Justice Chandru Commission Report and the fight against caste-based discrimination in Tamil Nadu schools

The reason behind the Nanguneri incident is said to have been a warning the school had given to upper-caste students in response to their Dalit classmates' complaints about repeated harassment.

Although surgeries saved the brother and sister's lives, human rights advocates and leaders of caste eradication movements noted that the incident was just the most recent of numerous similar cases.

Despite its progressive leanings and the equality-based political philosophy promoted by the Dravidian movements over the years, Tamil Nadu still witnesses the persistent prevalence of caste-based discrimination and dislikes with a caste-based sense of pride carried over from generation to generation.

The use of 'caste threads' to distinguish Dalit children from the rest of the castes in schools, the unique use of caste colours to mark territory in villages, and the recruitment of youngsters by caste groups are examples of deep-rooted prejudices in the state. The Dravidian self-respect model, inspired by Periyar E. V. Ramaswamy to overcome caste hegemony and ensure equality, has not been uniformly implemented and is said to have been deepened in some schools because of pre-existing ideas of the caste hierarchy.

Justice K Chandru committee and its recommendations

M.K. Stalin's DMK government established a one-person commission of eminent jurist K. Chandru soon after the Nanguneri incident to recommend steps to stamp out caste differences among students.

While appointing the commission, the government said Nanguneri was a wake-up call and a catalyst to dismantle caste hierarchies.

Chandru, a legal luminary with progressive convictions, had already won wide admiration as a Madras High Court judge. He disposed of 96,000 cases in six years by examining each in detail, an all-India record. Considered a progressive judge with a commitment to human rights and equality, Chandru inspired the 2021 Tamil blockbuster, Jai Bhim.

Last week, Chandru completed his assignment and submitted the report and action plan to the state government. Stalin said its implementation was under active consideration.

While the report evoked large-scale political consensus among parties across the spectrum, its recommendations also invited strong objections from the BJP and various Sangh Parivar organisations, which allege that the report was replete with 'anti-Hindu' prejudices.

The Sangh Parivar's decision to resist the report has brought the issue to a flash point in the state.

BJP leaders, including state chief K Annamalai, termed the report anti-Hindu with a `Communist agenda' and recalled that Chandru was a staunch CPI(M) activist before entering the judicial service. He also went to the extent of terming the report as an outcome conspiracy by `missionaries.'

In his exhaustive report, Chandru recommended that school and college students be prohibited from wearing any coloured wristbands, rings, or forehead marks (tilaka), which served as caste identities. Students must refrain from using bicycles painted with any sign of caste reference. Besides, school names are not to bear any caste appellation. He has also called for caste confidentiality of pupils.

"It is quite astonishing that those who held demonstrations supporting hijab for Muslim girls in Karnataka are now talking against tilaka in Tamil Nadu. Hindu identities are being dubbed as caste identities, and they forget that even Dalits carry such identity marks," said Annamalai when contacted by Hindustan Times.

Meanwhile, rights defenders and Dalit leaders said Chandru's recommendations are nothing new and introduced earlier by experts and social reformers.

"Almost three decades have passed since the government dropped the practice of naming public transport corporations after popular caste and community leaders in response to growing clashes. It had experimented with dropping caste surnames from street signboards a little earlier. A few years ago, the caste surnames of popular leaders were erased from textbooks," pointed out Samuel Raj, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front.

The report elicited mixed responses from the teaching community, as it blamed a section of the teachers for having caste biases and passing them to the young minds. The report suggested that teachers be severely punished for all instances of caste bias after appropriate disciplinary proceedings and adhering to established rules.

"Many respondents told me that in many schools, it's the teachers who sow the seeds of casteism in the minds of students. So, I recommended periodically transferring teachers working in high and higher secondary schools within revenue districts. About 30% of schools surveyed in Tamil Nadu had some form of caste discrimination, and teachers play a major role in it," Chandru said.

According to him, discrimination ranges from making Dalit students clean toilets to separate caste-based queues for meals at schools, as well as disparity in allowing playtime, lab time, and participation in art festivals, along with caste clashes among students.

While Hindutva groups are attempting an upper caste consolidation against the recommendations, Dalit organisations and human rights activists are mounting pressure on the DMK government to implement them without delay.

According to them, implementing the recommendations would be historic and a giant leap forward in affirmative action.

"The government should not give in to the threat from communal forces. In 2007, Tamil Nadu became the first state to declare that caste would not play a role in appointing temple priests. However, caste discrimination has entered classrooms in Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, and Tenkasi districts. The ongoing violence underscores the complex social fabric, where both caste pride and discrimination can coexist alongside the narrative of social justice and progress. This issue needs to be addressed," said Henri Tiphagne, executive director of the rights organisation, People's Watch.

In his report, Chandru recorded an interesting case wherein several students of a Thirunelveli college sent identical responses to him. He received 1,340 responses from the Government Arts and Science College, Tirunelveli. The commission found the college's principal stage-managed the activity by forcing students to write postcards in bulk to the committee.

Nearly all of them contained two lines, individually signed by the students. One demand was made: End the existing caste-based reservations and initiate reservations based on economic criteria.

"It is regrettable that young students were prompted to take a stand without being informed about the history of affirmative action in Tamil Nadu. Suppose the principal of this college had her views. In that case, she should have responded independently rather than having the students participate in an activity that lacked spontaneity," Chandru said in his report.

The report recommended that the government appoint a Social Justice Monitoring Committee comprising academicians and social activists to check the curriculum relating to social issues, suggest modifications, and push for the inclusion of topics based on social justice, equality, and non-discrimination.

"The students' attendance register should not contain any columns or details about their caste. At no point can the class teacher call out students by directly or indirectly referring to their caste or derogatory remarks about the student's caste or the so-called character attributed to it. The state government must take steps to amend the existing Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975, and insert a provision that a society intending to start an educational institution shall not include any caste appellations in their institution's name," recommended Chandru.

"Many suggestions Chandru has given reflect his ideological stand. By implementing those recommendations, the caste propagation inside the school will only go high, not come down," argued BJP leader H Raja.