Chennai, Nov 6:
A massive political firestorm has engulfed Tamil Nadu across party lines over serious irregularities, astronomical overpricing, and ghost imprints in book procurement for the newly inaugurated Periyar Arivulagam library and science centre in Coimbatore, with Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, key political leaders, and literary figures demanding stringent action and thorough probes into what they termed an unforgivable intellectual fraud.
The controversy erupted following an exposé by acclaimed writer Perumal Murugan in the digital publication ‘Sindhai’. Murugan, who was appointed to the book recommendation committee under a Government Order dated November 5, 2025 during the previous DMK regime, revealed that he counted nearly 1,800 titles bearing the imprint of ‘Akalvilakku Pathippagam’ on the fourth-floor Tamil section, along with over 100 titles from ‘Phoenix Pathippagam’. Flagging exorbitant pricing, Murugan cited Naladiyar Vazhvin Vazhikatti (attributed to Surya Balu), where a 300-page book was priced at an exorbitant Rs 1,445 against standard market rates of Rs 350.
He also uncovered glaring factual blunders: the Sangam-era work Madurai Kanchi was credited to a monarch instead of poet Mangudi Maruthanar in Madurai Kanchi — Oru Ilakkiya Payanam; the short story “Sadhanaiyin Mugam” was falsely attributed to Subramania Bharathi in Bharathiyar Kathaigal; and a photograph of a Nandi sculpture was wrongly presented as an archaeological find from Keezhadi in Keezhadi Cheppum Varalaru.
Launching a blistering attack, Chief Minister and TVK president C. Joseph Vijay accused the DMK of exploiting the legacy of Periyar and the Tamil language to mask systemic corruption. “The very people who loudly proclaim that they alone have protected Tamil soil, language and dignity, claim ownership of the Tamil language and assert that they alone possess the authority to encompass the vast ocean of Tamil literature are, in reality, an embodiment of corruption. The DMK has been exposed as the fountainhead of corruption,” Vijay said.
He noted that Murugan’s revelations validated his long-standing criticism of the DMK monetizing Periyar’s name, adding that future generations would not forgive the party.
Announcing a departmental inquiry, School Education, Tamil Development and Archaeology Minister Rajmohan stated that around 1,500 books from Akalvilakku Pathippagam were procured in February under the previous DMK regime. Taking a sharp dig at the shadowy imprint, Rajmohan remarked that “a publishing house named Akalvilakku did not exist even on Mars” and asserted: “The inquiry into this corruption has begun. Whoever is involved will be brought before the law, and justice will be ensured.”
The seven-storey, seven-acre facility—constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 300 crore—was initiated under the previous DMK regime and formally opened by Chief Minister Vijay on October 16.
Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) president and Rajya Sabha MP Kamal Haasan termed the procurement a grave insult and a betrayal of the Tamil language, warning that erroneous books would mislead future research, writings, and speeches.
Demanding swift intervention, Kamal Haasan urged the Tamil Nadu government to immediately withdraw the fraudulent books from all public libraries, burn them in public, and seal the publishing houses involved in the scam.
The CPM state committee demanded a special investigation team (SIT) to unravel the procedural violations. In a statement, CPM state secretary P. Shanmugam said public funds had been squandered on substandard and fictitious works that failed fundamental intellectual standards.
Shanmugam demanded transparency regarding the committee that cleared the titles, the dates on which tenders were floated and purchases made, and urged the state to constitute a panel of Tamil scholars to purge fake titles from all library shelves.
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president and Virudhunagar MP Manickam Tagore wrote a formal letter to Chief Minister Vijay seeking an expert panel of scholars to scrutinize the contents, pricing discrepancies, and procurement files of the 1,800 Akalvilakku books, stressing that public funds spent on modern knowledge hubs must be safeguarded with absolute transparency.
Condemning the issue as a “betrayal of the next generation’s intellectual pursuit,” We The Leaders founder and chief servant K. Annamalai demanded an independent inquiry and full public disclosure of all procurement files.
Calling libraries sacred equalizers for rural and competitive exam aspirants, Annamalai questioned the previous DMK regime’s procedures, demanding that the government release the complete list of recommended books, ISBN rosters, purchase orders, delivery challans, and names of verifying officers who cleared the inventory.