based ART expert Parikshit Tank states that it is important to start viewing the environment as a possible contributor to rise in the infertility rate. “While pollution cannot be the sole reason, it could also be one of the possibilities. Lots of pollutants contain estrogen-like-chemicals and even if the concentration is very low, prolonged exposure to it will have ill-effects,” says Parikshit. Medical practitioners in Erode and Namakkal point out that those in the age group of 30 to 40 are the first generation to have lived their entire lives with pollutants from dyeing and bleaching units. Senior doctor V Jeevanandham, a pioneer in initiating co-operative hospitals in Erode, says that along with the contaminated water, extensive use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides in agricultural produce could also be a reason for infertility. The doctor, who is currently running a de-addiction centre, adds that increasing levels of alcoholism in Tamil Nadu could be another reason too. Domino effect 4: TASMAC, Tamil Nadu’s cash cow Health implications aside, the social effects of alcoholism are numerous in Tamil Nadu where the state government is the sole wholesale and retail seller of liquor through its Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), which is one of the largest contributors to the state’s coffers. Protests for prohibition galvanised around 2015 and since then there have been on and off agitations across the state. It became one of the prime promises of all political parties before the 2016 assembly elections and the AIADMK came back to power promising a “step-by-step prohibition”. Back in Komarapalayam, as Dhanam contemplates going for the next ‘batch’, her friend Seetha is enquiring about the possibilities of selling one of her kidneys or becoming a surrogate. National Family Health Survey (NFHS)- 4 data, Tamil Nadu Dhanam’s second marriage broke up after her husband started forcing her into frequent sale of eggs. “He would take away all the money for drinking and I’d be left with nothing to feed my children. So, I don’t live with him anymore,” she says. Seetha, another victim of child marriage, is also separated from her alcoholic husband and lives with her 18-year-old son, who has just begun to work at a retail outlet. Seetha, who has so far donated on seven occasions, is completely aware that her poor health will not allow her to stress her body any further. “What else can I do; I’m in need of money to repay my loans,” she says. Dhanam quickly adds: “If there is anything that should go, it’s the TASMAC shops… root cause of everything. If the men in our families weren’t alcoholic, we could’ve easily managed with the available income… it has ruined our lives.” Meanwhile, attempts to trace Sakunthala are still futile as someone in Komarapalayam claims that she has moved to Coimbatore and no one seems to have her contact. But, in a span of six years there have been many Sakunthalas with similar, if not more harrowing, tales to tell. *Names changed to protect identity. This reportage was supported by the Thakur Foundation. Dharani Thangavelu, an independent journalist from Tamil Nadu, is a recipient of the grant for investigative reporting in public health 2019, awarded by the foundation. Photos by Dharani Thangavelu

The one-man committee to probe the death of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has been granted its seventh extension in over two years. The extension to the Arumughaswamy Commission was granted on Monday, incidentally the 72nd birthday of the late AIADMK supremo. Party leaders gathered to remember Jayalalithaa at events across the state while Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami visited the late leader's Poes Garden residence in Chennai to pay his respects. Jayalalithaa, who was hospitalized in September 2016, just months after her re-election as Chief Minister, passed away in December 2016. News and updates regarding her hospitalisation were closely guarded, leading to multiple allegations being levelled against her close aide VK Sasikala in the aftermath of her death. In February 2017, O Panneerselvam, who is currently Deputy Chief Minister, rebelled against the party’s decision to elect Sasikala as leader. However, infighting between Sasikala and O Panneerselvam came to an end soon after the former was convicted in the 1996 Disproportionate Assets case. With Edappadi Palaniswami elevated as Chief Minister in the interim, one of the conditions put forth for a merger with his faction by Panneerselvam was a probe committee.  In the weeks and months following her death, accusations had been levelled against not just Sasikala but also other AIADMK leaders’ accounts, regarding discrepancies in the hospitalisation and subsequent death of Jayalalithaa. With the two fighting factions coming together, a probe committee was announced in August 2017. Retired Justice Arumughaswamy was to lead the probe.  The Arumughaswamy Commission's probe, however, has been taking place at a glacial pace, with the state government granting the committee its seventh extension on Monday. The committee was initially given a three months to complete its probe. Over the last two years, the commission has been at loggerheads with Apollo hospitals where Jayalalithaa was receiving treatment, alleging that the hospital was impeding the investigation.

India has made a formal request for a 15th century bronze idol believed to be stolen from a temple in Tamil Nadu and found its way to a UK museum through auction.The statue of Saint Tirumankai Alvar was acquired by the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford from Sotheby's auction house in 1967 from the collection of a collector named J R Belmont (1886-1981). The museum says that it was alerted to the origins of the ancient statue by an independent researcher in November last year, following which it alerted the Indian High Commission."Research in the photo archives of the IFP-EFEO (Institut Francais de Pondichery and the Ecole francaise d'Extreme-Orient) appears to show the same bronze in the temple of Shri Soundarrajaperumal Kovil in Tamil Nadu in 1957," a statement from the Ashmolean Museum said on Monday."The Ashmolean was informed that the bronze is one of a number of bronzes in collections in Europe and the United States identified by this researcher through the IFP-EFEO archive," the statement said. Although there was no claim against the object, the museum officially brought the matter to the attention of the Indian High Commission on December 16 last year, requesting further information, including possible police records, that would help them establish the work's provenance."We were open to holding further discussions around the possible repatriation of the sculpture," the museum said. Indian High Commissioner in the UK Ruchi Ghanashyam acknowledged the "proactive" move of the museum soon after and the matter was forwarded to the Indian authorities for follow up, with a formal request for the restitution of the idol sent to the museum earlier this month."In our request, we have stated that the police report furnished by the idol wing unambiguously shows that the original idol as is found in the IFP archives has been stolen and replaced with a fake one and that the stolen idol is the same one that is presently with the Ashmolean," said Rahul Nangare, First Secretary (Trade) at the Indian High Commission in London."After we provided them the police report along with the formal request for restitution, Ashmolean have informed that they are now carrying out further due diligence with an official from Ashmolean also scheduled to visit India shortly. We have requested them to expedite the same so that the final decision is taken at the earliest," he said. The museum, which holds some of the world's most famous art and archaeology artefacts, says it acquired the statue in "good faith" in 1967."We currently have no indication of how the bronze entered his [Belmont] collection and we are continuing to investigate with the support of the Indian High Commission," the museum said. There have been a number of instances of stolen Indian artefacts being restored from the UK to India, most recently in August last year when a limestone carved relief sculpture, originating from Andhra Pradesh, and a "Navaneetha Krishna" bronze sculpture originating from 17th century Tamil Nadu, were handed over to the Indian High Commissioner to the UK following a joint US-UK investigation involving Scotland Yard's Art and Antiques Unit. 

The Madras High Court has warned the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) that it would be held responsible for accidents caused due to bad roads or improper signage on the highway. The court also warned the NHAI that it would also be made to pay compensation for the victims involved in accidents as a result of poor road conditions.  According to reports, these remarks were made on Monday during a hearing on a PIL regarding bad roads between Maduravoyal and Walajahpet on National Highway 4 by Justice M Sathyanarayanan and Justice R Hemalatha. The court’s observation came as a court-appointed advocate-commissioner had submitted his report on the progress made by the NHAI on the Maduravoyal-Walajahpet stretch of NH 4. In his report, the commissioner had mentioned that the recent patch work conducted on the road as well as the poor lighting on the stretch were matters of grave concern. The report also mentioned that the stretch did not have proper traffic signals and restrooms. Taking note of the report, the bench ordered that part of the highway must be relaid, according to the norms prescribed by the Indian Road Standard Congress. The NHAI had earlier responded to the court, stating that high mast lighting had been installed at toll plazas and at 17 major junctions on the Sriperumbudur - Walajahpet stretch of the highway. Earlier, the Additional Solicitor-General had also told the court that there were delays in finishing the construction work on the six-laning project. He also had pointed out the difficulty in getting clearances from various government agencies to complete the work. Noting this, the judges impleaded the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu to the case suo motu, suggesting that a single window clearance system should be instituted so that clearances can be procured swiftly.

An old interview of actor Rekha talking about her experience at the shoot of Punnagai Mannan is newly going viral. In the interview, Rekha speaks about how the famous kiss in the film between her and Kamal Haasan happened without her consent. In the 1986 K Balachander directorial, Rekha and Kamal played star-crossed lovers who jump off a waterfall because they will not be allowed to live together. While the scene itself became legendary, Rekha’s revelation has sparked outrage in a world shaken up by the #MeToo movement. Speaking to TNM, Rekha says, “I’ve said this a hundred times. They shot the scene without me knowing about it. People ask me the same question and I’m fed up of answering it.” However, Rekha adds that the end result of what happened was apt, as far as the film was concerned. “The kiss didn’t look ugly or aggressive on screen. There was a need for it, but I was a very young girl and I didn’t know about it. He (director K Balachander) said, ‘Kamal, close your eyes! You remember what I told you, right?’ and Kamal said that he did. Then we had to jump when he said 1, 2, 3... we kissed and then jumped. It was only when I watched it in theatres that I realised it had such a huge impact.” Rekha was only 16 at the time of the shoot and had just completed her Class 10. “They continued after that shot also, we had a location shift. Suresh Krissna and Vasanth were associate directors and I told them I wasn’t informed about the kiss and that I wouldn’t have agreed to it. But they told me to think of it as a big king kissing a small child. They told me it wouldn’t be passed by the Censor. I asked them what the Censor was!” she recalls. Adding that these days an onscreen kiss isn’t a big deal, she says, “Whatever has happened has happened. It’s been many years now, but this question keeps coming up again and again.” But isn’t the discussion different this time around, given the awareness created by the #MeToo movement on consent? “The audience still doesn’t believe that it happened without my permission," she says. Rekha points out that people who watch films assume that consent has been taken for shooting such scenes and that they find it difficult to believe when someone says it didn't happen that way. Adding that that unless Kamal Haasan spoke about it, no one would believe her, she says, "Only he and the unit that was there can confirm what I’ve said. Balachander sir is no more. Only those who were there at the shoot know that the kiss happened without my consent." Asked if K Balachander or Kamal Haasan apologised to her after the shoot, she says, “Why would they apologise, the film was a superhit! I got many films after that too, with Ramarajan and Ilaiyaraaja, like Namma Ooru Pattukaran. We were all so busy in those days, going from one schedule to another.” However, Rekha reiterates that though Punnagai Mannan paved the way for many more films for her, the fact remains that she wouldn’t have agreed to the kiss. “I don’t know about getting an apology but it is a fact that I wouldn’t have said yes to the kiss at that time. They just did the scene suddenly. It’s over now and I don’t want to revisit it," she says, noting that even now, she doesn’t expect any apology to come from anyone. “I learnt to be more careful from next time,” she adds. Asked if she feels there should be greater awareness in the film industry about such issues, she says, “I’ve been in the industry for a long time and I can’t say that I’ve had a bad experience as such. I’ve been here for the last 28 years. I believe in ‘give respect and take respect’. Nobody has ill-treated me, whether it’s an actor, director or technician. I haven’t had the kind of #MeToo experiences that people have talked about. This is work for me – I go and finish it, that’s it. I just focus on what I have to do.” “I’ve been asked if I’ll wear a swimsuit, sleeveless or shorts and I’ve said no. I’ve told them that shorts won’t suit me and that I’ve done only homely roles, not sexy ones. I’d tell them this in advance. If we have to shoot a rain scene, we’ll wear a black skirt or a thick sari,” she says. Rekha doesn’t want what she said about her experience to provide fodder for the rumour mills. “I want to stay positive,” she says. “Kamal sir himself is 65 now. What’s the point of talking more about this now?”

The entrance to artist Manohar Devadoss’s house on Papanasam Sivan Salai off Santhome High Road in Chennai, is a picture worthy of a greeting card. And aptly so. After all, the artist is known for the annual greeting cards that he and his beloved late wife Mahima enjoyed making for close to 42 years. Manohar’s yearly greeting card ritual with his wife is a fascinating story, but that will have to wait. The 83-year-old artist was recently announced as a Padma Shri awardee, and is an inspiration for many. A tragic accident just a few years into his marriage with Mahima rendered her a quadriplegic; his vision failed him due to a rare genetic condition called retinitis pigmentosa during his prime; he lost his beloved wife in 2008. But despite these adversities, Manohar has persevered, his genial spirit intact. A bougainvillea archway leads us to the entrance of the ivory-coloured bungalow where he lives. The two pillars that bear the creeper have two names etched on them - Manohar and Mahima. The former in a standard all-caps font and the latter in a cursive, hand-written font. We’re at his tastefully arranged living room, displaying some of his framed sketches, including the one he did of his wife. Seated opposite an intricately carved, Andhra style Gajalakshmi wooden door that stands between bookshelves, we begin discussing his art, his love for his wife and his thoughts on living. It was architect Thirupurasundari Sevvel who helped him with all the paperwork for the Padma Shri award, he says. On the day of the interview, Manohar is busy with phone calls. An article about him has been published in a newspaper and several are calling to congratulate him. “I must have answered at least 30 calls since morning,” he says. “This is not my typical day. This is unusual.” The chemist, artist and author “I’ve drawn pictures ever since I can remember. From 6th standard, on my own, I learnt about perspectives. The chapel in my college was my first original, serious artwork, when I was 19. It was a landmark because that was when I realised I had a flair for heritage buildings,” he begins. Manohar, who explains that he did art only for his enjoyment, has a PhD in Chemistry and worked in Oldham Company as a chemist for over four decades. And during all these years as a chemist, Manohar continued sketching. “My job gave me great joy and I was sent on trips to England. But the best thing was yet to happen,” he pauses, waiting to be prodded. “I was all ready to get married and in those days, going abroad was such a rare thing that my value in the matrimonial market went up,” he guffaws. As destiny would have it, Manohar was introduced to Mahima through a common cousin, and after a brief but eventful courtship, the two got married. Manohar and Mahima. Picture Courtesy: Thirupurasundari Sevvel This period is also the one which Manohar considers as his best as an artist. “I became a better artist as soon as she came into my life. I used to illustrate the letters that I sent to everyone and naturally my letters to my fiancée had to be better! Sometimes, I even had this uncomfortable feeling that she was eagerly looking forward to my letters more than me,” he chuckles. Three of his books - Green Well Years, Multiple Faucets of My Madurai and An Artist’s Perspective - have excellent sketches done by Manohar over the years. “I started on Green Well Years with encouragement from my wife. I had started losing my vision at that point and she suggested that I chronicle my childhood adventures during my time in Madurai, which according to her were more interesting than Tom Sawyer’s. I began illustrating it with great difficulty, and it took 15 years of writing and 14 years of artwork,” he says. Sketches from Multiple Faucets of My Madurai This book, with Manohar’s sketches from his childhood memories and escapades, also have his writings on his boyhood days. It was first published in 1997. Manohar has also published two books on his wife - Dreams, Seasons and Promises, and A Poem to Courage, the last a biographical novel. He is presently working on a book on Madras with architect Sujatha Shankar, also a Convenor at the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), and another on his life. “The books I’ve written so far stop with 1995, but all-important events happen after that. I’m writing a book on my life with Mahima, our life after the accident and how we led a happy life. This will be a true biography. I decided to not have drawings in this and I will leave it to the readers to imagine,” he says. ‘A poem to courage’ Manohar says his wife had a great sense of humour. “On our wedding night, I gave her Jack London’s The Call of the Wild and this was the first gift that I gave her. When she opened it, she at once smiled very impishly and said, ‘Mano, it is not at all inappropriate for a man to give his bride this book on the first night of the wedding.’ That was the kind of person she was. We gave each other inexpensive but very creative gifts,” he says. Theirs was a marriage of handmade gifts, inside jokes and immense love that helped the two brave through most difficult times. “After the accident, when she became bedridden, I made her a promise. As long as I live, my wife will never get bedsores. This, I kept until the very last. Mahima lived for 35 years but she didn't have a suggestion of bedsore,” Manohar says with great affection. And according to Manohar all that was required was simple, strategic love. “We never told each other ‘I’ll be loving you eternally darling’, nothing of that sort. She’d say, ‘Poor Mano, your sleep is deprived because you have to turn me over in the middle of the night.’ I used to say, ‘I did it for selfish reasons, I have to spend money if you get bedsores.’ I used to call her my sack of potatoes during the times I had to carry her and she used to call me a savage and a caveman,” he says with a laugh. “When my vision started failing, she decided to read to me and as I drew, she would read to me for hours. In 1979, almost seven years after the accident and four years after I lost vision in my left eye, I told our two monsters - retinitis pigmentosa and quadriplegia – ‘These are the years that I have done the maximum artwork I've ever done’. It was also the time when the number of books we read was higher. We were sharing books and our bond of affection also deepened.” He tells us how their greeting card project came to be. “During our honeymoon to Belur in January 1964, Mahima handed me a pen and a notepad and asked me to sketch the temple architecture. I remember the sketching of Darpana Sundari, of a woman looking at herself in the mirror with admiration, and that Christmas, we made a card using the sketch and gave it to our friends. In 1966, the ink drawing of a 120-ft long country raft gliding smoothly along Buckingham canal with a beautiful billowing sail, created a mini sensation. Mahima had written a crisp text upon research on the history of the canal, the viability of the boats and on the hard lives of the boatmen. People wanted to buy it,” he says. Thus began their four decade long tradition, which was not paused even in the years when the accident took place or when Mahima passed away. “Even during 2008 New Year, the time when Mahima was extremely unwell, we sold more than 33,000 cards,” he recalls. “In 2008 March my wife died, but even in 2007, we did the greeting card project. People keep coming home to buy it around the end of October, early November and it is always in great demand. We gift the entire sale proceeds to charity. Although we were in a debilitating, tragic situation, we were able to give to people who were less fortunate than us. We had a lot of love and support that a lot of them didn’t,” he explains. Mahima and Manohar also contributed to the non-profit Sankara Nethralaya Eye Hospital in 1991. “Mahima was able to paint a few watercolours and I put up a few of my own sketches. Our daughter too displayed her artistic photographs and the proceeds from the sales went to Sankara Nethralaya,” he beams. Manohar has a rare resilience about him. Picture courtesy: Naveen “Life is full of joyful surprises,” he says, when referring to his very first Carnatic performance that he gave just two years ago. “I have always been passionate about music and I know to play the harmonium. If not for my father’s passing when I was young, I might have become a pianist. But now, I’ve been learning Carnatic music.” As someone who is hard to label, we ask how he would like to be identified. “I try to be a compassionate, forgiving person and a person with a good sense of humour. Also whatever talent God gave, I have tried to excel at it. In whatever I did and whatever I do,” he finishes. Watch Manohar talk about Madras and Madurai:

Kalaiarasan, a 25-year-old Dalit man, was stabbed to death in a caste clash allegedly involving men from the Most Backward Community (MBC) in Thiruvannamalai district on Sunday. According to the police, the incident occurred on Sunday evening. On the occasion of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s birth anniversary, sports events were organised for the children from the villages surrounding Vilvarani in Polur, around 35 kilometres from Thiruvannamalai town. During the event, a group of MBC men, led by Dayalan, 27, who belonged to the Vanniyar caste, had allegedly harassed some girl students and were questioned by the residents of the nearby Dalit colony. The argument led to a fistfight during which Dayalan allegedly abused the Dalits using their caste name. He was then allegedly attacked by the men from the colony. “Dayalan left the spot immediately and brought back a group of men including his friend Dileepan (27) to attack the Dalit men. In the clashes that ensued, Kalaiarasan was stabbed. Dayalan and his friends fled the scene after stabbing him,” a police officer told TNM. Though Kalaiarasan was rushed to the Government Hospital in Thiruvannamalai, he succumbed to his injuries. Unrest prevailed in the area surrounding the Dalit colony on Monday as its residents engaged in a road blockade on the Chengam-Polur road. They demanded compensation for Kalaiarasan’s family and the immediate arrest of the accused. Around 150 police personnel were deployed in and around the Dalit colony on Monday. The police arrested Dayalan, Dileepan and two other men in connection with the case and remanded them to judicial custody on Monday evening. The police refused to divulge the names of the other two men arrested on Monday. As of Tuesday morning, five more men have been detained in the station pending inquiry. “The men who attacked Kalaiarasan were from a mix of communities including Vanniyars and Yadavars. All of them belong to the MBC community,” said the officer.  The police have registered cases against Dayalan, Dileepan and nine others under various sections of the IPC and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. 

In a shocking case of alleged intimidation and misuse of power, three minor survivors of sexual abuse have accused the Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) of the Sivaganga Mahila Court of colluding with their abuser and forcing them to turn hostile in court. The girls were amongst six students from a Panchayat Union Primary School in the district, who alleged that their headmaster, Murugan, had sexually abused them in 2015. The SPP Indira Gandhi allegedly instructed the girls who were aged 10 when the case came to court in 2016 that they must deny any abuse by the headmaster in court and instructed them to make false statements in court. What’s more shocking is that the girls have alleged that a female government lawyer made them meet Murugan in court, and allowed him to coerce them. One of the girls has named SPP Indira Gandhi in her complaint and said, “Indira Gandhi lawyer only forced me to say what I said in front of court about Murugan teacher. I realised this only after I became a big girl.” Though all six victims turned hostile while deposing to the court in 2016, the case came to light when Superintendent of Police (SP) Rohith Nathan took charge of Sivaganga district in 2019. "We were reviewing cases pending in court last year based on the SP's instructions and found that this case was heading towards an acquittal despite all the evidence being in our favor," a senior police official in the district tells TNM. "When we contacted the families of the survivors they confessed that they were being threatened by both the headmaster and the Special Public Prosecutor," he alleges. The police were initially hesitant to file a complaint against the SPP as it would involve making the survivors recall their trauma. Instead, the SP wrote to the District Collector on November 22, 2019.  He requested that the SPP be replaced by Sivasankaran, Deputy Director of Prosecution, Sivagana, in the interest of justice and successful prosecution of the case."In this case there are six innocent girls who are victims and their ages are between 9 and 10 years...I further submit that the Special Public Prosecutor who is conducting this case is not satisfied with us and if she continued the prosecution in this case, the accused will definitely escape from the clutches of the law. The offence alleged against the accused is not only against the children but also against the society at large and the crime is heinous in nature," the SP has argued in his letter. The Collector, J Jayakanthan in turn, submitted the police's concerns to the Additional Chief Secretary to the Tamil Nadu government, seeking action."But the SPP colluded with the accused and tried to get a stay on the case. She was using legal technicalities to ensure that we couldn't remove her," alleges the senior police official. "With no option left, we recorded the complaint given by the survivors," he adds. While six girls had initially come forward with complaints of coercion, only three were willing to formally register their allegations against the SPP.  They had initially reported the alleged intimidation in November 2019 but an FIR was finally filed in the matter on February 8, 2020. Based on the complaint of the three survivors, an FIR was filed naming Murugan as an known accused in the case. Police told TNM that they will consider naming the SPP in the FIR after further investigation. Amongst the complainants was Lakshmi*, whose family was the first to report to the police about the alleged sexual abuse by the headmaster. While she had alleged rape by Murugan in the school bathroom, the other five girls had accused him of varying forms of sexual abuse. In her complaint, the survivor says, "Police told us that we have to appear in court to give our statement on April 25, 2016. Knowing this, headmaster Murugan and his wife came to our house. They said if we testify, he will lose his job and that the whole family will have to kill themselves. They fell at our legs and cried. Murugan also said that he will help our family monetarily." Lakshmi and her grandmother, who is her guardian, however still went to court to expose the headmaster."When we went to court, Murugan sir took me and my grandmother to a female government advocate. There, she told me that if they ask what happened in the school bathroom, I should say nothing happened and Murugan sir did not do anything. I got scared after she threatened me and said nothing happened in court," she reveals. The second survivor, Sita*, told the police that when she went to court in 2016, the advocate introduced herself as a Public Prosecutor."She said she was representing us in the case. Murugan sir (the headmaster) was also with her. She said I have to repeat whatever she says. She threatened me to say what she was saying. I got scared and didn't talk," she says in her complaint letter. And finally the third survivor, Varsha*, in her complaint states, "I wanted to talk about the abuse in court. Murugan master took me to the room of the female government advocate. He apologised to me and said that he made a mistake unknowingly. The advocate madam threatened me to repeat whatever she told me. I got scared and never said what I came to say. Murugan also called my mother and troubled her." Based on these complaints, the police have now launched an investigation into the case."The Public Prosecutor has been acting as a liaison agent between the accused and the survivors. We suspect that she has been taking money from the accused to carry out this role and that she has sabotaged several cases in the mahila court this way," alleges the senior police official. "The girls in this case are from very impoverished families and two of them are Dalits. When the headmaster and even the Public Prosecutor constantly badgered and threatened them, they feared that they will not get justice. They were forced to turn hostile," he further alleges. When TNM contacted SPP Indira Gandhi however, she denied the allegations and claimed she doesn't recall even meeting Murugan."I don't know why these girls turned hostile. It is their choice. They are small children, we don't know what goes on in their minds," she says. "I never instructed her to say anything, the police are with them all the time," she adds. The trauma they faced According to police investigation, the sexual abuse of the six students had been underway for months, before it came to light in July 2015. The students, who were from poor households, were studying in the panchayat school while they stayed at a private hostel for underprivileged children in the district. In July, one of the survivors, a Dalit, went home to stay with her grandmother after she contracted chicken pox. When she constantly cried because of pain in her private parts when she urinated, her grandmother sat her down to ask what happened. It was then that the 9-year-old Lakshmi*, who was in class 4, shared her trauma. According to her statement to the police, she was asked by Murugan to clean a toilet in the school in April 2015 and another classmate of hers named Varsha* was instructed to clear some plants near the school compound. Murugan then allegedly followed her into the bathroom, disrobed the minor and proceeded to sexually assaulted her. When Lakshmi screamed, she alleges that the headmaster cupped her mouth with his hands. He was forced to stop when stones were flung at him from outside the bathroom. "The headmaster asked Varsha, who was outside, about the stones. He then pinched her thigh and threatened her till she admitted that she and two other classmates - Nandhini* and Hasini* had flung the stones. He then hit her on the head and told them to go back to class. He threatened them saying that if they told anyone he would stop their education," said Lakshmi in her complaint. Afraid of repercussions and of her education being discontinued, Lakshmi did not inform any adults about the abuse immediately."However, when I went to use the bathroom I experienced pain and kept crying. That is when Varsha, Nandhini, Hasini, Shruthi and Sita asked me why I was crying," she reveals. When Lakshmi explained her situation, the other girls then allegedly told her that they too had been sexually abused by the headmaster. The girls alleged that the headmaster had lifted their skirts and rubbed their thighs and genitals as well. On hearing Lakshmi's account, her grandmother immediately approached the police in Sivaganga to file a complaint. The police conducted enquiries with the other survivors as well and Murugan was booked under the Protection of Children against Sexual Offence Act (POCSO)."The accused Murugan knew that these girls were poor, that the families were struggling to educate them and he used this to his advantage," says the senior police official. "If he is acquitted it will set a dangerous precedent and also put more minors at risk of abuse." *Names of all survivors changed to protect identity Also read: 'Marry him or take money': TN govt lawyer accused of threatening child sexual abuse victims TNM impact: TN govt lawyer removed for allegedly threatening child sexual abuse victims    

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday announced the dates for the election to the Rajya Sabha for the states whose tenure is ending soon. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya and Rajasthan will elect MPs to 55 seats in the Upper House of Parliament on March 26. According to the notification issued by the ECI, the election notification for Rajya Sabha will be released on March 6 and the filing of nominations will begin on March 16. The last date for filing nomination papers is March 18. While the voting will be held from 9 am to 4 pm on March 26, the counting of votes will happen on the same day at 5 pm. The elections are due since the tenure of the six Rajya Sabha members from Tamil Nadu are ending on April 2. Along with Tamil Nadu, 16 other states will also elect new Rajya Sabha members on March 26. A total of 55 Rajya Sabha seats from 17 states will fall vacant in April 2020. DMK’s Tiruchi Siva, CPI (M)’s TK Rangarajan, AIADMK’s Vijila Sathyananth, Muthukaruppan, K Selvaraj and BJP’s Sasikala Pushpa (who recently left the AIADMK to join BJP) are the MPs from Tamil Nadu whose six-year tenure ends on April 2. Based on the current party-wise composition of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, the AIADMK and the DMK each will get three MPs each in the Rajya Sabha. Tamil Nadu has 18 Rajya Sabha seats based on the strength of the state Legislature. Apart from the six members due to retire in April, the AIADMK has six MPs in the Rajya Sabha. The DMK has four MPs while the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and the Marumarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) has one MP each at present in the Upper House of the Parliament. At present, the AIADMK has 136 Members in the state Legislative Assembly while the DMK and its allies have 97 members. AMMK’s TTV Dhinakaran is the remaining MLA in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. For the BJP, getting a majority in the Rajya Sabha will remain a challenge following successive defeats in state Assembly Elections including Delhi, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Read: BJP’s chances for majority in Rajya Sabha difficult in 2020: Here's why

The probe investigating the death of 13 civilians in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi district during the anti-Sterlite agitation in May 2018 has given actor-politician Rajinikanth an exemption from appearing before the committee. A summons was issued to the actor earlier this month by the Aruna Jagadeesan committee, nearly two years after he had claimed that the anti-social elements were responsible for the violence. The actor made the statement after he visited those who were injured in the violence on May 22, 2018.  Speaking to TNM, Rajinikanth’s counsel Elamparithi confirmed that he had been exempted from appearing for Wednesday’s hearing. Appearing before the committee on Tuesday, the actor’s counsel had cited prior commitments on the date as well as public inconvenience on account of the star’s appearance before the committee. A questionnaire was given on Tuesday to the actor's counsel in a sealed cover and the actor’s replies will need to be submitted in a few days. Fresh summons will be issued for follow-up by the single-judge committee after he answers the questions. The exemption is only for the February 26 appearance. A week after police firing killed 13 civilians in Thoothukudi district, Rajinikanth slammed "anti-social elements and toxic germs" for "infiltrating" the protests. May 22 was the 100th day of protests. With Section 144 clamped in the area, protesters marched towards the district collectorate in defiance, seeking the closure of the plant which has previously been pulled up by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board for pollution. The actor's media manager, in response to a query from PTI, had said on Friday that the actor was shooting in Hyderabad. The actor, who announced his entry into politics in 2017, is busy with his 1686th film, tentatively titled 'Thalaivar168'. Noted industrialist Kalanithi Maran’s Sun Pictures is producing the film, to be directed by Siva, who shot to fame after successful collaborations with actor Ajith Kumar.  

Close to 100 students from the Pondicherry University were forcibly removed, shoved into vans and transported to another block of the institute for protesting against a fee hike. This action by the local police came on the 20th day of the demonstration and ahead of Vice President Venkaiah Naidu's visit to the University on Wednesday. Students of the University began protests on February 6 against the hike in fees for several courses offered by the institute. They alleged that the increase was exorbitant, with some postgraduate courses like Computer Science seeing a 100% hike in fees. Moreover, the University had also introduced a transport fee of Rs.4000 for day scholars.  In response to this, students began an 'Occupy Admin' protest where they stood outside the administrative block and held a peaceful demonstration, raising slogans against the fee revision."On Monday night, police vans first arrived on campus and finally this morning at around 11.30 am we were forcibly evicted from the Administrative block. They pushed close to 100 of us into police vehicles and took us around the campus," says Abhijeeth, a second year student. When the students demanded to know why their peaceful protest was being disrupted, security concerns were cited."We asked them why they were removing us from the Admin block and they said it was because Vice President Venkaiah Naidu was arriving and that they couldn't allow protests as it was a security threat," says Abhijeeth. The Vice President is visiting the campus to attend the convocation scheduled on Wednesday. The students were then dropped off at the Silver Jubilee hall on campus and instructed to stay there. When TNM had earlier spoken to the Vice Chancellor of the University, Gurmeet Singh, he had said that the protests are unjustified. “The fee was hiked two years ago after consultation with the students back then. Then after they requested, some of it was reduced also. I don’t know why the students are raking this up now,” he said.  He had maintained that no action would be taken against the students. “I don’t think we can take action against them now. Freedom must not be misused and the students must understand that. The fee here is much less than the amounts collected in other universities,” he said. However, protesting students tell TNM that administrators had been warning them of academic repercussions if they did not end the protests. The agitation in Pondicherry University follow similar protests in Jawaharlal Nehru University and Delhi University over fee hikes. In all three case students contended that those studying in these universities would not be able to afford the abrupt hike in fees.   

In a welcome move, the Tamil Nadu State Council of Educational Research and Training (TN SCERT) has started training school teachers on how to handle child sexual abuse complaints. These sessions will be intensive and will focus only on equipping teachers to deal with complaints of sexual abuse and harassment by children. TN SCERT started conducting sessions in January, according to a senior official from the council. “It will be an ongoing process,” the officer said, adding that the content for the training including the methodology is being sent by the SCERT directly to the districts, where the teachers will undergo mandatory training sessions. “They are in turn expected to impart and transfer this knowledge to students in schools. Though we have had awareness in many training sessions before, this is the first time we are doing it in an intensive manner,” the officer explained. The decision to provide intensive training to teachers on how to handle child sexual abuse related issues is significant since the Tamil Nadu Commission for Protection of Child Rights (TNCPCR) has recorded a sharp spike in the number of cases it has disposed of over the years under the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The number of petitions disposed off by the TNCPCR under POCSO in 2014-15 was 107, which declined to 44 cases in 2015-16. Since 2015-16, the number has steadily increased, to 416 cases in 2018-19, till March. .tg {border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0;} .tg td{font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;padding:10px 5px;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;overflow:hidden;word-break:normal;border-color:black;} .tg th{font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;padding:10px 5px;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;overflow:hidden;word-break:normal;border-color:black;} .tg .tg-cly1{text-align:left;vertical-align:middle} .tg .tg-8ee7{font-weight:bold;font-family:serif !important;;text-align:left;vertical-align:middle} .tg .tg-mwxe{text-align:right;vertical-align:middle} .tg .tg-lqy6{text-align:right;vertical-align:top} .tg .tg-yla0{font-weight:bold;text-align:left;vertical-align:middle} .tg .tg-0lax{text-align:left;vertical-align:top} Year No of cases 2014-15 107 2015-16 44 2016-17 71 2017-18 124 2018-19 416 (till March) Continuing on why the government of Tamil Nadu decided to conduct exclusive training sessions for handling POCSO related issues in schools, the officer said, “It has become essential these days. More so because B.Ed and M.Ed curriculum do not cover these aspects. The syllabus for B.Ed and M.Ed are quite old compared to how school ecosystems have evolved now.” It is mandatory for aspirants in Tamil Nadu to possess at least a Bachelor in Education (B.Ed) degree to be qualified to become a teacher in the state. Speaking to TNM about the curriculum for B.Ed and M.Ed in India, Dr Sangeeta Saksena, the Co-Founder of Enfold Proactive Health Trust, an NGO working in the Child Sexual Abuse realm since the early 2000s, said that most stakeholders who deal with POCSO cases in general are not trained on how to sensitively handle them. “Teachers especially, who are directly in touch with so many children, have no idea of how to transact sessions on personal safety and sexuality education,” she said. Touching upon why it is important to integrate messages about personal safety and sexuality in the curriculum for teachers’ training, Sangeeta said that it is not viable to be dependent on an external agency to provide it for the government or the schools forever. “Like Enfold, many other organisations are doing this in cities. But that's so limited and miniscule. The only way to get this (personal safety lessons) into the mainstream is to have it in the B.Ed curriculum so that the teachers know how to teach students about these things,” she explained. Pointing out that most textbooks have content related to traffic rules, Sangeeta said that it is important to have personal safety rules also in the textbooks for students. 

The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday claimed that it prevented Karnataka from discussing the contentious Mekedatu reservoir issue at the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) meeting held in New Delhi. Besides the representatives of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka at the fifth meeting of CWMA, presided over by Central Water Commission Chairman R K Jain, officials of Kerala and Puducherry also participated. CWMA member and TN PWD Secretary K Manivasan told reporters after the meeting that the state government prevented Karnataka from discussing the dam issue by pointing out the pending petitions in the Supreme Court against the project filed by the E Palaniswami government."We have told participants of the meeting that Mekedatu reservoir will be against the interests of Tamil Nadu and its farmers. Our consistent stand is that it should not be built at any cost. Finally the issue was not discussed in the meeting," Manivasan said. The Mekedatu reservoir is proposed to be constructed by Karnataka across Cauvery river near Mekedatu, about 110 km from Bengaluru, in Kanakapura taluk.  It was first proposed along with Shivanasamudra hydro power project at Shimsa in 2003 with an intention to use the water for a hydro power station and supply drinking water to Bengaluru city. It was designed to store 67 tmc feet of water. While Tamil Nadu is claiming that the construction of a balancing reservoir will disturb Cauvery water flow to the state affecting irrigation, Karnataka says the project is basically designed to take care of the drinking water needs of Bengaluru after releasing water to Tamil Nadu as per the quantum specified by the Cauvery water disputes tribunal.

Amidst the violence in the northeastern part of India’s capital city New Delhi, leaders in Tamil Nadu reacted to the clashes that have resulted in the death of at least 13 people as well as scores of injuries, including police personnel and journalists. Violence began on Sunday following a clash over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) outside Jaffrabad Metro station in northeast Delhi. Opposition leader and DMK Chief MK Stalin wrote on Twitter that democracy is in peril. Calling for swift action by the Union Government, Stalin wrote, “The violence in #Delhi has now reached alarming proportions with gruesome attacks on citizens and journalists. The Union Govt, which controls police in Delhi, must act swiftly to book perpetrators of violence and restore normalcy. Democracy is at peril.” The violence in #Delhi has now reached alarming proportions with gruesome attacks on citizens and journalists. The Union Govt, which controls police in Delhi, must act swiftly to book perpetrators of violence and restore normalcy. Democracy is at peril. — M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) February 25, 2020 Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) leader and MP Thol Thirumavalavan wrote that Union Home Minister Amit Shah should resign and police powers should be handed over to the Delhi government. In his letter, Thirumavalavan wrote, "No matter how much violence is incited, people of Delhi have decided not to be fooled by religious fanatic forces and so have rejected BJP during the elections, choosing AAP instead. Angered by this failure, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP members are strategically planning and inciting such chaos in Delhi.” Attacking BJP government, he wrote, “BJP government is inciting such violence to polarise people based on their religion and to seek political gains.” டெல்லி கலவரம் - 7 பேர் சாவு ! அமித்ஷா பதவி விலகவேண்டும்! காவல்துறை அதிகாரத்தை டெல்லி அரசிடம் ஒப்படைக்க வேண்டும்! விடுதலை சிறுத்தைகள் கட்சி வலியுறுத்தல்#DelhiBurning #Delhi #DelhiBurns #delhivoilence pic.twitter.com/878ID77EJ9 — Thol.Thirumavalavan (@thirumaofficial) February 25, 2020 Expressing his hope that India will “survive this madness” as it had done earlier, Makkal Needhi Maiam leader and actor Kamal Haasan tweeted, “How can we allow these children of hate to run amok in my United and diverse India. Stop!Please return to reason, before it is too late. No religion propagates hate, only people do. India has survived such madness before, I sincerely hope it will again.” How can we allow these children of hate to run amok in my United and diverse India. Stop! Please return to reason, before it is too late. No religion propagates hate, only people do. India has survived such madness before, I sincerely hope it will again. — Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) February 25, 2020 On the sidelines of a programme organised by the Social Welfare Department to spread awareness among the people on drug abuse held on Tuesday, Senior Congress leader and Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy told reporters, “Most of the states are on the boil in the wake of implementation of the CAA by the NDA government at the Centre. This and also the NPR and NRC are injurious and ill-conceived. We (Puducherry government) have been opposing the CAA, National Population Register (NPR) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) all along.” (With inputs from PTI)

Tamil teacher from Tiruvannamalai KV Jeyasri has won the 2019 Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize (Tamil) for her translation of Malayalam writer Manoj Kuroor’s novel Nilam Poothu Malarnna Naal into Tamil. The translated book is titled Nilam Poothu Malarntha Naal. The 2019 Sahitya Akademi award for translations was announced on Tuesday evening. Nilam Poothu Malarnna Naal novel is Jeyasri’s 12th translation. She is a Tamil teacher for class 12 at a government school in Tiruvannamalai. In an interview with The Hindu, the translator had said that she only translates books that capture her passion. According to the report, she is currently translating IAS officer KV Mohankumar’s novel Ushnarasi. Born to parents hailing from Kerala, Jeyasri had shared that she acquired her passion for reading from her mother. Nilam Poothu Malarnna Naal, which translates to ‘the day the land bloomed and blossomed’, is a saga that traces the socio-cultural history of the Dravidian land in all its natural beauty with the mountains and the sea and lush green lands, across centuries, especially the Sangam period. The novel sketches the lives of poets and artists of the period. Congratulations came pouring in for Jeyasri soon after the announcement, including from prominent leaders such as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, DMK leader MK Stalin, his son and actor Udhayanidhi Stalin, Paatali Makkal Katchi (PMK) leader S Ramadoss, Telangana Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan, Tamil film director Seenu Ramaswamy and many others. சிறந்த மொழிபெயர்ப்புக்காக சாகித்ய அகாடமி விருது பெற்றுள்ள கே.வி.ஜெயஶ்ரீ அவர்களுக்கு வாழ்த்துகள்! சங்ககாலக் காட்சிகளை வைத்து மனோஜ் குரூர் எழுதிய மலையாள நூலின் "நிலம் பூத்து மலர்ந்த நாள்"என்ற மொழிபெயர்ப்புக்காக இவ்விருது கிடைத்துள்ளது. அவரது மொழிபெயர்ப்புப் பணி தொடரட்டும்! pic.twitter.com/T2kGkoCoUE — M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) February 25, 2020 மலையாள எழுத்தாளர் மனோஜ் குரூரின் நாவலை தமிழில் நிலம் பூத்து மலர்ந்த நாள் என்ற தலைப்பில் மொழிபெயர்த்ததற்காக சாகித்ய அகாடமி விருது பெற்ற எழுத்தாளரும், மொழிபெயர்ப்பாளருமான ஆசிரியை கே.வி.ஜெயஸ்ரீ அவர்களுக்கு வாழ்த்துகள்! அவரது இலக்கிய பணியும், சாதனைகளும் தொடரட்டும்! — Dr S RAMADOSS (@drramadoss) February 25, 2020 சாகித்ய அகாடமி விருது பெற்ற சாதனை பெண்மணி கே.வி.ஜெயஸ்ரீ அவர்களுக்கு வாழ்த்துக்களும்... பாராட்டுக்களும்... பாரதியின் சொற்படி பிற மொழி சரித்திரங்களை எட்டுத்திக்கிலும் தேடி தமிழில் மொழிபெயர்த்த சாதனைக்கு விருது. pic.twitter.com/fb2krejZht — Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan (@DrTamilisaiGuv) February 25, 2020 சாகித்ய அகாதமி விருது பெறும் கே.வி.ஜெயஸ்ரீ அவர்களுக்கு வாழ்த்துக்கள்,அதே போல அவரது சகோதரி கே.வி.சைலஜா பவா செல்லத்துரையும் மலையாள இலக்கிய மொழிபெயர்ப்பு துறையில் மிகுந்த பாராட்டுக்குரியவர். வாழ்த்துக்கள். — Seenu Ramasamy (@seenuramasamy) February 25, 2020 சங்ககால வாழ்க்கை முறையைக் குறிப்பிட்டு மனோஜ் குரூர் எழுதிய மலையாள நாவலை, ‘நிலம் பூத்து மலர்ந்த நாள்’ என்ற பெயரில் தமிழில் மொழிபெயர்த்த கே.வி.ஜெயஸ்ரீ அவர்களுக்கு சிறந்த மொழிபெயர்ப்புக்கான சாகித்திய அகாடமி விருது அறிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. வாழ்த்துகள்! #KVJayashree #SahityaAkademiAward pic.twitter.com/aHIbYWoo5j — Udhay (@Udhaystalin) February 25, 2020 Author and politician Shashi Tharoor, Tamil novelist Cho Dharman, Kannada writer, critic and journalist Vijaya, Malayalam poet V Madhusoodanan Nair and Telugu writer Bandi Narayana Swamy were among 2019’s Sahitya Akademi awardees, which was announced in December 2019. Tamil writer Cho Dharman received it for his novel Sool. Last year, the award for translation (Tamil) was received by Colachel Mu Yoosuf for his work Tirutan Maniyanpillai, a Tamil translation of Malayalam writer GR Indugopalan’s autobiography, Manian Pillaiyuda Athma Katha. 

Tamil Nadu’s recently released draft of a revamped plan on climate change highlights detailed action to be taken to deal with the rising challenge. The document also highlights the proposed implementation measures and gap in financial resources to fund the implementation of the action plan. The Tamil Nadu State Action Plan on Climate Change (TNSAPCC) was first formulated in 2014 in line with the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), after the Government of India encouraged states to prepare their own action plan in line with the sensibilities of the respective states. The revamped TNSAPCC outlines the present capacity of the state, fixes goals to be achieved, and identifies the gaps that are to be addressed to achieve the goals. Since India has undergone tremendous change over the last few years, the Union government pushed the states to revise the earlier plan to act against climate change. In alignment with the national action plan The draft of TNSAPCC broadly aligns its goals with the eight missions laid out by the NAPCC: increasing the share of solar energy in the total energy mix; enhanced energy efficiency; infusing sustainability in building constructions, waste management and transport systems; efficient water management; designing measures to protect and preserve the Himalayan glaciers and mountain ecosystems; addressing carbon emissions; designing methods to make Indian agriculture more resilient to climate change; and understanding the challenges to climate change and developing ways to respond to those challenges. Tamil Nadu’s proposals Based on the broad outlines provided in the NAPCC, the government of Tamil Nadu, in its policy document draft, has identified seven sectors which are to be revamped to suit the changing climate concerns. These sectors are sustainable agriculture, water resources, forest and biodiversity, coastal area management, strategic knowledge for climate change, disaster management and mitigation, and health and sanitation. The government aims to undertake 199 activities falling under those seven sectors for which fund allocation has been proposed till the year 2030. These activities will be undertaken on priority based on its impact in addressing the vulnerability due to climate change. The government of Tamil Nadu has also stated that the proposed action plan will cost the exchequer around Rs 3.2 lakh crore for a period of 10 years. While the funds available from the central and state budgetary allocations stand at Rs 2.2 lakh crore, there is a deficit of slightly over Rs 1 lakh crore, for which funding sources have to be identified. In order to facilitate proper implementation of the plans, the state government has formed a Climate Change Steering Committee headed by the Chief Secretary. This committee will make decisions related to the actions to be taken to deal with climate change. A Nodal Climate Change Cell has also been set up in the Department of Environment, Tamil Nadu to oversee the implementation of the action plan. The government has also roped in Anna University to provide expert inputs on TNSAPCC. Apart from this, the implementation of sector-wise actions rests with the concerned departments in the state, which will be responsible to ensure that it is done by the decided deadline. Draft inaccessible and incomplete: Critics Meanwhile, the draft policy has come under severe criticism from NGOs and other stakeholders for various reasons. One of the major criticisms put forward by the stakeholders is that the draft was released only in English and not in Tamil, thereby making it inaccessible to many experts, who might not be well versed in English. The critics have also raised red flags on the manner in which the draft was drawn without gathering inputs from stakeholders like farmers, local bodies and academics. 

As protests continue in pockets of Tamil Nadu against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR), the state government is firefighting allegations of working against minority communities. Ministers in the state cabinet have been forced to constantly clarify their stance on the subject and provide reassurances that minorities will 'not be affected' by the implementation of Act and the enumeration exercise. The latest to join these efforts is Cooperation Minister Sellur K Raju, who claimed that the government under Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami will not allow minorities in the state to be affected."As far as Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami is concerned, he follows the same path of protection paved by former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa when it comes to matters concerning minority communities. In fact, he is more sympathetic towards them than even Amma," the Minister said in Madurai. These clarifications come after multiple allegations of the AIADMK being anti-minority by the DMK, the principal opposition party. Even Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami had to provide reassurance to quell fears. "If you have any details or documents you can give. It is not compulsory," he said referring to the NPR. "The same exercise that the DMK undertook in 2011, the Centre is undertaking now. You can reveal the details if you want or don't need to. But they (DMK) are still spreading fear amongst minorities about this. But no minorities will be affected by this," he said, referring to the first time the NPR exercise was carried out under the UPA government, which included the DMK.  However, even members in the AIAMDK remain on the edge about the CAA and NPR, with Muslim leaders specifically expressing their criticism over the implementation. NPR is scheduled to take place between April and September this year. TN Labour Minister Nilofer Kafeel of the AIADMK, former AIADMK MP Anhwar Raja and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi MLA Thamimun Ansar, an ally of the ruling party,i are amongst those who have openly voiced their apprehension and dissent regarding the Act. In January, Thamimun Ansari even staged a walkout from the Assembly in protest against CAA. The MLA had worn a printed t-shirt that said 'No NRC, NPR and CAA' on the front and had pictures of Mahatma Gandhi and Subash Chandra Bose on the back. The AIADMK had voted in support of the CAA in both House of Parliament.