Who was the first Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, then known as Premier of the Madras Province, in 1947, the year India attained Independence? According to a book titled Tamil Nadu Oru Paarvai, it was Muthuvelu Subbaiah Iyer, an unheard of personality.
The book, authored by Dhanalakshmi Arjun, is among the titles now on the shelves of Periyar Arivulagam, a dream project of the erstwhile DMK government, inaugurated recently in Coimbatore by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay.
Award-winning Tamil writer Perumal Murugan, who visited the library and browsed through its collection, has flagged what he says are serious irregularities in the purchase of books.
The book states: “Muthuvelu Subbaiah Iyer made a great impact on the principal leadership and the Assembly. Subsequently, Mu. Ka. Ramasamy, an important figure in Dravidian Kizhakku Arasiyal, emerged as a prominent political leader. Later, Kamaraj took over from him (1954–1963)” (page 108).
Periyar Arivulagam at Gandhipuram in Coimbatore. File
| Photo Credit:
S. Siva Saravanan
Mr. Perumal Murugan, who wrote a lengthy article — Periyar Arivulagathil Periya Oozhal (Major Scam in Periyar Arivulagam)— in the online portal Sindhai detailing his observations, said he did not know when the books had been purchased. “It is for the government to come out with a clarification,” he told The Hindu on Friday (November 6, 2026).
Govt. to hold inquiry: Minister
School Education Minister Rajmohan, who is also in charge of Tamil Development, Information and Publicity, said an inquiry would be initiated immediately.
“There is a scam. I can forgive anything. But a scam in a library bearing the name of Periyar is unacceptable. To borrow the words of my leader and Chief Minister, we will not spare anyone,” he said while participating in a government function at Chennai.
He said action would be taken against everyone involved in the alleged irregularities and that they would be brought to book. “We will uphold justice,” he stated.
‘Nandi statue’ during Keezhadi excavation?
The Minister also pointed to a book on Keezhadi that contained photographs purportedly depicting statues unearthed during excavations at the archaeological site. “The photographs have been taken from Google. There is a photograph of a 50-year-old Nandi statue. I do not know who the author is, or how he became an archaeologist, wearing a headlight and taking pictures to publish in a book. The fact remains that no statue [of Nandi] was found at Keezhadi,” he said.
Authors ‘Trisha Vijay’, ‘Thamarai Panneer’
Mr. Perumal Murugan, who examined the books on the racks, listed several authors whose names appeared on the publications. They included names such as: Trisha Vijay, Jothi Saravanan, Jothi Hariharan, Jothi Lakshmi Anbalagan, Nivetha Anbalagan, Thamarai Panneer, Rani Panneer, Thamarai Karthi, Thamarai Siva, Thamarai Murali, Surya Balu, Mangaleswari Balu, Vijaya Balu, Vijaya Aditan, Monika Surya, Monika Ravi, Brinda Sethuraman, Darshini Sethuraman and Manisha Saravanan. The books were published by Agal Vilakku Pathipagam, which had supplied 1,800 titles, he said.
One of the books was titled Bharathiyar Kathaikal (Short Stories of Bharathiyar), with Manisha Saravanan credited as its author. “I do not know whether these are stories written by Bharathiyar or a book about his stories. There is a short story titled ‘Sathanaiyin Mugam’. It is for Bharathi scholars such as Ya. Manikandan to confirm whether the national poet wrote such a story,” Mr. Perumal Murugan said.
Mr. Rajmohan remarked that, fortunately, Bharathiyar was not alive to witness such a situation.
Naladiyar – poet or poem?
Another book that caught Mr. Perumal Murugan’s attention was Naladiyar Vaazhvin Vazhikaatu, a 350-page volume priced at ₹1,445. It describes ‘Naladiyar’ as one of the important Tamil ‘poets and philosophers’.
Pointing out that Naladiyar is a collection of verses attributed to a group of Jain Tamil monks whose individual identities are unknown, Mr. Perumal Murugan said: “Though I have been teaching Tamil for 30 years, it never occurred to me that Naladiyar was a philosopher,” he remarked.
Mr. Perumal Murugan, who is also a member of the committee tasked with recommending books on modern literature and literary criticism for Periyar Arivulagam, said books were sent to him online for scrutiny. He had selected and recommended them for purchase. “But, I do not know whether those books were actually purchased, as we were not informed about the purchases,” he said.
There are around 30 such committees. Professor Dharmaraj Thamburaj was a member of the committee that recommended books on culture and folklore.
“The books shown to us were really good and met the required standards. The explanation given by the Local Library Authority when we asked how the list had been prepared was also satisfactory. Some of the books were available only at Jawaharlal Nehru University and St. Xavier’s College, Palayamkottai. However, we do not know whether the books we recommended were actually purchased,” he said.
Published – November 06, 2026 01:23 pm IST
