Coimbatore: Serious alleged irregularities in the purchase of books for Periyar Arivulagam, the library and knowledge centre inaugurated in Coimbatore last month, have come under scrutiny after award-winning Tamil writer Perumal Murugan flagged the quality, pricing, authorship and authenticity of several titles on its shelves. Murugan, who visited the library and browsed its collection, detailed his observations in an article in the online portal Sindhai and told The Hindu on Friday that he did not know when the books had been purchased and that it was for the government to come out with a clarification.

Source: The Hindu via Daily8

The controversy centres on approximately 1,800 books reportedly procured from Agalvilakku Publications, with more than 100 books associated with Phoenix Publications also brought into the discussion, TNC NewsPlus reported. Among the examples cited, a book titled Tamil Nadu Oru Paarvai, credited to Dhanalakshmi Arjun, allegedly names a fictitious person as Tamil Nadu's first Chief Minister in 1947. Other titles were alleged to misattribute classical works — Naaladiyar, traditionally an anthology of 400 verses attributed to Jain ascetics, was allegedly presented as the work of an individual poet, and Madurai Kanchi was allegedly credited to a different author than Mangudi Maruthanar, to whom it is traditionally attributed. Murugan also raised concerns about ISBN numbers that reportedly do not produce verifiable details online, unusually high prices — two cited 300-page titles were priced at ₹1,445 and ₹1,395 — and the possibility that some publications may have been generated using artificial intelligence. These are allegations, and no inquiry has yet established them.

Source: TNC NewsPlus

₹301.71 croretotal Periyar Arivulagam project cost
₹50 croreallocation for books
~1,800books from Agalvilakku Publications under scrutiny
Oct 16library inaugurated by CM Vijay

Minister promises inquiry, CM targets DMK

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,' he said, according to The Hindu. TNC NewsPlus reported that Rajmohan described the allegations as a serious case of financial irregularity, said legal action would follow against those found responsible, and linked the procurement to decisions taken during the previous DMK administration.

Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, in a post on X on Friday, said the people of Tamil Nadu would never forgive the DMK, alleging it had indulged in corruption in the name of Periyar E.V. Ramasamy and Tamil, The Hindu reported. 'For those familiar with the DMK's history, this is hardly shocking. However, what makes us deeply distressed is that all this involves public money,' Vijay said. The DMK's response to the allegations had not been reported at the time of publication.

Periyar Arivulagam, located in Coimbatore's Gandhipuram area, was developed as a major public library and knowledge centre at an estimated total cost of ₹301.71 crore — about ₹245 crore for construction, ₹50 crore for books and ₹5 crore for e-books — and was inaugurated by Chief Minister Vijay on October 16. The precise sequence of the book procurement, including when the agreement was finalised and the books were purchased, will determine responsibility, and the allegations will need to be tested against procurement records in the promised inquiry.