¡®Which Caste Is Lower?¡¯: Periyar University In Tamil Nadu Asks Students; VC Orders Probe
First-year Masters in History students at Tamil Nadu¡¯s Periyar University in Salem were asked this question in an examination: "Which one is the lower caste belongs to Tamil Nadu (sic)?"
A question paper given to students at Periyar University in Tamil Nadu caused outrage after a caste-related question was asked in the first-year exam held on Thursday.
However, Vice Chancellor Jagannathan assured an investigation into the matter.
The caste-related question¨C "Which one is the Lower Caste which belongs to Tamil Nadu" with four caste options¨C was asked to the first-year (second semester) Master in History students who were taking their exam in the subject ¡®Freedom Movement of Tamil Nadu: From 1800 to 1947¡¯.
BCCL/Representational Image
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's (AIADMK) Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) criticized the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government on Friday, July 15.
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¡ª Edappadi K Palaniswami (@EPSTamilNadu) July 15, 2022
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They questioned why it was acceptable to mock Periyar's philosophy and encourage caste inequality among students by sharing a picture of the hotly contested exam question.
First-year Masters in History students at Tamil Nadu¡¯s Periyar University in Salem were asked this question in an examination: "Which one is the lower caste belongs to Tamil Nadu (sic)?"
The four options were: "Mahars", "Nadars," "Ezhavas," and "Harijans" (sic).
Tamil Nadu | 1st-year MA History students of Periyar University in Salem got asked in the exam, "Which one is the lower caste that belongs to Tamil Nadu?" with 4 options mentioning different castes pic.twitter.com/kdJxQrMo5R
¡ª ANI (@ANI) July 15, 2022
The question was part of the second-semester examination for the "Freedom Movement in Tamil Nadu from 1880 CE to 1947 CE" paper.
ANI
The controversial question has started a fresh row, with the state¡¯s higher education department announcing that it would investigate the matter.
Speaking on the issue, the Vice Chancellor said that another university had prepared the question, and he did not get any information regarding the paper.
Unsplash
"Periyar University does not prepare question papers for exams. Other university and college lecturers prepared the question paper. Usually, to avoid a question paper leak, we don¡¯t read the question paper before the exam. I didn¡¯t get any info regarding the controversial question. We will investigate this," the VC said.
"We are seeking a report from the controller of examinations today who set the question paper. We are not considering conducting a re-exam," he added.
(With ANI inputs)
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